Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung: Volume I

Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung #1

by Mao Zedong

volume I of Mao

Genres: China, History, Politics, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Theory, Economics

350 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1952

About the author

Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung, and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, statesman and leader of the Chinese Revolution. He was the architect and founding father of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment in 1949, and held control over the nation until his death in 1976. His theoretical contribution to Marxism–Leninism, along with his military strategies and brand of policies, are collectively known as Maoism.

Mao rose to power by commanding the Long March, forming a Second United Front with Kuomintang (KMT) during the Second Sino-Japanese War to repel a Japanese invasion, and later led the Communist Party of China (CPC) to victory against Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's KMT in the Chinese Civil War. Mao established political and military control over most of the territory formerly contained within the Chinese Empire and launched a campaign to suppress counterrevolutionaries. He sent the Communist People's Liberation Army into Xinjiang and Tibet but was unable to oust the remnants of the Nationalist Party from Taiwan. He enacted sweeping land reform by using violence and terror to overthrow landlords before seizing their large estates and dividing the land into people's communes. The Communist Party's final victory came after decades of turmoil in China, which included the Great Depression, a brutal invasion by Japan and a protracted civil war. Mao's Communist Party ultimately achieved a measure of stability in China, though Mao's efforts to close China to trade and market commerce, and eradicate traditional Chinese culture, have been largely rejected by his successors.

Mao styled himself "The Great Helmsman" and supporters continue to contend that he was responsible for some positive changes which came to China during his three decade rule. These included doubling the school population, providing universal housing, abolishing unemployment and inflation, increasing health care access, and dramatically raising life expectancy. A cult of personality grew up around Mao, and community dissent was not permitted. His Communist Party still rules in mainland China, retains control of media and education there and officially celebrates his legacy. As a result, Mao is still officially held in high regard by many Chinese as a great political strategist, military mastermind, and savior of the nation. Maoists promote his role as a theorist, statesman, poet, and visionary, and anti-revisionists continue to defend most of his policies.

Reviews

[Jerome · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first began reading this, I couldn't imagine actually spending the time to go through all 9 or so volumes in this series. Almost a year later, though, I am determined to do exactly that. The very way in which I think through problems has been completely changed.

This book is an exceptional and high quality selection of some of the most important writings by Mao Zedong from the period of 1926 to 1937. What is most striking to me is how I, a relatively uninformed reader, had no real conception of what "dialectical materialism" could even entail in practical terms. Yet, by the end, I not only had a handle on the subject, but I could see clearly that Mao had been applying this universal concept to every single topic brought up in his writings. Generally, the writings themselves present thorough examinations of the fundamental questions of military tactics and strategy, Marxist philosophy, and the history of the Chinese revolution up until 1937. Mao breaks down every idea into an incredibly readable and gripping simplicity, yet is still able to reach an astounding level of depth precisely through this aforementioned dialectical materialist outlook.

In "On Practice," the second to last writing in this selection, Mao outlines that the Marxist theory of knowledge is this: learn from direct or indirect experiences (indirect being studying history, theory, etc.), formulate concepts based on these experiences, and, most importantly, put them into practice to change the world and verify these very same concepts. This process is then repeated over and over again, each time raising knowledge to a higher level. It is evident through reading these writings that Mao has done precisely this, raising the foundational knowledge established by the experiences and theories of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin to a higher level, and supplementing them through the rich victories and defeats of the Chinese Revolution. Today, these writings and others will be taken on board as our own indirect experiences. I highly recommend this to anybody interested in Marxism or Mao and the Chinese Revolution.

As a side note, I think anybody who reads this should begin with the final two chapters (On Practice and On Contradiction), go back to the beginning and read through the whole work chronologically, and then, at the end, reread those two works. If at first they only made a little bit of sense, then by the end everything will fall completely into place. Don't be afraid to reread an entire page if you think you missed something, this level of thoroughness can only benefit your understanding at the end of the day.

[Devin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As frustratingly repetitive as Mao can be [sometimes he writes like an exhausted college student trying to meet the minimum word count on a mid-term essay], the revolutionary brilliance is just as evident nearly 100 years ago [Vol. 1 covers 1927 to roughly 1938] as it would grow to be, as Mao led the CCP onwards to a revolution that shook the world.

