BANNEDTHOUGHT.NET
The Maoist (Socialist) Era in China
Publications and Documents which are Now Difficult to Find
In this section of BannedThought.net we are collecting together many of the publications and documents from the Mao era in China which have in recent decades been banned and suppressed there, and which are increasingly difficult to find elsewhere in the world as well. We are paying special attention to posting documents from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution period (originally dated from 1966-1969, but now often considered to have extended through 1976). And we hope to greatly expand all the sections of this archive in the future!
The documents here are in English unless otherwise stated. It should be noted that some of the documents here, or in its separate sub-sections, were written by (or refer positively to) Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, Lin Biao, or other individuals who themselves became targets of the revolution at later points. We are including such materials here—despite their errors (or crimes!)—as part of our documentary record of the Chinese revolution and its internal class struggles.
In addition to the documents from China itself in the Maoist period we have sections below with comments about that era, both contemporary comments and retrospective commentaries written much later.
The sub-sections below which have a very large number of items available now have their own separate index pages. Just click on the high-lighted section title to go there.
Some of the documents here have the file extension “.djvu” and require the WinDjView program to read them. This reader can be obtained for free at: http://www.windjview.sourceforge.net Some other programs, such as the free program SumatraPDF, are also capable of reading .djvu files under Windows. (Linux users have the capability to read .djvu files integrated into their PDF readers of the major desktops: Okular in KDE, Evince in GNOME.)
For information about present-day capitalist-imperialist China, and current mass struggles there including a developing new Maoist revolutionary movement, see our section in BannedThought.net on China today.
If you know of other materials which should be posted here, or if you have other comments or suggestions, please contact us at: freespeech@bannedthought.net
Index to the Writings of Specific Individuals Important to the History of the Chinese Revolution
The Chinese Revolution (Up to Liberation in 1949)
Communist Party of China (CCP)
- “Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party”, adopted by the Enlarged Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on April 20, 1945, 72 pages. This is the revised translation from the Appendix to the 3rd edition of the pamphlet “Our Study and the Current Situation”, by Mao Tse-tung. (Peking: FLP, 1962) Resolution Only: PDF format [3,945 KB]; Entire Pamphlet: PDF format [5,018 KB]
- “Thirty Years of the Communist Party of China: An Outline History”, by Hu Chiao-mu, (London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1951), 100 pages. English: PDF format [6,811 KB]
“Treinta Años del Partido Comunista de China”, by Ju Chiao-mu, (Pekin: Ediciones en Lenguas Extranjeres, 1957), 135 pages. Spanish: Searchable PDF format [24,700 KB]- “Documents of the National Conference of the Communist Party of China”, held in March 1955. Includes: the Communiqué, the resolution on the draft of the first 5-year plan, the resolution on the anti-Party bloc of Kao Kang and Jao Shu-shih, and the resolution on the establishment of central and local control committees. (Peking: Oct. 1955), 68 pages. Searchable PDF format [2,058 KB]
- “Documents of the Sixth Plenary Session (Enlarged) of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China”, a supplement to People’s China, Dec. 1, 1955, 24 pages. PDF format [1,976 KB]
- [Book:] “Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of China, Volume 1: Documents”, (Peking: FLP, 1956), 332 pages. PDF format [6,856 KB]
- [Book:] “Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of China, Volume 2: Speeches”, (Peking: FLP, 1956), 388 pages. PDF format [9,740 KB]
- [Book:] “Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of China, Volume 3: Greetings From Fraternal Parties”, (Peking: FLP, 1956), 266 pages. PDF format [6,900 KB]
- “Constitution of the Communist Party of China and Report on the Revision of the Constitution of the CPC by Teng Hsiao-ping”. This is the Party Constitution adoped by the Eighth National Congress on Sept. 26, 1956. The report of the the revision of the Constitution was delivered by Teng Hsiao-ping [Deng Xiaoping] at that Congress on Sept. 16, 1956. (Peking: FLP, 1956), 118 pp. PDF format [4,546 KB]
- [Book:] “Documentos del VIII Congreso National del Partido Comunista de China”, (Pekin: 1957), 342 pages. Spanish: Searchable PDF format [Big file: 65,767 KB]
- “Second Session of the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China”, seven reports and resolutions, including “Report on the Work of the Central Committee of the CCP to the Second Session of the Eighth National Congress” by Liu Shao-chi. (Peking: FLP, 1958), 99 pages. PDF format [5,807 KB]
- [Book:] “Das Politbüro des 8. Zentralkomitees der kommunistischen Partei Chinas: Persönlicher Hintergrund der Funktionäre und ihre Aktiviäten in den Jahren 1964-1967” [“The Politburo of the 8th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China: Personal background of its cadres and their activities during the years 1964-1967”], by Wolfgang Bartke, (Wiesbaden, Germany: 1969), in German, 180 pages. This is a comprehensive western bourgeois academic study. Searchable PDF format [18,606 KB]; WinDjView format [45,035 KB]
- “Training Successors for the Revolution is the Party’s Strategic Task”, 3 articles on this topic including the title article by An Tzu-wen from Hongqi, Nos. 17-18, 1964. (Peking: FLP, 1965), 68 pages. PDF format [3,245 KB]
- “Absorb Proletarian Fresh Blood — An Important Question in Party Consolidation”, Hongqi [Red Flag] editorial, #4, Oct. 14, 1968. (Peking: FLP, 1968), small pamphlet format, 34 pages. PDF format [843 KB]
- “Communique of the Enlarged Twelfth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China”, adopted on Oct. 31, 1968. (Peking: FLP, 1968), 32 pages. PDF format [868 KB]
- “The Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China (Documents)”, including the “Report to the Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China” delivered by Lin Piao; “The Constitution of the Communist Party of China”; lists of members of the Central Committee and the Politburo; and several press communiques. (Peking: FLP, 1969), plastic-covered pocket edition, 206 pages. PDF format [4,961 KB]; Lin Piao’s Report issued as a separate small pamphlet, 112 pages: PDF format [3,040 KB]
- “The Constitution of the Communist Party of China”, adopted by the Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, April 4, 1969. (Peking: FLP, 1969), pocket edition with red plastic covers, 52 pages. PDF format [725 KB]
- “Hold Aloft the Banner of Unity of the Party’s Ninth Congress and Win Still Greater Victories”, editorial of Renmin Ribao, Hongqi and Jifangjun Bao, June 9, 1969. (Peking: FLP, 1969), small pamphlet format, 26 pages. PDF format [565 KB]
- “Communists Should Be the Advanced Elements of the Proletariat” — In Commemoration of the 49th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China. (Peking: FLP, 1970), small pamphlet format, 20 pages. PDF format [366 KB]
- “Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Communist Party of China: 1921-1971”, (Peking: FLP, 1971), 60 pages. PDF format [2,946 KB]
- “The Tenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China (Documents)”, (Peking: FLP, 1973), 138 pages. PDF format [5,567 KB]
- [Book:] 《党的基础知识》 “A Basic Understanding of the Party [i.e., of the Communist Party of China]”, by 《党的基础知识》编写组 [The writing group of “Basic Knowledge of the Party”], 上海人民出版社, 1974 年 1 月第 1 版 [Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1st edition January 1974]. This is the Chinese language original of this work, 150 pages. Chinese: PDF format [5,584 KB]
English translation done from the French translation of the original, by the Norman Bethune Institute in Toronto, Canada, in 1976, 228 pages. [Separate page version.] English: Searchable PDF image format [6,808 KB]
Slightly corrected/modified smaller English version of the above (prepared by MIM), 178 pages. English: Searchable PDF format [981 KB]- [Book:] “The Eleventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China (Documents)”, (Peking: FLP, 1977), 270 pages. PDF format [11,195 KB]
Government of the People’s Republic of China
- “Important Documents of the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference”, (Peking: FLP, 1949), 54 pages. PDF format [1,208 KB]
- “The Common Program and Other Documents of the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference”, (Peking: FLP, 1950), 53 pages. PDF format [2,982 KB]
- “Constitución de la República Popular China”, as of 1954, (Pekin: Ediciones en Lenguas Extranjeres, 1954), 51 pages. Spanish: Searchable PDF format [6,490 KB]
- “Political Report”, by Chou En-lai, delivered at the Second Session of the Second National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on January 30, 1956. (Peking: FLP, 1956), 51 pages. PDF format [2,829 KB]
- [Book:] “Ten Glorious Years — 1949-1959”, essays by 19 important Chinese leaders (other than Mao) on the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, including: Liu Shao-chi, Chou En-lai, Lin Piao, Teng Hsiao-ping, Soong Ching Ling, Chen Yi, Li Fu-chun, Ho Lung, Li Hsien-nien, Ko Ching-shih, Li Ching-chuan, Ulanfu, Kang Sheng, Po I-po, Wang Chia-hsing, Liu Lan-tao, Teng Tse-hui, Nieh Jung-chen, and Lo Jui-ching. (Peking: FLP, 1960), 384 pages. PDF format [19,809 KB]
- “Documents of the First Session of the Fourth National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China”, (Peking: FLP, 1975), 104 pages. PDF format [3,341 KB] Including:
- “Proclamation of the National People’s Congress of the PRC”
- “The Constitution of the PRC”
- “Report on the Revision of the Constitution”, by Chang Chun-chiao
- “Report on the Work of the Government”, by Chou En-lai
- “Resolutions and Proclamations”
- “List of the members of the Presidium and the Secretary General of the 1st Session of the 4th National People’s Congress”
- “Press Communique”
- “The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China”, as of 1975, (Peking: FLP, 1975), 72 pages, including the “Report on the Revision of the Constitution”, by Chang Chun-chiao. PDF format [1,352 KB]
- “The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China”, as of 1978, (Peking: FLP, 1978), 52 pages. PDF format [1,369 KB]
