Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung

ON THE PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC DICTATORSHIP

In Commemoration of the Twenty-eighth Anniversary of the Communist Party of China June 30, 1949 The first of July 1949 marks the fact that the Communist Party of China has already lived through twenty-eight years. Like a man a !olitical !arty has its childhood youth manhood and old age. The Communist Party of China is no longer a child or a lad in his teens "ut has "ecome an adult. #hen a man reaches old age he will die$ the same is true of a !arty. #hen classes disa!!ear all instruments of class struggle -- !arties and the state machinery -will lose their function cease to "e necessary therefore gradually wither away and end their historical mission$ and human society will move to a higher stage. #e are the o!!osite of the !olitical !arties of the "ourgeoisie. They are afraid to s!eak of the e%tinction of classes state !ower and !arties. #e on the contrary declare o!enly that we are striving hard to create the very conditions which will "ring a"out their e%tinction. The leadershi! of the Communist Party and the state !ower of the !eo!le&s dictatorshi! are such conditions. 'nyone who does

not recogni(e this truth is no communist. )oung comrades who have not studied *ar%ism-Leninism and have only recently +oined the Party may not yet understand this truth. They must understand it -- only then can they have a correct world outlook. They must understand that the road to the a"olition of classes to the a"olition of state !ower and to the a"olition of !arties is the road all mankind must take$ it is only a ,uestion of time and conditions. Communists the world over are wiser than the "ourgeoisie they understand the laws governing the e%istence and develo!ment of things they understand dialectics and they can see farther. The "ourgeoisie does not welcome this truth "ecause it does not want to "e overthrown. To "e overthrown is !ainful and is un"eara"le to contem!late for those overthrown for e%am!le for the -uomintang reactionaries whom we are now overthrowing and for Ja!anese im!erialism which we together with other !eo!les overthrew some time ago. .ut for the working class the la"ouring !eo!le and the Communist Party the ,uestion is not one of "eing overthrown "ut of working hard to create the conditions in which classes state !ower and !olitical !arties will die out very naturally and mankind will enter the realm of /reat 0armony.[1] #e have mentioned in !assing the long-range !ers!ective of human !rogress in order to e%!lain clearly the !ro"lems we are a"out to discuss. 's everyone knows our Party !assed through these twenty-eight years not in !eace "ut amid hardshi!s for we had to fight enemies "oth foreign and domestic "oth inside and outside the Party. #e thank *ar% 1ngels Lenin and 2talin for giving us a

wea!on. This wea!on is not a machine-gun "ut *ar%ism-Leninism. 3n his "ook "Left-Wing" Communism, an Infantile Disorder written in 1945 Lenin descri"ed the ,uest of the 6ussians for revolutionary theory. [2] 7nly after several decades of hardshi! and suffering did the 6ussians find *ar%ism. *any things in China were the same as or similar to those in 6ussia "efore the 7cto"er 6evolution. There was the same feudal o!!ression. There was similar economic and cultural "ackwardness. .oth countries were "ackward China even more so. 3n "oth countries alike for the sake of national regeneration !rogressives "raved hard and "itter struggles in their ,uest for revolutionary truth. 8rom the time of China&s defeat in the 7!ium #ar of 1945 [3] Chinese !rogressives went through untold hardshi!s in their ,uest for truth from the #estern countries. 0ung 0siu-chuan [4] -ang )uwei,[5] )en 8u[6] and 2un )at-sen were re!resentative of those who had looked to the #est for truth "efore the Communist Party of China was "orn. Chinese who then sought !rogress would read any "ook containing the new knowledge from the #est. The num"er of students sent to Ja!an .ritain the :nited 2tates 8rance and /ermany was ama(ing. 't home the im!erial e%aminations [7] were a"olished and modern schools s!rang u! like "am"oo shoots after a s!ring rain$ every effort was made to learn from the #est. 3n my youth 3 too engaged in such studies. They re!resented the culture of #estern "ourgeois democracy including the social theories and natural sciences of that !eriod and they were called ;the new learning; in contrast to Chinese