His optimism, even here, 20 years before the Chinese Revolution of 1949, before and even following the Kuomintang betrayal, is what I needed to read right now in these times of feeling so deflated and defeated.

'On Contradiction' is an admittedly confusing read to me and I definitely need to go back and re-read it and take notes, but Mao's breakdown of dialectical materialism and contradiction is meticulous, thorough, and ultimately persuasive.

Absolutely required reading for any Marxist.

[João Nunes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would say that all the imperative reads of Mao are here. It's great for someone that wants to know about the thought of Mao with a specific amount of depth, or also for someone that wants to go through a period of deep understanding of Maoism.
Perfect compilation

[Michael A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A majority of the articles/essays are historical and might not have much use beyond an examination of the conditions of China at the time, but this was still an interesting read. A fairly big portion of this volume pertains to military tactics/strategy from a Marxist-Leninist perspective. Other prominent themes include the struggle against Japanese imperialism and against the Kuomintang, and correcting mistaken ideas in the Party that have lead or will lead to failure. The last two essays in the volume, On Practice and On Contradiction, are probably my favorite though I enjoyed reading every article in this volume.

[Jayden gonzalez]

in eating the pear you change the pear and are yourself changed.

[Neal Maro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume covers 1926-1938. The bulk of this volume contains material relevant to Chinese Civil War and Japan's imperialist invasion of China. At the end there are two philosophical works; On Practice and On Contradiction. These two works are a summation of the Marxist-Leninist understanding of dialectical materialism. It is an attempt at constructing an epistemology from the historical materialist perspective.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to Mao's thought and also a good crash course on Chinese history from 1927 to 1937. For whatever may have happened later (which I cannot speak to), almost all of the ideas contained here are worthy of consideration.

[Ferio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cada vez que leo a algún autor clásico marxista siento un cierto Síndrome de Estocolmo: no es exactamente lo mío, pero me veo capaz (a ratos) de empatizar con sus teorías al ver las cosas que pasaban en su mundo y los enemigos a los que tenían que enfrentarse. De cosas que podrían comprenderse peor no hablo, más que nada porque en este volumen sólo se recopilan trabajos del principio de la carrera política de Mao al frente del Partido Comunista de China, es decir, que aún estaba en la oposición al Kuomintang de Chiang Kai-Shek y en pleno intento japonés de invasión.

Y es ahí cuando entiendo las cosas que ofrece porque yo haría algo muy parecido si la situación fuese similar; Mao ofreció al Gobierno del país, con el que se llevaba a matar incluso militarmente, una unidad nacional (y mira que me gusta poco el concepto "nación") en contra del principal enemigo del momento, el que no solo iba a imposibilitar el avance hacia la revolución socialista que ellos proponían sino el retroceso de nuevo hacia un sistema feudal en el que los amos iban a venir de fuera. Por supuesto, puso condiciones para el pacto, ¡pero son las mismas que practican nuestros estados liberales modernos! Elecciones democráticas, unidad de acción con las naciones que estuvieran en contra del enemigo común... Es decir, que lo que el común de los mortales de hoy en día sabe de Mao (o al menos de este Mao primerizo) es relativamente poco y queda enturbiado por otros movimientos posteriores; sin embargo, el Mao de los años '30, cuando en Europa avanzaban las dictaduras, solo pedía condiciones liberales para una China que aún estaba saliendo de su Edad Media.

Por supuesto, todo esto concuerda perfectamente con las teorías de Vladimir Lenin, al que nombra con cada vez más admiración a medida que va ahondando en las teorías dialécticas marxistas y ganando peso dentro del Partido. De hecho este tomo incluye varios ensayos también sobre esas teorías, cosa que me ha asombrado porque, como ya me pasó con el líder soviético, estoy conociendo aspectos de sus pensamientos que nunca nadie me enseñó. Creo que los sistemas educativos actuales están cortados por un cierto rasero, aunque supongo que no es necesario que yo les diga esto.