- “The Constitutions of the People’s Republic of China”, including the Constitutions of 1954, 1975, 1978, and 1982, in both English and Chinese, 76 pages. Searchable PDF format [1,589 KB]
General Information about Chinese Society
- “Complete and Consolidate the Victory”, New China Library Series No. 1; 8 articles from early 1950 about developments in China as well as on international affairs. (Peking: FLP, May 1950), 59 pages. PDF format [2,365 KB]
- [Book:] “China’s Feet Unbound", by Wilfred G. Burchette, (London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1952), 196 pages. About the rapid changes in China during the first couple years of the People’s Republic. PDF format [32,702 KB]
- [Book:] “China’s New Creative Age", by Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury, (London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1953), 208 pages. PDF format [11,615 KB]
- “A Great Decade”, by Chou En-lai, 1959. Summing up the achievements of the country in the decade since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. (Peking: FLP, 1959), 45 pages. PDF format [2,230 KB]
- [Book:] “Letters From China: Numbers 11-20”, by Anna Louise Strong, (Peking: New World Press, 1964), 186 pages. (Missing interior title page; otherwise complete.) PDF format [9,152 KB]
- “In Celebration of 21st Anniversary of Founding of the People’s Republic of China”, Hsinhua News Agency press report, Sept. 30, 1970, 36 double pages with print in teletype font. PDF format [5,388 KB]
- “Geography of China”, English language edition, (Peking: FLP, 1972), 68 pages. PDF format [8,550 KB]; Arabic edition, 1973, 72 pages: Searchable PDF format [2,948 KB]
- [Book:] “China — A Geographical Sketch”, a revised and enlarged version of the above pamphlet, (Peking: FLP, 1974), 144 pages. PDF format [6,360 KB]
- “Some Basic Facts About China: Ten Questions and Answers”, Supplement to China Reconstructs magazine, Jan. 1974, 95 pages. Includes sections on People’s Communes, Neighborhood Life, the General Line for Socialist Construction, National Economic Development, the Policy of ‘Walking on Two Legs’, Women, Minorities, Education and Health. PDF format [12,842 KB]
- “More Basic Facts About China”, Supplement to China Reconstructs magazine, Jan. 1976, 105 pages. Includes sections on Socialist Economic Construction, How the Oil Industry was Developed, Tachai Commune and the Socialist Countryside, Education, Factories Run their own Colleges, Barefoot Doctors, Cadre Schools, etc. PDF format [17,390 KB]
- [Book:] “New China’s First Quarter Century”, (Peking: FLP, 1975), 228 pages. PDF format [6,645 KB]
China’s Socialist Economy
- “China’s Railways — A Story of Heroic Reconstruction”, (Peking: FLP, n.d. [probably 1951]), 72 pages. PDF format [5,170 KB]; WinDjView format [4,879 KB]
- [Book:] “The Seventh All-China Congress of Trade Unions”, (Peking: FLP, Sept. 1953), 173 pages. PDF format [12,665 KB]
- “Report on Fulfilment of the National Economic Plan of the People’s Republic of China in 1955 — With Statistical Summary”, issued by the State Statistical Bureau of the PRC. (Peking: FLP, 1956), 61 pages. PDF format [2,201 KB]
- “First Five-Year Plan for Development of the National Economy of the People's Republic of China in 1953-1957”, (Peking: FLP, 1956), 231 pages. Searchable PDF format [Large file: 42,505 KB]
- “Informe Sobre el Primer Plan Quinquenal de Desarrollo de la Economia Nacional de la Republica Popular China (1953-1957)”, by Li Fu-chun, (Pekin: 1956), 152 pages (missing title page). Spanish: Searchable PDF format [26,771 KB]
- “Proposals of the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China for the Second Five-Year Plan for Development of the National Economy (1958-1962)” together with “Report on the Proposals for the Second Five-Year Plan for Development of the National Economy”, by Chou En-lai. (Peking: FLP, 1956), 110 pages. Searchable PDF format [5,970 KB]
- “Chinese Workers March Towards Socialism”, (Peking: FLP, 1956), 112 pages. PDF format [9,850 KB]
- “China Will Overtake Britain”, by Niu Chung-huang. (Peking: FLP, 1958), 73 pages. PDF format [3,557 KB]
- [Book:] “Ten Great Years: Statistics of the Economic and Cultural Achievements of the People’s Republic of China”, compiled by the State Statistical Bureau, (Peking: FLP, 1960), translated from the Chinese edition in 1959, 273 pages. PDF format [11,315 KB]
- [Book:] “The Socialist Transformation of Capitalist Industry and Commerce in China”, by Kuan Ta-tung, China Knowledge Series, (Peking: FLP, 1960), 139 pages. Searchable PDF format [7,777 KB]
- [Book:] “The Socialist Transformation of the National Economy in China”, by Hsueh Mu-Chiao, Su Hsing and Lin Tse-Li, China Knowledge Series, (Peking: FLP, 1960), 300 pages. Searchable PDF format [16,234 KB]
- “Grasp Revolution, Promote Production and Win New Victories on the Industrial Front”, Renmin Ribao editorial, Feb. 21, 1969. (Peking: FLP, 1969), small pamphlet format, 26 pages. PDF format [559 KB]
- “China’s Renminbi — One of the Few Most Stable Currencies in the World”, with these two articles:
(Peking: FLP, 1969), 43 pages. PDF format [1,768 KB]
- “Victory for Chairman Mao’s Great Principle of Maintaining Independence and Keeping the Initiative in Our Own Hands and Relying on Our Own Efforts — Hail China, a Socialist Country Without Internal or External Debts”, by Tsai Cheng.
- “Great Victory for Mao Tsetung Thought on the Financial and Monetary Front — Hail China’s Renminbi, One of the Few Most Stable Currencies in the World”, by Hung Yin-hang.
- “Taching — Red Banner on China’s Industrial Front”, with photographs, 70 pages. (Peking: FLP, 1972) PDF format [3,428 KB]
- [Book:] “Taching”, a photo album with occasional brief captions in Chinese, (Shanghai: 1974), 144 pages. Chinese: Searchable PDF format [11,589 KB]
- “A Glance at China’s Economy”, well illustrated, 108 pages. (Peking: FLP, 1974) PDF format [15,395 KB]
- “China in Development — An Introduction to China”, compiled by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, c. 1975, 8 pages. PDF format [1,426 KB]
- “Mountains and Rivers Make Way — The Chengtu-Kunming Railroad in Photographs”, (Peking: FLP, 1976), 73 pages. Searchable PDF format [16,712 KB]; WinDjView format (601 dpi) [16,578 KB]
- “Why China Has No Inflation”, by Peng Kuang-hsi, (Peking: FLP: 1976), 72 pages. PDF format [5,654 KB]; also available in HTML format at: https://www.massline.org/PolitEcon/China/Inflation-pamphlet.htm
- “The National Conference on Learning from Taching in Industry: Selected Documents”, including speeches by Hua Kuo-feng and others. (Peking: FLP, 1977), 98 pages. (Some underlining especially of Hua Guo-feng’s speech; our apologies.) Searchable PDF format [4,052 KB]
- “Impressions of Taching Oilfield”, by Chiang Shan-hao, 56 pages. (Peking: FLP, 1978) Searchable PDF format [2,520 KB]
- “A Late Maoist Industrial Revolution? Economic Growth in Jiangsu Province, 1966-1978”, by Chris Bramall, July 4, 2018, SOAS Research Online, http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/26086, 23 pages. Searchable PDF format [1,068 KB]
The Countryside and Collectivization
- “The Agrarian Reform Law of the People’s Republic of China — Together with other relevant documents”. Includes “On the Agrarian Reform Law” by Liu Shao-chi. (Peking: FLP, 1950), 115 pages. PDF format [5,218 KB]
- “Co-operative Farming in China”, Decisions on the Development of Agricultural Producers’ Co-operatives Adopted by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. (Peking: FLP, 1954), 43 pages. PDF format [1,936 KB]
- “Decisions on Agricultural Co-operation”, adopted at the Sixth Plenary Session (Enlarged) of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Oct. 11, 1955. Includes also “Explanatory Notes to the Draft Decisions on Agricultural Co-operation”, by Chen Po-ta, a speech delivered on Oct. 4, 1955 at Sixth Plenary Session. (Peking: FLP, 1956), 57 pages. PDF format [2,939 KB]
- [Book:] “The Socialist Upsurge in China’s Countryside”, edited by Mao Tse-tung and comrades, (Peking: FLP, 1957), 516 pages. A large book containing 44 articles describing the socialist transformation of rural China, with important editorial introductions. PDF format [22,476 KB]
- “People’s Communes in China”, six resolutions and articles from August-September 1958 about the establishment of people’s communes in the Chinese countryside. (Peking: FLP, 1958), 100 pages. PDF format [5,566 KB]
- “The Whole Party and the Whole People Go in for Agricultural in a Big Way”, by Liao Lu-yen. (Peking: FLP, 1960), 27 pages. PDF format [1,092 KB]
- “China’s Fight for Grain”, by Anna Louise Strong, (Peking: New World Press, 1963), 59 pages. PDF format [2,810 KB]
- [Book:] “The Rise of the Chinese People’s Communes—And Six Years After”, by Anna Louise Strong, (Peking: New World Press, 1964), 258 pages. PDF format [12,200 KB KB]
- “Tachai — Standard Bearer in China’s Agriculture”, (Peking: FLP, 1972), 52 pages. PDF format [7,062 KB]
- [Book:] Inside a People’s Commune, by Chu Li and Tien Chieh-yun. (Peking: FLP, 1974), 258 pages. Searchable PDF format [12,048 KB]
- [Book:] “Sandstone Hollow — Transformation of a Mountain Village”, by Tang Feng-chang. (Peking: FLP, 1975), 159 pages. PDF format [8,744 KB]
- “Report From Tungting — A People’s Commune on Taihu Lake”, by Wu Chou, (Peking: FLP, 1975), 88 pages. PDF format [7,903 KB]
- “Let the Whole Party Mobilize for a Vast Effort to Develop Agriculture and Build Tachai-type Counties Throughout the Country” — Summing-Up Report at the National Conference on Learning from Tachai in Agriculture (Oct. 15, 1975), by Hua Kuo-feng. (Peking: FLP, 1975), 84 pages. PDF format [2,815 KB]
- “Speech at the Second National Conference on Learning from Tachai in Agriculture”, by Hua Kuo-feng, December 25, 1976. (Peking: FLP, 1977), 51 pages. PDF format [2,016 KB]
- [Book:] “Tachai — The Red Banner”, by Wen Yin and Liang Hua. (Peking: FLP, 1977), 229 pages. PDF format [12,157 KB]
Women’s Liberation and Marriage and Family
- “Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China”, promulgated on May 1, 1950. (Peking: FLP, 1950), 1st edition, 50 pages. First edition: Searchable PDF format [1,643 KB];
(Peking: FLP, 3rd ed. 1973), 16 pages, much sharper image, 1950 marriage law itself unchanged. Third edition: Searchable PDF format [312 KB]- “Women In China Today” pamphlet series, published by the All-China Democratic Women’s Federation, October-November 1952. (Only these numbers yet available.)
- Number 2: PDF format [26 pages; 743 KB] [Scanned from a copy in poor condition.]
- Number 6: PDF format [30 pages; 871 KB]
- Number 7: PDF format [34 pages; 1,102 KB]
- Number 8: PDF format [30 pages; 721 KB]
- Number 9: PDF format [24 pages; 567 KB]
- Number 10: PDF format [28 pages; 794 KB] [Some printing defects, but still legible.]
