Editing Mao Zedong

{{Message box/Missing Sources}}{{Infobox revolutionary

| image = File:Mao Zedong portrait.jpg

|honorific_prefix=Chairman| name=Mao Zedong| native_name= 毛泽东

| birth_date = 26 December 1893

| death_date = 9, September, 1976 (aged 82)

|political_orientation=[[Marxism–Leninism]] <small>(developed what is now known as [[Mao Zedong Thought]])</small> <br> [[Anti-imperialism]]| political_party=[[Communist Party of China]]

'''Mao Zedong''' {{Datebio|birthday=26th|birthmonth=December|birthyear=1893|deathmonth=September|deathday=9th|deathyear=1976}} was a [[People's Republic of China|Chinese]] [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] revolutionary who led the Chinese people to [[Chinese revolution|their proletarian revolution]] and served as the supreme leader of the [[People's Republic of China]] from 1949 to 1976. Under Mao's leadership, China's life expectancy increased from 35 to 65 years and industrial production increased by an average of 11% annually.<ref>{{Citation|author=M. Meissner|year=1996|title=The Deng Xiaoping Era. An Inquiry into the Fate of Chinese Socialism, 1978-1994|city=Hill and Way}}</ref> Per capita food production increased by 60% and total food production increased by over 169%.<ref>{{Citation|author=Guo Shutian|year=2004|title=Can China Feed Itself? Chinese Scholars on China’s Food Issue|chapter=China’s Food Supply and Demand Situation and International Trade|city=Beijing|publisher=Foreign Languages Press}}</ref>

=== Early life (1893–1911) ===

Mao Zedong was born on 26 December 1893 in a middle [[Peasantry|peasant]] family in Shaoshan Valley, modern day Xiangtan County of Hunan Province, under the reign of Qing Dynasty Emperor Guangxu.<ref name=":2">{{Citation|author=Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji|year=2011|title=Mao Zedong, a Biography. Volume 1. 1893–1949|title-url=https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Library:Mao_Zedong,_a_Biography._Volume_1._1893%E2%80%931949|chapter=Leaving Home|chapter-url=https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Library:Mao_Zedong,_a_Biography._Volume_1._1893%E2%80%931949#Leaving_Home|publisher=CCCPC Party Literature Research Office, Translated by Foreign Languages Press|volume=1}}</ref><ref>[https://baike.baidu.com/reference/113835/47b3UXeOlls2dqtF1RBQ9euk5nvQ6S5grjQRBfjOFkWIPa1ltVabtooqj1XMsHEO68MSM1QOJ1SrB8XHur3CBi5Ue5vS3PMNKQ December 26: Mao Zedong was born in Shaoshanchong, Xiangtan, Hunan] - Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China.</ref> He was born as the third child of Mao Yichang and Wen Suqin, and the first child to survive infancy. From the age of six, Mao worked on his father's land and at a later age served as the family account keeper, performing farm work alongside the laborers hired by his father. Mao Zedong learned from his own experiences the hardships that the Peasantry suffered, as Mao Yinchang enforced a harsh work discipline on Mao Zedong and his younger brothers, even beating them. Such a life ingrained in Mao a rebellious spirit and good work discipline.<ref name=":2" />  

When Mao Zedong was 14, Mao Yunchang forced him into marriage for the purposes of securing more farm laborers. But, Mao Zedong never accepted the marriage nor lived with his intended wife. Leaving his father no choice to accept his son's de facto unmarried state.<ref name=":2" />  Contrary to his adversarial relationship with his father, Mao's relation with his mother was far more positive. Wen Suqin's influence reflected in Mao's instances of disobedience against his father's exploitative practices towards neighbors and family members. Mao upheld his mother as the kind of person who would help others at their own expense whereas he remembered his father as a person emblematic of private ownership system that disregarded all fraternity.<ref name=":2" />   

