Thesis submitted f o r the degree of Doctor o f Philosophy
at
The School o f O riental and African Studies The U n iv e rs ity o f London
by
Nicholas James Knight December 1982
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ABSTRACT
This study analyses.four problem areas in Mao Zedong's philosophy o f h is to ry . F i r s t l y , it.p r o v id e s an analysis o f the
way in which Mao perceived causation operating in social and h is to r ic a l terms. Secondly, the problem of h is t o r ic a l time and the fu tu re is examined; th is involves an examination o f the forms o f h is t o r ic a l p e rio d iza tio n u t i l i z e d by Mao, and his vision of the fu tu re o f society.
T h ir d ly , a b r i e f analysis is provided o f an important element of Mao's philosophy o f science, the manner in which he approached the
formulation of laws o f society and h is to ry . Fourthly, an in te rp r e ta tio n is offered of Mao's 11 S in if ic a t io n o f Marxism"; the way in which Mao could espouse a "u n iv e rs a l" theory o f h is to ry , and i n s i s t on i t s in te g ra tio n w ith Chinese national p a r t i c u l a r i t i e s w ithout de tracting from the u n iv e r s a lity o f th a t theory. An attempt has also been made to determine the re la tio n s h ip between these d if f e r e n t elements o f Mao's philosophy o f h is to ry .
The study is based on and employs several methodological devices.
The f i r s t o f these is the u t i l i z a t i o n o f an exegetical approach;
consequently, the analysis offered l i m i t s i t s e l f to a close textual study and in te r p r e ta t io n o f the Mao documents. Secondly, the study has adopted a p e rio d iz a tio n which divides the development o f Mao's thought in to six periods, fo u r p f which are subjected to analysis:
(1) The Yan'an period, 1936-45;, (2) the period of C iv il War and Consolidation, 1946-54; (3) the post-Cooperativization period, 1955- 64; and (4) the Cultural Revolution, 1965-69. The study concentrates on the Yan'an and post-Cooperativization periods. While these two methodological procedures guide and structure the study, the content of the study in turn serves as a te s t o f t h e i r u t i l i t y and v a l i d i t y .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Abstract 2
Acknowledgements 4
L is t of Abbreviations 6
Introduction 9
Chapter One: Problems in Mao Zedong's
Philosophy o f History 31
Chapter Two: The Yan'an Period:
1936-45 100
Chapter Three: C iv il War and
Consolidation: 1946-54 235
Chapter Four: The Post-Cooperativization
Period: 1955-64 256
Chapter Five: The Cultural Revolution:
1965-69 . 436
Chapter Six: Conclusion 463
Bibliography 492
Supporting Contributions back sleeve
1. "Mao Zedong's On Contradiction and On P ra c tic e : Pre-Liberation Texts", China Quarterly 84
(December 1980), pp. 641-668.
2. "Mao Zedong's On C ontrad iction:
An Annotated Translation of the Pre-Liberation Text", G r i f f i t h Asian Papers, No. 3 (Nathan: School of Modern Asian Studies, G r i f f i t h U n iv e rs ity , 1981). ,
The research and w r it in g of a doctoral thesis can be a long, and a t times lo n e ly , business. The support and encouragement of the student's supervisor, colleagues and frie nds can consequently become a c r i t i c a l fa c t o r in i t s completion.
I would l i k e f i r s t l y to extend my g ra titu d e to Dr. C.L. Chiou o f the U n iv e rs ity o f Queensland who f i r s t revealed to me the challenge and rewards o f studying Chinese p o l i t i c s , and who gave consistent
encouragement to my subsequent studies. My deep appreciation also goes to my supervisor Professor Stuart Schram of the School o f Oriental and A frican Studies, U n iv e rs ity o f London. Professor Schram provided invaluable advice and assistance at many stages of the research
and w r it in g ; in p a r t ic u la r , his close a tte n tio n to d e ta il and generous and co n structive c r i t i c i s m deserve mention and acknowledgement.
George Weys, also o f S.O.A.S., provided badly-needed assistance with some tra n s la tio n s from the Chinese. My thanks to Ms. Kathy Lay, f o r her tr a n s la tio n s from French works on Mao. My appreciation also goes to Michael Dutton o f G r i f f i t h U n iv e rs ity f o r the many i n t e l l e c t u a l l y s tim u la tin g discussions which forced me to c l a r i f y my p o s itio n on a number of important th e o re tic a l problems.
In terms o f material support, I am pleased to acknowledge the kindness extended by my good fr ie n d Dr. John Mahony. S im ila r ly , to Tom and Dora Knight, who came to my fin a n c ia l rescue a t a p a r t ic u la r ly d i f f i c u l t time, many thanks.
My thanks and appreciation also go to Mrs Sue Esdale f o r her meticulous care in typing the manuscript. Her gracious and cheerful
a tt it u d e is a to n ic f o r anyone lucky enough to work w ith her.
The f i n a l word of g ra titu d e is reserved f o r my dear fr ie n d J i l l Kenny. Without her unflagging love and support during a d i f f i c u l t period, t h is thesis would never have reached completion.
This thesis is a ff e c tio n a te ly dedicated to her.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BZF I
BZF I I
CLG COSE
Mao Zedong, Bianzhengfa weiwu Tun ( D ia le c tic a l Materialism) (Dalien: Da-zhong shu-dian, n. d. ) .
Mao Zedong, Bianzhengfa weiwu lun ( D ia le c tic a l Materialism) ( n .p .: Zhong-guo chu-ban she, 1946).
Chinese Law and Government.
Mao Tse-tung, A C ritiq u e of Soviet Economics, trans. by Moss Roberts (New York and London: Monthly Review Press 1977).
GPCR documents Union Research I n s t i t u t e , CCP Documents o f the Great P ro le taria n Cultural Revolution, 1966-1967 (Hong Kong:
URI, 1968).
Issues and Studies.
IS IYASC Ji
LLL M & A
MDOCC
Miscellany
MP
Is Yugoslavia a S o c ia lis t Country? (Peking: FLP, 1963).
Takeuchi Minoru ( e d . ) 9 Mao Zedong Ji (Collected Writings o f Mao Zedong) (Tokyo: Hokubasha, 1970-72), Volumes I-X.
Long Live Leninism (Peking: FLP, 1960).
S tua rt R. Schram and Helen Carrere d'Encausse, Marxism and Asia: An Intro d uction with Readings (London: Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, 1969).
John Wilson Lewis ( e d .) , Major Doctrines o f Communist China (New York: W.W. Norton and Co. L t d . , 1964).
J o in t P ublication Research Service, Miscellany o f Mao Tse-tung Thought (1949-1968) (A rlin g to n , V ir g in ia : February 1974), Parts I and I I .
Jerome Ch'en ( e d .) , Mao Papers: Anthology and Bibliography (London: Oxford U n iv e rs ity Press, 1970).
MTTU
MZDOC
NCNA ODD
PC-TDOP
PR PRD
PRKR
PTMTT
SCMM Ssu-Ch'
SUICC
SW I-IV
SW V
Stuart Schram (e d .), Mao Tse-tung Unrehearsed: Talks and L e tte rs : 1956-71 (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974).
Nick Knight, "Mao Zedong's On C o n tra d ic tio n : An Annotated Translation o f the Pre-Liberation Te xt", G r i f f i t h Asian Papers No. 3 (Nathan: School o f Modern Asian Studies, G r i f f i t h U n iv e rs ity , 1981).
New China News Agency.
