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Quotations by Mao Zedong

 * 1. “A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained, and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.”**

- Mao emphasizes how a revolution cannot be a gentle activity like writing, painting or needlework. Revolutions are, by nature, a violent overthrow of one group over another. Violent actions during a revolution was usual, and this is shown through the China’s Revolutions. Both the Chinese Revolution of 1911 and the Cultural Revolution turned out to be violent Revolutions which involved many lives being sacrificed.


 * 2. “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.”**

- After the Qing Dynasty, the West has been pushing around China and Mao shows his anger towards this subject in his quote. He brings in international attention to end Western imperialism, especially the United States’ imperialism. With the Opium Wars, and the Open Door policy (1800’s) China was thoroughly exploited by Western powers. Mao disliked the West even more due to their doctrinal differences. The West had a capitalistic economic system whereas Mao was a strong communist.


 * 3. “Wherever there is struggle, there is sacrifice, and death is a common occurrence. But we have the interests of the people and the sufferings of the great majority at heart, and when we die for the people it is a worthy death. Nevertheless, we should do our best to avoid unnecessary sacrifices.”**

- Shown in quote number 1, the revolutionary processes were not gentle and often involved violence and death. Mao in this quote demands some sacrifices from his people. He praises deaths that were for the people and the revolution. People were expected to commit themselves to their country and the communist ideals. Yet Mao also wishes to prevent unnecessary causalities, reinforcing his fatherly image and the attention to his people.


 * 5. “In any society in which classes exist, class struggle will never end. In classless society, the struggle between the new and the old and between truth and falsehood will never end. In the fields of the struggle for production and scientific experiment, mankind makes constant progress and nature undergoes constant change; they never remain at the same level. Therefore, man has constantly to sum up experience and go on discovering, inventing, creating, and advancing.”**

This quotation demonstrates Mao's communist ideologies. He has the Marxist point of view of observing society, as a series of class struggles. Mao also believes in experiments and constant progress of society. As shown through his actions such as the Five-Year Plan, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution, Mao thought the society needed steady change and should discover and advance.


 * 7. “The world is yours, as well as ours, but in the last analysis, it is yours. You young people, full of vigor and vitality, are in the bloom of life, like the sun at eight or nine in the morning. Our hope is placed on you.”**

- On this quote, Mao displays his message towards the youths during his revolutions. Participants in revolutions were largely made up of young groups of people, and therefore Mao paid much attention to them. Mao’s reforms often dealt with the educated students in universities, and the students were the ones who also actively played a role in China’s revolutions. The young, fresh, and passionate generation was later to be China’s “hope” according to Mao’s quote.