feudal culture which was called ;the old learning;. 8or ,uite a long time those who had ac,uired the new learning felt confident that it would save China and very few of them had any dou"ts on this score as the adherents of the old learning had. 7nly moderni(ation could save China only learning from foreign countries could moderni(e China. 'mong the foreign countries only the #estern ca!italist countries were then !rogressive as they had successfully "uilt modern "ourgeois states. The Ja!anese had "een successful in learning from the #est and the Chinese also wished to learn from the Ja!anese. The Chinese in those days regarded 6ussia as "ackward and few wanted to learn from her. That was how the Chinese tried to learn from foreign countries in the !eriod from the 1945s to the "eginning of the 45th century. 3m!erialist aggression shattered the fond dreams of the Chinese a"out learning from the #est. 3t was very odd -- why were the teachers always committing aggression against their !u!il< The Chinese learned a good deal from the #est "ut they could not make it work and were never a"le to reali(e their ideals. Their re!eated struggles including such a countrywide movement as the 6evolution of 1911 [8] all ended in failure. =ay "y day conditions in the country got worse and life was made im!ossi"le. =ou"ts arose increased and dee!ened. #orld #ar 3 shook the whole glo"e. The 6ussians made the 7cto"er 6evolution and created the world&s first socialist state. :nder the leadershi! of Lenin and 2talin the revolutionary energy of the great !roletariat and la"ouring !eo!le of 6ussia hitherto latent and unseen "y foreigners suddenly eru!ted like a volcano and the Chinese and all mankind

"egan to see the 6ussians in a new light. Then and only then did the Chinese enter an entirely new era in their thinking and their life. They found *ar%ismLeninism the universally a!!lica"le truth and the face of China "egan to change. 3t was through the 6ussians that the Chinese found *ar%ism. .efore the 7cto"er 6evolution the Chinese were not only ignorant of Lenin and 2talin they did not even know of *ar% and 1ngels. The salvoes of the 7cto"er 6evolution "rought us *ar%ism-Leninism. The 7cto"er 6evolution hel!ed !rogressives in China as throughout the world to ado!t the !roletarian world outlook as the instrument for studying a nation&s destiny and considering anew their own !ro"lems. 8ollow the !ath of the 6ussians -- that was their conclusion. 3n 1919 the *ay 4th *ovement took !lace in China. 3n 1941 the Communist Party of China was founded. 2un )atsen in the de!ths of des!air came across the 7cto"er 6evolution and the Communist Party of China. 0e welcomed the 7cto"er 6evolution welcomed 6ussian hel! to the Chinese and welcomed coo!eration of the Communist Party of China. Then 2un )at-sen died and Chiang -ai-shek rose to !ower. 7ver a long !eriod of twenty-two years Chiang -aishek dragged China into ever more ho!eless straits. 3n this !eriod during the anti-fascist 2econd #orld #ar in which the 2oviet :nion was the main force three "ig im!erialist !owers were knocked out while two others were weakened. 3n the whole world only one "ig im!erialist !ower the :nited 2tates of 'merica remained unin+ured. .ut the :nited 2tates faced a grave domestic crisis. 3t wanted to enslave the whole world$ it su!!lied arms to hel! Chiang -ai-shek slaughter several million Chinese. :nder

the leadershi! of the Communist Party of China the Chinese !eo!le after driving out Ja!anese im!erialism waged the Peo!le&s #ar of Li"eration for three years and have "asically won victory. Thus #estern "ourgeois civili(ation "ourgeois democracy and the !lan for a "ourgeois re!u"lic have all gone "ankru!t in the eyes of the Chinese !eo!le. .ourgeois democracy has given way to !eo!le&s democracy under the leadershi! of the working class and the "ourgeois re!u"lic to the !eo!le&s re!u"lic. This has made it !ossi"le to achieve socialism and communism through the !eo!le&s re!u"lic to a"olish classes and enter a world of /reat 0armony. -ang )u-wei wrote Ta Tung Shu or the Book of Great Harmony, "ut he did not and could not find the way to achieve /reat 0armony. There are "ourgeois re!u"lics in foreign lands "ut China cannot have a "ourgeois re!u"lic "ecause she is a country suffering under im!erialist o!!ression. The only way is through a !eo!le&s re!u"lic led "y the working class. 'll other ways have "een tried and failed. 7f the !eo!le who hankered after those ways some have fallen some have awakened and some are changing their ideas. 1vents are develo!ing so swiftly that many feel the a"ru!tness of the change and the need to learn anew. This state of mind is understanda"le and we welcome this worthy desire to learn anew. The vanguard of the Chinese !roletariat learned *ar%ism-Leninism after the 7cto"er 6evolution and founded the Communist Party of China. 3t entered at once into !olitical struggles and only now after a tortuous course of twenty-eight years has it won "asic victory. 8rom our twenty-eight years&