- “Liu Hu-lan — Story of a Girl Revolutionary”, by Liang Hsing. A short biography of a revolutionary hero, (Peking: FLP, 1953), 97 pages. Searchable PDF format [4,089 KB]
- “Minority Women of China”, in Chinese but the pamphlet mostly consists of color paintings of minority women of different regions of China in their traditional dress. (Peking: 1958), 34 pages. PDF format [9,788 KB] (Sharper images version); WinDjView format [9,186 KB]
- “A Divorce Trial in China”, by Felix Greene, (New England Free Press, 1970), 16 pages. Originally published as a chapter in Greene’s book Awakened China: The Country Americans Don’t Know (1961) PDF format [4,675 KB]
- “The Struggle Between Two Lines at the Moscow World Congress of Women”, six statements, articles and reports. (Peking: FLP, 1963), 70 pages. [Our apologies for the darkened paper in the copy scanned, though it is still quite legible.] PDF format [4,578 KB]
- “New Women in New China”, a collection of 10 articles showing the diverse roles that women were playing in revolutionary China. Includes many photographs. (Peking: FLP, 1972), 96 pages. PDF format [4,930 KB]
- [Book:] “Chinese Women in the Fight for Socialism”, a collection of 13 articles about the advances made by women in the New China. Includes many photographs. [Note: While this book was issued in 1977 after the capitalist-roaders had come to power after Mao’s death, it still mostly reflects the achievements made under socialism.] (Peking: FLP, 1977), 158 pages (116 pages of text). PDF format [7,608 KB]
- “Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China”, effective January 1, 1981. (Beijing: FLP, 1st ed. 1982), 40 pages. Searchable PDF format [1,073 KB]
- “How Can Socialism Ensure the Full Liberation of Women?”, by Joan Hinton, revised Jan. 1, 1997, 8 pages. Searchable PDF format [59 KB]
Nationalities and Minorities
- [Book:] Photographic record of the visits of the Dalai and Panchen Lamas of Tibet to the Chinese Capital in 1954-1955, with the first part about their stay in Beijing as members of the Chinese National People’s Congress [parliament], and the second part being mainly “the Dalai Lama looking at things.” [In Chinese and Tibetan] (1956), 162 pages. PDF format [14,638 KB]; WinDjView format [33,583 KB]
- [Book:] “Der Weg nach Lhasa: Bilder aus Tibet”, by Vladimir Sis and Josef Vanis, (Prague: 1956), 224 pages, [In German] This pictorial volume accompanied a film shot by a Czechoslovakian team in 1953 shortly after the first road to Lhasa had been opened. Searchable PDF format [40,732 KB]
- “Minority Women of China”, in Chinese but the pamphlet mostly consists of color paintings of minority women of different regions of China in their traditional dress. (Peking: 1958), 34 pages. Higher resolution WinDjView format [9,186 KB]; PDF format [9,788 KB] (Sharper images version)
- [Book:] “When Serfs Stood Up In Tibet”, by Anna Louise Strong, (San Francisco: Red Sun Publishers, 1976), 370 pages. [Originally published by New World Press, Peking, in 1959.] Searchable PDF format [17,513 KB] Also available in HTML format in separate chapters on the Marxist Internet Archive at: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/strong-anna-louise/1959/tibet/index.htm
- “The National Question and Class Struggle”, by Liu Chun, (Peking: FLP, 1966), 36 pages. Searchable PDF format [1,156 KB]
- [Book:] “Inside Story of Tibet”, by Ratne Deshapriya Senanayake, (Peking: Afro-Asian Writers’ Bureau, 1967), 178 pages. PDF format [9,386 KB]
- [Book:] [English title not available: A Pictorial Volume with captions in Tibetan and Chinese], (Lhasa: 1975), 247 pages. PDF format [40,732 KB]
- “Great Changes in Tibet”, a collection of articles with 12 pages of photos. (Peking: FLP, 1972), 78 pages. Searchable PDF format [3,788 KB]
- [Book:] “United and Equal — The Progress of China’s Minority Nationalities”, by Yin Ming, well illustrated. (Peking: FLP, 1977), 168 pages. Searchable PDF format [9,378 KB]
Medicine and Health
- [Book:] “Away With All Pests: An English Surgeon in People's China: 1954-1969”, by Dr. Joshua S. Horn, (NY: MR Press, 1971), 334 pages. An important and classic work! Searchable PDF format [11,758 KB]
- [Book:] “Medical Workers Serving the People Wholeheartedly”, with many large photographs. (Peking: FLP, 1971), 122 pages. Searchable PDF format [Large file: 42,357 KB]
- “Acupuncture Anaesthesia” (Peking: FLP, 1972), 40 pages. Searchable PDF format [1,728 KB]
- “Exploring the Secrets of Treating Deaf-mutes” (Peking: FLP, 1972), 48 pages. PDF format [1,968 KB]
- “Scaling Peaks in Medical Science” (Peking: FLP, 1972), 82 pages. Searchable PDF format [3,868 KB]
- “The Story of Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion”, by Fu Wei-kang, (Peking: FLP, 1975), 52 pages. PDF format [2,882 KB]
- [Book:] “An Outline of Chinese Acupuncture”, by the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, (Peking: FLP, 1975), 339 pages. [With two large poster-sized diagrams included in the back of this book.] PDF format [30,737 KB]; “The Frequently-used Points of the Frontal Aspect of the Human Body” (poster): JPG File [1,329 KB]; “The Frequently-used Points of the Dorsal Aspect of the Human Body” (poster): JPG File [1,375 KB]
- “Creating a New Chinese Medicine and Pharmacology” (Peking: FLP, 1977), 112 pages. PDF format [13,596 KB]
- “Medical Care for China’s Millions”, supplement to China Reconstructs, October 1978, 80 pages. Searchable PDF format [7,521 KB]
- “The Secret Maoist Chinese Operation to Conquer Malaria”, by Jia-chen Fu, “Atlas Obscura”, March 14, 2022, 5 pages. Searchable PDF format [149 KB]
Tourism
- “The West Lake Companion”, about the famous tourist area in Hangzhou [Hangchow], 104 pages. (Peking: FLP, 1958). Searchable PDF format [7,692 KB]; WinDjView format [19,078 KB]
- “Mount Omei”, about Mount Omei (or Emei) in Sichuan Province. This is a collection of black and white photographs prepared by the Szechwan Provincial Art Gallery, with captions in Chinese, Russian and English, 30 pages, 1959. PDF format [6,381 KB]; WinDjView format [11,045 KB]
Foreign Affairs During the Mao Era
The Great Debate between Revolutionary China and Soviet Revisionism and Social-Imperialism
People’s War and Military Issues
- Book: Selected Military Writings of Mao Tse-tung, (Peking: FLP, 1st ed., April 1963), 415 pages. Searchable PDF format [10,245 KB]
[Note: The individual articles in this volume are available in HTML format on the Marxist Internet Archive at: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/military-writings/index.htm ]- Book: Six Essays on Military Affairs, (Peking: FLP, 1972), pocket edition with red plastic cover, 416 pages. PDF format [11,938 KB]
- “On Protracted War”, by Mao Tse-tung, 1938. (Peking: FLP, 3rd ed. 1967), 132 pages. PDF format [4,510 KB]
- “The Battle Front of the Liberated Areas”, by Chu Teh [Zhu De]. This was the military report given on April 25, 1945 to the Seventh Congress of the CCP. This is the 3rd edition (with a revised translation) of the English pamphlet which first appeared in 1952. (Peking: FLP, 1962), 89 pages. PDF format [4,431 KB]
- “In His Mind A Million Bold Warriors” — Reminiscences of the life of Chairman Mao Tsetung during the northern Shensi campaign [March 1947-March 1948], by Yen Chang-lin, (Peking: FLP, 1972), 95 pages. PDF format [3,706 KB]
- “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army”, with a number of photographs including those of its top leaders. (Peking: FLP, 1950), 81 pages. PDF format [4,338 KB]
- [Book:] “A Volunteer Soldier’s Day: Recollections by Men of the Chinese People’s Volunteers in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea”, (Peking: FLP, 1961), 311 pages. PDF format [1,032 KB]
- [Book:] “The Battle of Sangkumryung”, by Lu Chu-kuo. Novel about a major battle won by Chinese People’s Volunteers in Korea. (Peking: FLP, 1961), 176 pages. PDF format [6,116 KB]
- “Strategy: One Against Ten; Tactics: Ten Against One — An Exposition of Comrade Mao Tse-tung’s Thinking on the Strategy and Tactics of the People’s War”, by Li Tso-peng, (Peking: FLP, 1966), 52 pages. Originally in Hongqi [Red Flag], #23-24, 1964. [It should be noted that although the basic ideas in this pamphlet represent the strategic and tactical thinking of Mao, General Li Tso-peng later totally disgraced himself by joining Lin Biao’s attempted coup and assassination of Mao!] PDF format [16,662 KB]
The portion of this article which was published in A World to Win magazine in 1991 is also available in HTML format [44 KB] and is now available here in German translation, 16 pages. German: PDF format [197 KB]- “Break the Nuclear Monopoly, Eliminate Nuclear Weapons”, 6 statements and articles from 1964-1965, on the testing of China’s first two atom bombs and its proposals for all countries to eliminate nuclear weapons, 38 pages. (Peking: FLP, 1965) PDF format [1,533 KB]
- “Democratic Tradition of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army”, by Ho Lung, published on August 1, 1965, the 38th anniversary of the founding of the PLA. (Peking: FLP, 1965) PDF format [2,296 KB]
- “The People Defeated Japanese Fascism and They Can Certainly Defeat U.S. Imperialism Too”, by Lo Jui-ching, (Vice-Premier of the State Council and Chief of the General Staff of the PLA), a speech made in Peking on Sept. 3, 1965 at a mass rally held in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, 36 pages. (Peking: FLP, 1965) PDF format [1,757 KB]
- “Long Live the Victory of People’s War!”, by Lin Piao [Lin Biao], Sept. 3, 1965. This famous essay was written in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan. It is often still viewed as an important statement of the role of people’s war in the world despite Lin’s own personal treachery later on. (Peking: FLP, 3rd ed., 1967), 76 pages. PDF format [2,749 KB]
- “Battle Hero — Mai Hsien-teh”, (Peking: FLP, 1967), 40 pages. PDF format [2,286 KB]
- “People of the World, Unite and Struggle for the Complete Prohibition and Thorough Destruction of Nuclear Weapons!”, includes the statement of the PRC on July 30, 1971, and two speeches at the U.N. by Chiao Kuan-hua in November 1971. (Peking: FLP, 1971), 28 pages. PDF format [971 KB]
- “Commemorate the 44th Anniversary of the Founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army”, including a joint editorial on Aug. 1, 1971 by Renmin Ribao, Hongqi, and Jiefangjun Bao; and the speech at a reception by Chief of General Staff Huang Yung-sheng. (Peking: FLP, 1971), 38 pages. PDF format [833 KB]
- “Great Victory for the Military Line of Chairman Mao Tsetung — A Criticism of Lin Piao’s Bourgeois Military Line in the Liaohsi-Shenyang and Peiping-Tientsin Campaigns”, by Chan Shih-pu, (Peking: FLP, 1976), 124 pages plus 2 large maps. Searchable PDF format [4,731 KB]
- [Book:] “Fifty Years of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army”, issued on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the PLA (originally called the Chinese Red Army). Although this work was issued by the capitalist-roaders who seized control in a coup after Mao’s death, it contains some historical matter of interest. (Peking: FLP, 1978), 183 pages. PDF format [9,558 KB]
- [Book:] “Mao Zedong’s Art of War”, by Liu Jikun, (Hong Kong: Hai Feng, 1993), 294 pages (including end map). This book was written by a person who was a target of the Red Guards during the GPCR, who still opposes the GPCR, and who seems to share at least some of the views of the current regime. However, there is still much of interest in it about some of the many principles and methods that Mao used in the People’s War in China. Searchable PDF format [16,180 KB]
Mass Movements and the Class Struggle in China in the Mao Era
- Class Struggles before the Cultural Revolution:
- “Selected Translations on Rightist Opportunism in Communist China”, three articles from Political Study (Beijing) from 1959, translated by the Joint Publications Research Service of the U.S. government, including:
PDF format [20 pages; 1,164 KB]
- “The Thought of Mao Tse-tung is Our Banner of Victory”, by Liu Tzu-chiu, Political Study, #19, Oct. 12, 1959, pp. 2-7.
