Words from Chairman Mao Tsetung
The book Words of Chairman Mao Tsetung ( Chinese 毛主席 語錄 / 毛主席 语录 , Pinyin Máo zhǔxí yǔlù ) contains quotations and publications of Mao Zedong and is an important reference work for the political currents of Maoism . It is also known as "The Little Red Book" or "Mao Bible" , and the name "Red Bible" was also used earlier .
It was particularly important in China during the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 1976). At the time every Chinese was expected to carry the book with them and it was customary to greet each other with a quote from it.
The book was first published in 1965, in German it was published in 1967. The edition is now around one billion copies.
Preface
The words of Chairman Mao Tsetung were compiled by the then Defense Minister Lin Biao for the political training of the soldiers of the People's Liberation Army after the great leap forward .
Lin Biao's preface to the second edition is an example of the personality cult around Mao Zedong. Mao is described as "the greatest Marxist-Leninist of our time".
Structure and content
The book is divided into 33 chapters, each containing up to 25 short quotations from Mao Zedong on different topics, a total of 427. These quotations come from speeches and essays as well as from the press over a period of 40 years.
They deal with the CCP , warfare, revolutionary education, discipline, criticism and self-criticism , culture and other topics and are strung together without any direct connection or comment.
| No. | Quotes | German | Chinese ( short characters ) | Chinese ( traditional characters ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | The communist party | 共产党 | 共產黨 |
| 2 | 22nd | Classes and class struggle | 阶级 和 阶级 斗争 | 階級 和 階級 鬥爭 |
| 3 | 28 | Socialism and communism | 社会主义 和 共产 主义 | 社會主義 和 共產 主義 |
| 4th | 16 | The correct treatment of the contradictions in the people | 正确 处理 人民 内部 矛盾 | 正確 處理 人民 內部 矛盾 |
| 5 | 21st | war and peace | 战争 与 和平 | 戰爭 與 和平 |
| 6th | 10 | Imperialism and all reactionaries are paper tigers | 帝国主义 和 一切 反动派 都是 纸老虎 | 帝國主義 和 一切 反動派 都是 紙老虎 |
| 7th | 10 | Have the courage to fight, have the courage to win! | 敢于 斗争 ， 敢于 胜利 | 敢於 鬥爭 ， 敢於 勝利 |
| 8th | 10 | The People's War | 人民 战争 | 人民 戰爭 |
| 9 | 8th | The army of the people | 人民 军队 | 人民 軍隊 |
| 10 | 14th | The leadership of the party committees | 党委 领导 | 黨委 領導 |
| 11 | 22nd | The mass line | 群众 路线 | 群眾 路線 |
| 12 | 21st | Political work | 政治 工作 | 政治 工作 |
| 13 | 7th | Relations between officers and men | 官兵 关系 | 官兵 關係 |
| 14th | 6th | Relations between the army and the people | 军民 关系 | 軍民 關係 |
| 15th | 8th | Democracy in the three main areas | 三大 民主 | 三大 民主 |
| 16 | 9 | Education and training | 教育 和 训练 | 教育 和 訓練 |
| 17th | 9 | Serve the people | 为人民服务 | 為人民服務 |
| 18th | 7th | Patriotism and internationalism | 爱国主义 和 国际主义 | 愛國主義 和 國際主義 |
| 19th | 8th | Revolutionary heroism | 革命 英雄 主义 | 革命 英雄 主義 |
| 20th | 8th | Build our country with diligence and frugality | 勤俭 建国 | 勤儉 建國 |
| 21st | 13 | Confidence and uphill struggle | 自力更生 ， 艰苦奋斗 | 自力更生 ， 艱苦奮鬥 |
| 22nd | 41 | Mindset and working methods | 思想方法 和 工作 方法 | 思想方法 和 工作 方法 |
| 23 | 9 | Investigation and research | 调查 研究 | 調查 研究 |
| 24 | 15th | Correction of Wrong Views | 纠正 错误 思想 | 糾正 錯誤 思想 |
| 25th | 5 | The unit | 团结 | 團結 |
| 26th | 5 | The discipline | 纪律 | 紀律 |
| 27 | 15th | Criticism and self-criticism | 批评 和 自我批评 | 批評 和 自我批評 |
| 28 | 18th | The communists | 共产党员 | 共產黨員 |
| 29 | 11 | The cadres | 干部 | 幹部 |
| 30th | 7th | The youth | 青年 | 青年 |
| 31 | 7th | The women | 妇女 | 婦女 |
| 32 | 8th | Culture and art | 文化 艺术 | 文化 藝術 |
| 33 | 16 | The studies | 学习 | 學習 |
commitment
The Little Red Book was used for mass actions by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution . It spread not only across the People's Republic of China , but also in the European student movement of 1968.
A first German translation by Tilemann Grimm appeared in the Fischer library in 1967.
After the alleged attempted coup by Lin Biao in 1971, all editions that contained his foreword were withdrawn in China.
literature
- Words from Chairman Mao Tsetung . Verlag Neuer Weg, Essen, 2nd edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-88021-237-4 .
- Anke Jaspers, Claudia Michalski, Morten Paul (eds.): A little red book. The Mao Bible and the Book Revolution of the 1960s . Matthes & Seitz, Berlin, 1st edition 2018, ISBN 978-3-95757-470-1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ A – Z Mao Bible , Series '68. Violence and love . In: Der Freitag No. 20/2018, May 17, 2018, p. 28.