Since his early childhood, Mao studied at a traditional Chinese private school taught by his maternal uncle in Tangjiatuo in Xiangxiang County, living spent most of his childhood living with his mother's family, till he was 8 years old and brought back home to Shaoshan Valley. In the following 8 years, he attended six more private schools in nearby counties, excepting for two years when his father took him out of school to work full time, and even during his studies, being required to help on the side.<ref name=":2" /> Mao later described his early education as "six years of reading Confucian books" and despite initially favoring the thoughts of the ancient philosophers, he came to dislike them in part due to the teaching styles of his teachers. Growing an interest in books and subjects that his teachers disdained, such as the Water Margin and Romance of the Three Kingdoms among other works. Mao's studies and personal preferences cultivated in him a great interest in studying history and appreciation of the role that history plays in shaping the world. He read the tales to other children and elderly of the village, and detected the absence of peasant protagonists from the novels and the class dynamic inherent within the absence.<ref name=":2" />  

In April 1910, during a time of famine and great suffering, the peasants had come to present petitions requesting aid at the governor's office. The governor's men fired on the petitioners, killing fourteen and wounding many more. The outraged masses set fire to the governor's office and other buildings before the Imperial Qing government bloodily suppressed them, beheading them and displaying the heads as warnings against future uprisings over the city's south gate. The news of the uprising and the bloody repressions reached Shaoshan Valley, where despite initial indignation, people quickly began to forget about the news. Mao for his part was immensely shaken by how innocents were driven to desperation and subsequently murdered. The incident stayed with him for the rest of his life.<ref name=":2" />

In 1911, famine struck Shaoshan Valley, and the hungry peasants organized themselves and began seizing food from the houses of landlords and delivery of merchants, including from Mao Yunchang. Mao Zedong did not sympathize with his father but as a result of his then reformist mindset, felt that the peasants had went about it wrongly.<ref name=":2" />

Owing to the isolation of his village, Mao's early political development was highly influenced by Reformist thought, like those of his teacher, Li Shuqing, whom he depended on greatly for developments in wider China like the constitutional reform attempt of the crumbling Qing Dynasty. At the age of 17, filled with the need to continue his studies outside his secluded village and hearing that Dongshan School taught modern knowledge, Mao convinced family members to persuade his father to approve of the move. Leaving the environs of Shaoshan Valley for the first time.<ref name=":2" />

Dongshan Higher Primary School in Xiangxiang County, Hunan Province, taught classical education but also subjects such as Natural Sciences, Geography and the English. It was at the school that Mao became informed that both the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi had been dead for years and the Xuantong Emperor having been enthroned for two years. Hunan Province was a stronghold of reformist thought and their publications were not outlawed unlike more revolutionary outlets, leading Mao to be influenced by the reformist thoughts of Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, who advocated for a Constitutional Monarchy.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0">[https://baike.baidu.com/reference/113835/45c61_sYsjwuFPa1aDDw8lcZjnk3omFT8e1bvav0Kglvx1_WFxZpF-EGCPAwByZusnJrNqR7WCn7nNWeNlb-PDQw3lNdl6gFAXixsnC1_4CqCQ9f-nnHKW0L Chronology of Mao Zedong's Life (1893-1925) Party History Channel] - People's Daily Online </ref> He was not aware of [[Sun Yat-sen]]’s [[Revolution|Revolutionary]] conceptions of establishing a [[Bourgeois democracy|Bourgeois Democracy]] in place of the old order, which had in fact became the dominant political trend across the country.<ref name=":2" />

After coming in possession of an edition of ''Xinmin congbao'' (New People’s Miscellany), the journal edited and published by Liang Qichao, Mao made his earliest political commentary. Advocating for a Monarchy with laws written by the people and Monarch favored with public approval, as opposed to a Monarchy where the laws are written by the Monarch and who enjoys no public support. With Britain and Japan as the former while China fell under the latter. Young Mao also put emphasis on great personalities, believing that China should strive to create individuals learned from Western history.<ref name=":2" />