- “From the Theoretical Side, We Must Defeat the Tide of Anti-Marxist Thinking”, by Yu Kuang-yuan, Political Study, #19, Oct. 12, 1959, pp. 15-20.
- “Seeking the Source of Rightist Opportunist Ideology”, by Yu Sui-an, Political Study, #20, Oct. 27, 1959, pp. 8-12.
- In the Cultural Sphere, Education and Science:
- “Education Must Be Combined With Productive Labor”, by Lu Ting-yi. (Peking: FLP, 1958), 39 pages. PDF format [2,229 KB]
- “‘Let a Hundred Flowers Blossom, a Hundred Schools of Thought Contend!’”, by Lu Ting-yi, a speech on the policy of the CCP on Art, Literature and Science originally delivered on May 26, 1956. This is 3rd edition of the pamphlet with a revised translation. (Peking: FLP, 1964), 39 pages. PDF format [2,019 KB]
- Youth Movement:
- “China’s Youth March Forward”, (Peking: FLP, 1950), 98 pages. Searchable PDF format [5,616 KB]
- “Revolutionize Our Youth!” — Report on the Work of the Chinese Communist Youth League Delivered at its Ninth Congress, by Hu Yao-pang, June 11, 1964. (Peking: FLP, 1964), 58 pages. PDF format [2,824 KB]
- “Take the Road of Integrating with the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers”, on the orientation of the youth movement in the aftermath of the Red Guard movement. (Peking: FLP, 1970), 105 pages. PDF format [4,667 KB]
- Socialist Education Movement and Lead-in to the Cultural Revolution:
- “Political Work: The Lifeline of All Work”, by Hongqi [Red Flag] Commentator. Four articles from 1964. (Peking: FLP, 1966), 70 pages. PDF format [3,342 KB]
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (GPCR)
Theoretical and Technical Books and Pamphlets from China in the Maoist Era
- Philosophy:
- Book: Mao Tse-tung: Four Essays on Philosophy, (Peking: FLP, 1966), 146 pages. [With a small amount of underlining and marginal notes.] PDF format [5,472 KB]
- Book: A Short History of Chinese Philosophy, by Hou Wai-lu, (Peking: FLP, 1959), China Knowledge Series, 187 pages. This was probably one of the first books on the history of philosophy in China published in English in the PRC. Searchable PDF format [7,637 KB]
- “Materialist Dialectics Helps Fighters Make Ideological Progress”, by Chen Chin-yuan, originally in Jiefangjun Bao [Liberation Army Daily], January 10, 1966, 19 pages. This English translation is from the 1968 pamphlet Mao Tse-tung’s Thought is the Invincible Weapon. PDF format [822 KB]; Entire pamphlet (87 pages): PDF format [3,534 KB].
- “Selected Essays on the Study of Philosophy by Workers, Peasants and Soldiers”, (Peking: FLP, 1971), 96 pages. PDF format [3,748 KB]
- “Where Do Man’s Knowledge and Talent Come From?”, by the Revolutionary Committee of the Chingchiang Sugar Refinery, (Peking Review, 1972, #35, Sept. 1), 2 pages. PDF format [288 KB]
- “Serving the People with Dialectics — Essays on the Study of Philosophy by Workers and Peasants”, (Peking: FLP, 1972), 58 pages. PDF format [3,626 KB]
- “Philosophy is No Mystery — Peasants Put Their Study to Work”, (Peking: FLP, 1972), 88 pages. PDF format [4,238 KB]
- “The Theory of Two Points”, by Hsueh Li, from Peking Review, #2, Jan. 14, 1972, 2 pages. Searchable PDF format [316 KB]
- “How Engels Criticized Duhring’s Apriorism — Notes on studying Anti-Duhring”, by Wang Che, from Peking Review, #10, March 10, 1972, 5 pages. Searchable PDF format [682 KB]
- “On Studying Some History of Philosophy”, by Tang Hsiao-wen, from Peking Review, #34, August 25, 1972, 3 pages. Searchable PDF format [415 KB]
- “The Bankruptcy of Apriorism as Seen from the History of Knowledge”, by Tang Hsiao-wen, from Peking Review, #36, September 8, 1972, 4 pages. Searchable PDF format [781 KB]
- “Overcoming Empiricism — Notes on studying Lenin’s ‘Materialism and Empirio-Criticism’”, by Ni Chih-fu, from Peking Review, #43, October 27, 1972, 3 pages. Searchable PDF format [549 KB]
- “Seeing the Essence of Problems”, by Chi Ping, (Peking Review, 1973, #19, May 11), 3 pages. Slightly abridged translation from Hongqi, #3, 1973. PDF format [468 KB]
- “The Nannao Brigade Rejects Apriorism”, by Li Suo-shou, of the Nannao Brigade of the Tachai People’s Commune, (Peking Review, 1973, #20, May 18), 3 pages. PDF format [572 KB]
- “Three Major Struggles on China’s Philosophical Front (1949-64)”, 4 articles, (Peking: FLP, 1973), 76 pages. PDF format [3,199 KB] Also available in HTML format at: http://www.marx2mao.com/Other/TMS73.html
- “‘Upside Down’ Philosophy and Capitalist Restoration — Criticizing Lin Piao’s Bourgeois Idealism”, by Hsin Feng, (Peking Review, 1974, #4, January), 4 pages. PDF format [1,009 KB]
- Book: “马克思恩格斯列宁斯大林 论历史科学” [Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin On the Science of History], a draft collection of quotations on Historical Materialism, arranged by sub-topics, (People’s Publishing House, August 1975), 850 pages. Chinese: Searchable PDF format [28,452 KB]
- Book: “哲学小辞典 (辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义部分)” [Dictionary of Philosophy: Dialectical and Historical Materialism Section], by the “Shanghai 4 Philosophy Dictionary P Writing Group”, (Shanghai: 1975), in Chinese, 543 pages. Sometimes also referred to as the “Little Dictionary of Philosophy”. This book focuses on popular philosophical and political phrases that are less theoretical and academic than Li Da’s work listed below. Chinese: Searchable PDF format [10,476 KB]
- Book: “唯物辩证浩大纲 李达立场” [Outline of Dialectical Materialism: Li Da’s Position], (Beijing: May 1978), in Chinese, 521 pages. We believe this is a slightly revised version of a draft alternately entitled “Elements of Dialectical Materialism” produced at Mao’s urging under the editorship of Li Da in 1965, and intended to be part of a much larger work, the “Elements of Marxist Philosophy”. However, the advent of the Cultural Revolution (in which Li Da was himself criticized—perhaps unjustly), and then Li Da’s death in 1966, prevented this initial volume and the larger work from being published. [See: Nick Knight, Li Da and Marxist Philosophy in China (1996), pp. 278-287, for much further information.] After the Cultural Revolution was over, this book was lightly revised by Li Da’s former assistant, Tao Delin. We understand that Tao had become an advocate of Deng Xiaoping’s pragmatism, theory of the productive forces, and “reform and opening up” policies. However, it seems that his revisions to this book were quite limited and mostly harmless. In fact, in later years the capitalist roaders condemned this book as “too left-wing”. Chinese: Searchable PDF format [10,762 KB]
- Book: 《欧洲哲学史》 [History of European Philosophy], by the Peking University “History of European Philosophy Description Group”, (Beijing: January 1977 [text finalized in September 1975]), 762 pages, in Chinese. Designed in response to “Chairman Mao’s teaching on reading several books of philosophical history”, this edition is based on a 1972 draft version which was used as a textbook and underwent extensive criticism and revision. A friend of this site who provided us with this volume noted that the whole book begins with ancient Greek philosophy and continues up to the time of the birth of Marxism in the 19th century. So it does not include any explicit discussion of European bourgeois philosophy since that time. However, our friend notes that the conclusion part of this book is very valuable and serves to help combat the bad influence of the so-called “Western Marxism” view which opposes the philosophical works of Engels and Lenin, and denies the concept of dialectical materialism. Unfortunately this “Western Marxist” point of view prevails among many left-wing youths in China as well as in the West. Chinese: Searchable PDF format [26,023 KB]
- Political Economy:
- [Book:] The Socialist Transformation of the National Economy in China, China Knowledge Series, by Hsueh Mu-chiao, Su Hsing and Lin Tse-li, (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1960), 298 pages. A description of the basic socialization of the Chinese economy during the 1950s. (Of course, this does not include information about the further enhancement and development of Chinese socialism during later years, especially as a result of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.) Searchable PDF format [13,193 KB]
- [Book:] “A Critique of Soviet Economics”, by Mao Tsetung, including Mao’s “Critique of Stalin’s Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR”, (NY: Monthly Review Press, 1977), 156 pages. Note that this “standard” English language version of Mao’s commentary about Soviet economics is by no means complete! In particular, many of Mao’s comments to comrades about Soviet economics are not included along with the notes he made while reading the Soviet textbook. This explains why this English language book (and the Spanish translation of it below) are so much shorter than even the “Short” Chinese language edition also available below. Questions have also been raised about the accuracy of the translations of Mao’s comments in some places. This English book is included in Volume VIII of Mao’s Selected Works, and is also available in HTML format on the Marx2Mao.com website at: http://www.marx2mao.com/Mao/CSE58.html and on the Marxist Internet Archive at: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-8/mswv8_64.htm
[Spanish edition:] “Commentarios sobre el Manual de Economía Política Soviético y sobre el Libro Problemas Económicos del Socialismo en la URSS de José Stalin”, (Lima, Peru: n.d.), 170 pages. PDF format [6,180 KB]
[Original Chinese edition:] “Short Version” [i.e., with all of Mao’s comments, but much shorter extracts from the full Soviet texts that Mao is criticizing], edited by Deng Liqun based on his extensive conversations with Mao, 619 pages. While this is called the “Short” Chinese version, it includes a whole lot of Mao’s comments about Soviet political economy that are not included in the MR English volume. Searchable PDF format [10,960 KB]
[Edited Simplified Chinese edition:] Mao Zedong’s Talk on Reading the Soviet Political Economy Textbook, Nov. 9-10, 1958, 162 pages. [This is probably the best version for people to at least begin on in studying Mao’s comments on the political economy of the Soviet Union during the Stalin era. It is a recently edited edition by a friend of this website, of the “Simplified Version” created on behalf of Deng Liqun long before, who himself prepared the “Original Chinese edition” listed above. In this book Mao’s own comments are in bold type, while the ordinary text presents the views of the Soviet textbook or Stalin. Although not yet available in English translation, it is fairly easy to use machine translation (such as from Google) to get some idea of the important material in this volume.] Microsoft Word (.docx) format [207 KB]; Searchable PDF format [711 KB]- “Capitalism Will Surely Perish, Socialism Will Surely Prosper”, by Yin Hang, (Peking: People’s Daily, April 20, 1971), English translation in Chinese Economic Studies, Vol VI, No. 1, (Fall 1972), 13 pages. Searchable PDF format [888 KB]
- [Book:] An Economic History of the Major Capitalist Countries: A Chinese View, by Kang Fan, et al., 1973. Translated into English by Uldis Kruze (1992), 334 pages. Searchable PDF format (large file) [22,126 KB]; Searchable PDF format (smaller file), (requires Adobe Acrobat reader version 9.0 or later), [7,569 KB]
- [Book:] The Political Economy of Socialism, a major project of the Communist Party of China during the Maoist/Socialist period (following a similar earlier effort in the Soviet Union under Stalin), consisting of several draft versions of what was intended to eventually become a definitive exposition of socialist political economy in general as well as under Chinese circumstances. “Political Economy of Socialism was seen as an ongoing work. The process of writing and circulating and improving drafts was a fertile one. Between 1972 and 1976, four drafts of the book were published, each a significant marker of a deeper theoretical grasp and each implicitly setting an agenda for further research. In tracking the changes in the successive drafts of the text, it becomes apparent that the Maoists were creatively tackling many of the most vexing issues of socialist political economy—from the character of the socialist labor process, to the status of economic laws under socialism, to the relationship between the forces of production and the relations of production under socialism.” —Raymond Lotta, Maoist Economics and the Revolutionary Road to Communism: The Shanghai Textbook (1994), p. xl.
