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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

“In China the struggle to consolidate the socialist system, the struggle to decide whether socialism or capitalism will prevail, will still take a long historical period. However, we should all realize that the new system of socialism will unquestionably be consolidated. We can assuredly build a socialist state with modern industry, modern agriculture, and modern science and culture.”

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Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“The agricultural co-operative movement has been a severe ideological and political struggle from the very beginning. No cooperative can be established without going through such a struggle. Before a brand-new social system can be built on the site of the old, the site must be swept clean. Invariably, remnants of old ideas reflecting the old system remain in people's minds for a long time, and they do not easily give way. After a co-operative is established, it must go through many more struggles before it can be consolidated. Even then, the moment it relaxes its efforts it may collapse.”

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Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tsetung
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“On what basis should our policy rest? It should rest on our own strength, and that means regeneration through one's own efforts. We are not alone; all the countries and people in the world opposed to imperialism are our friends. Nevertheless, we stress regeneration through our own efforts. Relying on the forces we ourselves organize, we can defeat all Chinese and foreign reactionaries.”

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Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“To win countrywide victory is only the first step in a long march of ten thousand li.... The Chinese revolution is great, but the road after the revolution will be longer, the work greater and more arduous. This must be made clear now in the Party. The comrades must be helped to remain modest, prudent and free from arrogance and rashness in their style of work. The comrades must be helped to preserve the style of plain living and hard struggle.”

FirstsLongMadeHardWinningPartyStepsStruggleClearGreaterStyleRevolutionVictoryThousandTenChinesePreservesArroganceMarchFirst StepsModestSelf RelianceReliancePrudentComradeRashnessChinese Revolution
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“The wealth of society is created by the workers, peasants and working intellectuals. If they take their destiny into their own hands, follow a Marxist-Leninist line and take an active attitude in solving problems instead of evading them, there will be no difficulty in the world which they cannot overcome.”

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Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tsetung
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“The comrades throughout the Party must take all this fully into account and be prepared to overcome all difficulties with an indomitable will and in a planned way. The reactionary forces and we both have difficulties. But the difficulties of the reactionary forces are insurmountable because they are forces on the verge of death and have no future. Our difficulties can be overcome because we are new and rising forces and have a bright future.”

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Book:Selected Works
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“New things always have to experience difficulties and setbacks as they grow. It is sheer fantasy to imagine that the cause of socialism is all plain sailing and easy success, without difficulties and setbacks or the exertion of tremendous efforts.”

GrowsCausesEasyEffortFantasyStruggleImagineDifficultySocialismImagine ThatNew ThingsSheerSailingSelf RelianceRelianceSetbackExertion
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“At certain times in the revolutionary struggle, the difficulties outweigh the favorable conditions and so constitute the principal aspect of the contradiction and the favorable conditions constitute the secondary aspect. But through their efforts the revolutionaries can overcome the difficulties step by step and open up a favorable new situation, thus a difficult situation yields place to a favorable one.”

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Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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“What is work? Work is struggle. There are difficulties and problems in those places for us to overcome and solve. We go there to work and struggle to overcome these difficulties. A good comrade is one who is more eager to go where the difficulties are greater.”

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

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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.”

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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.”

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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.”

WayTryingStillsCountryLastsLyingOrderClassStruggleDoubtMinutesStageCircumstancesDown AndDefeatVariousInevitableRelaxComebackDisturbanceReactionariesVigilanceClass StruggleSabotageLying Down
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.”

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Author:Mao Zedong
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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.”

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Book:Selected Works: The period of the war of resistance against Japan (II)
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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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“Without armed struggle neither the proletariat, nor the people, nor the Communist Party would have any standing at all in China and it would be impossible for the revolution to triumph. In these years [the eighteen years since the founding of the Party] the development, consolidation and bolshevization of our Party have proceeded in the midst of revolutionary wars; without armed struggle the Communist Party would assuredly not be what it is today. Comrades throughout the Party must never forget this experience for which we have paid in blood.”

PeopleYearsWarWould BeTodayPeaceForgetPartyStruggleImpossibleBloodRevolutionDevelopmentStandingPaidChinaTriumphRevolutionaryMidstNever ForgetCommunistFoundingEighteenComradeProletariatCommunist PartyRevolutionary WarConsolidationArmed Struggle
Book:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (The Little Red Book) & Other Works
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