Great Teacher, Great Leader, Great Helmsman, Supreme Commander

This Chinese Cultural Revolution poster depicting military personnel and civilians marching with determination while carrying a red flag and holding what appears to be a portrait of revolutionary martyrs exemplifies the "holy trinity" propaganda formula that united workers, peasants, and soldiers as the foundation of Mao's China. The text likely exhorts viewers to remain loyal to revolutionary ideals and continue the struggle against class enemies—the constant mobilization that characterized the Cultural Revolution's atmosphere of perpetual political warfare. The composition's emphasis on forward movement and collective purpose, with figures rendered in the hyper-realistic style that made them appear as ageless paragons of revolutionary virtue, creates visual narrative of unstoppable historical progress toward communist transformation.

The red flag's prominence, along with the portrait of martyrs or revolutionary heroes, demonstrates how Cultural Revolution propaganda weaponized historical memory to legitimate present violence and coercion. By constantly invoking earlier revolutionaries' sacrifices, propagandists suggested that contemporary struggles—often targeting intellectuals, alleged capitalist roaders, and anyone accused of insufficient revolutionary enthusiasm—continued the same noble tradition as the fight against Japanese imperialism or Nationalist oppression. This manipulation of historical continuity allowed the Communist Party to present the Cultural Revolution's chaos and brutality as necessary extension of authentic revolutionary tradition rather than Mao's cynical mobilization of youth to purge party rivals. The poster's brilliant reds and dynamic composition create aesthetic of militant optimism that masked the movement's catastrophic consequences: millions persecuted, cultural heritage destroyed, economy disrupted, educational system dismantled. This propaganda exemplifies totalitarianism's capacity to create parallel reality where citizens must publicly affirm obvious falsehoods—performing revolutionary enthusiasm while witnessing or experiencing the movement's destructive madness—making survival dependent on complicity in collective delusion.