The O rigin and Development of the Differences Between
the Leadership of the CPSU and Ourselves (Peking: FLP, 1963) Peaceful Coexistence--Two D iam e trically Opposed P olicies
(Peking: FLP, 1963).
Peking Review.
Boyd Compton ( e d .), Mao's China: Party Reform Documents, 1942-44 (S ea ttle and London: U n ive rsity o f Washington Press, 1952).
The P role taria n Revolution and Khrushchov's Revisionism (Peking: FLP, 1964).
S tu a rt R. Schram, The P o l i t i c a l Thought of Mao Tse-tung (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1969, revised e d .).
Survey o f China Mainland Magazines,
ing Richard Baum and Frederick C. Teiwes, Ssu-ch'ing: The S o c ia lis t Education Movement of 1962-66 (Berkeley: Chinese Research Monographs, U niversity of C a lifo r n ia , 1968).
S o c ia lis t Upsurge in China's Countryside (Peking: FLP, 1957).
Selected Works o f Mao Tse-tung (Peking: FLP, 1967), Volumes I - I V .
Selected Works o f Mao Tse-tung (Peking: FLP, 1977), Volume V
TEWC
USW
Wansui (1969)
Wansui (1967)
Wansui (suppt.)
WYLXSLWS
XO I-IV
XJ V
ZKDDZY
Mao Tse-tung, Talk at an Enlarged Working Conference Convened by the Central Committee o f the Communist Party o f China (Peking: FLP, 1978).
Unselected Works o f Mao Tse-tung: 1957 (Hong Kong:
Union Research I n s t i t u t e , 1976).
Mao Zedong sixiang wansui (Long Live the Thought o f Mao Zedong) (n .p .: preface dated August 1969). This is the main Taiwan r e p r in t of documents by Mao released during the Cultural Revolution.
Mao Zedong sixiang wansui (Long Live the Thought of Mao Zedong) ( n .p .: 1967). This is also a Taiwan r e p r in t An u n t it le d c o lle c t io n appended to Mao Zedong sixiang wansui ( n .p .: A p ril 1967).
Mao Zedong de geming wenyi luxian shengli wansui (Long Live the V icto ry o f Mao Zedong's Revolutionary Line on A rt and L ite r a tu re ) (Peking: n .p ., July 1967).
Mao Zedong xuanji (Selected Works o f Mao Zedong) (Peking Ren-min chu-ban she, 1966), Volumes I - I V .
Mao Zedong xuanji (Selected Works of Mao Zedong) (Peking Ren-min chu-ban she, 1977), Volume V.
Mao Zedong, Zai kuangda de zhongyang gongzuo hui.yi shang de jianghua (Talk a t an Enlarged Central Work Conference) (Peking: Ren-min chu-ban she, 1978).
Note: To avoid confusion, in the foo tn o ting th a t follow s volume numbers w i l l be given in Roman numerals.
INTRODUCTION
As both a Marxist and an educated Chinese, Mao Zedong stood at the confluence of two in t e lle c t u a l t r a d it io n s , both o f which
stressed the o v e r-rid in g influence of the past on contemporary social a c t i v i t y . Although these two t r a d it io n s d iffe re d r a d ic a lly in t h e ir approach to the explanation of h is t o r ic a l occurrences, both nevertheless were imbued with a strong s e n s i t i v it y to the notion o f man's progression
through time, and the re la tio n s h ip of the past to present and fu tu re . Given th is shared s e n s i t i v it y to the notion of h is t o r ic a l time, i t is not s u rp ris in g th a t those Chinese who were legatees o f both
t r a d it io n s should possess a well-developed sense of h is to r y , perceiving t h e i r actions as p a rt o f a temporal continuum ra ther than as mere
isolated and random behaviour owing no o b lig a tio n to the past. The very possession o f t h is h is t o r ic a l sense was, in f a c t , to become an important personal ing re d ie nt f o r a generation of Chinese who perceived themselves not only as the heirs to the h is to r ic a l past, but as
bearing the heavy r e s p o n s ib ility f o r creating a fu tu re in marked c o n tra d ic tio n to th a t past. As a member of th is generation, Mao's own s e n s i t i v it y to h is to ry was heightened as his ro le as p o l i t i c a l actor became more and more h i s t o r i c a l , u n t il f i n a l l y , in the l a t t e r years of his l i f e , he was to become id e n t if ie d with h is to r y , h is to ry and w i l l conjoined, the union o f man and process.
T h is .increasing s e n s i t i v it y to h is to r y , and the ra dical flu c tu a tio n s in Mao's p o l i t i c a l fortunes over the la s t fo u r decades o f his l i f e (to which th is was in part r e la te d ), enjoin the observer 1. See A r i f D i r l i k , "M irro r to Revolution: Early Marxist Images of
Chinese H is to ry ," The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. XXXIII, No. 2 (February 1974), pp. 193-223.
to tread with care in making general observations regarding Mao's conception of h is to ry . For Mao obviously did not approach h is to ry in a constant, detached or "academic" way (as a professional h is to ria n would be more in c lin e d to do), but ra ther as an h is t o r ic a l and p o l it ic a l actor whose urgent need to grasp the development and flow o f h is to ry f o r purposes o f strategy and t a c t ic a l formulations has given ris e to a conception of h is to ry which contains a vividness re s u ltin g from the immediacy o f perception o f h is t o r ic a l actions and consequences. Mao's reading o f h is to ry (regardless o f i t s academic status) was astu te, and the very success o f t h is h is t o r ic a l in te r p r e ta tio n must, in no small measure, be counted as one of the elements which gave the Chinese Communists t h e i r eventual v ic to r y . Mao's deep s e n s i t i v it y to the flow o f h is to ry communicated i t s e l f v i v i d l y to Mark Gayn, who in 1947
v is it e d Yan'an and interviewed Mao. I t is worth reproducing Gayn's impressions here, f o r they are very s im ila r to those one gets from a reading o f Mao's w r itin g s :
Mao's second preoccupation is with h is to ry [ h is f i r s t being th a t, according to Gayn, o f rural China]. He sees his re volutio n as an in te g ra l part o f the e n tire experience o f the Chinese people. Thus, a conversation w ith Mao can be u n s e ttlin g , f o r the v i s i t o r may q u ic k ly lose a l l sense of time. Mao may be speaking of an ambush in which his armies caught an enemy column, and suddenly the v i s i t o r becomes aware
th a t the b a t t le th a t is being described is not a recent one but one much l i k e i t a thousand years e a r l i e r .
With me, Mao criss-crossed h is to ry , u n t il I began to feel th a t the great men and v i I l i a n s o f the past were f a m ilia r and contemporary, and th a t what was happening now was indeed a natural sequel to a much older drama.
Most re v o lu tio n a rie s seek a l i n k w ith the past, i f only to esta blish a claim to h is to r ic a l
r e s p e c ta b ility and native roots. But w ith Mao I came to feel th a t h is to ry was his h a b ita t, from the f i r s t Chinese dynasty on, and th a t he f e l t close kinship to a l l the great rebels o f the past. This
sense of h is t o r ic c o n tin u ity seemed to give depth to his ideas and p o l ic i e s . 2
History- c le a r ly liv e d f o r Mao in the s ig n ific a n c e o f i t s panoramic dimensions f o r the enactment o f the contemporary scenario;
i t also liv e d f o r Mao in th a t, being at the centre of th a t contemporary h is t o r ic a l drama, the consequences of previously devised stra te g ie s and t a c t ic s could be r e la t i v e l y qu ickly apprehended, and the accuracy of previous h is t o r ic a l in te r p r e ta t io n re a d ily evaluated. This
h is t o r ic a l feed-back refined Mao's s e n s i t i v it y to h is to ry as a process, and made him more aware o f the p o s s i b i l i t i e s and lim it a t io n s of
executive decision w ith in a f l u i d s itu a tio n l i k e the Chinese re v o lu tio n .
