The Chinese Communist Party is trying a new way to woo younger people, commissioning an anime series whose hero is clean-shaven, slim and a hopeless romantic -- Karl Marx.
Called "The Leader", the online cartoon series is designed to make Marx more palatable to China's younger generation, which usually encounters the bearded German philosopher through thick textbooks and classes.
"There is a lot of literary work about Karl Marx, but not as much in a format that young people can accept," Zhuo Sina, one of the scriptwriters behind the online series, told AFP.
"We wanted to fill this gap," she added. "We hope more people can have a more positive understanding of and interest in Marx and his biography."
She said the story of Marx should not pander to the demands of the entertainment industry, where there is "no way to make very careful and precise or very accurate descriptions."
With its wealthy businessmen and capitalist culture, modern day China is in stark contrast with the cartoon, which advocates for workers and the proletariat, he said. "You step out of your door in Beijing and you see a whole different reality... So there's a tension there."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content