may 26, 1968 - Mao gifts workers with mangoes
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On August 5, 1968, Mian Arshad Hussain (the Pakistani foreign minister) brought Chairman Mao Zedong a basket of golden mangoes as gifts. Mao then proceeded to regift them to the Capital Worker and Peasant Mao Zedong Thought Propaganda Team to use as they saw fit. People immediately began to regard the mangoes as a sort of relic, and so posters, pictures, and wax replicas were made and disseminated throughout all of China. The mangoes became a cultural icon and were featured in much of the Chinese propaganda at the time.
Most importantly, however, the gifting of the mangoes represented a critical shifting of Mao's support. Because he gave it to workers, this gifting signified a transition in his belief that the workers should lead the revolutionary movement—not the students.
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1968 A Year In Review Final Timeline
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