In the spring of 1911, due to Mao's excellence in learning, his teacher, He Langang, took Mao with him to the Provincial Xiangxiang Middle School in Changsha, capital of Hunan Province. On the eve of the Bourgeois Democratic 1911 Revolution, Changsha was a hub of the Province's revolutionary activity, with even the local military forces aligning with the revolutionaries. Changsha was Mao's, then 18, first encounter with revolutionary thought, becoming a dedicated reader of the revolutionary publication ''Minli bao'' (People’s Journal). Expanding his world and political view greatly.<ref name=":2" /> Far from the Imperial Reformist he had been, Mao had become a fervent Republican and lead his fellow students in act of disobedience against Imperial laws, by cutting the legally mandated queue haircuts. News of the Guangzhou Uprising in 27 April 1911 shook the whole of China, including Hunan, where students such as Mao were driven into excitement. It led Mao to write an article supporting Sun Yat-sen, proposing that the revolutionary leader be welcomed home to serve as President but in a display of his still developing political consciousness, advocated also that the Imperial reformist Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao be in the same government. <ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" />

On 10 October 1911, the Wuchang Uprising broke out and revolutionaries seized the government of Hubei Province, quickly asking revolutionaries in Hunan to rise up in solidarity with them. A representative came to the Xiangxiang Middle School and gave a speech elucidating them on the Uprising, leading Mao and students to eagerly join in the fight for a Republic. Mao was set to leave for Wuhan to join the revolutionary armies gathering there when revolutionaries in Changsha successfully launched their own uprising and established a revolutionary government on 24 October 1911. Mao immediately joined the revolutionary army of the new government, but rather than a student detachment, he opted to join the regular army. Becoming a private in the left platoon of the First Battalion, 25^th Brigade, of the Hunan New Army.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" />

 

During his time in the army, Mao would receive military training and a salary, latter of which he would use to purchase newspapers, journals and books to keep apace of political developments across China. It was while reading an article in the ''Xianghan xinwen'' (Xianghan News), that Mao would first encounter the term 'socialism'. The article itself had only been advocating reformism but Mao would become interested in the concept, reaching out to friends and acquaintances for their thoughts. Mao only served in the army for little over half a year since in little over two months after the Wuchang Uprising, majority of China had declared independence from the tottering Qing Dynasty and a peace process began between the Revolutionaries and the Qing. Resulting in a Republic being declared and the last Qing emperor forced into abdication. The conciliationist attitude of the revolutionaries unfortunately resulted in Yuan Shikai, a Qing official and general, becoming provisional president of the new Republic rather than Sun Yat-sen.<ref name=":2" />

 

After leaving the army, Mao resumed his quest for knowledge. He applied for entrance examination of the police academy, the soap-making technical school, the politics and law institute, and the public high school before entering the Hunan Provincial Senior Middle School for a short time. Chafing at the inflexible rules and limited curriculum, Mao left the school and opted for self-study, lodging at the Xiangxiang Guild Hall and securing study material, like the political and scientific works of the West, from the Provincial Library.<ref name=":2" /> Mao spent half a year studying in such a manner before circumstances changed, with his father refusing to financially support his unorthodox learning methods and rampageous disbanded army units coming to board at the Xiangxiang Guildhall, rendering the Guild Hall ill suited for peaceful living.<ref name=":2" />

 

Mao, now 20, resolved to return to school and continue his studies that way when he became aware of the Hunan Provincial Fourth Teachers’ Training College offering free education, cheap housing and a teaching post for graduates. Mao passed the entrance examination and enrolled into the Training College's five year program. The Fourth Teacher's College was subsequently merged with the First, delaying Mao's graduation by several months.<ref name=":3" />

 

