Celebrated history teacher Yuan Tengfei has sparked an online uproar with controversial comments on Chinese history and late leader Mao Zedong .
Yuan triggered the outcry with a 110-minute teaching video on the Cultural Revolution, the Global Times website reported yesterday.
The quotes include: "You can go to the mausoleum to see Chairman Mao Zedong, but don't forget it is China's Yasukuni Shrine, where a butcher with people's blood on his hands is worshipped"; and "The only correct thing Mao Zedong did after 1949 was die".
Sima Pingbang, a blogger and commentator, wrote in response: "The provocative comments and sensational criticism are designed to promote Yuan's book. It's driven by profit. It's shameless."
Yuan's third book in the series The History of Ancient China has just been published, and is the centre of a publishing and promotion rights battle between the Motie Culture Development Company and Jinghua School, a Motie source said.
Yuan has asked the Beijing Tianyuan Law Firm to send a letter to Motie to cancel the book contract and pay him what it owes. Otherwise, he will take it to the court, a statement on his website said.
Yuan, a Beijing Jinghua School history teacher, rose to prominence as a popular teacher when he taught The Vicissitudes of the Two Song Dynasties in China Central Television's Lecture Room series, and audience ratings for the programme set a record.
His previous two books in the ancient China series were best-sellers. He is planning to release more books, including the fourth in the series and The Three Dynasties in the Northwest of China.
His online video has been watched by millions. He is also one of the authors of new textbooks for senior high schools and the university entrance history exam.
Yuan's remarks on Chinese history textbooks include statements claiming Japanese history textbooks have far fewer distortions than those in China; and that the material in Chinese history textbooks is less than 5 per cent truth, and the rest is pure nonsense. He has also said that the 30 million people who died during the Great Famine topped the death toll in Europe during the second world war.
According to online posts, Yuan also said the Dala Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize because of his opposition to the Chinese invasion of Tibet.
Yuan's comments have not hurt his high-profile book release or sales so far. But after being criticised for his views on Mao, there was online speculation this week that Beijing had banned Yuan's sensitive remarks, beginning with video-sharing websites.
Many online forums and commentators published pieces calling him a traitor, counter-revolutionary, "anti-people" and harmful. One poster on an official forum said Yuan had insulted the Chinese nation.
An online commentator who asked not to be identified said: "As a citizen, he is making the most of his freedom of speech. But if the situation deteriorates, it's quite likely that he will be banned eventually." He added that many people in power in Beijing still respect Mao.
The latest entry on Yuan's Sina microblog said: "I am not aware of the online rumours and have never been a part of it. It's manipulated behind the scenes by some people who have sinister motives. I despise those people and will not cross-question."
Topic: Teacher sparks outcry with Mao comments (Read 1420 times)