- 1972年写出“征求意见稿”, First Version (September 1972): “Draft for Solicitation of Comments”. Chinese: Searchable PDF format [409 pages; 13,902 KB]
- 1973年写出“未定稿”, Second Version (July 1973): “Unfinalized Draft”. Chinese: Searchable PDF format [406 pages; 13,812 KB]
- 1975年写出“未定稿第二版”, Third Version (June 1975): “Unfinalized Second Edition”. Chinese: Searchable PDF format [441 pages; 14,936 KB]
- 1976年9月写出“未定稿第二版讨论稿”, Fourth Version (September 1976): “Unfinished Second Edition Discussion Draft”. Chinese: Searchable PDF format (Large file) [538 pages; 19,847 KB]; Chinese: Searchable PDF format (Smaller file) [551 pages; 2,537 KB]
- Fifth Version (October 1976): “... never saw the light of day; it was seized off the printing presses immediately after the October 1976 rightist coup.” —Raymond Lotta, ibid. Though probably only a bit different than the Fourth Version which came out shortly before it, this was still likely one of the very most interesting and valuable texts suppressed by the capitalist roaders after their seizure of power. Some idea of its point of view (as well as of earlier drafts) can be obtained from studying the many revisionist criticisms of the volume which were were published after the coup. (See the next item for some references to those criticisms.)
- “A Theory of Transitional Society and Mao Zedong and the Shanghai School”, by Peer Moller Christensen & Jorgen Delman, originally published in the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, 13:2, April-June 1981, pp. 2-15. (But only posted on the Internet in 2019.) This very interesting paper discusses (among other things) the issue of how it is that capitalism can possibly grow out of socialism, and the thinking in the various drafts of the Political Economy of Socialism text about this. This is a quite useful article to read in connection with the study of the drafts of the Shanghai text, which it discusses extensively. English: Searchable PDF format [15 pages; 2,064 KB]
- [Books:] The Three-Part Nankai Volumes on Political Economy, published at Nankai University in Tianjin, probably in 1976. We believe these are quite similar in theoretical and political outlook to the Shanghai volume The Political Economy of Socialism listed above.
- “Preface: Very Rough Google Translation into English”, just enough to give a slight taste of what these volumes are about, 16 pages. English: Searchable PDF format [145 KB]
- Political Economy Textbook — Nankai Edition — Capitalism Part, 404 pages. Chinese: Searchable PDF format [13,216 KB]
- Political Economy Textbook — Nankai Edition — Imperialism Part, 172 pages. Chinese: Searchable PDF format [6,057 KB]
- Political Economy Textbook — Nankai Edition — Socialism Part, 458 pages. Chinese: Searchable PDF format [15,304 KB]
- [Book:] “Fundamentals of Political Economy”, also known in the U.S. as the “Shanghai Textbook”. This book was originally published in Chinese in Shanghai in 1974 as a popularization of the Shanghai volume Political Economy of Socialism which is more properly termed the “Shanghai Textbook” (see above). It was part of the Youth Self-Education Series designed for individual or group study. The first half of the book is about the political economy of capitalism and capitalist-imperialism. Chapter 11 is about Soviet social-imperialism [socialism in name, imperialism in fact]. And the rest of the book is about the political economy of socialism. This is the 1977 translation of the entire volume, as edited by George Wang, 541 pages. Searchable PDF format [29,335 KB]
We now also have available the second edition of this volume in Chinese, 《政治经济学基础知识》, (Shanghai: 1975). This is a reprint edition from February 2022, 349 pages. Searchable PDF format [2,131 KB]
The portions of this volume on the political economy of socialism were later issued in a revised translation edited by Raymond Lotta (with a Foreward and Afterword) under the title “Maoist Economics and the Revolutionary Road to Communism: The Shanghai Textbook” (NY: Banner Press, 1994), 404 pages. Searchable PDF format [6,505 KB]- “On the Management of Socialist Enterprises”, by Kung Hsiao-wen, et al., original Chinese edition, 1974, 54 pages. To their great credit, the articles in this book give a very strong emphasis to the importance of using the mass line (the method of “from the masses, to the masses”) in the management of production. Chinese: PDF format [1904 KB]
This entire small book was translated into English and reprinted as an issue of Chinese Economic Studies, Vol. IX, No. 1, Fall 1975, 83 pages. English: Searchable PDF format [1,344 KB]- “Why China Has No Inflation”, by Peng Kuang-hsi, (Peking: FLP: 1976), 72 pages. PDF format [5,654 KB]; also available in HTML format at: https://www.massline.org/PolitEcon/China/Inflation-pamphlet.htm
- [Book:] “马克思恩格斯列宁毛主席 关于社会主义政治经济学 的部分论述” [“Marx-Engels-Lenin-Chairman Mao — On Socialist Political Economy”], by the Political Economy Teaching and Research Group, [Department of Political Economy, Fudan University, March 1976], 401 pages. We understand that this book is a good reference source while studying the The Political Economy of Socialism textbook listed above. In particular the theory of “bourgeois right and factors in the socialist stage” and the “bourgeoisie in the party” had basically matured by the time this volume was written. Chinese: Searchable PDF format [20,904 KB]
- [Book:] “Almanac of China’s Economy — 1981: With Economic Statistics for 1949-1980”, compiled by The Economic Research Centre, The State Council of the People’s Republic of China and The State Statistical Bureau, Xue Muqiao, Editor-in-Chief, English edition, (Hong Kong: Modern Cultural Co., 1982), 1,169 pages (massive volume). Searchable PDF format [Large file: 47,636 KB]
- Political Theory:
- [Book:] Lenin on War and Peace, 2nd ed., selections from Lenin’s writings, (Peking: 1960).
- [Book:] Lenin’s Struggle Against Revisionism and Opportunism, by Cheng Yen-shih, (Peking: 1965).
- [Book:] “基本路线基本矛盾” [The Basic Contradiction of Socialist Society and the Party’s Basic Line], (February 1976), 120 pages, in Chinese. This book was written when the theory of continuing the revolution under socialism was more mature than it was early in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. The book starts with a brief analysis of the basic contradictions of a socialist society, and based on this, introduces the basic line of the CCP. We believe this to be a brief introduction to the most important part of the Maoist theory of continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat. PDF format [3,903 KB]
- History:
- [Book:] “Modern History of Eastern Countries”, 2 volume set, (Beijing: 1957). This is the Chinese translation of the Soviet work “Новая история стран зарубежного Востока” [“Novaia istoriia stran zarubezhnogo Vostoka”; or “New History of the Countries of the Foreign East”], ed. by Igor’ Mikhailovich Reisner, published by Izdatel’stvo Moskovskogo universiteta, 1952.