Any serious attempt to in te r p r e t features of Mao's philosophy of h is to ry runs immediately in to c e rta in knotty methodological problems.
The f i r s t o f these is the problem of p e rio d iz a tio n . Mao's l i t e r a r y output and p o l i t i c a l career spanned more than h a lf a century, and coincided w ith one o f the most tu rb u le n t and v io le n t chapters in modern h is to r y . Mao was no ivory-tow er h is to ria n or philosopher, and many of his essays and documents were w ritte n in response to challenges and changes in the immediate p o l i t i c a l environment; there was therefore an intim ate connection between the social and p o l i t i c a l environment and the development of his thought. I t would, in l i g h t o f t h is
intim ate connection, be somewhat su rprisin g to fin d in Mao's l i t e r a r y heritage a constancy and u n ity which transcends the contours of the social and h is t o r ic a l development which characterized i t s production.
2. Mark Gayn, "Mao Tse-tung Reassessed," in Franz Schurmann and O r v ille Schell (e d s .), China Readings 3: Communist China (Harmondsworth:
Penguin, 1967), p. 104.
To seek f o r such a transcendent constancy and u n ity would be to ignore the p o te n tia l f o r both change and development exhibited by Mao in in t e lle c t u a l response to external pressures, and would neglect the ro le played by a changing environment in c o n trib u tin g to his fund o f experience. I t is therefore important to perceive the h is t o r ic a l r e l a t i v i t y in Mao's th in k in g i f in te rp r e ta tio n is not to f a ls e ly a t t r ib u t e a s u p ra -h is to ric a l constancy to th a t thought.
However, i t is evident th a t many secondary c r itiq u e s tend to ignore t h is intim ate connection between social and p o l i t i c a l
environment and the development o f Mao's thought, and there is frequently a tendency to t r e a t the documents which represent Mao's l i t e r a r y
heritage as though they c o n s titu te a supra-temporal whole. In such an approach, documents from widely separated periods w ith highly d iffe r e n tia te d h is t o r ic a l and p o l i t i c a l backgrounds are treated as though produced in some form of h is t o r ic a l vacuum. From t h is presumed u n ity of Mao's l i t e r a r y works are then derived in te rp r e ta tio n s of the
"e s s e n tia l" Maoist view on a large v a r ie ty of subjects. The danger o f th is approach (as exemplified in the methodological p o sition of S ta rr and Chin ) is th a t important d is tin c tio n s and v a ria tio n s which 3 emerged in the development of Mao's thought (often as a fun ction of
changes in the h is t o r ic a l and p o l i t i c a l environment) tend to be disguised, and thus ignored; the emphasis on c o n tin u itie s leading to an unfortunate neglect o f d is c o n tin u itie s and v a ria tio n s . Such v a ria tio n s and
d is c o n tin u itie s were, as t h is thesis w i l l demonstrate, real and 3. See John Bryan S ta rr, Continuing the Revolution: the P o l i t i c a l
Thought o f Mao (Princeton: Princeton U n iversity Press, 1979), esp. pp. x i - x i i .
4. Steve S.K. Chin, The Thought o f Mao Tse-tung: Form and Content, trans. A lfre d H.Y. Lin (Hong Kong: Centre o f Asian Studies Papers and Monographs, 1979), esp. p. 204.
substantial enough to suggest th a t the concept o f an "e s s e n tia l" Mao should be abandoned in favour o f an approach which locates and
anchors Mao and his w ritin g s h i s t o r i c a l l y . I t would appear th a t the most convenient method of doing th is is to construct a p e rio d iza tio n
in the development o f Mao’ s thought. 5 This study has adopted a p e riod iza tion which divides the development of Mao's thought in to s ix periods:
I . The Pre-Yan’ an Period: That i s , the period covering Mao's i n t e lle c t u a l and p o l i t i c a l career up to his establishment in China's North-West fo llo w in g the Long March o f 1935. This period could obviously be the subject o f a f u r t h e r sub division; f o r example, a pre-Marxist period, in which much o f Mao's in t e lle c t u a l energy was directed to the problem o f Hunanese self-government and themes common to the
e a rly period o f the May Fourth Movement'; 7 and his e a rly Marxist period covering the period up to and including the F i r s t United Front, the Jiangxi Soviet and the Long March. o This pre-Yan'an period has not been adopted f o r analysis w ith in the scope of t h is study, f o r although i t is extremely important in any attempt to understand the general development o f Mao's in t e lle c t u a l and p o l i t i c a l career, the texts of 5. See my In tro d u c tio n to MZDOC, pp. 3-7.
6. Stuart Schram has used th is t i t l e , PTMTT, pp. 152-160.
7. See Angus W. McDonald, J r . , "Mao Tse-tung and the Hunan S e lf- Government Movement, 1920: An In trod uction and Five T ra n s la tio n s ,"
China Q uarterly 68 (December 1976), pp. 751-777; also the tra n s la tio n s o f t h is period from the Mao Zedong Ji in M. Henri Day, Mao Zedong 1917-1927: Documents (Stockholm: n . p . , 1975).
8. For analyses o f Mao's career during th is period, see Jerome Ch'en, Mao and the Chinese Revolution (London: Oxford U nive rsity Press, 1965), pp. 73-200; also Stuart R. Schram, Mao Tse-tung
(Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1966), pp. 60-191; also PTMTT, pp. 32- 66; also John E. Rue, Mao Tse-tung in Opposition, 1927-1935
(Stanford: Stanford U n ive rsity Press, 1966).
t h is period do not in d ica te th a t Mao had developed a philosophy of h is to ry of s u f f ic i e n t s o p h is tic a tio n and systematization to warrant the inclusio n of t h is period in a d etailed textual analysis. Such an assertion is not intended to undervalue Mao's c o n trib u tio n s in other areas during t h i s e a rly period, such as his approach to the
peasant problem or g u e r illa stra teg y, which were in themselves remarkable, and laying the foundation f o r his subsequent more th e o re tic a l conclusions in these areas. However, i t is believed th a t the pre-Yan'an Mao had not attained a m a turity o f th e o re tic a l perspective which could a ffo rd him a c o n s is te n tly coherent and r e la t i v e l y systematic h is t o r ic a l framework by which to in t e r p r e t the contemporary a c t i v i t y o f society and i t s development over time. Likewise, Mao's approach to Marxism during the pre-Yan'an period, while again laying the foundation f o r i t s eventual " S in if ic a t io n " at his hands, does not provide evidence of a consistency approaching anywhere near th a t of the more mature stance which resulted from the r e fle c tio n s and study o f the Yan'an period. q
Consequently, i t would have been d i f f i c u l t to apply to t h is early period the exegetical methodology employed throughout t h is study;
moreover, any conclusions would have been highly te n ta tiv e and lacking the a u th o rity which would derive from an assumed degree o f consistency 9. For example, see S tua rt Schram's in te rp re ta tio n o f Mao's class
analysis during 1926-27 in "Mao Zedong and the Role o f the Various Classes in the Chinese Revolution, 1923-1927," in The P o lity and Economy o f China: The Late Professor Yuji Muramatsu Commemoration Volume (Tokyo: To.yo Kenzai Shinposha, 1975), pp. 227-239. Schram suggests th a t
...Mao endeavoured, in 1926-1927, to employ Marxist concepts f o r the analysis o f Chinese s o cie ty, though his mastery of them was by no means complete. At the same time, he diverged sharply from orthodoxy, and from the essential lo g ic o f Marxism, not only by the sheer importance he accorded to the countryside, but by a t t r i b u t in g to the peasants both the capacity to organize themselves, and a c le a r consciousness o f t h e i r h is t o r ic a l ro le . (p. 235)
in the documents under analysis. As a re s u lt, th is period is not included in t h is study, although occasional reference is made to i t s te x ts .
