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Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong Quotes

Former Chairman of the Communist Party of China

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Famous Mao Zedong Quotes

“No political party can possibly lead a great revolutionary movement to victory unless it possesses revolutionary theory and knowledge of history and has a profound grasp of the practical movement.”

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Book:Mao's Road to Power: Revolutionary Writings, 1912-49: v. 6: New Stage (August 1937-1938): Revolutionary Writings, 1912-49
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“Peitaho Heavy rains fall on Yuyen, the northland kingdom of swallows. White pages of rain envelop the sky, and fishing boats off the Island of the Emperor Chin disappear on the ocean. Which way have they gone? More than a thousand years ago the mighty emperor Tsao Tsao cracked his whip and drove his army against the Tartars. He left us a poem: "Let us move east to the Stone Mountains." Today we still shiver in the autumn gale, in desolate winds, yet another man is in the world.”

MenWorldWayYearsStillsTodayMovingPoetryFallLeftWhiteGoneSkyWindThousandMountainOceanPagesRainYears AgoStonesArmyHeavyEastDisappearKingdomsBoatIslandsFishingAutumnThousand YearsAnother ManEmperorWhipsChinsCrackedShiverDesolateGaleFishing BoatsHeavy Rain
Author:Mao Zedong
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“Poem for Liu Ya-tzu I cannot forget how in Canton we drank tea and in Chungking went over our poems when leaves were yellowing. Thirty-one years ago and now we come back at last to the ancient capital Peking. In this season of falling flowers I read your beautiful poems. Be careful not to be torn inside. Open your vision to the world. Don't say that waters of Kumming Lake are too shallow. We can watch fish better here than in the Fuchun River in the south.”

WorldYearsLastsBeautifulPoetryFallWaterForgetVisionWatchesFlowerYears AgoRiversSeasonsSouthAncientFishesCarefulTeaThirtyLakesBe CarefulShallowTornDrankYour Beautiful
Author:Mao Zedong
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“Now, there are two different attitudes towards learning from others. One is the dogmatic attitude of transplanting everything, whether or not it is suited to our conditions. This is no good. The other attitude is to use our heads and learn those things that suit our conditions, that is, to absorb whatever experience is useful to us. That is the attitude we should adopt.”

ShouldTwoDifferentUseAttitudeStudyConditionsSuitsDogmaticDifferent AttitudeLearning From Others
Author:Mao Zedong
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“The theory of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin is universally applicable. We should regard it not as a dogma, but as a guide to action. Studying it is not merely a matter of learning terms and phrases but of learning Marxism-Leninism as the science of revolution. It is not just a matter of understanding the general laws derived by Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin from their extensive study of real life and revolutionary experience, but of studying their standpoint and method in examining and solving problems.”

ShouldRealMatterProblemActionLawUnderstandingTermStudyTheoryRevolutionRegardMethodGuidesReal LifeRevolutionaryPhrasesDogmaProblem SolvingMarxismStandpointExaminingEngelsMarxism LeninismLenin And Stalin
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“How is Marxist-Leninist theory to be linked with the practice of the Chinese revolution? To use a common expression, it is by "shooting the arrow at the target". As the arrow is to the target, so is Marxism-Leninism to the Chinese revolution. Some comrades, however, are "shooting without a target", shooting at random, and such people are liable to harm the revolution.”

PeopleUseCommonPracticeStudyExpressionTheoryRevolutionHarmChineseShootingTargetLinkedMarxismArrowsComradeLiableMarxistMarxism LeninismChinese RevolutionTarget Shooting
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“Those experienced in work must take up the study of theory and must read seriously; only then will they be able to systematize and synthesize their experience and raise it to the level of theory, only then will they not mistake their partial experience for universal truth and not commit empiricist errors.”

AbleLevelsMistakeStudyTheoryUniversalRaisesErrorsCommitUniversal Truth
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“Some people have read a few Marxist books and think themselves quite learned but what they have read has not penetrated, has not struck root in their minds, so that they do not know how to use it and their class feelings remain as of old. Others are very conceited and having learned some book-phrases, think them terrific and are very cocky; but whenever a storm blows up, they take a stand very different from that of the workers and the majority of the peasants. They waver while the latter stand firm, they equivocate while the latter are forthright.”

