Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung:Vol.III The Period of the War of Resistance Against Japan (II) Preface and Postscript to Rural Surveys (March and April 1941) Preface Postscript Reform our Study (May 1941) Expose the Plot for a Far Eastern Munich (May 25,1941) On the International United Front Against Fascism June 23.1941) Speech at the Assembly of Representatives of the Shensi-Kansu-Ningsia Border Region (November 21,1941) Rectify the Party's Style of Work (February 1.1942) Oppose Stereotyped Party Writing (February 8.1942) Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art (May 1942) Introduction Conclusion A Most Important Policy (September 7,1942) The Turning Point in World War II (October 12.1942) In Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the October Revolution (November 6.1942) Economic and Financial Problems in the Anti-Japanese War (December 1942) Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leasership June /1943) Some Pointed Questions for the Kuomintang (July 12,1943) Spread the Campaigns to Reduce Rent.Increase Production and "Support the Government and Cherish the People"In the Base Areas (October 1.1943) A Comment on the Sessions of the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee and the People's
Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung: Vol. III The Period of the War of Resistance Against Japan (II) Preface and Postscript to Rural Surveys (March and April 1941) Preface Postscript Reform our Study (May 1941) Expose the Plot for a Far Eastern Munich (May 25, 1941) On the International United Front Against Fascism (June 23, 1941) Speech at the Assembly of Representatives of the Shensi-Kansu-Ningsia Border Region (November 21, 1941) Rectify the Party's Style of Work (February 1, 1942) Oppose Stereotyped Party Writing (February 8, 1942) Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art (May 1942) Introduction Conclusion A Most Important Policy (September 7, 1942) The Turning Point in World War II (October 12, 1942) In Celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the October Revolution (November 6, 1942) Economic and Financial Problems in the Anti-Japanese War (December 1942) Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leasership (June 1, 1943) Some Pointed Questions for the Kuomintang (July 12, 1943) Spread the Campaigns to Reduce Rent, Increase Production and "Support the Government and Cherish the People" In the Base Areas(October 1, 1943) A Comment on the Sessions of the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee and the People's
Political Council (October 5.1943) Get Organized!(November 29,1943) Our Study and the Current Situation (April 12,1944) Serve the People (September 8.1944) On Chiang Kai-shek's Speech on the Double Tenth Festival /October 1/,1944) The United Front in Cultural Work (October 30.1944) We Must Learn to Do Economic Work (January 10,1945) Production is Also Possible in the Guerilla Zone (January 31.1945) China's Two Possible Destinies (April 23,1945) On Coalition Government (April 24,1945) I.The Fundamental Demands of the Chinese People II.The International and the Domestic Situation III Two Lines in the Anti-Japanese War The Key to China's Problems History Follows a Tortuous Course The People's War Two Battle Fronts China's Liberated Areas The Kuomintang Areas A Contrast Who Is "Sabotaging the War of Resistance and Endangering the State"? "Disobedience to Governmental and Military Orders" The Danger of Civil War Negotiations Two Prospects IV.The Policy of the Chinese Communist Party Our General Programme Our Specific Programme 1.Destroy the Japanese Aggressors Completely.Allow No Compromise Halfway 2.Abolish the Kuomintang One-Party Dictatorship.Establish a Democratic Coalition Government 3.Freedom for the People 4.Unity of the People
Political Council (October 5, 1943) Get Organized! (November 29, 1943) Our Study and the Current Situation (April 12, 1944) Serve the People (September 8,1944) On Chiang Kai-shek's Speech on the Double Tenth Festival (October 11, 1944) The United Front in Cultural Work (October 30, 1944) We Must Learn to Do Economic Work (January 10, 1945) Production is Also Possible in the Guerilla Zone (January 31, 1945) China's Two Possible Destinies(April 23, 1945) On Coalition Government (April 24, 1945) I. The Fundamental Demands of the Chinese People II. The International and the Domestic Situation III Two Lines in the Anti-Japanese War The Key to China's Problems History Follows a Tortuous Course The People's War Two Battle Fronts China's Liberated Areas The Kuomintang Areas A Contrast Who Is "Sabotaging the War of Resistance and Endangering the State"? "Disobedience to Governmental and Military Orders" The Danger of Civil War Negotiations Two Prospects IV. The Policy of the Chinese Communist Party Our General Programme Our Specific Programme 1. Destroy the Japanese Aggressors Completely, Allow No Compromise Halfway 2. Abolish the Kuomintang One-Party Dictatorship, Establish a Democratic Coalition Government 3. Freedom for the People 4. Unity of the People
