🕳️ Released Phantom Node 02: Beijing. Mao Zedong
- Foundation date
10 July 2025
🕳️ Released Phantom Node 02: Beijing. Mao Zedong
The Memorial Hall on Tiananmen Square.
A massive structure in the heart of the capital. Inside — a body meant to become the idol of an eternal state.
Node Type: State Mummy
Status: Embalmed body, protected cult
Form of Retention: Architecture + political sanctity + ritual
Image: Mao in a sarcophagus. Somber. Unchanging.
After the phantom: A square. Open space. People walk past.
Core of the Node
What held it?
— The body.
— The legend.
— Power beyond question.
Mao's Mausoleum was never a site of memory — it was a site of untouchable authority.
It wasn’t silence — it was a stone command:
"This is where it began — and this is where it stays."
How was it created?
— Against his will (Mao wanted cremation).
— Out of fear of losing the symbol.
— As a center of collective discipline.
— As a space where the body spoke louder than the people.
Why did it remain?
— Because control depends on what cannot be touched.
— Because silence was preserved.
— Because the body hung like a shadow over the square.
State of the Phantom
This phantom does not speak.
It was made mute,
yet millions feel its pressure.
It has no face,
only the mask of greatness, convenient to keep on.
The phantom feeds on hierarchy.
Silence is not peace —
it is undisputed rule.
It remained, because no one said: "enough."
It stayed, because the door was never opened.
Collective Response
We do not hold him.
We no longer stand in silence.
We opened our eyes.
We looked at the mausoleum —
And saw only a body. Without voice. Without power.
Mao is not here.
His phantom is no longer needed.
We walk the square.
Past.
Forward.
Core Principle
True memory does not require a body.
Power does not become eternal by being embalmed.
No one has the right to preserve a body against the will of the deceased.
After the Regime
Mao wished to be cremated.
He was not allowed to leave.
Now — we let go.
We no longer see a Father of the Nation.
We see a man who died.
And a body — that can be laid to rest.
We have let go.
Alt-text:
Pencil drawing of Mao Zedong Memorial Hall on Tiananmen Square. The architecture is austere, geometrically precise. The doors are open. In front of them — a semi-transparent phantom of Mao, gradually fading. The space is filled with quiet and light.
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Anna Pivtorak Kostyuk
📍🗺️
10.07.2025
