Five Articles

Colorful Classics #6

by Mao Zedong

FIVE ARTICLES BY CHAIRMAN MAO TSETUNG

WORKERS OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!

Serve the People
In Memory of Norman Bethune
The Foolish Old Man Who Moved the Mountains
On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party
Combat Liberalism

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

59 pages, Leather Bound

First published June 1, 1968

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

[tay · Rating 5 out of 5]

“… don’t be afraid that you cannot accomplish something but do be afraid of not attempting it; don’t be afraid that you cannot do something well but do be afraid that you won’t use your brains. the mind must be clear of the thinking that victory can be won through good luck, that one can comfortably rely on change without need of hard effort, the sweat of one’s brow and even shedding of one’s blood.”

my favorite part actually

[Leo46 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute collection of essays that is probably the truly smallest ‘little red book’ published, with the beautiful red vest-jacket edition, focusing on the topic of correction. Interesting to see the span of two decades of how disciplined Mao was while being not the top theorist to when his word was treated as gospel. These are some of the more pithy essays, though, but gives also a good representation of his Chinese metaphor use as a means for accessible theory/reading.

[sosaspeaks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite the collection of articles.
With the vest-pocket edition I own being published in 1972 (and its original Chinese edition being published in 1967), I can see its utility within the movement of Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. In particular, the articles do not have much theoretical value on a wide-scale, nor do they contain any groundbreaking historical/dialectical analysis. However, they provide good practical advice relating to social conditions in the Party and greater society. As a result, I personally wouldn't mind carrying this around in my vest-pocket as something to flip through for a hit of motivation -- honestly, I see similar utility in Mao's Quotations pocketbook.
If Mao was alive today, he'd be a best-selling author in the field of "self-help" books. This sounds like an insult, but I mean it positively, as I do think his more practical advice is well written, and Mao had a great command over literary devices. Additionally, he keeps his practical guidance succinct and concise, making it all more memorable.

[ItsReallyOliver · Rating 2 out of 5]

Combat Liberalism and On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party are the only parts worth reading and even then this isn't particularly interesting stuff.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of some of Mao's most important works

[Elizabeth "Betsy" Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

" On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party December, 1929

There are various non-proletarian ideas in the Communist Party organization and in the Fourth Red Army which greatly hinder the application of the Party’s correct line. Unless these ideas are thoroughly corrected, the Fourth Army cannot possibly shoulder the tasks assigned to it in China’s great revolutionary struggle."

Chairman Mao has said: “If we have shortcomings, we are not afraid to have them pointed out and criticized because we serve the people. Anyone, no matter who, may point out our shortcomings. If he is right we will correct them."

[Daniel Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

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