5.The People's Army 6.The Land Problem 7.The Problem of Industry 8.The Problem of Culture,Education and Tbe Intellectuals 9.The Problem of the Minority Nationalities 10.The Problem of Foreign Policy The Tasks in the Kuomintang Areas The Tasks in the Japanese-Occupied Areas The Tasks in the Liberated Areas V.Let the Whole Party Unite and Fight to Accomplish Its Tasks! The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains (June 11,1945) On Production by the Army for Its Own Support and On the Importance of the Great Movements for Rectification and for Production (April 27,1945) The Hurley-Chiang Duet is a Flop (July 10,1945) On the Danger of the Hurley Policy (July 12,1945) Telegram to Comrade William Z.Foster (July 29,1945) The Last Round with the Japanese Invaders (August 9,1945) Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project. HTML revised 2004 by Marxists.org Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung PREFACEAND POSTSCRIPT TO RURAL SURVEYS
5. The People's Army 6. The Land Problem 7. The Problem of Industry 8. The Problem of Culture, Education and Tbe Intellectuals 9. The Problem of the Minority Nationalities 10. The Problem of Foreign Policy The Tasks in the Kuomintang Areas The Tasks in the Japanese-Occupied Areas The Tasks in the Liberated Areas V. Let the Whole Party Unite and Fight to Accomplish Its Tasks! The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains(June 11, 1945) On Production by the Army for Its Own Support and On the Importance of the Great Movements for Rectification and for Production (April 27, 1945) The Hurley-Chiang Duet is a Flop (July 10, 1945) On the Danger of the Hurley Policy (July 12, 1945) Telegram to Comrade William Z. Foster (July 29, 1945) The Last Round with the Japanese Invaders(August 9, 1945) Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project. HTML revised 2004 by Marxists.org Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung PREFACE AND POSTSCRIPT TO RURAL SURVEYS
March and April 1941 PREFACE March 17.1941 The present rural policy of the Party is not one of Agrarian Revolution as during the ten years'civil war,but is a rural policy for the National United Front Against Japan.The whole Party should carry out the Central Committee's directives of July 7 and December 25,1940,[1]and the directives of the forthcoming Seventh National Congress.The following material is being published to help comrades find a method for studying problems.Many of our comrades still have a crude and careless style of work,do not seek to understand things thoroughly and may even be completely ignorant of conditions at the lower levels,and yet they are responsible for directing work.This is an extremely dangerous state of affairs.Without a really concrete knowledge of the actual conditions of the classes in Chinese society there can be no really good leadership. The only way to know conditions is to make social investigations,to investigate the conditions of each social class in real life.For those charged with directing work,the basic method for knowing conditions is to concentrate on a few cities and villages according to a plan,use the fundamental viewpoint of Marxism,i.e,the method of class analysis,and make a number of thorough investigations.Only thus can we acquire even the most rudimentary knowledge of China's social problems. To do this,first,direct your eyes downward,do not hold your head high and gaze at the sky.Unless a person is interested in turning his eyes downward and is determined to do so,he will never in his whole life really understand things in China. Second,hold fact-finding meetings.Certainly,no all-round knowledge can be acquired merely by glancing this way and that and listening to hearsay.Of the data I obtained through fact-finding meetings,those on Hunan Province and on Chingkangshan have been lost.The materials published here consist mainly of the "Survey of Hsingkuo",the "Survey of Changkang Township"and the "Survey of Tsaihsi Township".Holding fact-finding meetings is the simplest,most practicable and most reliable method,from which I have derived much benefit:it is a better school than any university.Those attending such meetings should be really experienced cadres of middle and lower ranks,or ordinary people.In my investigations of five counties in Hunan Province and two counties in Chingkangshan,I approached responsible cadres of middle rank;in the Hsunwu investigation I approached cadres of the middle and lower ranks,a poor hsiutsai,[2]a bankrupt ex-president of the chamber of commerce and a petty official in charge of county revenue who had lost his job.All of these people gave me a great deal of information I had never even heard of.The man who for the first time gave me a complete picture of the rottenness of Chinese jails was a petty jailer I met during my investigation in Hengshan County,Hunan.In my investigations of Hsingkuo County and Changkang and Tsaihsi townships,I approached comrades working at the township level and ordinary peasants.These cadres,the peasants,the hsiutsai,the jailer,the merchant and the revenue
