This figurine portrays Li Tiemei, daughter of Li Yuhe, the male lead of one of the Cultural Revolution’s ‘model operas’ known as ‘The Red Lantern’. This opera unfolds during the Sino-Japanese War (1937 – 1945), and revolves around Li, a railway worker, who uses his red lantern as a signal in his daily course of work and also as a communication device with underground Communist fighters. This figurine shows her holding high the red lantern which once belonged to her father. Her father, who was captured and killed by the Japanese forces, is seen to have sacrificed his life for the communist revolution. Hence, her possession of the lantern affirms her role as a successor of the revolution. Her name (which means iron-willed plum blossom) further indicates to audiences the kind of revolutionary attitude which they should have.