The First Teachers College, also known as Hunan Provincial Normal School, was a storied institution, whose history and incarnations stretched back to the 7th century CE, which endeavored to mold its students into ideal people and whose constitution advocated for up-to-date educational approach. The faculty were noted for their progressive outlook and great knowledge and during Mao's time, many progressive students of all ages but especially the young enrolled there. Earning the School the reputation of being the cradle of progressive youth. A teacher of particular importance was Yang Changji, Mao's ethics teacher. Yang had studied both in Japan and England, and toured Germany and Switzerland before returning to China. Despite being offered a government post, Yang declined and preferred to teach instead, seeing it his duty to guide young mind. He advocated thorough investigations while studying, and the fusion of Chinese and Western knowledge. Yang would be of great influence to young Mao.<ref name=":3" /> 

 

It was at the College that Mao further developed his political consciousness and became friends with like-minded people. His studies at the College encouraged Mao to put great emphasis on practical work and analysis of the world. Mao kept apace of current events by spending his college allowance to buy materials such as journals, newspapers, maps and reference works. Coming to earn a reputation among his fellow students as an expert in contemporary affairs.<ref name=":3">{{Citation|author=Pang Xianzhi and Jin Chongji|year=2011|title=Mao Zedong, a Biography. Volume 1. 1893–1949|title-url=https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Library:Mao_Zedong,_a_Biography._Volume_1._1893%E2%80%931949|chapter=The College Student|chapter-url=https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Library:Mao_Zedong,_a_Biography._Volume_1._1893%E2%80%931949#The_College_Student|publisher=CCCPC Party Literature Research Office, Translated by Foreign Languages Press|volume=1}}</ref>

 

 

Despite the formation of the Chinese Republic, the various ills that gave impetus to the Revolution of 1911 had not been resolved. Instead, the opportunist Yuan Shikai actively hampered progress since becoming the Provisional President by suspending the provisional constitution of the republic and disbanding parliament. In January 1915, Japan proposed the extortionist '21 demands' in return for assisting Yuan Shikai in assuming the throne in a restored Monarchy. They issued their ultimatum on 7 May, and on 9 May Yuan's government made rapid response in favor of the deal. Protests started across the nation at the gross betrayal of the country, and the First College was no exception to the sentiment. The students including Mao compiled statements and articles condemning the bargain.<ref name=":3" />

 

 

 

In the wake of Yuan Shikai's death, a former Qing general, Zhang Xun, would also make a failed attempt at an imperial restoration. Attempting to re-enthrone the last Qing emperor. Both ventures disturbed China's progressive intelligentsia, questioning why a republican system could not set roots in China. They came to the conclusion that the ideology of the Feudal system had not been combated and defeated, and that the masses, who still mostly operated under such ideology, were not able to take active part in the struggle for national salvation. This marked the beginnings of the New Culture Movement as they set about trying to transform the culture and consciousness of the nation. Out of the movement arose the ''New Youth'' magazine by [[Chen Duxiu]], a future founder of the [[Communist Party of China]]. After being introduce to ''New Youth'' by Yang Changji, who also wrote for it, Mao was greatly taken by the thoughts expressed in it.<ref name=":3" />   

 

Mao and his friend, Xiao Zi sheng, would go on a summer field trip to study the real conditions of China. Traveling 900 li (450 km) for over a month and conversing with people from all walks of life in towns and villages, from peasants to magistrates, and academics to priests. <ref name=":3" />

On April 14, together with Xiao Zisheng, He Shuheng, Cai Hesen and others, he initiated the establishment of Xinmin Society.

On April 6, he returned to Changsha from Shanghai.

On July 14, the journal "Xiangjiang Review" edited by the Hunan Student Union was launched in Changsha. From July to August, he continuously wrote and published the long article "The Great Union of the People".

On October 5, his mother, Wen, died of illness, and upon hearing the news, he rushed back to Shaoshan from Changsha. On the 8th, "Mother's Essay" was written in front of the mother's spirit.

In December, he went to Beijing for the second time to lead the campaign to expel Zhang Jingyao, a warlord in Hunan. During his stay in Beijing, he read Marxist books such as The Communist Manifesto .

In May and June, he met [[Chen Duxiu]] in Shanghai and discussed with him the Marxist books he had read.

