Disrespecting Mao Zedong

Silly shoes.

I almost didn't get to pay tribute to Mao Zedong, the former Chairman of the Peoples Republic of China.

All because of shoes I disrespected China's most notorious leader.

No sign or proclamation from a loud speaker spoke of a dress code outside his tomb.

As I walked along in a sea of people lined up around the building to pay tribute to Mao, a Chinese official grabbed my arm, forcing me out of the line.

Apparently, my brown, rubber Old Navy flip-flops were not up to dress code to visit Mao. My heart stopped as I pleaded with the official to let me through. He showed me a pair of extra shoes he had and offered them to me for $20 RMB.

They looked like they would fit a young child. I shook my head and clasped my hands together, lowering my head down.

"Please!" I said in English, aware of the fact he could not understand me.

Last fall I had read most of Mao's written works on communism for my Marxism class. Visiting his tomb to see his embalmed body was necessary for me to complete my quest to understand Mao's contributions to China.

I took out my student ID card and waved it in his face. After several minutes, he waved his hand and I pressed myself deep into the crowd (to hide my shoes from other officials).

I made it all the way through security. They yelled after me in Chinese, but I pretended to not understand.

I walked up the steps to the entry hall. A large white statue of Mao sat looking out over the hall with a strange sort of smile. At his feet were a pile of flowers.

A man walked up and placed a bouquet at Mao's feet. His face was titled toward the floor out of respect. He never turned his back on the statue.

Marble pillars led the way into his tomb. Two soldiers stood guard above a glass coffin.

Mao's face shone an eerie orange. His skin looked waxy and tight. His large stomach rose above the rest of his body.

Shrouded in glass, he seemed small compared to his words I had read a few months earlier.

Above his head were some Chinese characters. On his tomb was a sickle and hammer -- forever a communist.

I shuffled by, hoping Mao didn't mind my inappropriate foot ware.

I kept waiting for him to leap up and scold me. Of course, he didn't move an inch.

*A statue outside Mao's grave.