e%!erience we have drawn a conclusion similar to the one 2un )at-sen drew in his testament from his ;e%!erience of forty years;$ that is we are dee!ly convinced that to win victory ;we must arouse the masses of the !eo!le and unite in a common struggle with those nations of the world which treat us as e,uals;. 2un )at-sen had a world outlook different from ours and started from a different class stand!oint in studying and tackling !ro"lems$ yet in the 1945s he reached a conclusion "asically the same as ours on the ,uestion of how to struggle against im!erialism. Twenty-four years have !assed since 2un )at-sen&s death and the Chinese revolution led "y the Communist Party of China has made tremendous advances "oth in theory and !ractice and has radically changed the face of China. :! to now the !rinci!al and fundamental e%!erience the Chinese !eo!le have gained is twofold:
>1? 3nternally arouse the masses of the !eo!le. That is unite the working class the !easantry the ur"an !etty "ourgeoisie and the national "ourgeoisie form a domestic united front under the leadershi! of the working class and advance from this to the esta"lishment of a state which is a !eo!le&s democratic dictatorshi! under the leadershi! of the working class and "ased on the alliance of workers and !easants. >4? 1%ternally unite in a common struggle with those nations of the world which treat us as e,uals and unite with the !eo!les of all countries. That is ally ourselves with the 2oviet :nion with the Peo!le&s =emocracies and with the !roletariat and the "road masses of the !eo!le in all other countries and form an international united front.

;)ou are leaning to one side.; 1%actly. The forty years& e%!erience of 2un )at-sen and the twentyeight years& e%!erience of the Communist Party have taught us to lean to one side and we are firmly convinced that in order to win victory and consolidate it we must lean to one side. 3n the light of

the e%!eriences accumulated in these forty years and these twenty-eight years all Chinese without e%ce!tion must lean either to the side of im!erialism or to the side of socialism. 2itting on the fence will not do nor is there a third road. #e o!!ose the Chiang -ai-shek reactionaries who lean to the side of im!erialism and we also o!!ose the illusions a"out a third road. ;)ou are too irritating.; #e are talking a"out how to deal with domestic and foreign reactionaries the im!erialists and their running dogs not a"out how to deal with anyone else. #ith regard to such reactionaries the ,uestion of irritating them or not does not arise. 3rritated or not irritated they will remain the same "ecause they are reactionaries. 7nly if we draw a clear line "etween reactionaries and revolutionaries e%!ose the intrigues and !lots of the reactionaries arouse the vigilance and attention of the revolutionary ranks heighten our will to fight and crush the enemy&s arrogance can we isolate the reactionaries van,uish them or su!ersede them. #e must not show the slightest timidity "efore a wild "east. #e must learn from #u 2ung [9] on the Chingyang 6idge. 's #u 2ung saw it the tiger on Chingyang 6idge was a man-eater whether irritated or not. 1ither kill the tiger or "e eaten "y him -- one or the other. ;#e want to do "usiness.; @uite right "usiness will "e done. #e are against no one e%ce!t the domestic and foreign reactionaries who hinder us from doing "usiness. 1very"ody should know that it is none other than the im!erialists and their running dogs the Chiang -ai-shek reactionaries who hinder us from doing "usiness and also from esta"lishing