On December 1, he sent a letter to Cai Hesen, Xiao Zisheng and other members who were working and studying in France<ref>[https://baike.baidu.com/reference/113835/1c39dvqg0EeCuM91x0e3k_tlsCESFcu8uSTL4TQDFia5QqhnIrXBb9su2RpFWDUYACbqtMyLkzSGkaDBBMPzxzI-s6KPDA0kKzEcXCMjnIo9oWat3szC Work-Study Scholars in France] - Xinhua.net</ref>. The letter stated that he accepted Marxism and followed the path of the Russian October Revolution. He prepared to build the Socialist Youth League in Changsha. He then got married to Yang Kaihui.<ref name=":0" />

From January 1st to 3rd, together with more than ten people including He Shuheng, Peng Huang, Zhou Shizhao , Xiong Jinzheng, held the New Year's meeting of members of the Xinmin Society in Changsha Chaozong Street Cultural Publishing House. At the meeting, it was proposed that the Xinmin Society should take "transformation of China and the world" as its common purpose, and agreed to use "Russian-style" methods to transform China.

In August, he returned to Changsha and served as the director of the Hunan Branch of the Secretariat of the Chinese Labor Organization. He founded Hunan Self-study University with He Shuheng .

In November, he made a report at the First National Congress of the Chinese Soviet; he was elected as the chairman and chairman of the People's Committee at the first meeting of the Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Soviet Republic.<ref name=":1">[https://baike.baidu.com/reference/113835/55dfKe2dQNS8Z7ANwabKeuK4M3HdUKEplIzM7rOLAhdDz5KZ-JApZ1Z1xHuAH7g2ChwUFd1TagcX3Py2ysanDlkBzA1JlQXuLmHfbjn5O-YMHNQoS8GhYpTG Chronology of Mao Zedong's Life (1926-1931)] -  News of the Communist Party of China </ref>  

On April 15, the "Declaration of War Against Japan" was issued.

From January 15th to 17th, he attended the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held in Zunyi, Guizhou , and was co-opted as a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. The meeting ended the rule of Wang Ming's "Left" adventurism in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and actually established a new central leadership represented by Mao Zedong.

In June, he led the Red Front Army to join the Red Fourth Front Army in western Sichuan. Soon, he fought against Zhang Guotao's escapism and separatism .

On December 27, he made a report on "On the Strategy of Opposing Japanese Imperialism" at the meeting of party activists , expounding the strategy and policy of the Anti-Japanese National United Front.

In December, he wrote "Strategic Issues in China's Revolutionary War".<ref>[https://baike.baidu.com/reference/113835/971bjRWYCTlHcKVIUeYweZ3aS1vRrIo8xD20lgLBmHB03AljT0HeW0bP-aEyJMGdY2e1H11RhOqiXFyr8DAcNsyYpZgSotmAqjBN65f7W9kWcvDzcEbwXonk Chronology of Mao Zedong's Life (1932-1936)] - News of the Communist Party of China</ref>  

From April to July, he taught dialectical materialism at the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, two of which were later organized into "On Practice" and "On Contradiction".

In May, the article "Strategic Issues in Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Warfare" was published.

From May 26th to June 3rd, gave a lecture on "On Protracted War" at the Yan'an Anti-Japanese War Research Association. Comprehensively analyze the era of the Sino-Japanese War and the basic characteristics of both sides, refute the theory of quick victory and national subjugation, and expound the general policy of the protracted war in China's Anti-Japanese War.

From September 29th to November 6th, attended the Sixth Plenary Session of the enlarged Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and made a political report and conclusion of the meeting on "On the New Stage". The meeting approved the line of the Politburo headed by Mao Zedong.

On February 5, gave a speech on "Opposing Capitulationism" at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

In late April, wrote the article "May 4th Movement".

On May 4, gave a speech on "The Direction of the Youth Movement " at the Yan'an Youth Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the May 4th Movement .