I I . The Yan'an Period (1936-45); The texts o f t h i s period provide evidence th a t the years o f the Second United Front and the A n ti-
Japanese War were both p o l i t i c a l l y and i n t e l l e c t u a l l y f r u i t f u l f o r Mao, and th a t the r e f le c t io n and study of the ea rly p a rt o f the period had afforded him a re s e rv o ir of th e o re tic a l a b i l i t y and confidence which emerges c le a r ly in his numerous and weighty pronouncements on a wide v a r ie ty o f matters of import. James Hsiung has, in f a c t , described t h is ea rly period (1935-40) as "Mao's mature pe riod ." 10 While one cannot argue w ith Hsiung's b e l ie f th a t the documents o f t h is period ind ica te a heightened s o p h is tic a tio n and an extended v is io n , i t is doubtful in retrosp ect i f i t i~s pla usible to reserve th a t t i t l e f o r
these e arly years o f the Yan'an period; f o r the in t e lle c t u a l achievements of t h is period are ra the r overshadowed by the o r i g i n a l i t y o f thought
and imaginative f l a i r in tra n s la tin g th a t thought in to action exhibited by Mao in his quest to formulate a Chinese road to socialism in the middle and la te f i f t i e s . Nevertheless, while one might quibble over the t i t l e to apply to the Yan'an period, there can be no doubt th a t
i t represented an extremely s ig n if ic a n t chapter in the growth of Mao's in t e lle c t u a l and p o l i t i c a l sta ture . As such, i t is afforded in th is study the a tte n tio n i t deserves, and i t is treated as one o f the two
"major" periods f o r an alysis. While the Yan'an period is normally regarded as running up to 1947 (a t which time the Guomindang forces captured the c i t y during the C iv il War), th is study w i l l take the Seventh Party Congress o f May 1945 as i t s c u t - o f f p o in t. This Congress
10. James Chieh Hsiung, Ideology and Practice: The Evolution of
Chinese Communism (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970), pp. 67-73.
was to mark the culmination o f the e f f o r t by Mao and his adherents to i n s t a l l his thought as the P arty's guiding ide ological orthodoxy, and i t represents something o f a watershed in both the P arty's h is to ry and the development of Mao's thought. 11
I I I . C iv il War and Consolidation (1945-54); This period is , in t h is study, the subject o f only a ra ther lim ite d an alysis. This r e s tr ic te d a tte n tio n derives from a b e lie f th a t Mao added l i t t l e th a t was t h e o r e t ic a lly innovative during t h is period. During the period
1945-49, Mao was la rg e ly preoccupied with waging a c i v i l war which afforded l i t t l e time f o r r e f le c t io n and the broadening o f th e o re tic a l perspectives; and in the early years o f the People's Republic, the imperatives (both p o l i t i c a l and economic) of consolidation with the concomitant need to employ a "second-hand" approach to development described under the ru b ric o f "leaning to one s id e ", d ic ta te d against assays in to the form ulation of o r ig in a l or innovative ideas or theories.
Nevertheless, w ith L ib eration in 1949, Mao did pen several important documents dealing w ith his views on h is to r y , and these documents
(along with several others) are the subject o f a b r ie f an alysis.
IV. The Post-Cooperativization Period (1955-64): This is treated (as is the Yan'an period) as a "major" period in the develop
ment o f Mao's thought. The extensive analysis applied to the texts o f th is period is based on the premise th a t, fo llo w in g the success of 11. Possibly the most complete analysis of the development o f Mao's
thought during the Yan'an period is th a t o f Raymond Wylie; see W ylie's th e s is , Mao Tse-tung, Ch'en Po-ta, and the Conscious Creation o f "Mao Tse-tung's Thought" in the Chinese Communist Party, 1935-1945 (unpublished Ph.D. th e s is , U n iv e rs ity o f London, 1976); and the published version o f th is th e s is , The Emergence of Maoism: Mao Tse-tung, Ch'en Po-ta and the Search f o r Chinese Theory 1935-1945 (Stanford: Stanford U nive rsity Press, 1980); also
Raymond Wylie, "Mao Tse-tung, Ch'en Po-ta and the " S in if ic a t io n of Marxism", 1936-38," The China Quarterly 79 (September 1979),
pp. 447-480.
c o o pe rativizatio n and dramatic changes in the in te rn a tio n a l environment, Mao set out to formulate a developmental strategy suited to China's p a r t ic u la r con dition s, and th a t the r e s u lt of t h is quest-~the Chinese road to socialism--can be represented with some j u s t i f i c a t i o n as the apogee of Mao's in t e lle c t u a l career. 12 The texts of t h is period give witness to an o r i g i n a l i t y o f thought conjoined with a breadth and depth o f th e o re tic a l and p ra c tic a l experience which s ig n if ie s th a t i t was during t h is period (ra th e r than the years o f the e a rly Yan'an
period) th a t the mature Mao emerged. Consequently, i t is given extended a tte n tio n ; the analysis o f th is period plus th a t of the Yan'an period c o n s titu te the centre-piece of th is study.
V. C ultural Revolution (1965-69): As w ith the 1945-54 period, the Cultural Revolution is given only marginal a tte n tio n . Although t h is may seem somewhat inapposite in view o f the enormous a tte n tio n
13 .
devoted to i t by Western observers, i t is not accepted here th a t the Cultural Revolution necessarily represents the h ig h -p o in t o f e ith e r Mao's in t e lle c t u a l or p o l i t i c a l career, or th a t the views which emerged during the C ultural Revolution on the problems o f causation and time in the h is t o r ic a l process (which are the main subjects o f t h is study) 12. Although th is has become a ra ther unfashionable view in recent
years, i t remains the opinion of t h is w r it e r .
13. Although i t would take a very extensive bibliography to adequately cover the many books and a r t ic le s on the C ultural Revolution, several works stand out as worthy of mention; Richard Baum with Louise B. Bennet (e d s .), China in Ferment: Perspectives on the C ultural Revolution (New Jersey: Prentice-Hal1 I n c . , 1971); also Edward E. Rice, Mao's Way (Berkeley: U nive rsity o f C a lifo r n ia Press, 1972, 1974); also C.L. Chiou, Maoism in Action: the C ultural
Revolution (St. Lucia; U n ive rsity o f Queensland Press, 1974); also Joan Robinson, The Cultural Revolution in China (Harmondsworth:
Penguin, 1969, 1970); also Stuart R. Schram, "The Cultural
Revolution in H is to ric a l Perspective," in Stuart R. Schram (e d .), A u th o rity , P a rtic ip a tio n and Cultural Change in China (Cambridge:
Cambridge U n iv e rs ity Press, 1973); also David M ilton and Nancy Dali M ilto n , The Wind W ill Not Subside: Years in Revolutionary China--1964-i969~TNew' York: Pantheon Books, 1976).
are the d e f i n i t i v e expression o f his sentiment on these to p ic s .14 Moreover, while the Cultural Revolution is (as i t has been since
Mao's death) the subject of an ongoing re-evaluation by both the Chinese and Western scholars, 15 some caution is advised in taking the Cultural Revolution as representing the quintessence of Mao's p o l i t i c a l s ty le or in t e lle c t u a l views; f o r i t may be th a t rather than representing the h ig h - p o in t.in his career, the Cultural Revolution was something o f an aberration when compared to other periods in Mao's in t e lle c t u a l career. In a d d itio n , i t must be pointed out th a t the methodology
employed throughout th is study (to which I w i l l turn s h o rtly ) precludes much beyond a close textual analysis o f Mao's own te x ts . The Cultural Revolution as a p o l i t i c a l phenomenon is thus beyond the scope o f th is study.
