Selected Military Writings

by Mao Zedong

Hangzhou. The city on the lake. Sister city to Suzhou in the ancient Chinese "In the sky there is Heaven. On Earth are Suzhou and Hangzhou." In China, the city of Hangzhou occupies its own special place in the country's history and culture. Among the Chinese people, Hangzhou persists to the present day as one of the nation’s most cherished cities and among its most popular tourist destinations. As the southern terminus of the Grand Canal, it was a capital city of imperial China for 150 years. Home to a million people at a time when London and Paris each barely reached 80,000, it was described by Marco Polo as “the greatest city which may be found in this world”. Home of scholars, painters, poets, and playwrights. Centuries-long source of fabulous Chinese silks and one of the nation’s finest teas. Birthplace of celebrated romance legends and operas. A city of temples and pagodas, but also of churches and mosques. By the mid-15th-Century, Hangzhou was truly an earthly paradise. The city and its West Lake are inextricably bound to one another in physical fact, historical evolution, and poetic imagination, like Paris with the Seine, London with the Thames, or Venice with its canals. When we speak of Hangzhou, we speak of many scenic beauty, cultural mythology, Buddhist temples and pagodas, classical poems and paintings, traditional literati culture, historical events, and famous persons from emperors to military and revolutionary heroes to extraordinary individuals from all walks of life. Until now, no single book in the English language introduces the city in a comprehensive way. With a keen eye for the pageant of history and a masterful gift of storytelling, Stephen L. Koss provides key cultural context in explaining why Hangzhou is so much more than a pretty body of water surrounded by rolling, verdant hills and ancient pagodas. If you have not experienced Hangzhou, you have not experienced China. Stephen L. Koss is the author of Beautiful A Social and Cultural History of Suzhou, China.

Genres: History, Politics, China, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, War

654 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1960

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

[Al]

Mao was closer to being a Clausewitzian than he is to Sun Tzu. His examination of a people's war and the levels proceeding from insurgency to high intensity conflict are interesting for the historical perspective of the takeover China by the communists. Parallels can be seen in the Shining Path insurgency, which was Maoist-based. Some good theory once the reader gets past the political grandstanding which permeates the entire text.

[Publius]

Very interesting. Mao seemed to take inspiration from the three major battles of Three Kingdoms, the Battle of Guandu, the Battle of Chibi and the Battle of Yiling to formulate his military ideology.

[Shadow]

Awful piece of communist propaganda that attempts to brainwash the reader in favor of Mao Tse Tung "achivements" during the communist uprising in China (that destroyed the classical Chinese culture and countless of lives in the process). It talks very little about military strategy and focuses a lot on the communist party uprising history and occupation of territory. Also the piece repeats a lot the history that it is presenting (a way of having the reader to remember permanently what is being presented also a technique used in education and brainwashing as well) . Sun Tzu does a way better job in his Art of War exposing real strategy that can be applied to anything and is not a senseless piece of propaganda like the bablings of Mao Tse Tung.

[Kevin]

Somewhat repetitive in theme. Still a good view of Mao's thought and the progression from him trying to convince people that his course was right to pointing out things were proceeding as expected and finishing with something of a play by play of the end of things in '46-'49. He also loses some objectivity towards the end, though I guess that's understood when you can see you're going to win as opposed to when you're in the middle of such a mess.

[Aaron Crofut]

Similar to Clausewitz. Easier to learn these principles by examining historical examples than in pure theory. Useful distinction between subjective and objective conditions (basically, goals/beliefs and physical limitations), less useful when lecturing about the way Marx wanted warfare conducted, ridiculous in predicting the imminent end of warfare for mandkind.

[Ian Chapman]

Obviously Mao was a very clear thinking young man, and effective leader. The style of dialectic and detailed examples of tactics, become a bit difficult. So interesting to see Mao's high intellect at work, but too heavy to read for pleasure.

[Kosta H]

Outstanding writings on theory and practice of guerrilla warfare.