Dig into the era of China’s Cultural Revolution, and how communist leader Mao Zedong used mangoes as a propaganda tool.



In August 1968, factory workers overheard news of a mandatory meeting. Whispered rumors described shipments of a gift from the country’s Communist leader, Chairman Mao Zedong. And sure enough, managers soon distributed a gift to every factory worker– a glass box encasing a golden wax replica of a mango. What was the meaning behind this unusual offering? Vivian Jiang investigates.

Lesson by Vivian Jiang, directed by Kayu Leung.

Support Our NonProfit Mission

Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon
Check out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop


Connect With Us

Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter
Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook
Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter
Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram


Keep Learning

View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/maozedong...
Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/maozedong...

Animator's website: https://www.kayuleung.com and   / kayu.caillou.kayu  


Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Doug Henry, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Samuel Barbas, LadyGeek, Marin Kovachev, Penelope Misquitta, Hans Peng, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Hoai Nam Tran, KackKyun Kim, Michael BraunBoghos, zjweele13, AnnaPitschna Kunz, Edla Paniguel, Thomas Mungavan, Jaron Blackburn, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, ReuniteKorea, Aaron Henson, Rohan Gupta, Begum Tutuncu, Brian Richards, Jørgen Østerpart, Tyron Jung, Carsten Tobehn, Katie Dean, Ezgi Yersu, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Doreen ReynoldsConsolati, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Eunsun Kim, Phyllis Dubrow, Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique Cassús and Karthik Cherala.