“东方各国近代史: 第1卷 资本主义在欧洲各先进国家中胜利和确立时期苏联境外的东方各国—— 从英国资产阶级革命到普法战争和巴黎公社” [“Modern History of Eastern Countries: Volume 1 Eastern Countries Outside the Soviet Union During the Period of Victory and Establishment of Capitalism in Advanced European Countries - From the British Bourgeois Revolution to the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune”], 664 pages. PDF format [48,043 KB]
“东方各国近代史: 第2卷 资本主义没落、旧的“自由”资本主义变为帝国主义和俄国资本主义被推翻时期的苏联境外的东方各国——从普法战争和巴黎公社到俄国伟大十月社会主义革命和第一次世界大战结束” [“Modern History of Eastern Countries: Volume 2 Eastern Countries Outside the Soviet Union During the Decline of Capitalism, the Transformation of Old ‘Liberal’ Capitalism into Imperialism, and the Overthrow of Russian Capitalism - From the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune to the Russian Great October Society Socialist Revolution and the end of World War I”], 517 pages. PDF format [39,448 KB]
[A friend of this website who located the above volumes notes that the geographical scope of the work is from Ottoman Turkey to the Far East. And he adds: “There is no doubt that this book represents to a great extent many views at the end of the Stalinist era. I think that in addition to the historical value of this book, what is more valuable is how the Soviet Union viewed Tsarist Russia’s role in history at that time. After careful study and comparison, I found that the book does contain a large number of passages that try to downplay or even beautify Tsarist Russia’s aggression when it comes to Persia, Ottoman, Qing China, Mongolia, etc. The book even states that although Tsarist Russia’s aggression in some areas was subjectively bad, it objectively promoted historical progress, etc. In addition, approaching Lenin’s era, the book had to condemn and point out a large number of aggressive activities by Tsarist Russia. Despite this, the book repeatedly implies that Tsarist Russia’s activities are ‘more popular with locals’ and ‘less harmful’... In addition, the concept of ‘China’ is simply equated with ‘the dynasty established by the Han people and ruling the main part of China’, which is also a major problem in the book. In this case, it is easy to draw a conclusion close to Han chauvinism - ‘Only Han-oriented nations and things are Chinese.’ In this way, the unique characteristics of China’s ethnic minorities are obliterated. In any case, there are still too few works that reflect the systematic discussion of history during the Stalin era. Although this book has many problems (objectively reflecting the expansion of Great Russian nationalism during the Stalin era), it is still of good reference value.”]- “On Studying Some World History”, by Shih Chun (1973). (Peking: FLP, 1973), 68 pages. PDF format [3,122 KB] Consists of four articles:
- “Why it is Necessary to Study World History”
- “Again on Studying World History”
- “On Studying Some History About Imperialism”
- “On Studying Some History of the National Liberation Movement”
- “Confucius — ‘Sage’ of the Reactionary Classes”, by Yang Jung-kuo. (Peking: FLP, 1974), 75 pages. PDF format [3,129 KB] [Note: For more on Confucius and the history of his times, see the section on the struggle against Lin Piao and Confucius on the GPCR page at: https://www.bannedthought.net/China/MaoEra/GPCR/index.htm#Lin-Confucius ]
- [Book:] “The Opium War”, by the Compilation Group for the “History of Modern China” Series, 1st edition, 149 pages. (Peking: FLP, 1976) PDF format [6,768 KB]
- “A Brief History of the United States”, by Shih Chan [Chun?] (1972). A 40-page pamphlet written as an introduction to U.S. history for workers and peasants in China. This English translation was done in 1976 by the Chinese Translation Group in Berkeley, CA. PDF format [2,766 KB]
- “Long Live the Victory of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat! — In Commemoration of the Centenary of the Paris Commune”, by the Editorial Departments of Renmin Ribao, Hongqi and Jiefangjun Bao, 48 pages. (Peking: FLP, 1971) PDF format [1,881 KB]
- [Book:] “The Reform Movement of 1898”, by the Compilation Group for the “History of Modern China” Series, 1st edition, (Peking: FLP, 1976), 150 pages. PDF format [5,037 KB]
- [Book:] “The Yi Ho Tuan Movement of 1900”, by the Compilation Group for the “History of Modern China” Series, about what is called the “Boxer Rebellion” in the West, (Peking: FLP, 1976), 148 pages. PDF format [5,849 KB]
- “The Historical Experience of the War Against Fascism”, by the Editorial Department of Renmin Ribao [People’s Daily], 1965, 27 pages. PDF format [1,698 KB]; Alternative version in smaller file and scanned in color: PDF format [293 KB]; [Also available in several other places on the Internet, including in HTML format at: http://www.marx2mao.com/Other/HEAF65.html and at: Ibiblio.org ]
- “Twenty-Sixth Anniversary of the ‘February 28’ Uprising of the People of Taiwan Province”, articles and speeches. (Peking: FLP, 1973), 33 pages. PDF format [1,225 KB]
- Environment and Disaster Control:
- “China Tames Her Rivers”, (Peking: FLP, 1972), 76 pages. PDF format [6,676 KB]
- [Book:] “Harm Into Benefit: Taming the Haiho River”, by Ho Chin, (Peking: FLP, 1975), 126 pages. PDF format [21,232 KB]
- Science and Technology:
- “Reform of the Chinese Written Language”, 2nd edition (revised translation), 1965, 71 pages. [First edition was in 1958.] Includes “Current Tasks of Reforming the Written Language”, by Chou En-lai. (Peking: FLP, 1965) PDF format [3,374 KB]
- “Strive to Build a Socialist University of Science and Engineering”, about the Cultural Revolution in education. (Peking: FLP, 1972), 85 pages. In addition to the title article by the Workers’ and PLA Men’s Mao Tsetung Thought Propaganda Team at Tsinghua University, this pamphlet also includes the “Summary of the Forum on the Revolution in Education in Shanghai Colleges of Science and Engineering” convened by Chang Chun-chiao and Yao Wen-yuan in Shanghai, June 2, 1970. PDF format [5,441 KB]
- “New Archeological Finds in China: Discoveries During the Cultural Revolution”, (Peking: FLP, 1972), first edition, 77 pages. PDF format [6,594 KB]
- “New Archeological Finds in China: Discoveries During the Cultural Revolution”, (Peking: FLP, 1973), second edition (revised), 106 pages. PDF format [9,882 KB]
- “The Cave Home of Peking Man”, by Chia Lan-po, (Peking: FLP, 1975), 99 pages. PDF format [12,579 KB]
- “Chinese Albums of Archaeology”, illustrated catalog. (Peking: Guozi Shudian (China Publications Centre), n.d. [but before 1977]), 50 pages. Searchable PDF format [7,369 KB]
Art, Literature, Music and Culture in China in the Maoist Era
- General:
- “Culture and Education in New China”, includes “Report on Cultural and Educational Work” by Kuo Mo-jo and six other reports, 110 pages. (Peking: FLP, n.d. [but either late 1950 or early 1951]). Searchable PDF format [7,976 KB]
- [Book:] “China’s New Literature and Art”, by Chou Yang, (Peking: FLP, 1954), 162 pages. (Later on, during the GPCR, Chou Yang himself became a target of the revolution; see the next document.) Searchable PDF format [33,412 KB]
- “To Trumpet Bourgeois Literature and Art is to Restore Capitalism” — A Repudiation of Chou Yang’s Reactionary Fallacy Adulating the ‘Renaissance’, the ‘Enlightenment’ and ‘Critical Realism’ of the Bourgeoisie, by the Shanghai Writing Group for Revolutionary Mass Criticism, (Peking: FLP, 1971), small pamphlet format, 53 pages. PDF format [1,298 KB]
- “A Glance at China’s Culture”, by Chai Pien, 106 pages. (Peking: FLP, 1975). PDF format [12,841 KB]
- Painting:
- [Book:] 上海工人美术作品选 [“Selection of Artistic Works by Shanghai Workers”], (上海人民出版社 Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1974), 91 pages. A wonderful collection of paintings, with captions in Chinese. PDF format [15,111 KB]
- [Book:] “Quánguó nián huà, shàonián értóng meishù zuòpin zhan xián”, [English title not available], a collection of a couple hundred wonderful Chinese political paintings from the later stage of the Cultural Revolution. (Peking: 1975), 110 pages. PDF format [4,204 KB]; WinDjView format [60,487 KB]
- “Peasant Paintings from Huhsien County”, compiled by the Fine Arts Collection Section of the Cultural Group under the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, as exhibited in Peking in 1973. (Peking: People’s Fine Arts Publishing House, 1976), 85 pages. Searchable PDF format (150 dpi) [23,900 KB]; WinDjView format (601 dpi) [27,834 KB]
An article about these paintings appeared in China Reconstructs magazine, Jan. 1974, pp. 17-20, online at: https://www.bannedthought.net/China/Magazines/ChinaReconstructs/1974/CR1974-01.pdf [24,386 KB].- “Graphic Art by Workers in Shanghai, Yangchuan and Luta”, (Peking: FLP, 1976), 83 pages. Searchable PDF format [14,538 KB]
- Wood Cuts and Paper Cuts:
- “Chinese Paper Cuts”, supplement to China Reconstructs, No. 12, 1955, 24 pages. Searchable PDF format [3,469 KB]
- “The East is Red: Paper Cuts of the Chinese Revolution”, with text by Lincoln Bergman and paper cuts by members of a People’s Commune in Fatshan, 56 pages. (San Francisco: People’s Press, 1972) Searchable PDF format [18,107 KB]
- “Papercuts — Tigers”, n.d. (probably from the 1970s), in color, 7 pages. PDF format [884 KB]
- “Papercuts — Karst Landscape”, n.d. (probably from the 1970s), in color, 4 pages. PDF format [3,228 KB]
- “Papercuts — A Cock Crows at Midnight”, n.d. (probably from the 1970s), in black, 8 pages. PDF format [2,831 KB]
- “Papercuts — Collective Farm Images”, n.d., in black, 10 pages. PDF format [410 KB]
- “Papercuts — Table Tennis Images”, n.d., 10 pages. PDF format [969 KB]
- “Papercuts — Sword Training Images”, n.d., 11 pages. PDF format [752 KB]
- Sculpture:
- “Introduction to Rent Collection Courtyard”, 20 pages. Searchable PDF format [3,973 KB]
