Selected Quotes by Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong- (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976), was also known as Chairman Mao. He was a Chinese revolutionary, military strategist, political theorist, politician and poet.
He was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC). He led as the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from the establishment of the PRC in 1949 until his death in 1976. He is ideologically a Marxist–Leninist. His theories, military strategies, and political policies are collectively known as "Maoism".
Selected Quotes by Mao Zedong:
“It's always darkest before it becomes totally black.”
Mao Zedong, Death
“Firstly, do not fear hardship, and secondly, do not fear death.”
Mao Zedong, Death, Goals
“The mountain goddess if she is still there...
Will marvel at a world so changed.”
Mao Zedong, Society
“Under the white population of the United States of America only the reactionary classes oppress the black population. Under no circumstance can they represent the workers, farmers and revolutionary intellectuals and other enlighted people who form the majority of the white population.”
― Mao Zedong, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung
Mao Zedong, Society
“If the U.S. monopoly capitalist groups persist in pushing their policies of aggression and war, the day is bound to come when they will be hanged by the people of the whole world. The same fate awaits the accomplices of the United States.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung
Mao Zedong, Society
“The struggle of the Black people in the United States for emancipation is a component part of the general struggle of al the people of the world against U.S. imperialism, a component part of the contemporary world revolution. I call on the workers, peasants, and revolutionary intellectuals of all countries and all who are willing to fight against U.S. imperialism to take action and extend strong support to the struggle of the Black people in the United States! People of the whole world, unite still more closely and launch a sustained and vigorous offensive against our common enemy, U.S. imperialism, and its accomplices! It can be said with certainty that the complete collapse of colonialism, imperialism, and all systems of exploitation, and the complete emancipation of all the oppressed peoples and nations of the world are not far off.”
Mao Zedong, Society, Freedom
“Dont give a child a fish but show him how to fish.”
Mao Zedong, Intelligence/Wisdom
“All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience.”
Mao Zedong, Intelligence/Wisdom
“The theory of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin is universally applicable. We should regard it not as dogma, but as a guide to action. Studying it is not merely a matter of learning terms and phrases but of learning Marxism-Leninism as the science of revolution.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Quotations from Chairman
Mao Zedong, Intelligence/Wisdom
“Our attitude towards ourselves should be to be insatiable in learning and towards others to be tireless in teaching.”
Mao Zedong, Intelligence/Wisdom
“In waking a tiger, use a long stick.”
Mao Zedong, Intelligence/Wisdom
“When you point a finger at the moon to indicate the moon, instead of looking at the moon, the stupid ones look at your finger.”
Mao Zedong, Intelligence/Wisdom
“Political power grows out of the barrel of the gun...”
Mao Zedong, Government
“Hence, as long as China is divided among the imperialist powers, the various cliques of warlords cannot under any circumstances come to terms, and whatever compromises they may reach will only be temporary.”
― Mao Tse-tung, On Guerrilla Warfare
Mao Zedong, Government
“Imperialism will not last long because it always does evil things. It persists in grooming and supporting reactionaries in all countries who are against the people, it has forcibly seized many colonies and semi-colonies and many military bases, and it threatens the peace with atomic war. Thus, forced by imperialism to do so, more than 90 per cent of the people of the world are rising or will rise in struggle against it. Yet, imperialism is still alive, still running amuck in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In the West imperialism is still oppressing the people at home. This situation must change. It is the task of the people of the whole world to put an end to the aggression and oppression perpetrated by imperialism, and chiefly by U.S. imperialism.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung 毛主席语录: The Little Red Book
Mao Zedong, Government
“Commandism is wrong in any type of work, because in overstepping the level of political consciousness of the masses and violating the principle of voluntary mass action it reflects the disease of impetuosity. Our comrades must not assume that everything they themselves understand is understood by the masses. Whether the masses understand it and are ready to take action can be discovered only by going into their midst and making investigations. If we do so, we can avoid commandism. Tailism in any type of work is also wrong, because in falling below the level of political consciousness of the masses and violating the principle of leading the masses forward it reflects the disease of dilatoriness. Our comrades must not assume that the masses have no understanding of what they themselves do not yet understand. It often happens that the masses outstrip us and are eager to advance a step and that nevertheless our comrades fail to act as leaders of the masses and tail behind certain backward elements, reflecting their views and, moreover, mistaking them for those of the broad masses.”
Mao Zedong, Government
“A potential revolutionary situation exists in any country where the government consistently fails in its obligation to ensure at least a minimally decent standard of life for the great majority of its citizens.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Mao Tse-Tung On Guerrilla Warfare
Mao Zedong, Government
“Mao recalled: "Very many members of our family have given their lives, killed by the Kuomintang and the American imperialists. You grew up eating honey, and thus far you have never known suffering. In the future, if you do not become a rightist, but rather a centrist, I shall be satisfied. You have never suffered--how can you be a leftist?"”
Mao Zedong, Government
“Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed.”
Mao Zedong, Government, Anger and Fighting
“There are some militarists who say: ‘We are not interested in politics but only in the profession of arms.’ It is vital that these simple-minded militarists be made to realize the relationship that exists between politics and military affairs. Military action is a method used to attain a political goal. While military affairs and political affairs are not identical, it is impossible to isolate one from the other.”
Mao Zedong, Government, Anger and Fighting
“Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy.”
Mao Zedong, Government, Anger and Fighting
“finally defeat Japanese imperialism only through the cumulative effect of many offensive campaigns and battles in both regular and guerrilla warfare.”
― Mao Tse-tung, On Guerrilla Warfare
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“But the basic principle of guerrilla warfare must be the offensive, and guerrilla warfare is more offensive in its character than regular warfare.”
― Mao Tse-tung, On Guerrilla Warfare
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“Generally speaking, the main principles are as follows: (1) the use of initiative, flexibility and planning in conducting offensives within the defensive, battles of quick decision within protracted war, and exterior-line operations within interior-line operations; (2) co-ordination with regular warfare; (3) establishment of base areas; (4) the strategic defensive and the strategic offensive; (5) the development of guerrilla warfare into mobile warfare; and (6) correct relationship of command.”
― Mao Tse-tung, On Guerrilla Warfare
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“Guerrilla leaders spend a great deal more time in organization, instruction, agitation, and propaganda work than they do fighting, for their most important job is to win over the people. “We must patiently explain,” says Mao Tse-tung. “Explain,” “persuade,” “discuss,” “convince”—these words recur with monotonous regularity in many of the early Chinese essays on guerrilla war. Mao has aptly compared guerrillas to fish, and the people to the water in which they swim. If the political temperature is right, the fish, however few in number, will thrive and proliferate. It is therefore the principal concern of all guerrilla leaders to get the water to the right temperature and to keep it there.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Mao Tse-Tung On Guerrilla Warfare
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“We are advocates of the abolition of war, we do not want war; but war can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun. Ibid.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“The chief enemies in China's revolutionary war are imperialism and the feudal forces.”
― Mao Tse-tung, On Guerrilla Warfare
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“This army is powerful because all its members have a conscious discipline; they have come together and they fight not for the private interests of a few individuals or a narrow clique, but for the interests of the broad masses and of the whole nation. The sole purpose of this army is to stand firmly with the Chinese people and to serve them whole-heartedly.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Quotations from Chairman
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“Evil does not exist in guerrilla warfare but only in the unorganized and undisciplined activities that are anarchism.”
― Mao Tse-tung, The Red Book of Guerrilla Warfare
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“War, this monster of mutual slaughter among men, will be finally eliminated by the progress of human society, and in the not too distant future too.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“Keep the enemy in the dark about where and when our forces will attack.”
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“Concentrate a big force to strike at a small section of the enemy force" remains a principle of field operations in guerrilla warfare.”
― Mao Tse-tung, On Guerrilla Warfare
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“...this protracted war will pass through three stages. The first stage covers the period of the enemy's strategic offensive and our strategic defensive. The second stage will be the period of the enemy's strategic consolidation and our preparation for the counter-offensive. The third stage will be the period of our strategic counter-offensive and the enemy's strategic retreat.”
― Mao Zedong, Selected Military Writings
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“The atom bomb is a paper tiger which the United States reactionaries use to scare people. It looks terrible, but in fact it isn't.”
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“War can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun.”
Mao Zedong, Anger and Fighting
“Lacking an analytical approach, many of our comrades do not want to go deeply into complex matters, to analyse and study them over and over again, but like to draw simple conclusions which are either absolutely affirmative or absolutely negative. . . . From now on we should remedy this state of affairs.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Quotations from Chairman
Mao Zedong, Planning
“Once all struggle is grasped, miracles are possible.”
Mao Zedong, Life
“People who live at subsistence level want first things to be put first. They are not particularly interested in freedom of religion, freedom of the press, free enterprise as we understand it, or the secret ballot. Their needs are more basic: land, tools, fertilizers, something better than rags for their children, houses to replace their shacks, freedom from police oppression, medical attention, primary schools.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Mao Tse-Tung On Guerrilla Warfare
Mao Zedong, Life
“Historical experience is written in iron and blood.”
― Mao Tse-tung, On Guerrilla Warfare
Mao Zedong, Life
“I am a lone monk walking the world with a leaky umbrella.”
Mao Zedong, Life
“Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent.”
Mao Zedong, Life
“The great man, Genghis Khan, only knew how to shoot eagles with an arrow. The past is past. To see real heroes, look around you.”
― Mao Zedong, Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, Life
“You can't be a revolutionary if you don't eat chilies.”
Mao Zedong, Life
“History is a symptom of our disease.”
Mao Zedong, Life
“Ask your subordinates about matters you do not understand or do not know, and do not lightly express your approval or disapproval. . . . We should never pretend to know what we do not know, we should “not feel ashamed to ask and learn from people below” and we should listen carefully to the views of the cadres at the lower levels. Be a pupil before you become a teacher; learn from the cadres at the lower levels before you issue orders. . . . What the cadres at the lower levels say may or may not be correct, after hearing it, we must analyse it. We must heed the correct views and act upon them. . . . Listen also to the mistaken views from below, it is wrong not to listen to them at all. Such views, however, are not to be acted upon but to be criticized.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Quotations from Chairman
Mao Zedong, Management
“Breaking up the whole into parts."
― Mao Tse-tung, On Guerrilla Warfare
Mao Zedong, Goals
“To rebel is justified.”
Mao Zedong, Goals
“The Communist party must control the guns.”
Mao Zedong, Goals, Government
“Men and women must receive equal pay for equal work in production.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Quotations from Chairman
Mao Zedong, Sex
“Published in this month's Harper's, from a conversation held in Beijing in February 1973:
Chairman Mao Zedong: Do you want our Chinese women? We can give you ten million.
U.S. National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger: The chairman is improving his offer.
Mao: We can let them flood your country with disaster and therefore impair your interests. In our country we have too many women, and they have a way of doing things. They give birth to children, and our children are too many.”
Mao Zedong, Sex
“Marxism consists of thousands of truths, but they all boil down to one sentence: It is right to rebel.”
Mao Zedong, Truth
“Make criticism in good time; don't get into the habit of criticizing only after the event.”
― Mao Tse-tung, Selected Works
Mao Zedong, Criticism
“...the evil system of colonialism and imperialism arose and throve with the enslavement of Negroes and the trade in Negroes, and it will surely come to its end with the complete emancipation of the Black people.”