di!lomatic relations with foreign countries. #hen we have "eaten the internal and e%ternal reactionaries "y uniting all domestic and international forces we shall "e a"le to do "usiness and esta"lish di!lomatic relations with all foreign countries on the "asis of e,uality mutual "enefit and mutual res!ect for territorial integrity and sovereignty. ;Aictory is !ossi"le even without international hel!.; This is a mistaken idea. 3n the e!och in which im!erialism e%ists it is im!ossi"le for a genuine !eo!le&s revolution to win victory in any country without various forms of hel! from the international revolutionary forces and even if victory were won it could not "e consolidated. This was the case with the victory and consolidation of the great 7cto"er 6evolution as Lenin and 2talin told us long ago. This was also the case with the overthrow of the three im!erialist !owers in #orld #ar 33 and the esta"lishment of the Peo!le&s =emocracies. 'nd this is also the case with the !resent and the future of Peo!le&s China. Just imagineB 3f the 2oviet :nion had not e%isted if there had "een no victory in the antifascist 2econd #orld #ar if Ja!anese im!erialism had not "een defeated if the Peo!le&s =emocracies had not come into "eing if the o!!ressed nations of the 1ast were not rising in struggle and if there were no struggle of the masses of the !eo!le against their reactionary rulers in the :nited 2tates .ritain 8rance /ermany 3taly Ja!an and other ca!italist countries -- if not for all these in com"ination the international reactionary forces "earing down u!on us would certainly "e many times greater than now. 3n such circumstances could we have won victory< 7"viously not. 'nd even with victory there could "e no consolidation. The Chinese !eo!le have had more

than enough e%!erience of this kind. This e%!erience was reflected long ago in 2un )at-sen&s death-"ed statement on the necessity of uniting with the international revolutionary forces. ;#e need hel! from the .ritish and :.2. governments.; This too is a naive idea in these times. #ould the !resent rulers of .ritain and the :nited 2tates who are im!erialists hel! a !eo!le&s state< #hy do these countries do "usiness with us and su!!osing they might "e willing to lend us money on terms of mutual "enefit in the future why would they do so< .ecause their ca!italists want to make money and their "ankers want to earn interest to e%tricate themselves from their own crisis -- it is not a matter of hel!ing the Chinese !eo!le. The Communist Parties and !rogressive grou!s in these countries are urging their governments to esta"lish trade and even di!lomatic relations with us. This is goodwill this is hel! this cannot "e mentioned in the same "reath with the conduct of the "ourgeoisie in the same countries. Throughout his life 2un )at-sen a!!ealed countless times to the ca!italist countries for hel! and got nothing "ut heartless re"uffs. 7nly once in his whole life did 2un )at-sen receive foreign hel! and that was 2oviet hel!. Let readers refer to =r. 2un )at-sen&s testament$ his earnest advice was not to look for hel! from the im!erialist countries "ut to ;unite with those nations of the world which treat us as e,uals;. =r. 2un had e%!erience$ he had suffered he had "een deceived. #e should remem"er his words and not allow ourselves to "e deceived again. 3nternationally we "elong to the side of the anti-im!erialist front headed "y the 2oviet :nion and so we can turn only to this

side for genuine and friendly hel! not to the side of the im!erialist front. ;)ou are dictatorial.; *y dear sirs you are right that is +ust what we are. 'll the e%!erience the Chinese !eo!le have accumulated through several decades teaches us to enforce the !eo!le&s democratic dictatorshi! that is to de!rive the reactionaries of the right to s!eak and let the !eo!le alone have that right. #ho are the !eo!le< 't the !resent stage in China they are the working class the !easantry the ur"an !etty "ourgeoisie and the national "ourgeoisie. These classes led "y the working class and the Communist Party unite to form their own state and elect their own government$ they enforce their dictatorshi! over the running dogs of im!erialism -- the landlord class and "ureaucrat-"ourgeoisie as well as the re!resentatives of those classes the -uomintang reactionaries and their accom!lices -- su!!ress them allow them only to "ehave themselves and not to "e unruly in word or deed. 3f they s!eak or act in an unruly way they will "e !rom!tly sto!!ed and !unished. =emocracy is !racticed within the ranks of the !eo!le who en+oy the rights of freedom of s!eech assem"ly association and so on. The right to vote "elongs only to the !eo!le not to the reactionaries. The com"ination of these two as!ects democracy for the !eo!le and dictatorshi! over the reactionaries is the !eo!le&s democratic dictatorshi!. #hy must things "e done this way< The reason is ,uite clear to every"ody. 3f things were not done this way the revolution would fail the !eo!le would suffer the country would "e con,uered.

