Sitting in front of her computer surfing the Internet, 68-year-old retiree Ma Shufang can hardly believe there is so much doubt about the authenticity of the many selfless acts committed by her childhood idol, Lei Feng.

"I felt shocked. Most of my peers admired Lei Feng from the depths of our heart," said Ma, who can vividly recall the vows she made to "learn from Lei Feng" when she was a teenager in the early 1960s.

Seemingly endless stories of Lei Feng's good deeds filled Ma's generation with a purity of spirit that was based on the ideal of serving the people.

She spent 20 days during her winter holiday in 1965 as a volunteer in the kitchen of a struggling restaurant. She also gave her time freely to help farmers in Shunyi district on the outskirts of Beijing. "We would seek out these opportunities to help others. No one had to ask."

At the height of what some now call the Lei Feng frenzy, young students competed with each other to do good deeds on Sundays so they could recount them in class on Monday. Students would turn in the tails of mice they had killed or tell stories about helping elderly people, some of whom didn't want assistance. There are even stories of students arranging mishaps so they could be seen helping resolve them.

Loss of idealism

Elders like Ma are saddened to see the idealism of the Lei Feng era be replaced by a kind of Internet nihilism where nothing is sacred anymore. People have begun to doubt the aggrandizing of the 1960s idol who likely wouldn't survive a "flesh search" by today's rowdy netizens.

Some have zoomed in on photos of Lei Feng and say his wrist watch was far too expensive for an ordinary PLA soldier. They now snigger when re-reading his diary about "wholeheartedly serving the Party," or how he cleaned up 150 kilograms of excrement a day.

A group of young soldiers in Shenyang where Lei Feng had served were overwhelmed by criticisms from Internet users who accused the squad of posting propaganda on its microblog that was named "Lei Feng."

"We felt too much pressure," Hu Xing, who is attached to the regiment, told CCTV. Stung by criticism the soldiers have apparently canceled their microblog which is no longer available. The regiment couldn't be reached for comment.

Lei had been promoted as a role model soldier by the PLA but only became known to the masses after he was killed when a pole fell on his head. He was just 22. A year later, in 1963, Chairman Mao Zedong launched a national campaign to "learn from comrade Lei Feng," and designated March 5 as Learn Lei Feng Day.

For the past five decades Lei Feng, the icon of selflessness, modesty and dedication, has served as a model of moral virtue and devotion to the Party and the people.

Today people are questioning the logic of his many stories which don't always stand up to scrutiny.

Most of the doubts center on the authenticity of the 300 or so photographs of Lei Feng, and his voluminous diary.

Few people at that time could afford to take so many snapshots, and the idea that a virtuous do-gooder would pose for flattering photos contradicts the purity of his motives, say his critics on Weibo.

They also say Lei Feng's well-crafted writings in his published diary don't square with his background as the poorly-educated son of peasants from Hunan Province.

Lei Feng is now regarded by some as a propaganda tool that was used to inspire self sacrifice at a time when China had not yet lost its sense of comradeship after the prior decades of war, invasion and oppression. Lei Feng's stories were also used to promote unity and correct political thinking.

Some photos 'retaken'

One of Lei's seven photographers who were assigned to follow him after a 1960 article entitled "Good soldiers of Chairman Mao" admitted that while some snaps were re-enacted they were based on real events. "Every single photo was based on the truth. We simply couldn't have imagined it," said Ji Zeng, who took more than 250 pictures on Lei.

This year even the Xinhua News Agency began tagging photos of Lei as "retaken" for its Learn Lei Feng Day feature.

"It doesn't mean the staged photos weren't based on reality," Kong Qingdong, a professor with Peking University, told the Global Times. Instead of a "loyal screw that never goes rusty," Lei should be seen as a young man with a personality, said Kong. "Deeper research into his story tells me when he started to do good deeds he faced lots of pressure as his leader thought he was too aggressive. But he stuck with it, instead of being totally subservient," said Kong, adding that the embellishment of Lei Feng's deeds no longer ring true in today's China.

Other commentators suggest Lei is no longer suitable as a role model. "Seen in his proper political context, Lei Feng is a symbol not of altruism but of submission to political power. In my view, the image of Lei Feng is completely out of step with a modern China," wrote David Bandurski, a researcher at the University of Hong Kong's China Media Project, in an e-mail to the Global Times. "What China needs today is a new model of active and critical citizenship, not of subservience," he wrote.

A second look at other icons

It's not only Lei's authenticity that is being challenged. Second looks at other icons of altruism from a bygone era are being taken with a critical eye.

People are questioning the stories of Lai Ning, a 14-year-old student who lost his life while helping fight a forest fire in Shimian, Sichuan Province, in 1988, and Qiu Shaoyun, a young soldier who gave his life to save his comrades during the Korean War.

Web users digging for details now says Lai more likely died after getting lost during the forest fire but earned a hero's title only because his father was a local government official. Netizens also suggest the details in Qiu's story of ultimate sacrifice don't mesh with the area's geography. None of the claims have been proved.

Attempts to promote working class heroes today seem to have as many doubters as believers. Guo Mingyi, a manager at Anshan Iron and Steel, has been dubbed a modern-day Lei Feng and a role model for all dutiful, obedient and hardworking Chinese. Guo's achievements and claims to fame are also being questioned by Web users. They don't believe that Guo's microblog could have gathered nearly 7 million followers in less than a year. Microbloggers who have racked up that many followers are all famous, wealthy, controversial or a combination of all three.

Media reports show that over the past 20 years, he has donated more than 60,000 milliliters or 60 liters of blood, and given away more than 100,000 yuan ($15,851) to the poor.

"It's hard to believe in him if his Weibo numbers are forged," said an Internet user.

Kong the Peking University professor believes people's attempts to discredit Lei Feng and the loss of "Lei Feng spirit" are symptoms of what ails modern China.

"It has something to do with declining social morality in today's society that makes it difficult for ordinary people to feel a connection with Lei Feng and the deeds he did 50 years ago," said Kong.

Debatable as it may be to use a political role as a measure of social morality, a recent telephone survey by the Global Times' poll center showed that 80 percent of the 1,013 surveyed believe Lei Feng's most important legacy was his selfless helping of others. It was followed by love of the country, positive attitude towards life and being frugal and hardworking.

Many people who grew up with Lei Feng see themselves as more considerate and respectful than the youth of today. "There's a basic difference between the values of people from the two eras. We were poor at that time, but the social atmosphere was much better than it is today," said Mao Qingzhu, a 70-year-old Beijing resident.

"Lei Feng inspired our generation throughout our life, but today people only care about money and their own interests. We need more icons like him," said Mao.

Lei Feng won't disappear

The tragic death of baby Yueyue last October is a case in point. Eighteen pedestrians walked past the fatally injured girl who had been hit by two vehicles in Foshan, Guangdong Province. The indifference of the passersby shocked the society and caused a great online debate about the country's moral slide. "Nowadays, people perceive that there are risks involved in helping others," said Tan Fang, who founded a website four years ago to help good Samaritans who end up needing help themselves.

Exaggerated, embellished and propagandized as his stories might be, Lei Feng is not likely to disappear as an icon of the virtuous citizen. Tan's website used Learn Lei Feng Day to release the names of 42 people who were awarded 160,000 yuan for offering helping hands to the elderly.

"What we really need is to create a good mechanism and a good legal environment in which people dare to do good deeds," said Tan, whose comment suggests the times have indeed changed.