- “Rent Collection Courtyard: Sculpures of Oppression and Revolt”, probably the most famous set of works of art in China in the Maoist era. This is a great collection of photographs of these wonderful and emotionally powerful sculptures. (Peking: FLP, 1968), 88 pages. PDF format [Large file: 45,716 KB]
- “Wrath of the Serfs: A Group of Life-sized Clay Sculptures”, powerful scenes of figures showing the pre-revolutionary Tibetan system of exploitation. (Peking: FLP, 1976), 88 pages. (Partial scanner distortion on sheet 17.) Searchable PDF format [18,995 KB]; WinDjView format (601 dpi scan) [18,724 KB]; Also available online in HTML format
A discussion of this exhibit appeared in Chinese Literature magazine, Feb. 1976, pp. 109-117, online at: https://www.bannedthought.net/China/Magazines/ChineseLiterature/1976/CL1976-02.pdf- Graphic Histories and Literature (Picture-Stories):
- “The Old Messenger”, by Chun Ching, drawings by Ting Pin-tseng. (Peking: FLP, 1956), 72 pages. Searchable PDF format [31,056 KB - Very large file]
- “Immortal Hero Yang Ken-sze”, story by Wang Hao about a real-life hero in the chinese People’s Volunteers in the Korean War. Drawings by Ho Yu-chih. (Peking: FLP, 1965), 3rd ed., 140 pages. PDF format [5,029 KB]
- “Red Women’s Detachment”, picture-story by Liang Hsin about the slave girl Chiung-hua on Hainan Island in 1930 who escapes and joins the Red Army. Drawings by Li Tzu-shun. (Peking: FLP, 1966), 148 pages. PDF format [6,893 KB]
- “Tunnel Warfare”, picture-story adapted by Che Mei and Pi Lei about the clever tactics of the masses and people’s militia in Hopei Province during China’s War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-1945). (Peking: FLP, 1972), 164 pages. PDF format [6,446 KB]
- “Norman Bethune in China”, a wonderful, inspiring work featuring fine ink drawings on every page. The adaptation is by Chung Chih-cheng, and the illustrations are by Hsu Jung-chu, Hsu Yung, Ku Lien-tang and Wang Yi-sheng. (Peking: FLP, 1975), 124 pages. PDF format [7,884 KB]
- “Storms on the Chinkiang Docks”, a story of a struggle on the docks during the revolutionary war. Illustrations by Hu Po-tsung and Wang Meng-chi. (Peking: FLP, 1975), 88 pages. PDF format [5,119 KB]
- “Flying Eagle Cliff”, adapted by the Kwangtung People’s Publishing House, drawings by Kuang Ming-yin, Tso Yi, Liu Wei-hsiung and Chung Hsien-chang. It is not clear if there is a historical basis to this story, or if it is just literature. Either way, it is a fine and moving story which is especially good at bringing out that the Communists “can’t do what the masses must do themselves; to arrest the class enemies before the masses are aroused would be useless.” (Peking: FLP, 1975), 164 pages. PDF format [7,807 KB]
- Literature:
- [Book:] A Short History of Classical Chinese Literature, by Feng Yuan-chun, China Knowledge Series, (Peking: FLP, 1958), 139 pages. Searchable PDF format [2,331 KB]
- [Book:] A Brief History of Chinese Fiction, by Lu Hsun. (Peking: FLP, 1964), 2nd edition, 524 pages. Searchable PDF format [24,711 KB]
- “Lu Hsun — Great Revolutionary, Thinker and Writer”, a loose-leaf collection of color paintings, (FLP: 1975), 36 pages. English: PDF format [24,664 KB]
“Lu Hsün — Der Grosse Revolutionär, Denker und Schriftsteller”, 35 pages. Size of originals: 22.5 cm x 22.5 cm. German: WinDjView format [Color plates scanned at 600 dpi; text at 300 dpi. 5,498 KB]- [Book:] Selected Works of Lu Hsun, Vol. 1, (Peking: FLP, 1956), 488 pages. PDF format [12,986 KB]
- [Book:] Selected Works of Lu Hsun, Vol. 2, (Peking: FLP, 1957), 378 pages. PDF format [16,452 KB]
- [Book:] Selected Works of Lu Hsun, Vol. 3, (Peking: FLP, 1964), 358 pages. PDF format [9,312 KB]
- [Book:] Selected Works of Lu Hsun, Vol. 4, (Peking: FLP, 1960), 326 pages. PDF format [15,820 KB]
- [Book:] “Selected Stories of Lu Hsun”, by Lu Hsun. (Peking: FLP, 1972), 282 pages. PDF format [11,239 KB]
- [Book:] “Old Tales Retold”, by Lu Hsun. A collection of 8 tales from 1922-1935. (Peking: FLP, 1972), 150 pages. PDF format [4,728 KB]
- “The True Story of Ah Q”, by Lu Hsun. Probably his most famous work. (Peking: FLP, 1972), 5th edition, 82 pages. Searchable PDF format [3,114 KB]
- [Book:] Dawn Blossoms Plucked At Dusk, by Lu Hsun, a collection of essays written in 1926 and first published in 1928. (Peking: FLP, 1976), 138 pages. PDF format [4,402 KB]
- [Book:] Wall of Bronze, by Liu Ching, a novel of the War of Liberation. (Peking: FLP, 1954), 300 pages. Searchable PDF format [17,628 KB]
- [Book:] The Builders, by Liu Ching, a novel about the struggles over mutual aid, co-operatives, and socialist collectivization in the Chinese countryside. (Peking: FLP, 1964), 588 pages. PDF format [24,248 KB]
- [Book:] The Sun Shines Over the Sankgan River, by Ting Ling, novel, winner of the Stalin Prize. (Peking: FLP, 1954), 370 pages, dark paper. Searchable PDF format [33,514 KB]
- [Book:] The Hurricane, by Chou Li-po, novel, winner of the Stalin Prize. (Peking: FLP, 1955), 464 pages, dark paper. Searchable PDF format [24,450 KB]
- [Book:] The Man Who Sold a Ghost: Chinese Tales of the 3rd-6th Centuries. (Peking: FLP, 1958), 190 pages. PDF format [9,119 KB]
- [Book:] “The Battle of Sangkumryung”, by Lu Chu-kuo. Novel about a major battle won by Chinese People’s Volunteers in Korea. (Peking: FLP, 1961), 176 pages. PDF format [6,116 KB]
- [Book:] “The Seeds and Other Stories”, 14 stories by mostly young writers written during the Cultural Revolution. (Peking: FLP, 1972), 204 pages. PDF format [5,949 KB]
- [Book:] “City Cousin and Other Stories”, 8 stories, mostly by amateurs, about life in China at this time. (Peking: FLP, 1972), 204 pages. PDF format [3,685 KB]
- [Book:] “Bright Clouds”, by Hao Jan, 8 short stories. (Peking: FLP, 1974), 162 pages. Searchable PDF format [6,667 KB]
- [Book:] “Yenan Seeds and Other Stories”, 6 short stories by various writers. (Peking: FLP, 1976), 156 pages. PDF format [4,768 KB]
- [Book:] “The Making of a Peasant Doctor”, by Yang Hsiao, a novel. (Peking: FLP, 1976), 228 pages. PDF format [12,043 KB]
- [Book:] “The Song of Youth”, by Yang Mo, a fictional re-telling of the resistance of Chinese youth to imperialism and also the role they played in joining the Chinese revolution. (Peking: FLP, 3rd ed. 1978), 636 pages. (Text on some pages is curvy; our apologies.) PDF format [Huge file: 122,967 KB]
- [Book:] “The Golden Road”, by Hao Ran, a story of one village in the uncertain days after land reform, first published in Chinese in 1972, (Beijing: FLP, 1981), 408 pages. Searchable PDF format [4,897 KB]
- [Magazine:] Chinese Literature, many issues available at: https://www.bannedthought.net/China/Magazines/ChineseLiterature/index.htm
- [Magazine:] Zhao Xia [Morning Glow], a few issues from 1976 available at: https://www.bannedthought.net/China/Magazines/index.htm
- Poetry:
- “Mao Tsetung Poems”, by Mao Tse-tung. (Peking: FLP, 1976), 1st edition, 72 pages. PDF format [2,593 KB]
- “Wild Grass”, all 23 prose poems of Lu Xun which were written in 1924-26. (Peking: FLP, 1974), 82 pages. PDF format [2,387 KB]
- “Mountains Crimsoned with Flowers”, by Li Ying, 16 poems. (Peking: FLP, 1974), 44 pages. PDF format [758 KB]
- “Battle of the Hsisha Archipelago (Reportage in Verse)”, by Chang Yung-mei (Peking: FLP, 1975), 50 pages. PDF format [1,187 KB]
- Music:
- “Songs and Dances of the Chinese Youth”, (Peking: FLP, 1959), 62 pages. Searchable PDF format [6,468 KB]; WinDjView format [20,883 KB]
- “Historical Revolutionary Songs”, (Peking: FLP, 1971), 28 pages. PDF format [4,719 KB]
- Theatre and Film:
- “On Stanislavsky’s ‘System’”, by the Shanghai Revolutionary Mass Criticism Writing Group, (Peking: FLP, 1969), small pamphlet format, 47 pages. PDF format [1,099 KB]
- “A Vicious Motive, Despicable Tricks — A Criticism of M. Antonioni’s Anti-China Film China”, by Renmin Ribao Commentator, Jan. 30, 1974. (Peking: FLP, 1974), 23 pages. PDF format [871 KB]
- Opera:
- “On the Revolution of Peking Opera”, by Chiang Ching [Jiang Qing] and others, (Peking: FLP, 1968), 76 pages. PDF format [3,395 KB] Chiang Ching’s speech only (7 pages): PDF format [349 KB]
- “The Peking Opera”, by Chen Liu-jui, supplement to China Reconstructs, 1956, #7 (July), 23 pages. Searchable PDF format [4,441 KB]
- “Red Detachment of Women”. This is the most famous of all the model revolutionary Peking Operas created during the Mao era in China. It depicts the liberation of a peasant girl in Hainan Island and her role in the Chinese Communist Party. It is adapted from the original novel based on the true stories of the all-female Special Company of the 2nd Independent Division of the Chinese Red Army, first formed in May 1931.
- Video: (in Chinese) Part 1 (on YouTube) [54:51 minutes]; Part 2 (on YouTube) [45:29 minutes];
- “The Red Lantern”, a model Peking Opera on a contemporary revolutionary theme.
- “The Red Lantern: May 1970 Script”, Hsinhua News Service, Aug. 6, 1970, 18 double pages in teletype font. PDF format [1,771 KB]
- “Shachiapang”, a model Peking Opera on a contemporary revolutionary theme.
- “The Story of the Modern Peking Opera Shachiapang”, illustrated with drawings, 52 pages. (Peking: FLP, 1972). PDF format [2,379 KB]
- “Shachiapang — Model Peking Opera on Contemporary Revolutionary Theme”, screen play with photographs. (Colombo, Ceylon: Afro-Asian Writers’ Bureau, 1967), 86 pages. PDF format [4,513 KB]
- “Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy”. This is one of the 8 model works of revolutionary Peking Opera created during the Mao era. It is based on an actual event that took place in 1946 during the Chinese Civil War. A young communist reconnaissance team soldier, Yang Zirong, disguised himself as a bandit to infiltrate a local gang, eventually helping the main revolutionary force to destroy the band.