;=on&t you want to a"olish state !ower<; )es we do "ut not right now$ we cannot do it yet. #hy< .ecause im!erialism still e%ists "ecause domestic reaction still e%ists "ecause classes still e%ist in our country. 7ur !resent task is to strengthen the !eo!le&s state a!!aratus -- mainly the !eo!le&s army the !eo!le&s !olice and the !eo!le&s courts -- in order to consolidate national defence and !rotect the !eo!le&s interests. /iven this condition China can develo! steadily under the leadershi! of the working class and the Communist Party from an agricultural into an industrial country and from a new-democratic into a socialist and communist society can a"olish classes and reali(e the /reat 0armony. The state a!!aratus including the army the !olice and the courts is the instrument "y which one class o!!resses another. 3t is an instrument for the o!!ression of antagonistic classes it is violence and not ;"enevolence;. ;)ou are not "enevolentB; @uite so. #e definitely do not a!!ly a !olicy of "enevolence to the reactionaries and towards the reactionary activities of the reactionary classes. 7ur !olicy of "enevolence is a!!lied only within the ranks of the !eo!le not "eyond them to the reactionaries or to the reactionary activities of reactionary classes. The !eo!le&s state !rotects the !eo!le. 7nly when the !eo!le have such a state can they educate and remould themselves "y democratic methods on a country-wide scale with everyone taking !art and shake off the influence of domestic and foreign reactionaries >which is still very strong will survive for a long time and cannot "e ,uickly destroyed? rid themselves of the "ad ha"its and ideas ac,uired in the old society not allow themselves to "e led astray "y

the reactionaries and continue to advance -- to advance towards a socialist and communist society. 0ere the method we em!loy is democratic the method of !ersuasion not of com!ulsion. #hen anyone among the !eo!le "reaks the law he too should "e !unished im!risoned or even sentenced to death$ "ut this is a matter of a few individual cases and it differs in !rinci!le from the dictatorshi! e%ercised over the reactionaries as a class. 's for the mem"ers of the reactionary classes and individual reactionaries so long as they do not re"el sa"otage or create trou"le after their !olitical !ower has "een overthrown land and work will "e given to them as well in order to allow them to live and remould themselves through la"our into new !eo!le. 3f they are not willing to work the !eo!le&s state will com!el them to work. Pro!aganda and educational work will "e done among them too and will "e done moreover with as much care and thoroughness as among the ca!tured army officers in the !ast. This too may "e called a ;!olicy of "enevolence; if you like "ut it is im!osed "y us on the mem"ers of the enemy classes and cannot "e mentioned in the same "reath with the work of self-education which we carry on within the ranks of the revolutionary !eo!le. 2uch remoulding of mem"ers of the reactionary classes can "e accom!lished only "y a state of the !eo!le&s democratic dictatorshi! under the leadershi! of the Communist Party. #hen it is well done China&s ma+or e%!loiting classes the landlord class and the "ureaucrat-"ourgeoisie >the mono!oly ca!italist class? will "e eliminated for good. There remain the national "ourgeoisie$ at the !resent stage

we can already do a good deal of suita"le educational work with many of them. #hen the time comes to reali(e socialism that is to nationali(e !rivate enter!rise we shall carry the work of educating and remoulding them a ste! further. The !eo!le have a !owerful state a!!aratus in their hands -- there is no need to fear re"ellion "y the national "ourgeoisie. The serious !ro"lem is the education of the !easantry. The !easant economy is scattered and the sociali(ation of agriculture +udging "y the 2oviet :nion&s e%!erience will re,uire a long time and !ainstaking work. #ithout sociali(ation of agriculture there can "e no com!lete consolidated socialism. The ste!s to sociali(e agriculture must "e co-ordinated with the develo!ment of a !owerful industry having state enter!rise as its "ack"one. [10] The state of the !eo!le&s democratic dictatorshi! must systematically solve the !ro"lems of industriali(ation. 2ince it is not !ro!osed to discuss economic !ro"lems in detail in this article 3 shall not go into them further. 3n 1944 a famous manifesto was ado!ted at the -uomintang&s 8irst Cational Congress which 2un )at-sen himself led and in which Communists !artici!ated. The manifesto stated :
The so-called democratic system in modern states is usually mono!oli(ed "y the "ourgeoisie and has "ecome sim!ly an instrument for o!!ressing the common !eo!le. 7n the other hand the -uomintang&s Princi!le of =emocracy means a democratic system shared "y all the common !eo!le and not !rivately owned "y the few.