On September 16, I talked with three reporters from Central News Agency, "Sweeping Daily" and "Xinmin Daily", reiterating the self-defense of "I will not be attacked if people do not attack me; in principle.

In the same month, he co-authored "The Chinese Revolution and the Communist Party of China".

In January, "On New Democracy" was published, which systematically discussed the theory and program of the New Democratic Revolution.

In November, Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, Ye Ting , Xiang Ying replied to He Yingqin and Bai Chongxi 's "Hao Dian" telegram ("Jia Dian"), clearly refuting Hao Dian's unreasonable accusations against the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.

On January 20, he drafted an order for the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China to rebuild the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army, and made a speech on the Southern Anhui Incident to Xinhua News Agency reporters, and solemnly proposed twelve measures to solve the Southern Anhui Incident.

On May 19, at the Yan'an cadre meeting, he made a report on " Reforming Our Study", which proposed to oppose subjectivism and clarified the ideological principles of seeking truth from facts.

In autumn and winter, he successively presided over the editing of the party's historical literature collections such as "Since the Sixth National Congress", "Before the Sixth National Congress" and "Two Lines".<ref>[https://baike.baidu.com/reference/113835/ca21_rzu4oz9hNSo9ONLY8dp9zMlNMql22DMS6RcgbfOt9JjKslA8ex5m2xenDScEKVWla0bdbPYfadlLTsxy-PNiRJFhKFE4P5LSFeKPTOZmDaAaO-q5CMC Chronology of Mao Zedong's Life (1941-1945) News of the Communist Party of China] </ref>  

On February 1, at the opening ceremony of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, he made a report on "Rectifying the Party's Style of Work".

On February 8, made a speech on "Opposing Party Stereotypes" at a cadre meeting convened by the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

On June 5, the drafted "Instructions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Urban Work" was discussed and approved at the Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

On September 8, delivered a speech "Serving the People" at Zhang Side's memorial service.

On April 20, he attended the last meeting of the Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The meeting basically passed the "Resolution on Certain Historical Issues" , which was revised many times by Mao Zedong.

On August 6, he met with American journalist, Strong, and put forward the famous assertion that "all reactionaries are paper tigers".

On December 30, he wrote the 1949 New Year's message "Carrying the Revolution Through to the End" for Xinhua News Agency.

On June 30, the article "On the People's Democratic Dictatorship" was published.

From September 21 to 30, he attended the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, delivered an opening speech, and was elected chairman of the Central People's Government. The meeting adopted the "Common Program " drafted by Zhou Enlai and reviewed and revised by him many times.

From September 15th to 28th, he attended the first plenary session of the first session of the National People's Congress, delivered the opening speech "Strive for the Construction of a Great Socialist Country", and was elected as the Chairman of the People's Republic of China.

On January 15th, Liu Shaoqi, [[Zhou Enlai]], and [[Deng Xiaoping]] were instructed: "We should thoroughly criticize Hu Feng's bourgeois idealism, anti-party and anti-people literary thought."

On June 9, wrote an inscription for the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square: The people's heroes will live forever.

From September to December, presided over the editing of the book "The Socialist Upsurge in Rural China", and wrote two prefaces and 104 notes.

On February 27, made a speech on "Correctly Handling Contradictions among the People", and put forward two kinds of contradiction theories.

From July to August, deployed the bombardment of Kinmen.

From November 28 to December 10, the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Wuchang, and the "Resolution on Several Issues Concerning the People's Commune " was passed.

In March, the fourth volume of "Selected Works of Mao Zedong" was approved in Guangzhou. Published in September.

On November 15, he drafted the "Instructions on Thoroughly Correcting the "Five Winds" Issues" for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. ''("Five Styles", that is, communist style , exaggerated style , command style, cadre special style and blind command style.)''

=== Adjusting, consolidating, enriching, educating and improving New China and the launch of the Cultural Revolution (1961 - 1970) ===

From May 21st to June 12th, presided over the work meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to discuss and revise the "Regulations on the Work of Rural People's Commune (Draft)" ''(namely, the sixty agricultural articles)'' . It stipulates that the supply system will be abolished; whether or not to run a canteen is entirely up to the members to discuss and decide.