VI. Post-Cultural Revolution (1970-76): The claim made by the current Chinese leadership th a t the period o f the C ultural Revolution lasted from 1966 through to 1976 is not accepted here. I t seems quite evident th a t t h is decade was marked by some very s ig n if ic a n t changes, and th a t i t is s t i l l preferra b le to perceive the C ultural Revolution proper as concluding w ith the Ninth Party Congress o f A p ril 1969.
In the context o f th is study, such a c u t - o f f point is made necessary
by the f a c t th a t the t w i l i g h t years o f Mao's l i f e witnessed no formulation o f any major th e o re tic a l innovations on his pa rt. The documents
14. S tuart Schram has argued, f o r example, "While the Cultural
Revolution can hardly be seen as the lo g ic a l l y in e v ita b le outcome o f Mao's previous ideas and career, he has so thoroughly i d e n t if ie d himself w ith t h is attempt to transform the whole s p i r i t and
stru c tu re o f Chinese society th a t assessment o f the man and his l i f e work today must begin here," Encyclopaedia B ritan nica (1977 ed.) XI, p. 469.
15. See e s p e c ia lly "On Questions of Party H istory: Resolution on Certain Questions in the H istory o f Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic o f China," B e ijin g Review XXIV: 27 (6 July 1981), pp. 10-39.
a v a ila ble from these t w i l i g h t years are usually extremely c r y p t ic , often co n s titu te d o f only one-line observations or d ir e c tiv e s . A textual analysis of such documents would thus have been an extremely problematic exercise, one which might have resulted in some ra ther dubious in t e r p r e t a t io n s . Consequently, the post-C ultural Revolution period ( l i k e the pre-Yan'an period) has been omitted from t h is study.
The p e rio d iz a tio n adopted f o r th is study and o u tlin e d above is not, i t is believed, a temporal compartmentalization a r t i f i c i a l l y imposed on Mao's in t e lle c t u a l development, but one which emerges
f a i r l y obviously from the te x ts themselves. In the study which fo llo w s , each period w i l l be given a b r ie f in tro d u c tio n which w i l l both place i t in s i t u h i s t o r i c a l l y , and demonstrate the v a l i d i t y of d e fin in g i t
as a d iscrete period f o r analysis.
One objection to the u t i l i z a t i o n o f such a p e rio d iz a tio n in the analysis o f Mao's thought might be th a t i t does not r e a lly solve the problem upon which the “ e s se ntia l" Mao approach f a l t e r s ; f o r
in the f i n a l a nalysis, the u t i l i z a t i o n o f a p e rio d iz a tio n merely narrows the temporal confines w ith in which one searches f o r the "e s s e n tia l"
Mao, and th a t such an analysis only serves to a r riv e at not one, but several “ e s s e n tia l" Maos--the Mao o f the Yan'an period, the Mao o f the Cultural Revolution, and so on. There is , o f course, some j u s t i f i c a t i o n to such a charge. But what are the a lte rn a tiv e s ? I f one were to deny the v a l i d i t y o f generalizations formulated from an analysis o f the Mao documents w ith in discre te and reasonably uniform h is t o r ic a l periods, the only a lte r n a tiv e would be to narrow the
temporal scope o f the analysis to the point at which i t would be lim ite d to in d iv id u a l documents w r itte n at p a r tic u la r h is t o r ic a l moments. Such an approach would not only be very unwieldy in methodological terms,
but would ignore the evident r e la tio n s h ip which did e x is t between the documents w ith in (and sometimes across) d if f e r e n t periods. I t is quite c le a r th a t Mao b u i l t upon previous experiences and fre q u e n tly does r e fe r back to e a r l i e r documents. I t is therefore methodologically inappropriate to deny the p o s s i b i l i t y of c o n tin u ity in Mao's thought, j u s t as i t is inappropriate to ignore the existence o f diffe ren ce and change. The p e rio d iz a tio n u t i l i z e d by th is study hopes to avoid both methodological dangers, and by so.doing to allow a cle a r e lu c id a tio n o f both change and c o n tin u ity in the development o f Mao's thought;
f o r there was both, and the study which follows w i l l attempt to h ig h lig h t these areas o f c o n tin u ity and change.
A second methodological problem is created by the fragmentary nature of the l i t e r a r y corpus l e f t by Mao. Although the to t a l output was prodigious (there are, in the ten volumes o f the Mao Zedong Ji alone, some 427 documents), the great bulk o f Mao's w r itin g s is composed o f r e la t i v e l y short pieces in the form of numerous l e t t e r s , d ir e c tiv e s , e d i t o r i a ls , public addresses; and le c tu re s , in tr a -P a r ty memoranda, poems, polemical re joinders to p o l i t i c a l adversaries, and
interviews with domestic and foreign correspondents. His le n g th ie r and more c a r e f u lly considered w ritin g s deal with a v a r ie ty of subjects ranging from M arxist d ia le c tic s to proposals f o r c o n s titu tio n a l reform.
No where has Mao l e f t behind one d e ta ile d , comprehensive and c lo s e ly - argued document s e ttin g out in i t s e n t ir e t y his own personal philosophy of h is to ry . In f a c t , Mao's views on h is to ry and h is t o r ic a l in te r p r e ta tio n are scattered a t random throughout his w ritin g s . As a r e s u lt , an
exercise in exegetical in te r p r e ta t io n is the only methodology open to the curious observer. This exegesis, which c o n s titu te s the basic methodological approach employed in t h is study, enjoins a thorough
s c ru tin y o f the te x ts , e x tr ic a tin g embedded references to p a r tic u la r themes or to p ic s , piecing them together, and analyzing the pictu re th a t emerges. Such exegesis, however, raises problems of a u th e n tic ity , i f we piece together these scattered references (much as we would a jig-sa w puzzle), and construct a "notional model11 of Mao's approach to the various problem areas w ith in his philosophy o f h is to r y , are we by th is very act o f rearrangement to a tt a in system and order where none or l i t t l e may previously have existed, introducing our own
c r i t e r i a f o r h is t o r ic a l in te r p r e ta tio n and disguising t h is by appeals to the Mao documents? This is a very real danger f o r those w ith any pretensions to o b j e c t i v i t y , and one f e l t keenly in the preparation o f th is study. The only way th a t one can compensate f o r any unintended bias is to s t ic k as c lose ly as possible to the texts under in v e s tig a tio n , and, in s o fa r as is possible, l e t the te x ts speak f o r themselves.
