The middle-aged Chinese museum guide was becoming agitated as he struggled to find the words to express his feelings. "Lei Feng, he was ... I'm sorry, my English is not good ... He was ... a great man."

Behind him a large television was replaying a documentary film, part of the Museum of Chinese History's exhibition to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Mao Zedong's call for the nation to "Learn from Lei Feng," a model soldier who had died tragically a year earlier at the age of 22. On the walls hung a photographic record of his short life, and visitors of all ages and many nationalities gathered in front of glass cases to contemplate collections of his personal artifacts and read extracts from his famous writings exhorting himself and others to work hard in the service of Party and country. Near the entrance stood a massive bronze bust surrounded by vivid plastic sunflowers, symbolizing the deathless optimism and faith he exemplified.

Generations of Chinese schoolchildren have grown up listening to tales of Lei Feng's good deeds, love of country and commitment to clean living. Books, films and songs eulogizing "Lei Feng spirit" have engraved his legend on the consciousness of almost everyone in China. And despite revolutionary changes in Chinese society in the 36 years since Lei Feng's death, the enthusiasm for promoting the values he stood for seems undimmed.

While much debate surrounds differing social values in Western and Oriental cultures, Lei Feng incarnates many of the same moral principles that many in Western societies would like to instill in their own children. British "good citizenship" awards, for example, frequently praise acts of selflessness and devotion to the welfare of others that in China would be labeled as true reflections of "Lei Feng spirit." "In your culture, you talk about the Good Samaritan," said May, a 21-year-old journalist. "I think that society needs such a person to light the way. Lei Feng is a moral model."

In the West, the point of such tales has long been to provide a moral counterbalance to the selfish individualism fostered by market economics. The increasing marketalization of Chinese society has in this way made Lei Feng more pertinent than ever, even as it turns more and more people away from the principles he is held to stand for. "Lei Feng is out of date," commented Ron Smithee, a 29-year-old businessman from the United States. "The younger generation in China has become a 'me' generation."

However, this doesn't mean that the spirit of the people is hardening. "Lei Feng was a good guy," said Lan Chong, a 24-year-old project development assistant from Beijing. "You need this kind of spirit between human beings." It's more that perceptions are changing, making such selfless devotion to others seem a more difficult ideal to attain. "I admire Lei Feng," said Liu Zhonghua, a student visiting the exhibition. "But I don't think I could live like him. I'd be scared to take responsibility for others in case it got me into trouble."

The increasing pace of life and rising sense of personal responsibility are bringing greater pressures to bear on Chinese people, particularly the younger generation. "You know, Lei Feng was an orphan," said Wang Jingwu, a 28-year-old worker from Qingdao. "He was looked after by the State and given the chance to go to school and have a job thanks to the collective efforts of the new society. So he looked on the State in the same way as he would his parents and treated the other members of society as if they were his family."

This kind of attitude towards collective endeavor and responsibility are at the heart of "Lei Feng Spirit," and despite the challenge it presents to people in modern society, it continues to strike a chord not only in China, but all over the world. At the end of the Lei Feng exhibition stood a display case filled with visitor's books in which admirers from many countries had written appreciative comments. One young American succinctly summed up the feelings of many:

"Lei Feng is really cool."