K. This is the 1st working draft of vol. VI. It still ... - From Marx to Mao

TOWARD A NEW GOLDEN AGE*
July !(!(
FROM MARX
TO MAO
. . . . What is the greatest question in the world? The greatest
question is that of getting food to eat. What is the greatest force?
The greatest force is that of the union of the popular masses. What
should we not fear? We should not fear heaven. We should not
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fear ghosts. We should not fear the dead. We should not fear the
bureaucrats. We should not fear the militarists. We should not
fear the capitalists. . . .
The time has come! The great tide in the world is rolling ever
more impetuously! . . . He who conforms to it shall survive, he
who resists it shall perish. . . .
As a result of the world war and the bitterness of their lives,
the popular masses in many countries have suddenly undertaken
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all sorts of action. In Russia, they have overthrown the aristocrats
and driven out the rich. . . . The army of the red flag swarms over
the East and the West, sweeping away numerous enemies. . . . The
whole world has been shaken by it. . . . Within the area enclosed
by the Great Wall and the China Sea, the May 4th Movement has
arisen. Its banner has advanced southward, across the Yellow River
to the Yangtse. From Canton to Hankow, many real-life dramas
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have been performed; from Lake Tungting to the Min River the
tide is rising. Heaven and earth are aroused, the traitors and the
wicked are put to flight. Ha! We know it! We are awakened! The
world is ours, the nation is ours, society is ours. If we do not speak,
who will speak? If we do not act, who will act? If we do not rise
up and fight, who will rise up and fight? . . .
It is not that basically we have no strength; the source of our
impotence lies in our lack of practice. For thousands of years the
Chinese people of several hundred millions have all led a life of
* This article was extracted from the manifesto written by comrade Mao for
the first issue of his magazine, Hsiang-chiang ping-lun, in July 1919.
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