This has necessitated the frequent use o f quotation which, while being a device sometimes d is ru p tiv e o f an even l i t e r a r y flow in e x p lic a tio n , w i l l enable the reader to s a t is f y him or h e rs e lf th a t Mao's o r ig in a l
in te n tio n is not being l i g h t l y tampered w ith by th is w r i t e r ; i t has also necessitated an even more frequent recourse to fo o tn o tin g as a
means o f d ire c tin g the reader's a tte n tio n to sources when f u l l quotations seemed unnecessary. By the employment o f these two devices, i t is
hoped th a t the study which follo w s has remained f ir m ly anchored to the te x t s , and by so allowing the texts to c o n s titu te the f i n a l a r b it e r in any point o f in te r p r e t a t io n , to present a reasonable fa c s im ile of 16. A good example o f the construction of a "notional model" appears
in Jack Gray, "The Two Roads: A lte rn a tiv e Strategies o f Social Change and Economic Growth in China," in Schram ( e d .) , Op. c i t . , pp. 109-157, esp. pp. 149-50, where Gray builds up a "notional model"
of the " c a p i t a l i s t road" pursued by Liu Shaoqi. See also Ralf Dahrendorf's construction by means of exegesis o f what might have been Marx's model o f the class society, Class and Class C o n flic t in an In d u s tr ia l Society (London: Rout!edge and Kegan Paul, 1959), pp. 3-35.
what Mao Zedong himself might have w ritte n on these problems of
h is t o r ic a l in te r p r e ta t io n had he been afforded both time and in c lin a t io n to do so.
This method o f exegesis cannot, however, displace e n t ir e ly the ro le o f the in t e r p r e t e r , but i t does serve to constrain the
w ild e r excesses of his imagination. The role o f in te r p r e ta t io n comes most to the fore when the texts which are the subject o f analysis f a i l to provide a necessary piece in the jig-saw puzzle which is the end product of such a study; in such a case, the in te r p r e te r must be afforded somewhat more d is c re tio n to "s tre tc h " the evidence over the gap th a t would otherwise r e s u lt. This l i b e r t y has occasionally been taken in the course o f th is study, although i t is hoped th a t where th is has happened, the re s u lta n t in te rp r e ta tio n has remained w ith in the s p i r i t o f Mao's general approach, the l e t t e r i t s e l f being absent. The ro le o f the in te r p r e te r is also enhanced on those occasions when the te x ts appear to provide e x p l i c i t l y c o n tra d ic to ry assertions.
Although Lucien Pye is well o f f the mark when he asserts "Mao c le a r ly belongs to the school th a t believes th a t consistency is the hobgoblin o f the small m in d " , ^ there were occasions on which Mao c le a rly
contradicted his own previously expressed sentiment on a p a r tic u la r po in t or theme. Faced with th is dilemma, the in te r p r e te r must again attempt to is o la te the s p i r i t o f Mao's general i n t e n t , seeking to place the point at issue w ith in the wider context o f Mao's opinion, and by so doing, ascertaining which o f the co n tra d ic to ry assertions is afforded the greater v a l i d i t y . A choice has been made in t h is s p i r i t when such c o n trad ictio ns have arisen in the course of t h is study;, such c o n tra d ic tio n s , however, are normally noted, and reference provided in 17. Lucien W. Pye, Mao Tse-tung: The Man in the Leader (New York:
Basic Books I n c . , 1976), p. 44.
the foo tnoting to the opposing statements.
The fragmentation o f Mao's l i t e r a r y corpus also imposes several other methodological d i f f i c u l t i e s on an exegetical form o f in te r p r e ta tio n . The f i r s t and most important of these is the problem of authorship.
We are, as y e t, a long way from having an undisputed bibliography o f those documents penned by Mao, those w ritte n under his supervision, and those authored by him in co lla b o ra tio n w ith others. IS For example, Ray Wylie, in his study o f the development o f "Mao Zedong's Thought"
between 1935-45, has suggested th a t Mao's p o l i t i c a l secretary Chen Boda was responsible f o r , or s ig n a lly influenced, several o f the important th e o re tic a l documents which appeared over Mao's signature during the Yan'an period; 19 lik e w is e , Jerome Ch'en, in his path- breaking study o f Mao's l i t e r a r y s ty le , also questions the authorship of some documents t r a d i t i o n a l l y a tt r ib u t e d to Mao's pen. 20 Indeed Mao himself re ferre d (in March 1964) to the fa c t th a t documents did go out over his signature f o r which he had not been personally responsible:
'On the Current S itu a tio n and Our Tasks' was spoken by me in 1947. Someone transcribed i t and i t was
revised by me. At th a t time I had contracted a disease whereby I could not w r ite . Now when I want something w r it t e n , i t is a l l done by a secretary, not by my hand.
Of course, some things may be w ritte n f o r me by other people.21
This problem is fu r th e r exacerbated f o r the in t e r p r e te r by the fa c t th a t qu ite a number of very important th e o re tic a l documents which 18. See MP, pp. 163-221; also John Bryan S ta rr and Nancy Anne Dyer
( comp. ) , P ost-Liberation Works of Mao Zedong: A Bibliography and Index (Berkeley: The Centre f o r Chinese Studies, 1976).
19. See Wylie, Mao Tse-tung, Ch'en Po-ta, and the Conscious Creation. . . , Op. c i t . , pp. 124, 164, 329.
20. MP, x i i i - x x x i , esp. p. x x v i i i .
21. Miscellany I I , p. 338; Wansui (1969), p. 481.
we know were not w r itte n s o le ly by Mao ( t h is is p a r t ic u la r ly the case with the documents of the Si no-Soviet s p l i t ) , but which are believed to r e f l e c t his opinion, cannot safely be omitted from a textual
study of t h is nature. Consequently, where some doubt concerning Mao's authorship o f a p a r t ic u la r document or documents arises in the course o f th is study, the .information ava ila ble and relevant to an a s c rip tio n of authorship is produced, usually in the fo o tn o tin g . I t needs be pointed out here, however, th a t the l i t e r a r y analysis o f the texts along lin e s suggested by Jerome Ch'en to provide l i t e r a r y and textual evidence o f authorship, has barely commenced. From t h is po in t o f view, the te xtua l analysis of Mao's l i t e r a r y heritage is s t i l l in i t s infancy.
Besides the problem o f authorship, the in t e r p r e te r is confronted by the d i f f i c u l t i e s which arise from the differences which fre q ue n tly e x is t between o r ig in a l (o r u n o f f i c i a l ) and o f f i c i a l versions o f a
te x t . This problem is heightened by the employment o f a p e rio d iz a tio n , f o r i f the p e rio d iz a tio n is to f u l f i l l i t s h e u r is tic fu n c tio n , i t is necessary th a t revisions o f texts outside the temporal l i m i t of the period under ana lysis, be not included in th a t period. This problem has been s u b s ta n tia lly a lle v ia te d , at le a st f o r most of the pre- Lib era tion te x ts , by the painstaking labours of the Japanese scholars
(under the supervision o f Takeuchi Minoru) who have produced in the Mao Zedong Ji an annotated variorum e d itio n o f the o r ig in a l texts in d ic a tin g a l l subsequent a lte ra tio n s and redactions. Anyone working in t h is f i e l d owes these scholars a h e a r t - f e l t debt o f g r a titu d e , f o r the comparison of te xts is a laborious and time-consuming occupation.
However, c e rta in very important texts a ttr ib u t e d to the Yan'an period were not analyzed by the Japanese scholars in the Mao Zedong J i ,
and th is because no extant version of the o r ig in a l te x ts was a vaila ble f o r comparison w ith the post-Lib era tio n o f f i c i a l te x ts . This problem was made more acute by the f a c t th a t these documents, On Contradiction and On P ra c tic e , are r i g h t l y regarded as central to an understanding of Mao’ s philosophy. Where then were these documents to be placed h is t o r ic a lly ? Were they to be assumed to be a product of the early Yan'an period and analyzed accordingly, or a product o f the early p o st-Lib era tio n period? I f they were accepted as compositions of the early Yan'an period, might there not be a danger o f f a ls e ly a n t i c ip a tin g by some f i f t e e n years important (indeed c e n tra l) elements o f Mao's thought which may have emerged only w ith L ib e ra tio n? ; and i f accepted as compositions of the early po st-Lib era tion period, might there not be a danger of underestimating Mao's capacity as a Marxist th e o re tic ia n during the ea rly Yan'an period?