PeopleThinkingKnowsMindBookDifferentUseFeelingsClassKnow HowStudyRootsMajorityWorkersBlowStormFirmPhrasesLatterTerrificPeasantsMarxistCockyConceitedStand Firm
Book:Speech at the Chinese Communist Party's National Conference on Propaganda Work: March 12, 1957
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“Changes in society are due chiefly to the development of the internal contradictions in society, that is, the contradiction between the productive forces and the relations of production, the contradiction between classes and the contradiction between the old and the new; it is the development of these contradictions that pushes society forward and gives the impetu6 for the suppression of the old society by the new.”

GivingForceClassStruggleDevelopmentRelationProductionsDuesContradictionProductiveInternalsSuppressionClass StruggleChanges In SocietyClasses Of Society
Author:Mao Zedong
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“The ruthless economic exploitation and political oppression of the peasants by the landlord class forced them into numerous uprisings against its rule.... It was the class struggles of the peasants, the peasant uprisings and peasant wars that constituted the real motive force of historical development in Chinese feudal society.”

WarRealPoliticalForceClassStruggleEconomicDevelopmentHistoricalOppressionChineseMotiveExploitationRuthlessPeasantsUprisingClass StruggleLandlordPolitical OppressionClasses Of Society
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“In the final analysis, national struggle is a matter of class struggle. Among the whites in the United States, it is only the reactionary ruling circles that oppress the black people. They can in no way represent the workers, farmers, revolutionary intellectuals and other enlightened persons who comprise the overwhelming majority of the white people.”

PeopleWayPersonsMatterStatesBlackWhiteUnitedClassUnited StatesStruggleMajorityWorkersFinalsCirclesAnalysisRevolutionaryEnlightenedFarmersOverwhelmingBlack PeopleRulingReactionariesClass Struggle
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“It is up to us to organize the people. As for the reactionaries in China, it is up to us to organize the people to overthrow them. Everything reactionary is the same; if you do not hit it, it will not fall. This is also like sweeping the floor; as a rule, where the broom does not reach, the dust will not vanish of itself.”

PeopleIfsDoeFallClassStruggleChinaDustOrganizeSweepingReactionariesClass StruggleBrooms
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“Our enemies are all those in league with imperialism - the warlords, the bureaucrats, the comprador class, the big Landlord class and the reactionary section of the intelligentsia attached to them. The leading force in our revolution is the industrial proletariat. Our closest friends are the entire semi-proletariat and petty bourgeoisie. As for the vacillating middle bourgeoisie, their right wing may become our enemy and their left wing may become our friend - but we must be constantly on our guard and not let them create confusion within our ranks.”

MayBigsLeftForceEnemyClassStruggleMiddleRevolutionWingsConfusionLeagueClosestSectionsImperialismPettyRight WingBureaucratsReactionariesLeft WingProletariatBourgeoisieClass StruggleLandlordClosest FriendsWarlords
Author:Mao Zedong
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“Whoever sides with the revolutionary people is a revolutionary. Whoever sides with imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism is a counter-revolutionary. Whomever sides with the revolutionary people in words only but acts otherwise is a revolutionary in speech. Whoever sides with the revolutionary people in deed as well as in word is a revolutionary in the full sense.”

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Author:Mao Zedong
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“After the enemies with guns have been wiped out, there will still be enemies without guns; they are bound to struggle desperately against us, and we must never regard these enemies lightly. If we do nor now raise and understand the problem in this way, we shall commit the gravest mistakes.”

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Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“The imperialists and domestic reactionaries will certainly not take their defeat Lying down and they will struggle to the last ditch. After there is peace and order throughout the country, they will still engage in sabotage and create disturbances in various ways and will try every day and every minute to stage a comeback. This is inevitable, beyond all doubt, and under no circumstances must we relax our vigilance.”

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Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“It will take a long period to decide the issue in the ideological struggle between socialism and capitalism in our country. The reason is that the influence of the bourgeoisie and of the intellectuals who come from the old society will remain in our country for a long time to come, and so will their class ideology. If this is not sufficiently understood, or is not understood at all, the gravest mistakes will be made and the necessity of waging the struggle in the ideological field will be ignored.”