Por lo demás, me he quedado ojiplático al descubrir lo poco que sé sobre China. Uno cree que con unas cuantas pelis y la periódica visita a probar su gastronomía (adaptada a nuestro paladar la mayor parte del tiempo) tiene ya medio camino hecho, pero he tenido que leer esto para darme cuenta de la vastedad de su geopolítica y lo realmente tarde que entraron al Progreso. Ni con un mapa de la época he terminado de enterarme bien de todos los movimientos que hacían los diferentes ejércitos por su superficie, así que tendré que aplicarme bien para enterarme de todo lo que viene en los sucesivos tomos.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A historical banger.

“How then should we interpret the word "soon" in the statement, "there will soon be a high tide of revolution"? This is a common question among comrades. Marxists are not fortune-tellers. They should, and indeed can, only indicate the general direction of future developments and changes; they should not and cannot fix the day and the hour in a mechanistic way. But when I say that there will soon be a high tide of revolution in China, I am emphatically not speaking of something which in the words of some people "is possibly coming", something illusory, unattainable and devoid of significance for action. It is like a ship far out at sea whose mast-head can already be seen from the shore; it is like the morning sun in the east whose shimmering rays are visible from a high mountain top; it is like a child about to be born moving restlessly in its mother's womb.”

“The change in the revolution will come later. In the future the democratic revolution will inevitably be transformed into a socialist revolution. As to when the transition will take place, that will depend on the presence of the necessary conditions, and it may take quite a long time. We should not hold forth about transition until all the necessary political and economic conditions are present and until it is advantageous and not detrimental to the overwhelming majority of the people throughout China. It is wrong to have any doubts on this matter and expect the transition to take place soon, as some of our comrades did when they maintained that the transition in the revolution would begin the moment the democratic revolution began to triumph in key provinces. They did so because they failed to understand what kind of country China is politically and economically and to realize that, compared with Russia, China will find it more difficult, and require much more time and effort, to complete her democratic revolution politically and economically.”

[Luís Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb collection of analyses of the human condition based on dialectical materialism.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

跟着《毛泽东传》同步阅读。到《星星之火，可以燎原》不仅感叹毛主席牛逼。一方面对局势判断、矛盾发展有如此洞见，另一方面语言用词真鼓舞人心。鼓舞人心之外确实更清楚感觉哪有什么高尚道德理想，无非为政治利益服务。譬如民族资产阶级究竟是什么历史角色、民主该不该实行、完全可以根据显示需要颠倒反复。著名的实践论重读没太大感触，矛盾论还有些没明白之处

[lqmzjjx · Rating 5 out of 5]

毛主席很风趣幽默。他的警卫员曾说，主席这一生总共读了9万本书。而有些人一辈子都看不完50本书，这些人有什么资格评判他？。。。。至于无产阶级文化大革命，我认为，历史总要在很多很多很多年之后，才能做出正确的评价。

[Sinan Öner]

Mao Tse Tung's "Selected Works of Mao Tse Tung: Volume 1", his writings in the China Communist Party before the Japanese Occupation War in China, young Mao Tse Tung's articles, notes, reports, messages, speechs. Mao Tse Tung worked at university in Paris after the Communist International began to work, Mao Tse Tung was the Member of Communist International in his education in Paris. When Mao Tse Tung comes to China, he began to write his articles for the Central Committe of China Communist Party, his writings on the Chinese questions, regional, national, international questions, he works to describe these to be useful practically in the China Communist Party politics. Mao Tse Tung was educated in Paris by the Communist International to be one of the leaders of Chinese Marxism, in his "Selected Works of Mao Tse Tung: Volume 1", we can see! Now, during the global crisis, Mao Tse Tung's "Selected Works of Mao Tse Tung: Volume 1" can help to comprehense the current questions of the world.

[Adam Chandler · Rating 2 out of 5]

This first volume of Mao's writings goes through his early revolutionary career beginning partway through the conflicts with Chiang Kai-Shek and leading into the foundation of his alliance with Chiang against the Japanese. The works themselves are flushed with socialist rhetoric, propaganda, etc., generally everything which is saying "this is how our socialist policies work, anything other than this is horrible" without proving the actually veracity of the socialist system. One particularly disturbing writing has Mao's ethical claim that anything revolutionary is de facto morally correct. No doubt this type of attitude is what led to the deaths of millions of his own citizens decades later. In any case, the collection is useful for understanding the mindset and tactics of the Chinese socialists in the 1920s-30s as well as the rationalizing of joining with their enemies in light of the Japanese invasions.