March and April 1941 PREFACE March 17, 1941 The present rural policy of the Party is not one of Agrarian Revolution as during the ten years' civil war, but is a rural policy for the National United Front Against Japan. The whole Party should carry out the Central Committee's directives of July 7 and December 25, 1940, [1] and the directives of the forthcoming Seventh National Congress. The following material is being published to help comrades find a method for studying problems. Many of our comrades still have a crude and careless style of work, do not seek to understand things thoroughly and may even be completely ignorant of conditions at the lower levels, and yet they are responsible for directing work. This is an extremely dangerous state of affairs. Without a really concrete knowledge of the actual conditions of the classes in Chinese society there can be no really good leadership. The only way to know conditions is to make social investigations, to investigate the conditions of each social class in real life. For those charged with directing work, the basic method for knowing conditions is to concentrate on a few cities and villages according to a plan, use the fundamental viewpoint of Marxism, i.e., the method of class analysis, and make a number of thorough investigations. Only thus can we acquire even the most rudimentary knowledge of China's social problems. To do this, first, direct your eyes downward, do not hold your head high and gaze at the sky. Unless a person is interested in turning his eyes downward and is determined to do so, he will never in his whole life really understand things in China. Second, hold fact-finding meetings. Certainly, no all-round knowledge can be acquired merely by glancing this way and that and listening to hearsay. Of the data I obtained through fact-finding meetings, those on Hunan Province and on Chingkangshan have been lost. The materials published here consist mainly of the "Survey of Hsingkuo", the "Survey of Changkang Township" and the "Survey of Tsaihsi Township". Holding fact-finding meetings is the simplest, most practicable and most reliable method, from which I have derived much benefit; it is a better school than any university. Those attending such meetings should be really experienced cadres of middle and lower ranks, or ordinary people. In my investigations of five counties in Hunan Province and two counties in Chingkangshan, I approached responsible cadres of middle rank; in the Hsunwu investigation I approached cadres of the middle and lower ranks, a poor hsiutsai, [2] a bankrupt ex-president of the chamber of commerce and a petty official in charge of county revenue who had lost his job. All of these people gave me a great deal of information I had never even heard of. The man who for the first time gave me a complete picture of the rottenness of Chinese jails was a petty jailer I met during my investigation in Hengshan County, Hunan. In my investigations of Hsingkuo County and Changkang and Tsaihsi townships, I approached comrades working at the township level and ordinary peasants. These cadres, the peasants, the hsiutsai,the jailer, the merchant and the revenue
clerk were all my esteemed teachers,and as their pupil I had to be respectful and diligent and comradely in my attitude;otherwise they would have paid no attention to me,and,though they knew,would not have spoken or,if they spoke,would not have told all they knew.A fact-finding meeting need not be large;from three to five or seven or eight people are enough.Ample time must be allowed and an outline for the investigation must be prepared;furthermore,one must personally ask questions,take notes and have discussions with those at the meeting.Therefore one certainly cannot make an investigation,or do it well,without zeal,a determination to direct one's eyes downward and a thirst for knowledge,and without shedding the ugly mantle of pretentiousness and becoming a willing pupil.It has to be understood that the masses are the real heroes,while we ourselves are often childish and ignorant,and without this understanding it is impossible to acquire even the most rudimentary knowledge I should like to repeat that the main purpose of publishing this reference material is to indicate a method for finding out the conditions prevailing at the lower levels;it is not to have comrades memorize the specific material and the conclusions drawn from it.Speaking generally,the infant bourgeoisie of China has not been able,and never will be able,to provide relatively comprehensive or even rudimentary material on social conditions,as the bourgeoisie in Europe,America and Japan has done;we have therefore no alternative but to collect it ourselves.Speaking specifically,people engaged in practical work must at all times keep abreast of changing conditions,and this is something for which no Communist Party in any country can depend on others.Therefore, everyone engaged in practical work must investigate conditions at the lower levels.Such investigation is especially necessary for those who know theory but do not know the actual conditions,for