Confronted by t h is dilemma, I began to formulate a methodology f o r textual analysis which might allow some re solutio n of t h is problem o f the dating o f te x ts . The methodology involved mounting a comparison o f the p o st-Lib era tio n te x ts o f On Contradiction and On Practice with other undisputed documents o f the pu tative period of composition (th a t is , the Yan'an pe rio d ). These documents were analyzed along a v a rie ty o f d im e n s io n s --!in g u is tic usage o f key words and phrases, u t i l i z a t i o n o f concepts, and te xtua l in te rp o la tio n s such as quotations—against which the o f f i c i a l p o st-L ib e ra tion te xts could be compared. Seemingly f o r t u i t o u s l y t h i s analysis was v i r t u a l l y completed when pre-Libera tion versions o f On C ontradiction and On Practice came to l i g h t through
the endeavours o f Takeuchi Minoru. I t was thus possible to mount f o r the f i r s t time a deta iled textual study o f these documents and to perform a comparative analysis o f the pre- and po s t-L ib e ra tio n texts
a f t e r the s ty le o f the Mao Zedong J i . I have published in several sources the re s u lts o f t h is textual an alysis, and there is consequently no necessity to reproduce them here. 22 I t needs only to be said th a t i t is now possible to determine w ith a reasonably high degree o f accuracy the sections o f On Contradiction and On Practice which were w ritte n
during the Yan'an period, and those which were added in the early po st-Lib era tion period. I t is therefore possible to proceed to a study of the w r itin g s o f the Yan'an period with some confidence as to the textual v a l i d i t y o f the documents under in v e s tig a tio n .
However, the problem remains f o r the texts o f the Wansui
c o lle c tio n s as these are gradually published in o f f i c i a l form; which o f the te xts should be used, the o r ig in a l or the o f f i c i a l ? Are the revisions and additions evident in some o f f i c i a l versions of e a r lie r
"unrehearsed" te x ts necessarily those o f Mao him self, and i f so, to what period are these to be a ttrib u te d ? "For example, the v i t a l l y
important speech o f 25 A p ril 1956 e n t it le d On the Ten Great Relationships was f i r s t published o f f i c i a l l y in 1977, and the o f f i c i a l version is
in some respects s i g n if ic a n t l y d if f e r e n t from the o r ig in a l te x t . 23 When were these l a t e r additions and re visions made? We know th a t the te x t was s t i l l c ir c u la t in g as a n e ib u ( in t e r n a l) document in i t s o r ig in a l form in December 1966, 24 so i t seems safe to assume th a t Mao had not got around to re v is in g t h is te x t p r io r to the Cultural
Revolution. Consequently, the o f f i c i a l t e x t , while useful f o r
22. See Nick Knight, "Mao Zedong's On Contradiction and On P ra c tic e : Pre- Lib era tio n Texts," The China Quarterly 84 (December 1980), pp. 641- 668; also MZDOC, passim.
23. For an analysis and comparison o f the o f f i c i a l and u n o f f ic ia l versions of th is t e x t , see Stuart R. Schram, "Chairman Hua Edits Mao's L ite r a r y Heritage: 'On the Ten Great R e la tio n s h ip s '," China Quarterly 69
(March 1977), pp. 126-135.
24. Jerome Ch'en (e d .) , Mao (New Jersey: Prentice-H al1, I n c . , 1969), p. 85; also Wansui ( s u p p t.) , p. 28.
comparison, should not be the document employed in a study of Mao's thought during the period 1955-64. U nfortunately, such clea rcut evidence is not ava ila b le f o r many o f the te x ts . The response of th is study to t h is problem has been to generaliy favour o r ig in a l over l a t e r o f f i c i a l and revised te x ts , but th is has not excluded the employment (in some few cases) o f subsequent o f f i c i a l additions when i t is c le a r th a t these do not in any way subvert the in te n t o f the o r ig in a l document. Information on such differences and v a ria tio n s is provided in the foo tno tin g by giving reference to the various versions o f the te x t under in v e s tig a tio n .
In a textual analysis o f th is kind, the problem o f language and tr a n s la tio n can also pose d i f f i c u l t i e s . I t may seem t r i t e to state the obvious, but Mao thought and wrote in Chinese; the problem of fin d in g reasonable equivalents in English f o r Mao's assertions in Chinese is occasionally exacerbated by the fa c t th a t Mao's own language ( l i k e th a t of most w r ite r s ) sometimes could be rather imprecise and f a i l i n g to communicate i t s in te n t exactly. Both o f these d i f f i c u l t i e s of language have enjoined as necessary the u t i l i z a t i o n where possible o f the te xts in t h e i r o r ig in a l form, th is in order to ascertain th a t the a va ila b le tra n s la tio n s in English are adequate, and to permit a degree o f s e n s i t i v it y to the manner in which Mao employed language, t h is hopefully allowing a degree of in s ig h t in those instances in which in te r p r e ta t io n o f in te n t has arisen. Here again, an attempt has been made to o f f s e t the problem o f tra n s la tio n by providing in foo tn o tin g reference to a lte r n a tiv e tra n s la tio n s when a v a ila b le , as well as to the various versions of the te x t in i t s o r ig in a l Chinese.
Any tra n s la tio n deemed a dubious rendering can thus be checked against the o r ig in a l f a i r l y e a s ily . For the most p a rt, re a d ily a va ila b le
tra n s la tio n s have been employed, although these have occasionally required some a lt e r a t io n . In those instances in which there could be some doubt as to the i n t e g r i t y of a p a r tic u la r tr a n s la t io n , the
Chinese has been added in parentheses, using, as is used throughout th is study, the p in y in form of t r a n s l i t e r a t i o n .
F in a lly , in form ulating a close textual an alysis, i t was decided appropriate to adopt a methodological p o sition a f t e r John Bryan S ta rr, and refuse the temptation to become enmeshed in debate w ith the large and growing number o f secondary c r itiq u e s of Mao Zedong's thought which now abound. 25 While an occasional reference is made in the body o f th is study to an in te r p r e ta t io n d i r e c t l y at odds w ith my own, f o r the most p a rt, such c r itiq u e s (where mentioned at a l l ) have been relegated to the fo o tn o tin g . This avoidance of combat has not been adopted f o r want o f v alo ur, but out o f a d is c re tio n imposed by the dicta te s o f b r e v ity and an in c lin a t io n to regard successful exegesis as re s u ltin g from a sin g u la r a tte n tio n to the object of study. The
ob jective o f t h is study is the e lu c id a tio n of c e rta in problems in Mao Zedong's philosophy o f h is to ry (and esp ecially the problems of causation and tim e ), not the many and varied in te rp r e ta tio n s o f Mao's c r i t i c s and admirers. Nevertheless, the existence o f such numerous c r itiq u e s and in te rp r e ta tio n s has suggested to t h is w r i t e r th a t his e f f o r t s can be regarded as no more than an " i n t e r p r e t iv e essay".