[Jacob Woocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good! It may sound simple but one of the most striking aspects is the extent to which the young Mao is so attentively tracking all the details of their revolutionary movement and attempting to synthesize the lessons for all involved. "No investigation, no right to speak," etc.

[Chet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recorded an audiobook of this: https://youtube.com/playlist?listPL8R...

[Yuan · Rating 5 out of 5]

全七卷

[Lucius Deng · Rating 4 out of 5]

本卷中关于阶级、关于斗争、关于党内思想的篇章可以简略看过，值得关注的是实践论、矛盾论（虽然仅阐述了社会主义从资本主义内在矛盾的斗争中诞生，但未指出社会主义内生的矛盾是否最终也会导致新的社会从社会主义中生出来的灵魂问题）、反对本本主义三篇较有哲学思辨思想的文章，另外中国革命战争的战略问题也值得一看，颇具大开大合的全局思维。

[Monkey D Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

a really good book how mao zedong think about his revolution with scientific approach, need more volume to fulfill my curious about mao zedong thought

[cia sunshine ☭ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Boring. I’m sure there was enlightening information in this book, but it’s not worth my time.

[Joel Fahlberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inte i samma kaliber som Marx och Lenin men fortfarande läsvärt för en person som vill fördjupa sig i socialistisk teori.

[Pengyu Jiang · Rating 5 out of 5]

政治爱好者必读。这本书基本在讲如何获得支持夺取政权，对民主国家的政治工作者其实很有借鉴意义。

[Yiwei · Rating 4 out of 5]

第一卷的观点朴素但理论性还不够强，引经据典但并不意在掉书袋，而是为更好阐述理念。由于缺乏对战役学的之类的概念的了解，我不能完全理解书里的作战分析。对历史有遗忘的部份，借助批注可以大部份回忆起。名篇《实践论》《矛盾论》值得认真看。

[Grace Appler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of these apply to investing, if we think of the market as the enemy and each investment a war. In this analogy, the enemy is big and strong, so there is a lot of to learn from someone who beat an enemy hundreds of his size.


不战则已，战则必胜，必有俘获，如此可以逐渐扩大红军。

分兵以发动群众，集中以应付敌人。敌进我退，敌驻我扰，敌疲我打，敌退我追。

没有调查就没有发言权。调查就是解决问题。调查就象十月怀胎，解决问题就象一朝分娩。离开实际调查就要产生唯心的估量和唯心的工作指导，那么它的结果，不是机会主义，便是盲动主义。

军事只是政治的手段。只有动员群众才能进行战争，只有依靠群众才能进行战争。真正的铜墙铁壁是什么？是群众。组织革命战争，改良群众生活，这是我们的两大任务。

要把敌人营垒中间的一切争斗，缺口，矛盾，统统收集起来，作为反对当前主要敌人之用。

革命的道路，同世界上一切事物活动的道路一样，总是曲折的，不是笔直的。

机会主义：不努力扩大自己的队伍，而只一张暂时的同盟者。

我们固然应该尊重过去流血的经验，但是还应该尊重自己流血的经验。

全局性的东西，眼睛看不见，只能用心思去想一想才能懂得，不用心思去想，就不会懂得。但是全局是由局部构成的，有局部经验的人，如果肯用心去想一想，就能够明白那些更高级的关系。

