Chinese Communist Party leader (1893-1976)
The membership of our party is necessarily a small portion of the Chinese people. Only if that small portion reflects the opinions of the majority of the people's, and only if it works for their interests can the relationship between the people and the party be healthy.
MAO ZEDONG
interview with journalist Gunther Stein, 1944
Not to have a correct political point of view is like having no soul.
MAO ZEDONG
Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong
Communists must listen attentively to the views of people outside the Party and let them have their say. If what they say is right, we ought to welcome it, and we should learn from their strong points; if it is wrong, we should let them finish what they are saying and then patiently explain things to them.
MAO ZEDONG
"Speech at the Assembly of Representatives of the Shensi-Kansu-Ningsia Border Region", Nov. 21, 1941
Education in democracy must be carried on within the Party so that members can understand the meaning of democratic life, the meaning of the relationship between democracy and centralism, and the way in which democratic centralism should be put into practice. Only in this way can we really extend democracy within the Party and at the same time avoid ultra-democracy and the laissez-faire that destroys discipline.
MAO ZEDONG
"The Role of the Chinese Communist Party in the National War", Oct. 1938
An army without culture is a dull-witted army, and a dull-witted army cannot defeat the enemy.
MAO ZEDONG
"The United Front in Cultural Work", Oct. 30, 1944
The masses in any given place are generally composed of three parts, the relatively active, the intermediate and the relatively backward. The leaders must therefore be skilled in uniting the small number of active elements around the leadership and must rely on them to raise the level of the intermediate elements and to win over the backward elements.
MAO ZEDONG
"Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership", Jun. 1, 1943
To link oneself with the masses, one must act in accordance with the needs and wishes of the masses.
MAO ZEDONG
"The United Front in Cultural Work", Oct. 30, 1944
In the world today all culture, all literature and art belong to definite classes and are geared to definite political lines. There is in fact no such thing as art for art's sake, art that stands above classes, art that is detached from or independent of politics. Proletarian literature and art are part of the whole proletarian revolutionary cause; they are, as Lenin said, cogs and wheels in the whole revolutionary machine.
MAO ZEDONG
"Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art", May 1942
The intellectuals often tend to be subjective and individualistic, impractical in their thinking and irresolute in action until they have thrown themselves heart and soul into mass revolutionary struggles, or made up their minds to serve the interests of the masses and become one with them. Hence although the mass of revolutionary intellectuals in China can play a vanguard role or serve as a link with the masses, not all of them will remain revolutionaries to the end. Some will drop out of the revolutionary ranks at critical moments and become passive, while a few may even become enemies of the revolution. The intellectuals can overcome their shortcomings only in mass struggles over a long period.
MAO ZEDONG
"The Chinese Revolution and the Chinese Communist Party", Dec. 1939
The masses are the real heroes, while we ourselves are often childish and ignorant, and without this understanding, it is impossible to acquire even the most rudimentary knowledge.
MAO ZEDONG
"Preface and Postscript to Rural Surveys", Selected Works
All reactionaries are paper tigers. In appearance, the reactionaries are terrifying, but in reality they are not so powerful. From a long-term point of view, it is not the reactionaries but the people who are really powerful.
MAO ZEDONG
interview with American correspondent Anna Louise Strong, Aug. 1946
Who are our enemies? Who are our friends? This is a question of the first importance for the revolution.
MAO ZEDONG
Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society
You young people, full of vigor and vitality, are in the bloom of life, like the sun at eight or nine in the morning. Our hope is placed on you.
MAO ZEDONG
discussion with Chinese students in Moscow, Nov. 17, 1957
Just because we have won victory, we must never relax our vigilance against the frenzied plots for revenge by the imperialists and their running dogs.
MAO ZEDONG
"Address to the Preparatory Committee of the New Political Consultative Conference", Jun. 15, 1949
The world is progressing, the future is bright and no one can change this general trend of history. We should carry on constant propaganda among the people on the facts of world progress and the bright future ahead so that they will build their confidence in victory.
MAO ZEDONG
"On the Chungking Negotiations", Oct. 17, 1945
Letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend is the policy for promoting the progress of the arts and the sciences and a flourishing socialist culture in our land. Different forms and styles in art should develop freely and different schools in science should contend freely. We think that it is harmful to the growth of art and science if administrative measures are used to impose one particular style of art or school of thought and to ban another. Questions of right and wrong in the arts and sciences should be settled through free discussion in artistic and scientific circles and through practical work in these fields. They should not be settled in summary fashion.
MAO ZEDONG
On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People, Feb. 27, 1957