'!art from the ,uestion of who leads whom the Princi!le of =emocracy stated a"ove corres!onds as a general !olitical !rogramme to what we call Peo!le&s =emocracy or Cew =emocracy. ' state

system which is shared only "y the common !eo!le and which the "ourgeoisie is not allowed to own !rivately -- add to this the leadershi! of the working class and we have the state system of the !eo!le&s democratic dictatorshi!. Chiang -ai-shek "etrayed 2un )at-sen and used the dictatorshi! of the "ureaucrat-"ourgeoisie and the landlord class as an instrument for o!!ressing the common !eo!le of China. This counter-revolutionary dictatorshi! was enforced for twenty-two years and has only now "een overthrown "y the common !eo!le of China under our leadershi!. The foreign reactionaries who accuse us of !racticing ;dictatorshi!; or ;totalitarianism; are the very !ersons who !ractice it. They !ractice the dictatorshi! or totalitarianism of one class the "ourgeoisie over the !roletariat and the rest of the !eo!le. They are the very !ersons 2un )at-sen s!oke of as the "ourgeoisie of modern states who o!!ress the common !eo!le. 'nd it is from these reactionary scoundrels that Chiang -ai-shek learned his counterrevolutionary dictatorshi!. Chu 0si a !hiloso!her of the 2ung =ynasty wrote many "ooks and made many remarks which are now forgotten "ut one remark is still remem"ered ;=eal with a man as he deals with you.; [11] This is +ust what we do$ we deal with the im!erialists and their running dogs the Chiang -ai-shek reactionaries as they deal with us. That is all there is to itB 6evolutionary dictatorshi! and counterrevolutionary dictatorshi! are "y nature o!!osites "ut the former was learned from the latter. 2uch

learning is very im!ortant. 3f the revolutionary !eo!le do not master this method of ruling over the counter-revolutionary classes they will not "e a"le to maintain their state !ower domestic and foreign reaction will overthrow that !ower and restore its own rule over China and disaster will "efall the revolutionary !eo!le. The !eo!le&s democratic dictatorshi! is "ased on the alliance of the working class the !easantry and the ur"an !etty "ourgeoisie and mainly on the alliance of the workers and the !easants "ecause these two classes com!rise 95 to 95 !er cent of China&s !o!ulation. These two classes are the main force in overthrowing im!erialism and the -uomintang reactionaries. The transition from Cew =emocracy to socialism also de!ends mainly u!on their alliance. The !eo!le&s democratic dictatorshi! needs the leadershi! of the working class. 8or it is only the working class that is most farsighted most selfless and most thoroughly revolutionary. The entire history of revolution !roves that without the leadershi! of the working class revolution fails and that with the leadershi! of the working class revolution trium!hs. 3n the e!och of im!erialism in no country can any other class lead any genuine revolution to victory. This is clearly !roved "y the fact that the many revolutions led "y China&s !etty "ourgeoisie and national "ourgeoisie all failed. The national "ourgeoisie at the !resent stage is of great im!ortance. 3m!erialism a most ferocious enemy is still standing alongside us. China&s modern industry still forms a very small !ro!ortion of the

national economy. Co relia"le statistics are availa"le "ut it is estimated on the "asis of certain data that "efore the #ar of 6esistance 'gainst Ja!an the value of out!ut of modern industry constituted only a"out 15 !er cent of the total value of out!ut of the national economy. To counter im!erialist o!!ression and to raise her "ackward economy to a higher level China must utili(e all the factors of ur"an and rural ca!italism that are "eneficial and not harmful to the national economy and the !eo!le&s livelihood$ and we must unite with the national "ourgeoisie in common struggle. 7ur !resent !olicy is to regulate ca!italism not to destroy it. .ut the national "ourgeoisie cannot "e the leader of the revolution nor should it have the chief role in state !ower. The reason it cannot "e the leader of the revolution and should not have the chief role in state !ower is that the social and economic !osition of the national "ourgeoisie determines its weakness$ it lacks foresight and sufficient courage and many of its mem"ers are afraid of the masses. 2un )at-sen advocated ;arousing the masses of the !eo!le; or ;giving assistance to the !easants and workers;. .ut who is to ;arouse; them or ;give assistance; to them< 2un )at-sen had the !etty "ourgeoisie and the national "ourgeoisie in mind. 's a matter of fact they cannot do so. #hy did forty years of revolution under 2un )at-sen end in failure< .ecause in the e!och of im!erialism the !etty "ourgeoisie and the national "ourgeoisie cannot lead any genuine revolution to victory. 7ur twenty-eight years have "een ,uite different. #e have had much valua"le e%!erience. ' welldisci!lined Party armed with the theory of *ar%ismLeninism using the method of self-criticism and

