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23 May 2014updated 02 Jun 2014 9:57am

How the west embraced Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book

At the peak of its popularity, Mao's bible was the most printed book in the world. It attained the status of a sacred, holy text during the Cultural Revolution, and retains its place among western devotees.

By John Gray

Raise the red icon: with the dawn of the Cultural Revolution, the belief in the power of the Chinese chairman’s words spread to Europe. Image: Corbis.

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