otherwise they will not be able to link theory with practice.Although my assertion, "No investigation,no right to speak",has been ridiculed as "narrow empiricism",to this day I do not regret having made it;what is more,I still insist that without investigation there cannot possibly be any right to speak.There are many people who "the moment they alight from the official carriage"make a hullabaloo,spout opinions,criticize this and condemn that;but,in fact,ten out of ten of them will meet with failure.For such views or criticisms,which are not based on thorough investigation,are nothing but ignorant twaddle.Countless times our Party suffered at the hands of these "imperial envoys",who rushed here,there and everywhere.Stalin rightly says that "theory becomes purposeless if it is not connected with revolutionary practice".And he rightly adds that "practice gropes in the dark if its path is not illumined by revolutionary theory".[3 Nobody should be labelled a "narrow empiricist"except the "practical man"who gropes in the dark and lacks perspective and foresight. Today I still feel keenly the necessity for thorough research into Chinese and world affairs;this is related to the scantiness of my own knowledge of Chinese and world affairs and does not imply that I know everything and that others are ignorant.It is my wish to go on being a pupil,learning from the masses,together with all other Party comrades. POSTSCRIPT April 19.1941 The experience of the period of the ten years'civil war is the best and most pertinent for the present
clerk were all my esteemed teachers, and as their pupil I had to be respectful and diligent and comradely in my attitude; otherwise they would have paid no attention to me, and, though they knew, would not have spoken or, if they spoke, would not have told all they knew. A fact-finding meeting need not be large; from three to five or seven or eight people are enough. Ample time must be allowed and an outline for the investigation must be prepared; furthermore, one must personally ask questions, take notes and have discussions with those at the meeting. Therefore one certainly cannot make an investigation, or do it well, without zeal, a determination to direct one's eyes downward and a thirst for knowledge, and without shedding the ugly mantle of pretentiousness and becoming a willing pupil. It has to be understood that the masses are the real heroes, while we ourselves are often childish and ignorant, and without this understanding it is impossible to acquire even the most rudimentary knowledge. I should like to repeat that the main purpose of publishing this reference material is to indicate a method for finding out the conditions prevailing at the lower levels; it is not to have comrades memorize the specific material and the conclusions drawn from it. Speaking generally, the infant bourgeoisie of China has not been able, and never will be able, to provide relatively comprehensive or even rudimentary material on social conditions, as the bourgeoisie in Europe, America and Japan has done; we have therefore no alternative but to collect it ourselves. Speaking specifically, people engaged in practical work must at all times keep abreast of changing conditions, and this is something for which no Communist Party in any country can depend on others. Therefore, everyone engaged in practical work must investigate conditions at the lower levels. Such investigation is especially necessary for those who know theory but do not know the actual conditions, for otherwise they will not be able to link theory with practice. Although my assertion, "No investigation, no right to speak", has been ridiculed as "narrow empiricism", to this day I do not regret having made it; what is more, I still insist that without investigation there cannot possibly be any right to speak. There are many people who "the moment they alight from the official carriage" make a hullabaloo, spout opinions, criticize this and condemn that; but, in fact, ten out of ten of them will meet with failure. For such views or criticisms, which are not based on thorough investigation, are nothing but ignorant twaddle. Countless times our Party suffered at the hands of these "imperial envoys", who rushed here, there and everywhere. Stalin rightly says that "theory becomes purposeless if it is not connected with revolutionary practice". And he rightly adds that "practice gropes in the dark if its path is not illumined by revolutionary theory". [3] Nobody should be labelled a "narrow empiricist" except the "practical man" who gropes in the dark and lacks perspective and foresight. Today I still feel keenly the necessity for thorough research into Chinese and world affairs; this is related to the scantiness of my own knowledge of Chinese and world affairs and does not imply that I know everything and that others are ignorant. It is my wish to go on being a pupil, learning from the masses, together with all other Party comrades. POSTSCRIPT April 19, 1941 The experience of the period of the ten years' civil war is the best and most pertinent for the present