IfsLongMadeCountryReasonMistakeClassStruggleIssuesInfluenceFieldsPeriodsLong TimeUnderstoodCapitalismSocialismOur CountryIdeologyIgnoredIdeologicalBourgeoisieClass StruggleClasses Of Society
Author:Mao Zedong
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“Every comrade must be brought to understand that the supreme test of the words and deeds of a Communist is whether they conform with the highest interests and enjoy the support of the overwhelming majority of the people.”

PeopleEnjoyInterestSupportHighestTestsMajorityDeedsSupremeCommunistOverwhelmingConformComrade
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“At no time and in no circumstances should a Communist place his personal interests first; he should subordinate them to the interests of the nation and of the masses. Hence, selfishness, slacking, corruption, seeking the limelight, and so on, are most contemptible, while selflessness, working with all one's energy, whole-hearted devotion to public duty, and quiet hard work will command respect.”

ShouldFirstsHardWholeEnergyNationsInterestDutyHard WorkCircumstancesQuietMassSeekingCorruptionDevotionCommandSelfishnessCommunistSelflessnessHeartedSubordinatesLimelightPersonal InterestSlacking
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“Communists must never separate themselves from the majority of the people or neglect them by leading only a few progressive contingents in an isolated and rash advance, but must take care to forge close links between the progressive elements and the broad masses. This is what thinking in terms of the majority means.”

PeopleThinkingMeanCareTermElementsMassMajorityTake CareNeglectProgressiveBroadsLinksCommunistIsolated
Book:Mao Tse-tung chu tso hsüan tu
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“We Communists must be able to integrate ourselves with the masses in all things. If our Party members spend their whole lives sitting indoors and never go out to face the world and brave the storm, what good will they be to the Chinese people? None at all, and we do not need such people as Party members. We Communists ought to face the world and brave the storm the great world of mass struggle and the mighty storm of mass struggle.”

PeopleIfsWorldNeedsWholeAbleFacesPartyStruggleOughtMembersMassSittingAll ThingsBraveStormWhole LifeChineseCommunistGood WillIntegrating
Book:Selected Works: The period of the war of resistance against Japan (II)
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“The exemplary vanguard role of the Communists is of vital importance. Communists in the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies should set an example in fighting bravely, carrying out orders, observing discipline, doing political work and fostering internal unity and solidarity.”

ShouldPoliticalOrderFightingRolesExampleDisciplineImportanceArmyUnityInternalsCommunistFourthSolidarityRoutesObservingExemplaryFosteringVanguard
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“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.”

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Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“The attitude of Communists towards any person who has made mistakes in his work should be one of persuasion in order to help him change and start afresh and not one of exclusion, unless he is incorrigible.”

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Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“As for people who are politically backward, Communists should not slight or despise them, but should befriend them, unite with them, convince them and encourage them to go forward.”

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Book:Mao's Road to Power: Revolutionary Writings, 1912-49: v. 6: New Stage (August 1937-1938): Revolutionary Writings, 1912-49
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“War is the highest form of struggle for resolving contradictions, when they have developed to a certain stage, between classes, nations, states, or political groups, and it has existed ever since the emergence of private property and of classes.”

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Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“Revolutionary war is an antitoxin that not only eliminates the enemy's poison but also purges us of our own filth. Every just, revolutionary war is endowed with tremendous power and can transform many things or clear the way for their transformation. The Sino-Japanese war will transform both China and Japan; provided China perseveres in the War of Resistance and in the united front, the old Japan will surely be transformed into a new Japan and the old China into a new China, and people and everything else in both China and Japan will be transformed during and after the war.”

PeopleWayWarPeaceUnitedEnemyClearFrontsTransformationChinaResistanceRevolutionaryPoisonJapanTransformedPersevereFilthRevolutionary WarUnited FrontChina And Japan
Author:Mao Zedong
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“The seizure of power by armed force, the settlement of the issue by war, is the central task and the highest form of revolution. This Marxist-Leninist principle of revolution holds well universally, for China and for all other countries.”

WellsWarCountryFormForcePeacePrinciplesIssuesRevolutionHighestTasksChinaOther CountriesSettlementMarxistArmed ForcesSeizures
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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