From January 11th to February 7th, he presided over the enlarged Central Work Conference of the Communist Party of China ''(also known as the "Seven Thousand People Conference ")'' and delivered an important speech on the issue of democratic centralism .

On March 5, the inscription "Learn from Comrade Lei Feng" was published in the "People's Daily" .

In May, when listening to the report on the third five-year plan , he put forward the idea of ​​two fists ''(agriculture, national defense)'' and one butt ''(basic industry )''; he also proposed the strategic layout of dividing the country into first, second, and third lines.

From December 15th to 28th, presided over the central working conference to discuss and formulate "Some Issues Presently Raised in the Rural Socialist Education Movement" (referred to as "''23 Articles")'' , and partially correct the "Leftist", but mistakenly stated that "the focus of the movement is to rectify those in power within the party who are taking the capitalist road."<ref>[https://baike.baidu.com/reference/113835/d8e9fooguaBoQe9ohz_xjMzFcqqmXMJqPTHTdatP9jphVcyMJxbEUMX2yYcGS9tpuHRKOCNLzV5aTYbj42udcxsSn006JIa1ALB_naHba5UdPGSpoqr5jqGv Chronology of Mao Zedong's Life (1962-1968) News of the Communist Party of China] </ref>  

At the beginning of November, the article "Comment on the New Historical Drama "Hai Jui Dismissed from Office" was approved to be published, which opened the prelude to the "Cultural Revolution".

On May 7, the "May 7 Instructions" were issued, proposing that the People's Liberation Army "should be a big school", that all walks of life should focus on their own professions, "learn other things at the same time", and "education should be revolutionary" and so on.

From August 1st to 12th, presided over the convening of the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and passed the "Decision on the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution". During the meeting, Mao Zedong's "Bombarding the Headquarters—My Big-Character Poster" written on the 5th was printed and distributed, criticizing "Rightist Revisionism" The enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee in May and the convening of this meeting marked the full launch of the "Cultural Revolution".

In January, expressed support for the "January Revolution " in Shanghai. Since then, the wind of seizing power has spread all over the country.

On February 11th and 16th, Tan Zhenlin , Chen Yi , Ye Jianying , Li Fuchun , Li Xiannian , Xu Xiangqian , Nie Rongzhen , etc. were dissatisfied with Lin Biao and Jiang Qing 's perverse actions, and strongly criticized the wrong practices of the "Cultural Revolution" in order to "make a big noise." in Huairen Hall. After listening to the report of the Central Cultural Revolution Group, Mao Zedong expressed his dissatisfaction.<ref>[https://baike.baidu.com/reference/113835/d8e9fooguaBoQe9ohz_xjMzFcqqmXMJqPTHTdatP9jphVcyMJxbEUMX2yYcGS9tpuHRKOCNLzV5aTYbj42udcxsSn006JIa1ALB_naHba5UdPGSpoqr5jqGv Chronology of Mao Zedong's Life (1962-1968) News of the Communist Party of China] </ref>  

On January 16, he made important instructions on the so-called "Notice of Wu Hao and others leaving the Communist Party" and other materials sent by Jiang Qing and others: "This matter has long been clarified, and it was the Kuomintang's rumors and slanders", which made their attempt to frame Zhou Enlai fail.

 

* (1947) [[Library:The Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention|The Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention]]

* (1963) [[Library:Statement supporting the American Negroes in their just struggle against racial discrimination by U.S. Imperialism|Statement supporting the American Negroes in their just struggle against racial discrimination by U.S. Imperialism]]

* (1964) [[Library:On Khrushchov’s Phony Communism and Its Historical Lessons for the World|On Khrushchov’s Phony Communism and Its Historical Lessons for the World]]

* (1966) [[Library:Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung|Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung]]