linked with the masses of the !eo!le an army under the leadershi! of such a Party$ a united front of all revolutionary classes and all revolutionary grou!s under the leadershi! of such a Party -- these are the three main wea!ons with which we have defeated the enemy. They distinguish us from our !redecessors. 6elying on them we have won "asic victory. #e have travelled a tortuous road. #e have struggled against o!!ortunist deviations in our Party "oth 6ight and ;Left;. #henever we made serious mistakes on these three matters the revolution suffered set"acks. Taught "y mistakes and set"acks we have "ecome wiser and handle our affairs "etter. 3t is hard for any !olitical !arty or !erson to avoid mistakes "ut we should make as few as !ossi"le. 7nce a mistake is made we should correct it and the more ,uickly and thoroughly the "etter. To sum u! our e%!erience and concentrate it into one !oint it is the !eo!le&s democratic dictatorshi! under the leadershi! of the working class >through the Communist Party? and "ased u!on the alliance of workers and !easants. This dictatorshi! must unite as one with the international revolutionary forces. This is our formula our !rinci!al e%!erience our main !rogramme. Twenty-eight years of our Party are a long !eriod in which we have accom!lished only one thing -- we have won "asic victory in the revolutionary war. This calls for cele"ration "ecause it is the !eo!le&s victory "ecause it is a victory in a country as large as China. .ut we still have much work to do$ to use the analogy of a +ourney our !ast work is only the first ste! in a long march of ten thousand li. 6emnants of the enemy have yet to "e wi!ed out. The serious task

of economic construction lies "efore us. #e shall soon !ut aside some of the things we know well and "e com!elled to do things we don&t know well. This means difficulties. The im!erialists reckon that we will not "e a"le to manage our economy they are standing "y and looking on awaiting our failure. #e must overcome difficulties we must learn what we do not know. #e must learn to do economic work from all who know how no matter who they are. #e must esteem them as teachers learning from them res!ectfully and conscientiously. #e must not !retend to know when we do not know. #e must not !ut on "ureaucratic airs. 3f we dig into a su"+ect for several months for a year or two for three or five years we shall eventually master it. 't first some of the 2oviet Communists also were not very good at handling economic matters and the im!erialists awaited their failure too. .ut the Communist Party of the 2oviet :nion emerged victorious and under the leadershi! of Lenin and 2talin it learned not only how to make the revolution "ut also how to carry on construction. 3t has "uilt a great and s!lendid socialist state. The Communist Party of the 2oviet :nion is our "est teacher and we must learn from it. The situation "oth at home and a"road is in our favour we can rely fully on the wea!on of the !eo!le&s democratic dictatorshi! unite the !eo!le throughout the country the reactionaries e%ce!ted and advance steadily to our goal. NOTES 1. 'lso known as the world of /reat 0armony. 3t refers to a society "ased on !u"lic ownershi! free from class e%!loitation and o!!ression -- a lofty ideal

long cherished "y the Chinese !eo!le. 0ere the realm of /reat 0armony means communist society. 4. 2ee A. 1. Lenin "Left-Wing" Communism, an Infantile Disorder, Cha!ter 4. Lenin saidD ;for nearly half a century -a!!ro%imately from the &forties to the &nineties -- advanced thinkers in 6ussia under the o!!ression of an un!aralleled savage and reactionary tsardom eagerly sought for the correct revolutionary theory and followed each and every &last word& in 1uro!e and 'merica in this s!here with astonishing diligence and thoroughness. 6ussia achieved *ar%ism the only correct revolutionary theory verita"ly through suffering, "y half a century of un!recedented torment and sacrifice of un!recedented revolutionary heroism incredi"le energy devoted searching study testing in !ractice disa!!ointment verification and com!arison with 1uro!ean e%!erience.; E. 8aced with the o!!osition of the Chinese !eo!le to her traffic in o!ium .ritain sent forces in 1945-44 to invade -wangtung and other coastal regions of China under the !rete%t of !rotecting trade. The troo!s in -wangtung led "y Lin Tse-hsu fought a war of resistance. 4. 0ung 0siu-chuan >1914-F4? who was "orn in -wangtung was the leader of a !easant revolutionary war in the middle of the 19th century. 3n 19G1 he led a mass u!rising in -wangsi and !roclaimed the esta"lishment of the Tai!ing 0eavenly -ingdom which held many !rovinces and fought the Ching =ynasty for fourteen years.

