On the Process of Development of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of On the Process of Development of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution has been prepared and revised for digital publication by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism under the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Switzerland on the basis of the edition published in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Third English Edition, Volume 9, Foreign Languages Press, Paris, 2021.

#INTRODUCTION NOTE

This is a talk given by Comrade Mao Zedong to a visiting Albanian military delegation in Beijing, China on the 1st of May, 1967. It was first published by the Red Guards.

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#ON THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREAT PROLETARIAN CULTURAL REVOLUTION

#TALK TO AN ALBANIAN MILITARY DELEGATION

#Mao Zedong

#1st of May, 1967

#★

MAO ZEDONG: I once said at a rally of 7'000 people in 1962: «Sooner or later, the people of all countries, the masses comprising more than 90% of the world's population, will want revolution and support Marxism-Leninism. They won't support revisionism; though some people may support it for a while, they will eventually cast it aside. They are bound to awaken gradually, they are bound to oppose imperialism and reaction, and they are bound to oppose revisionism.»¹ The reality is that the struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie and the struggle between the two lines has always existed within the Communist Party. Nobody can deny this, and being materialists ourselves, we of course should not deny this either. Since that rally, the struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie inside our Party has manifested itself in the struggle against a deviation that was «Left-wing» in form but Right-wing in essence, the struggle between denying the existence of class struggle and emphasizing the existence of class struggle, the struggle between eclecticism and putting proletarian politics in command, and so on. This has been discussed in a number of important documents already.

Today, you members of the Albanian military delegation have come here to understand our nation's Great Cultural Revolution. Let me first of all talk about my approach to this question.

China's Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution began with the publication of Yao Wenyuan's criticism of the play Hai Rui Dismissed From Office in the winter of 1965. At that time, certain departments and localities in our country were dominated by revisionism. Their domination was so strong that not even a drop of water could seep through it. I then suggested to Comrade Jiang Qing that she should organize the publication of some articles to criticize Hai Rui Dismissed From Office. But this was impossible to accomplish here in Beijing, our «Red Metropolis», and there was no other option than to travel to Shanghai to publish them. Finally, the article On the New Historical Play «Hai Rui Dismissed From Office» was written. I read over it three times and considered it basically all right, so I let Comrade Jiang Qing bring it back for publication. I proposed to let some of the directors of the Central Committee read it, but Comrade Jiang Qing said: «The article should be published as is, and I don't think that it's necessary to ask Comrades Zhou Enlai or Kang Sheng to read it.»

LIN BIAO: Some people say that Comrade Mao Zedong was making use of one faction to fight another faction. But all of the comrades in the Central Leadership who have prestige among the revolutionary masses were briefed on the Great Cultural Revolution by Chairman Mao beforehand, and so they did not commit any errors. I think that the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is a «test», so to say — a test of practice. Whoever follows Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong's Thought closely is a proletarian revolutionary. So I have always said that Mao Zedong's Thought must be applied both when one understands it and when one temporarily may not understand it.

MAO ZEDONG: After Yao Wenyuan's article was published, most of the newspapers in the country published it, except for the ones in Beijing and Hunan. Later on, I proposed issuing it as a pamphlet, but this was also opposed and did not pass.

Yao Wenyuan's article was merely the signal for the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Consequently, in the Central Committee, I paid special attention to drafting the Circular of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. We knew that the enemy would take action once the article was published because they were especially vulnerable. Of course, we also had to take action on our work. The Circular very precisely brought out the question of the struggle between the two lines. At that time, the majority of Central Committee members disagreed with me, and I was isolated for a while. They called my views outdated, and so I had to present my views to the 11th Plenary Session of the Party's Eighth Central Committee for discussion. After some discussion, I got little over half of the comrades to accept my view. There were still many people who refused to agree with me, including Li Jingquan and Liu Lantao. Chen Boda went to talk with them, and they said: «We didn't agree with it in Beijing, and after we returned home, we still didn't agree with it. Finally, we had no choice but to try it out in practice!»