- Video: (in Chinese) On YouTube [1 hour, 58 minutes]
- Libretto [Script] in English, October 1969, issued by Hsinhua News Agency (June 20, 1970), 22 double pages: PDF format [1,839 KB]
- Miscellaneous Arts:
- “Folk Arts of New China”, (Peking: FLP, 1954), 93 pages. Searchable PDF format [18,687 KB]
- [Book:] “Suzhou Embroidery”, a fine hard-cover volume in Chinese with some beautiful examples of art from the Cultural Revolution era. (Shanghai: 1976), 78 pages. PDF format [43,872 KB]; WinDjView format [23,338 KB]
- Bookmarks in the shape of leaves with frog designs, non-political but artistically appealing bookmarks from China, probably from the 1970s, 7 pages. PDF format [1,630 KB]
- Bookmarks with fish or birds, similarly non-political but beautiful. Date unknown, 9 pages. PDF format [987 KB]
- Acrobatics and Sports:
- [Book:] “Chinese Acrobatics”, photo book with introduction and captions in English, French and Swahili, (Peking: FLP, 1974), 126 pages. PDF format [38,967 KB]
Works for Children and Young Adults from China in the Maoist Era [Many of which feature fine artwork]
- “The Little Miner”, (Shanghai: Youth and Children’s Publishers, 1957), 52 pages, in Chinese. Synopsis from the inside cover: “During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the enemy suffocated Little Niu’s Father to death in the mine because he had led resistance by the workers against the Japanese invaders. Little Niu’s Mother was then sold off by the Japanese and traitors. Little Niu, enraged by the Japanese, resolved to attain revenge, and insisted that his uncle introduce him to work in the coal mine. In the mine, he received all sorts of abuse from the Japanese and the traitors, but he was cherished by the miners. He performed many deeds for the party’s underground organization and for the advanced workers. Afterwards, an accident occurred in the mine, and several comrades were martyred. The Japanese tried to capture him, but he went up to the mountains to serve in a regiment of guerrilla fighters.” Chinese: Searchable PDF format [3,130 KB]
- “The Secret of a Cap”, by Ko Yen; illustrations by Hua San-chuan, (Peking: FLP, 1961), 20 pages. Searchable PDF format [2,043 KB]
- [Book:] “Little Soldier Chang Ka-tse”, by Hsu Kuang-yao, (Peking: FLP, 1964), 123 pages. PDF format [6,669 KB]
- “Hunting with Grandad”, story by Chan Fu-hsing; illustrations by Yang Yung-ching, (Peking: FLP, 1965), 24 pages. Searchable PDF format [2,514 KB]
- “I Am On Duty Today”, story by Yang Yi and Liang Ko; illustrations by Ku Yin, (Peking: FLP, 1966), 20 pages. Searchable PDF format [1,679 KB]
- “Observation Post 3”, story by Li Ju-ching, drawings by Fan Yi-hsin, (Peking: FLP, 1967), 56 pages. Searchable PDF format [6,540 KB]
- “Little Sisters of the Grassland”, a picture story book compiled by the drawing group of the Shanghai Film Studio and based on the animated cartoon of the same title. Tells the story of two little Mongolian sisters of the Inner Mongolia grassland. In order to protect commune sheep eleven-year-old Lungmei and her nine-year-old sister, Yujung, battle a blizzard for a whole day and night with the temperature at 37°C below zero. (Peking: FLP, 1973), 100 pages. PDF format [17,122 KB]
- “The Cock Crows at Midnight”, a story told through still images from a marionette film produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. (Peking: FLP, 1973), 76 pages. PDF format [16,562 KB]
- [Book:] “The Young Skipper and Other Stories”, 4 stories for young adults. (Peking: FLP, 1973), 116 pages. PDF format [2,369 KB]
- “The Shepherd Boy Hai Wa”, by Hua Shan, first written in 1945 and revised in 1972. Drawings by Hsia Shu-yu. “This is a story that took place in the Haihang Mountains of China’s Shansi Province during the country’s War of Resistance Against Japan. The shepherd boy Hai Wa, on his way with his sheep to deliver an important message to the Eighth Route Army, falls into the hands of the enemy, out plundering the people’s grain. Hai Wa struggles against the enemy time and again with courage and forethought, and succeeds in delivering the letter.” (Peking: FLP, 1974), 79 pages. English: PDF format [2,714 KB]; Nepali: PDF format [1,746 KB] (Translated by Devendra Timla. Improved scan: Nov. 24, 2018.)
- “The Call of the Fledgling and Other Children’s Stories”, by Hao Jan, (Peking: FLP, 1974), 77 pages. PDF format [13,593 KB]
- “Landing the Giant Sturgeon”, text and drawings by Tu Wei, (Peking: FLP, 1974), 40 pages. Searchable PDF format [3,861 KB]
- “Little Pals”, illustrations by Lin Wan-tsui, (Peking: FLP, 1974), 40 pages. Showing young children how cleanliness, school, home work, and chores at home can be good and can be fun. Searchable PDF format [2,895 KB]
- [Book:] “Bright Red Star”, story by Li Hsin-tien, illustrations by Wang Wei-hsin, (Peking: FLP, 1974), 152 pages. Summary: “PAN CHEN-SHAN, the Winter Boy of the story, is the son of a revolutionary fighter who joins the Long March in 1934 together with the Red Army. Left in the village with his mother, who is later martyred, Winter Boy vows vengeance and is time and again helped by the Party organizations and the people to escape from the clutches of the class enemies. He struggles and overcomes many hardships and difficulties, maturing from a village lad of seven to become a Liberation Army fighter.” Searchable PDF format [1,781 KB]
- “Three Sweaters”, the story of a kindergarten child already showing concern for others, (Peking: FLP, 1975), 16 pages. PDF format [3,832 KB]
- “Two Peacocks”, by Chen Wei, Peng Hua, et al., (Peking: FLP, 1975), 40 pages. PDF format [14,726 KB]
- “Billows Ferry”, edited and illustrated by the Cultural Centre of Chitung County, Kiangsu Province, (Peking: FLP, 1975), 44 pages. PDF format [16,327 KB]
- “Going to School”, by Kuan Hua. About the struggles of a family to send their 8-year old boy to school during the pre-Liberation era. Small book (Peking: FLP, 1975), 64 pages. PDF format [16,097 KB]; Nepali: PDF format [3,676 KB] (Translated by Devendra Timla. Improved scan: Nov. 24, 2018.)
- “Stories of Little Red Guards”, by Peng Kuo-liang. A series of short moralistic stories told entirely through artwork. (Peking: FLP, 1975), 48 pages. PDF format [10,253 KB]
- “Sea Flower”, by Yu Sung-yen, with beautiful illustrations by Chen Yen-ning. This is a story about a Little Red Guard. (Peking: FLP, 1975), 76 pages. PDF format [16,655 KB]
- [Book:] “A Young Pathbreaker and Other Stories”, by Hsiao Kuan-hung and others. Ten stories about the lives of young people in China who have been tempered by the Cultural Revolution. (Peking: FLP, 1975), 204 pages. PDF format [4,159 KB]
- “How the Foal Crossed the Stream”, adapted by Ming Yang. This story tells us that when we don’t understand something we should first find out exactly what the problem is, think about it and be sure we know the situation. Then we can decide what to do! (Peking: FLP, 1976), 20 pages. PDF format [4,475 KB]
- “Exchanging Seeds”, about the spirit of commune members making things easier for others even when it meant shouldering difficulties themselves. (Peking: FLP, 1976), 28 pages. PDF format [8,752 KB]
- “Liu Wen-hsueh — A Boy Martyr”, illustrations by Lou Chia-pen, the story of a Young Pioneer of Chuchia People’s Commune, Szechuan Province, who put up a heroic fight against a class enemy and died at the age of 14. (Peking: FLP, 1977), 52 pages. Searchable PDF format [4,469 KB]
- “Young Riders of the Grassland”, by Hua Kuo-chang, the story of young Red Guards in Inner Mongolia emulating Lei Feng, (Peking: FLP, 1977), 40 pages. PDF format [14,163 KB]
- “Liu Hu-lan”, with beautiful paintings by Meng Ching-chiang, (Peking: FLP, 1978), 82 pages. The story of a brave young woman who died for the people and the revolution in 1947 at the age of just 16. PDF format [9,149 KB]
Magazines from China, Mostly from the Maoist Era
- Peking Review/Beijing Review entire issues and individual articles: https://www.massline.org/PekingReview/ [This archive now has all of the issues from the GPCR period and most of the issues for the entire 1958-1991 period.]
- People’s China, magazine from the early years of the People’s Republic of China: https://www.massline.org/PeoplesChina/
- China Reconstructs, a well-illustrated monthly magazine with many interesting articles about China. (Renamed China Today in 1990.) Index Page on Bannedthought.net
- China Pictorial, a larged-sized monthly magazine filled with photographs. Index Page on Bannedthought.net
- Chinese Literature, a quarterly magazine begun in 1951 which soon became a monthly. Each issue also includes some photographs of paintings or other works of art. Index Page on Bannedthought.net
- Zhao Xia [Morning Glow], a monthly magazine of literature and criticism in the Chinese language. https://www.bannedthought.net/China/Magazines/index.htm
Contemporary Foreign Commentary about China During the Maoist Era
- Far East Reporter Pamphlet Series (Maud Russell)
- Anglo-Chinese Educational Institute
- Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU)
- Chinese Policy Study Group (London)
- Arts and Sciences in China [British magazine: 1963-?]
- U.S.-China People’s Friendship Association:
- Pamphlet Series
- New China magazine (1974-1979).
- Miscellaneous Sympathetic Foreign Commentary, articles, pamphlets, etc.
- Academic and/or Bourgeois Commentary, books and other materials.
Retrospective Commentary about the Maoist Period
- “Evaluating the Cultural Revolution in China and its Legacy for the Future”, by the MLM Revolutionary Study Group in the U.S. (85 pages, March 2007) What does it mean to embark on, and wage a determined revolutionary struggle to stay on, the socialist road to communism? This comprehensive paper describes the sweep of the Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976; its theoretical foundations; its many achievements in the areas of culture, education, industry, agriculture and the liberation of women; the serious obstacles it faced and its shortcomings in a number of areas; and why future revolutionary movements and socialist states must stand on its shoulders. An extensive bibliography on the Cultural Revolution is included. PDF format (847 KB); MS Word format (1,087 KB)
- “Chinese Foreign Policy during the Maoist Era and its Lessons for Today”, by the MLM Revolutionary Study Group in the U.S. (40 pages, January 2007) All socialist states face a continuing, and at times acute, contradiction between the necessity of defending the socialist country—including through making agreements with imperialist and reactionary states—and the goal of promoting and supporting the world revolution. This paper examines how socialist China handled this tension during four periods between 1949 and 1976. It contrasts the strong internationalist support given to the Korean people and to the Vietnamese and other struggles for national liberation in the 1960s, with the development of bourgeois nationalist lines around the 1955 Bandung Conference and the reactionary “three worlds theory” of the early 1970s. This paper also takes on the view that nationalist governments and their leaders, not revolutionary people’s movements, are the most important challenge to imperialism in the world today. PDF format (1,208 KB); MS Word format (200 KB)
- “The Political, Military and Negotiating Strategies of the Chinese Communist Party (1937-1946) and Recent Developments in Nepal”, by the MLM Revolutionary Study Group in the U.S. (February 2007, revised April 2009. 17 pp.) The most germane experience in assessing recent developments in a semi-feudal, semi-colonial country like Nepal is the military and political strategy and tactics of the Chinese revolution. A close look at the CCP’s integrated political-military strategy and negotiating tactics from 1937-1946—which served to advance China’s protracted people’s war to final victory—can yield important lessons for the revolution in Nepal and other countries, for how revolutionaries should be “firm as a pine and flexible as a willow.” PDF format (301 KB); MS Word format (86 KB)
- “On the Relationship Between the Working Class and Its Party Under Socialism”, by Fred Engst, February 2015, 37 pages. This very important new paper focuses on the question of how revolutionary power can be maintained by the proletariat over the long term, and brings out some important lessons learned from the initial successes and then eventual failure (after Mao’s death) of the Cultural Revolution in China. It criticizes some of the bourgeois ideas that have recently developed in China that multi-party democracy and the “rule of law” are the way to ensure genuine socialism. Instead, it argues that the economic basis for the development of capitalist-roaders can be largely eliminated by abolishing “bureaucratic privileges” for Party members, and that mass organizations of the sort which developed in the Cultural Revolution can be institutionalized to criticize Party members and units in which capitalist-roaders start to develop. PDF format (487 KB); MS Word format (302 KB)
Capitalist-Imperialist China Today Page