任何军事计划，是应该建立在必要的侦查和敌我情况及其相互关系的周密思索的基础之上。指挥员的正确的部署来自正确的决心，正确的决心来源于正确的判断，正确的判断来源于周到的好人必要的侦查，和对于各种审查材料的连贯起来的思索。指挥员使用一切可能的和必要的侦查手段，将侦查得来的敌方情况的各种材料加以去粗取精，去伪存真，由此及彼，由表及里的思索，然后将自己方面的情况加上去，研究双方的对比和相互的关系，因而构成判断，定下决心，做出计划，这是军事家在做出每一个战略，战役或战斗的计划之前的一个整个的认识情况的过程。
计划情况的过程，不但存在于军事计划建立之前，而且存在于军事计划建立之后。如果计划和情况不符合，或者不完全符合，就必须依照新的认识，构成新的判断，定下新的决心，把已定计划加以改变，使之适合于新的情况。部分地改变的事差不多每一作战都是有的，全部地改变也是间或有的。
经验多的军人，假使他是虚心学习的，他摸熟了自己的部队的脾气，又摸熟了敌人的部队的脾气，摸熟了一切和战争有关的其他的条件如政治，经济，地理，气候等等。这样的军人指导战争，就比较有把握，比较能打胜仗。这是在长时间内认识了敌我双方的情况，找出啦行动的规律，解决了主观和客观的矛盾的结果。这一认识过程是非常重要的，没有这一种长时间的经验，要了解和把握整个战争的规律是困难的。做一个真正能干的高级指挥员，不是初出茅庐或仅仅善于在纸上谈兵的角色所能办到的，必须在战争中学习才能办到。

我们需要的是热烈而镇定的情绪，紧张而有序的工作。

避其锐气，击其惰归。双方强弱不同，弱者先让一步，后发制人，因而战胜。战略守势的作战，大都先避不利的决战，使至有利的情况始求决战。战胜绝对优势敌人的进攻，依靠于在战略退却阶段中所造成的，有利于我不利于敌的，比较敌人开始进攻时起了变化的形势，而这种形势是由各种条件造成的。

必须打胜。必须敌情，地形，人民等条件，都利于我，不利于敌，确有把握而后动手。否则宁可退让，持重待机。机会总是有的，不可率而应战。

在打第一仗之先，必须想到第二，第三，第四以至最后一仗大体上如何打法，我挨次的一仗胜了，敌军全局将起如何变化，假若败了，又将起如何变化。虽结果不见的乃至绝不会尽如所期，然而必须依据双方全局，仔细地切实地想明白。没有全局在胸，是不会真的投下一着好棋子的。

贯通全战略阶段乃至几个战略阶段的，大体上想通了的，一个长时期的方针，是绝不可少的。不这样做，就会弄出迟疑坐困的错误，实际上适合了敌人的战略要求，陷自己于被动地位。须知敌人的统帅部，是机会某种战略眼光的。我们最后使自己操练的高人一等，才有战略胜利的可能。

人人皆知以多胜少是最好的办法，然后很多人不能做，相反地每每分散兵力，原因就在于指导者缺乏战略头脑，为复杂的环境所迷惑，因而被环境所支配，失掉自制能力，采取了应付主义。

无论处于怎样复杂，严重，惨苦的环境，军事领导者首先需要的是独立自主地组织和使用自己的力量。被敌逼迫到被动地位的事是常有的，重要的是要迅速地恢复主动地位。如果不能恢复到这种地位，下文就是失败。

主动地位不是空想的，而是具体的，物质的。这里最重要的保存并集结最大而有活力的军队。集中兵力之所以必要，是为了改变敌我的形势。第一，是改变进退的形势。第二，是改变攻守的形势。第三，是改变内外线的形势，将敌军对我军的战略上的优势，改为我军对敌军的战役或者战斗上的优势。我们的战略上以一当十，我们的战术是以十当一，这是我们制胜敌人的根本法则之一。

红军的作战一般是奇袭。

在战役和战斗上面争取速决，古今中外都是相同的。在战争问题上，古今中外也都无不要求速决，旷日持久总是认为不利。

对于人，伤其十指不如断其一指；对于敌，击溃十个师不如歼灭一个师。

[Benjamin Eck · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to know what Mao Tse-tung was thinking when he was creating the Peoples Republic of China this book is for you. As you read through the many books that are contained in this book you can see what were the peoples ideals at that time, how the revolution started, and how it took place. The book its self is easy to read for it was well translated and well written, but the ideas that are held within, might prove a little hard to handle, for this is a really well written propaganda book. It might not seem like that way at first, but we have to keep in mind that the books with in books were letters and articles directed to the people in china to persuade them to join the peoples movement. All and all it is a great read if you want to learn more about china than what the history books tell you.

[Eva Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many principles still apply in the current world.

[Marissa Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rated 5/5 for its usefulness and scope as a resource, not for its literary qualities or ideology.