After the 11th Plenary Session of the Party's Central Committee, emphasis was put on criticizing the bourgeois-reactionary line between October and December 1966. This resulted in a public disclosure of the contradictions inside the Party. Here, I would like to mention another question, namely, the fact that many of the broad masses of workers and peasants and Party and League cadres had been deceived in the course of criticizing the bourgeois-reactionary line. Having investigated and studied this problem, what were we to do about those comrades who had been deceived? I have always believed that the broad masses of workers, peasants, and soldiers are good, that the overwhelming majority of Party and League members are good, and that they have all been the main force in every stage of the proletarian revolution. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is certainly no exception to the rule. Because the broad masses of workers and peasants are involved in actual labour, they naturally know very little about conditions on the upper levels. Moreover, the great numbers of Party and League cadres are wholeheartedly devoted to the Party and have boundless love for the cadres, while the handful of Party members in power taking the capitalist road are waving «red flags» to oppose the Red Flag. For this reason, they were deceived for a relatively long period of time and were incapable of getting rid of their delusions, but all this had historical reasons. As long as those who had been deceived remould themselves, it's all right! As the movement developed, these people again became the main force. The January Storm was launched by the workers, proving that this law is just as valid for the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution as it was for the democratic revolution. The 4th of May Movement was launched by the intellectuals, which fully demonstrated their farsightedness and awareness. However, we must depend on the makers of history — the workers, peasants, and soldiers — as the main force in carrying out large-scale, thoroughgoing revolutions, such as the Northern Expedition or the Long March. By the way, the workers, peasants, and soldiers are really just the workers and peasants, since the soldiers are nothing but workers and peasants in uniform. So, although it was the intellectuals and the broad masses of young students who launched the criticism and repudiation of the bourgeois-reactionary line, it was, nonetheless, incumbent upon the makers of history, the broad masses of workers, peasants, and soldiers, to serve as the main force in carrying the revolution through to the end, namely, in seizing power during the January Storms. Intellectuals have always been quick in altering their perception of things, but due to the limitations imposed by their class instincts and their lack of a thoroughly revolutionary nature, they can sometimes be opportunistic.

From the position of policy and strategy, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution can be generally divided into four different phases. The first phase began with the publication of Yao Wenyuan's article and ended with the 11th Plenary Session of the Party's Eighth Central Committee; this was primarily a phase of mobilization. The second phase began with the 11th Plenary Session of the Party's Eighth Central Committee and ended with the January Storm. The third phase began with the January Storm and ended with the publication of Qi Benyu's Patriotism or National Betrayal? and Betrayal of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat Is the Heart of the Book «How to Be a Good Communist». The phase since then may be considered the fourth phase. During the third and fourth phases the question of the seizure of power has been paramount. The fourth phase is concerned with seizing power from the bourgeoisie and eliminating revisionism ideologically. Consequently, this is a crucial phase in the decisive struggle between the two classes, the two roads, and the two lines, and this is the main and essential theme of the whole movement. After the January Storm, the Central Committee repeatedly concerned itself with the question of a great alliance, but it did not work out this question. Later, it was discovered that this subjective wish was not in accordance with the objective laws of the development of the class struggle. This is due to the fact that each class and each system of political power stubbornly wants to impose itself. Bourgeois ideology — the bourgeois ideology of the Kang Youwei type — began to burst forth like an unbridled flood, thus undermining the great alliance. It was impossible to establish a great alliance, and even if it has been possible, it would eventually have broken up. Thus, the present attitude of the Central Committee is merely to promote a great alliance, not to work it out. Pulling up a plant to make it grow faster is unfeasible. This is a law of class struggle which is independent of subjective human will. Many examples can be cited on this point. For example, some workers', peasants', and Red Guard congresses in certain municipalities have experienced a great many quarrels. Some revolutionary committees may yet have to be reorganized.

I originally intended to train some successors from among the ranks of the intellectuals, but this now seems impractical. In my opinion, the intellectuals, including the young intellectuals who are still being educated in the schools, both inside and outside the Party, basically still have a bourgeois worldview. This is due to the fact that, in the more than ten years since Liberation, the cultural and educational circles have been dominated by revisionism, and so bourgeois ideology has seeped into their very blood. Thus, revolutionary intellectuals must carefully remould their worldview in this crucial phase of struggle between the two classes, the two roads, and the two lines. Otherwise, they will become counter-revolutionaries.

Now I would like to ask you a question: What is the objective of the Great Cultural Revolution?

SOMEONE: It is to struggle against those Party members in power who are taking the capitalist road.

MAO ZEDONG: To struggle against those persons in power who are taking the capitalist road is the main task, but it is by no means the objective. The objective of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is to solve the problem of worldview; it is the question of eradicating the very roots of revisionism.

