Mao’s 120th birthday is this Thursday. While celebrations began months ago, the central government is trying to play down the festivities in order subdue hard-liners. Xi Jinping must strike a balance between praise and criticism for the Great Helmsman, at least publicly. Cartoonist Jiu’an thinks Xi’s sympathy for the leader is greater than he may let on. (Jiu’an)

Plucked, headless chickens hold up one feather each, ready to write down whatever they’re told. One large feather (yǔmáo 羽毛) honors Mao (毛) himself. From the sidelines, a Fifty Cent canine eggs on his poultry comrades. (Kuang Biao)

A very different political figure’s birthday has also just passed. Born on December 16, 1932, Lin Zhao joined the Chinese Communist Party as a teenager, then became a political dissident while studying at Peking University. She was imprisoned for criticizing the Party and executed on April 29, 1968. (Badiucao for CDT)

“Are you happy?” CCTV asked this of people on the street in fall 2012, with hilarious results. “Are you happy” still lingers on the Chinese Internet as a rhetorical question. (Zhu Senlin)

Boy, that man doesn’t look very happy. Any mention of “miracles” conjures an infamous press conference after the 2011 Wenzhou train crash, a tragedy that continues to reverberate. (Rebel Pepper)