I t is not j u s t a becoming modesty to assert such a status f o r the study th a t fo llo w s . Despite the methodological devices employed and discussed above, in the la s t analysis the f i n a l product can be no other than one in d iv id u a l's attempt to provide a reasoned elu c id a tio n of an aspect of 25. S ta rr , Op. c i t ., pp. i x - x ; i t is also the approach adopted by
Shlomo Avineri in his fin e study of Marx's thought; The Social and P o l i t i c a l Thought o f Karl Marx (Cambridge: Cambridge U n ive rsity Press, 1968).
Mao's in t e lle c t u a l armoury. I am under no i l l u s i o n th a t others, working even under the same methodological r e s t r ic t io n s and from la rg e ly
the same c u ltu r a l and p o l i t i c a l perspective, might a r riv e at conclusions very d if f e r e n t to my own. I t is to be hoped merely th a t the conclusions th a t I have reached, based as they are on a close reading o f the
texts and some careful consideration, w i l l be accepted as a c o n trib u tio n to the h i s t o r i c a l l y and p o l i t i c a l l y important task of extending our c o lle c t iv e understanding o f the way Mao approached the in te r p r e ta tio n of the h is t o r ic a l process.
I t must also be stressed, by way of f u r th e r l i m i t a t i o n , th a t t h is exegesis does not extend to an in te r p r e ta tio n o f Mao's philosophy of h is to ry in i t s e n t ir e t y ; such a task would have necessitated
incorporation and comprehensive discussion of the whole gamut of Mao's philosophy, including his theory o f con tradictions (o f which several
nc.
e x c e lle n t in te rp r e ta tio n s have already been, w r i t t e n ) , and his epistemology.
The scope o f th is study is more r e s tr ic te d and monographic in nature, seeking to elu cid ate several central problems o f Mao's philosophy of h is t o r y , and e s p e c ia lly the way in which he perceived causation and time in h is t o r ic a l and social terms. This r e s t r i c t i o n noted, however, the fo llo w in g study has incorporated an analysis o f Mao's views on Marxism and the underlying philosophy o f science which informed his approach to the in v e s tig a tio n o f h is to ry and the form ulation o f
h is t o r ic a l g e n era liza tion s; these two additions were found indispensable in the construction o f a “ notional model" of Mao's view o f h is t o r ic a l causation and time, f o r they served to d ir e c t a tte n tio n to the manner in which Mao approached the in v e s tig a tio n of h is to ry generally. In 26. See S ta r r , Op. c i t . , pp. 3-45; also Brantly Womack, "Theory and
Practice in the Thought of Mao Tse-tung," in James Chieh Hsiung ( e d .), The Logic o f "Maoism": C ritiqu e s and E xplicatio n (New York: Praeger, 1974),pp. 1-36.
some ways, Mao's ideas on s c i e n t i f i c procedure (a ra th er unusual form o f inductionism) have influenced the s ty le adopted in t h is in te r p r e ta t io n , f o r where possible, th is study has attempted to avoid applying Mao's
philosophical maxims in a "deductive" way, but has sought out his
observations and in te rp r e ta tio n s of the s p e c ific instances and examples which provided him w ith the confidence o f the v a l i d i t y o f those maxims.
So, f o r example, while i t is quite obvious th a t Mao regarded co n tra d ictio n as the motive force of social development, i t is not q u ite so obvious ju s t how Mao perceived th a t p o te n tia l f o r impulsion a c tu a lly operating w ith in society. To disclose t h i s , one must look beyond what are so freq ue n tly taken by observers to be f i r s t p rin c ip le s (but which Mao believed to be the end product in a chain o f inductive reasoning), and seek out his observations o f the concrete manifestations o f those p r in c ip le s .
Before tu rn in g , however, to an examination and in te r p r e ta t io n of the te xts o f the Yan'an period, i t is necessary f i r s t l y to make some comment on the themes th a t we seek, and introduce in some more d e ta il the concepts of h is to ry and h is t o r ic a l in te rp r e ta t io n th a t we hope to e lu cid ate.
CHAPTER ONE
Problems in Mao Zedong's Philosophy of History
Mao Zedong's philosophy o f h is to ry was c o n stitu te d o f a complex o f in te rr e la te d and dynamically evolving themes. As was argued in the In tro d u c tio n , there is no assumption made in t h is study th a t
these elements o f Mao's approach to h is to r ic a l in te rp r e ta t io n remained constant throughout his in t e lle c t u a l or p o l i t i c a l career, or th a t
such themes were necessarily w ithout in te rn a l (though perhaps unrecognized) c o n tra d ic tio n s . While t h is study makes no claim to an exhaustive
analysis of the t o t a l complex o f Mao's philosophy of h is to r y , i t has attempted to e x tr ic a te and elucidate fou r of the major elements or problem areas which c o n s titu te a s u b s ta n tia l, indeed e ss e n tia l,
portion of th a t complete philosophy of h is to ry . The elements or problem areas selected f o r textual in te r p r e ta tio n and analysis in t h is study are, f i r s t l y , the manner in which Mao perceived h is t o r ic a l causation as operating in social and economic terms; secondly, Mao's perception of h is t o r ic a l time and the fu tu re ; t h i r d l y , the philosophy o f science underpinning Mao's approach to the de riva tio n of h is t o r ic a l laws and ge nera liza tion s; and f o u r t h ly , Mao's approach to the problem of tr a n s la tin g a "u n iv e rs a l" theory of h is to ry such as Marxism in to a national form w ithout (so Mao hoped) detracting from the universal status o f th a t theory.
While i t has been necessary f o r methodological and e x p lic a to ry reasons to e x tr ic a te and is o la te these elements from the to t a l complex o f Mao's philosophy of h is to r y , an attempt has been, made to demonstrate the manner in which these d i f f e r e n t elements were in te r r e la te d , and how they meshed in a fu n c tio n in g cog nitive t o t a l i t y which could provide
Mao with in s ig h ts in to the operation and flow o f the h is t o r ic a l process.
Let us now turn to a more d e tailed analysis o f the background and c o n s titu tio n of the fo u r problem areas selected f o r analysis in t h is study.
I . Causation in History
From a c e rta in perspective, much o f mankind's e f f o r t s to understand and in t e r p r e t h is to ry can be categorized as the f a l t e r i n g attempts to dispel the mists o f r e a l i t y in search o f some more substantial u n re a lity which, by i t s transcendence above the mundane, could hold
out promise o f u ltim a te explanation o f the human predicament-. This quest f o r h is t o r ic a l explanation in the realm o f the s p i r i t
characterized many early c i v i l i z a t i o n s , and was i t s e l f clo s e ly associated w ith r e lig io u s p ractice and in te r p r e ta t io n . In Greek mythology, f o r example, Zeus performed the ro le o f the d ir e c to r o f the cosmic play, while in Indian lo r e , Shiva gave meaning and d ire c tio n to human a c t i v i t y . Likewise, f o r the pre-C h ristian Jews, h is to ry was revealed (through the medium of the prophets) by Yahweh, the demanding God o f the Covenant.
In these examples, the explanation o f the human drama was sought above and beyond the realm of the in te rn a l mechanics o f society as such, and in te rp re te d man's in d iv id u a l and c o lle c t iv e a c t i v i t i e s as being to a large extent the predicate of some supra-world force.
In the ancient Chinese t r a d i t i o n , there was something o f an ambivalence towards the notion of h is to r ic a l causation. Needham has argued th a t the Chinese were the most h is to ric a lly -m in d e d of a l l ancient peoples. Indeed, in China h is to ry had become a separate
1. Joseph Needham, Time and Eastern Man (London: Royal Anthropological I n s t i t u t e o f Great B r it a in and Ire la nd , 1965), pp. 10-11.