3n 19F4 this revolutionary war failed and 0ung 0siu-chuan committed suicide "y !oison. G. -ang )u-wei >19G9-194H? of Canhai County -wangtung Province. 3n 199G after China had "een defeated "y Ja!anese im!erialism in the !revious year he led thirteen hundred candidates for the third grade in the im!erial e%aminations at Peking in su"mitting a ;ten thousand word memorial; to 1m!eror -uang 0su asking for ;constitutional reform and moderni(ation; and asking that the autocratic monarchy "e changed into a constitutional monarchy. 3n 1999 in an attem!t to introduce reforms the em!eror !romoted -ang )u-wei together with Tan 2(e-tung Liang Chi-chao and others to key !osts in the government. Later the 1m!ress =owager T(u 0si re!resenting the diehards again took !ower and the reform movement failed. -ang )u-wei and Liang Chi-chao fled a"road and formed the Protect-the-1m!eror Party which "ecame a reactionary !olitical faction in o!!osition to the "ourgeois and !etty "ourgeois revolutionaries re!resented "y 2un )at-sen. 'mong -ang&s works were orgeries in the Classi!s of the Confu!ian Canon, Confu!ius as a "eformer, and Ta Tung Shu or the Book of Great Harmony# F. )en 8u >19GE-1941? of 8oochow 8ukien Province studied at a naval academy in .ritain. 'fter the 2ino-Ja!anese #ar of 1994 he advocated constitutional monarchy and reforms to moderni(e China. 0is translations of T. 0. 0u%ley&s $%olution and $thi!s, 'dam 2mith&s The Wealth of &ations, J. 2. *ill&s System of

Logi!, *ontes,uieu&s L'$s(rit des Lois, and other works were vehicles for the s!read of 1uro!ean "ourgeois thought in China. H. ' system of e%aminations ado!ted "y China&s autocratic dynasties. 3t was a method used "y the feudal ruling class for selecting !ersonnel to govern the !eo!le and also for enticing the intellectuals. The system dating from the Hth century !ersisted into the early 45th century. 9. The 6evolution of 1911 overthrew the autocratic regime of the Ching =ynasty. 7n 7cto"er 15 of that year a section of the Cew 'rmy at the urging of the revolutionary societies of the "ourgeoisie and !etty "ourgeoisie staged an u!rising in #uchang. This was followed "y u!risings in other !rovinces and very soon the rule of the Ching =ynasty crum"led. 7n January 1 1914 the Provisional /overnment of the 6e!u"lic of China was set u! in Canking and 2un )at-sen was elected Provisional President. The revolution achieved victory through the alliance of the "ourgeoisie !easants workers and ur"an !etty "ourgeoisie. .ut "ecause the grou! which led the revolution was com!romising in nature failed to "ring real "enefits to the !easants and yielded to the !ressure of im!erialism and the feudal forces state !ower fell into the hands of the Corthern warlord )uan 2hih-kai and the revolution failed. 9. ' hero in the novel Shui Hu Chuan )Heroes of the *arshes+, who killed a tiger with his "are hands on the Chingyang 6idge. This is one of the most !o!ular e!isodes in that famous novel.

15. 8or the relation "etween the sociali(ation of agriculture and the industriali(ation of the country see ,n the -uestion of .gri!ultural Co-o(eration >2ections H and 9? a re!ort made "y Comrade *ao Tse-tung on July E1 19GG at the Conference of the 2ecretaries of the Provincial *unici!al and 'utonomous 6egion Committees of the Chinese Communist Party. 3n this re!ort Comrade *ao Tse-tung on the "asis of 2oviet e%!erience and our own country&s !ractice greatly develo!ed the thesis that sociali(ation of agriculture should !roceed in ste! with socialist industriali(ation. 11. The ,uotation is from Chu 0si&s commentary on the Confu!ian Do!trine of the *ean, Cha!ter 1E.

Transcription y the Maoist !ocumentation Pro"ect# $TM% revised &''( y Mar)ists#org

Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung