Jkwonqm

"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 Zedong means that a revolution is in no way a delicate or pleasant - it is quite the opposite. By this quote, readers can infer that the Cultural Revolution was not at all pleasant for Mao either, since it was 'an act of violence by which one class overthrows another'.

"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."

In this quote, Mao tries to show that death is not always unpleasant - there are ways to die a worthy death. Since Mao tries to think the best for his people and that their sufferings and values are meaningful to him, he does not want unnecessary sacrifices - deaths which are not for a worthy cause.

"Protect the interests of the youth, women, and children - provide assistance to young students who cannot afford to continue their studies help the youth and women to organize in order to participate on an equal footing in all work useful to the war effort and to social progress, ensure, freedom of marriage and equality as between men and women, and give young people and children a useful education..."

In this quote, Mao encourages equal rights to everyone. Readers know this for real life because Mao let his wife take on a huge part in the Chinese politics during his reign as well. Mao believes strongly in education, equality in marriage, and freedom must exist in order to set up an ideal country or government.

"Where do correct ideas come from? Do they drop from the skies? No. Are they innate in the mind? No. They come from social practice, and from it alone; they come from three kinds of social practice, the struggle for production, the class struggle, and scientific experiment."

Mao makes a point by saying that correct ideas do not come from smartness or just randomly, nor do they exist in mind before one experiences and learns from that experience and experiment. For example, The Great Leap Forward did not work because it was Mao's first time trying it, and this is quote which he says out of regret for trying new things which he didn't experiment before - but it has also added onto his list of failures, so it is something he would not try again.

"The world is yours, as well 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."

This quote is very straight forward. Mao implies that one must treat the world as if it is our own personal property, and in some ways, it is. He is aiming at the young people (probably the Red Guards) to make changes and be radical, because they are 'full of vigor and vitality'. He ends the quote by saying that he has faith that young people can make changes, probably the main sentence of the quote which triggered the Red Guards to make a change during the Cultural Revolution.