The Central Committee has emphasized time and again that the masses must educate themselves and liberate themselves. We cannot impose our worldview on them. In order to transform people's ideology, it is necessary for external causes to act through internal causes, but the latter are the principal aspect. If people's worldview is not transformed, then how can the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution win victory? If people's worldview is not transformed, then, if there are 2'000 persons in power taking the capitalist road during this Great Cultural Revolution, there may be 4'000 next time. The cost of this Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution has been very great, and it should consolidate things for a decade at least. But the struggle between the two classes and the two roads cannot be resolved by one, two, three, or even four Great Cultural Revolutions. It may only be possible to launch such a revolution two or three times at most in each century. Hence we must focus our attention on eradicating the roots of revisionism in order to strengthen our vigilance against revisionism and to oppose revisionism at all times.

Now I would like to ask you another question: Who would you say are the persons in power taking the capitalist road? They are the persons in power who are taking the capitalist road! What I mean by this is that, at the time of the democratic revolution, these people actively participated in opposing the «Three Mountains», but once the entire country was liberated, they were not so keen on opposing the bourgeoisie. Even though they had actively participated in and endorsed the overthrow of the local tyrants and the redistribution of land, after Liberation, when the cooperative transformation of agriculture was to take place, they opposed it. Those people who did not want to take the socialist road after they came to power — they are the persons in power taking the capitalist road! Let's call it a question of «old cadres encountering new problems». When an old cadre faces a new problem, if they have a proletarian worldview, then they will take the socialist road, but if they have a bourgeois worldview, then they will take the capitalist road. What this means is that the bourgeoisie seeks to transform the world according to the bourgeois worldview, while the proletariat seeks to transform the world according to the proletarian worldview. Some people have committed errors of orientation and line in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, and this has been called a question of «old cadres encountering new problems». But the fact that they have erred tells us that these old cadres have not yet thoroughly remoulded their bourgeois worldview. From now on, the old cadres are bound to encounter even more new problems. To ensure that they will resolutely take the socialist road, they will have to undergo thorough proletarian ideological revolutionization. There is no other way actually to proceed from socialism to communism. This is thus a great event for the nation and for the world.

In my opinion, the little revolutionary generals have a very strong revolutionary spirit, and this is excellent. But they cannot come to power yet, for then they will simply be overthrown tomorrow. But somebody leaked this information to them, which is highly inappropriate. As far as the little revolutionary generals are concerned, they should be nurtured and trained. We cannot dampen their spirits just because they have made mistakes.

Some people say that elections are something very good and very democratic. As far as I am concerned, election is merely a fancy word. I don't believe that genuine elections exist. I was elected as a deputy to the National People's Congress by the Beijing Electoral District, but how many people in Beijing really understand what I want? In my opinion, Zhou Enlai was appointed Premier by the Party's Central Committee, and was not elected. Other people say that China is profoundly peace-loving, but I don't think that love is very profound; I think the Chinese people are very combative.

We must have faith that 95% or more of the cadres are good or relatively good, and we must never depart from this class position. As to directors who are revolutionary or want to be revolutionary, they should be protected bravely and be liberated once they have corrected their mistakes. Even those who have taken the capitalist road should be allowed to make revolution once they have undergone long-term reeducation and have corrected their mistakes. Not many people are really bad elements. Among the masses, they constitute at most 5%; among the Party and League members, they constitute 1 or 2%; and there are only a handful of Party members in power stubbornly taking the capitalist Road. But we must regard this handful of Party members in power taking the capitalist road as the main target of attack, because their influence and their poisonous weeds have deep and farreaching roots. Thus, this is the main task of this Great Cultural Revolution. As to the bad elements among the masses, they number at most 5%, and are scattered across the country without much strength. If the 35'000'000 of them, calculated at 5%, should band together to form an army and oppose us in an organized manner, that would be a problem deserving serious consideration. But since they are spread across various localities and don't hold any political power, they cannot be the main target of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. However, it is necessary for us to heighten our vigilance and prevent these bad elements from wreaking havoc, especvially in this crucial phase of the struggle. There should thus be two premises for the great alliance: first, destroy the concept of self-interest and foster the concept of public interest; second, there must be struggle, for without struggle, the great alliance will not be effective.

The fourth phase of this Great Cultural Revolution is the crucial phase in the struggle between the two classes, the two roads, and the two lines. Thus, a relatively long period of time will be needed to arrange mass criticism and repudiation. It is still being discussed by the Cultural Revolution Group of the Party's Central Committee. Some people feel that the end of this year would be an appropriate time for this, and other people feel that May next year would be more appropriate. Whenever it is, the time must conform to the laws of the class struggle.