Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung, is a book of selected statements from speeches
and writings by Mao Zedong, the former leader of the Chinese Communist Party, published
from 1964 to about 1976 and widely distributed during the Cultural Revolution.
The most popular versions were printed in small sizes that could be easily carried and
were bound in bright red covers, becoming commonly known in the West as the Little Red
Book.
It is considered to be one of the most printed books in history.
Publication process Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung was
originally compiled by an office of the PLA Daily as an inspirational political and military
document.
The initial publication covered 23 topics with 200 selected quotations by the Chairman
of the Chinese Communist Party, and was entitled 200 Quotations from Chairman Mao.
It was first given to delegates of a conference on 5 January 1964 who were asked to comment
on it.
In response to the views of the deputies and compilers of the book, the work was expanded
to address 25 topics with 267 quotations, and the title was changed simply to Quotations
from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung.
On 10 January, the work was re-issued to the delegates and sent to select units of the
People's Liberation Army who received their advance copies for educating troops as well
as for their comments.
In May 1964, the PLA General Political Department, the chief political organ under Central Military
Commission, revised Quotations, adding a half title page with the slogan "Workers of the
world, unite!" in bold red letters, and endorsement leaves written by Lin Biao, Mao’s chosen
successor, that included three lines from the diary of revolutionary hero Lei Feng.
This version was issued "for internal use" to the military leaders.
Following discussions that expanded the book twice more — finally closing on 33 topics
and 427 quotations by Mao — the commission began publishing the definitive version in
May 1965.
By this time, the Chinese Red Army and the entire nation were clamouring to read Mao's
words.
The initial demand for Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung was enormous.
At the end of 1965, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China officially
approved the book for publication by the People's Publishing House and for distribution within
China by the Xinhua Bookstore.
The Ministry of Culture held special study meetings to develop a production and distribution
plan.
It sought assurances that the book would receive publishing priority and that there would be
sufficient paper, ink, and printing presses available.
The goal was for "ninety-nine percent read Chairman Mao's book", according to a catalogue
of publication records of the People's Publishing House.
Provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across China were ordered to build
hundreds of new printing houses to publish the Quotations during the second half of 1966
which pushed the limits of the Chinese printing industry.
As the Cultural Revolution and the personality cult of Mao Zedong was approaching its apogee
in February 1967, only two others works were officially authorized for wide publication
and distribution: Vladimir Lenin's, The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism,
and Friedrich Engels' Socialism: Utopian and Scientific.
During the subsequent three years, no other major works on Marxism-Leninism were printed
in China.
This disrupted plans for publishing any new volumes of The Complete Works of Marx and
Engels that was already in progress.
It also halted distribution of other ideological works.
As late as 1970, more than 8 million copies of the 4-volume set of Selected Works of Marx
and Engels that had already been printed remained undistributed in storage warehouses on the
grounds that other works “should not interfere with learning Quotations from Chairman Mao
Tse-Tung”.
On the other hand, several other works by Mao had very large printings during the same
period, even though these editions were not produced in the astronomical numbers of Quotations
from Chairman Mao.
These include Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Selected Articles of Mao Zedong, single article
books, and works of poetry.
Foreign distribution
In 1966, the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China approved Quotations
from Chairman Mao for export.
To meet overseas requirements, the editors of the Chinese Foreign Language Press made
revisions necessitated by the situation.
They added a "second edition preface" endorsement by Lin Biao, dated 16 December 1966.
On the last page, they listed the names of the publisher without an ISBN, the printer
and distributor, and the publication year.
By May 1967, bookstores in 117 countries and territories around the world – including
Great Britain, France, Spain, Japan, Russia, Germany, Italy, Nepal, Indonesia, Burma, Iran,
Arab and African nations and others – were distributing Mao's Quotations.
Foreign presses operating in 20 countries contributed to the publication of 20 translations
in 35 versions.
Publication number
According to official statistics from departments associated with the PLA General Political
Department, from 1964 to 1976, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung was published in
4 Chinese editions, 8 Chinese minority languages in 8 versions, one Braille edition, 37 foreign
language version and a bilingual Chinese-English version, with a total printing of 1,055,498,000
copies.
The Foreign Languages Publishing and Distribution Administration, according to reports from
October 1967, published translations in 65 languages in 853 formats for worldwide distribution.
Some researchers claim that as many as 5 to 6.5 billion copies of Quotations were printed,
however, these claims appear to be dubious and are not corroborated by governmental Chinese
reports.
The book's phenomenal popularity may be because it was essentially an unofficial requirement
for every Chinese citizen to own, to read, and to carry it at all times during the latter
half of Mao's rule, especially during the Cultural Revolution.
During the Cultural Revolution, studying the book was not only required in schools but
was also a standard practice in the workplace as well.
All units, in the industrial, commercial, agricultural, civil service, and military
sectors, organized group sessions for the entire workforce to study the book during
working hours.
Quotes from Mao were either bold-faced or highlighted in red, and almost all writing,
including scientific essays, had to quote Mao.
Formats The most widely produced editions of the Quotations
of Chairman Mao were published with a printed red vinyl cover wrapper over cardboard with
pages bound in 64 folios that included colour photos of Mao.
Most editions were produced in a functional, compact size that fit into a pocket, were
easy to carry, and could be taken out at any time "for practice, learning, application."
It was published in 32 other common sizes, allegedly the largest format printed on only
4 pages as large as the newspaper Reference News, and the smallest format the size of
a matchbox.
Role and social impact
Today, the book is a symbol of Mao Zedong Thought.
Admirers of Mao Zedong can frequently be found holding “The Little Red Book” gripped
with their right hand waving it over their heads to show joy, or cries of condemnation.
The tradition of the ritual chanting of slogans originated with Lin Biao who Mao Zedong met
in the Red Guard.
Among the best known is: "Saying Wansui in their mouths, holding the Quotations in their
hands!" which became a cliché of dogmatism or formalist irony.
In certain situations, the Quotations is given as a gift, for example, when public funds
are involved, or when personal events arise, such as congratulating newlyweds, and so on.
It is said that for some people, keeping the Quotations at home is a psychological burden,
because they cannot dispose of it, and if it is inadvertently stained or soiled, it
likely will cause considerable offense.
Foreign press reports in the West called the work "The Little Red Book" reflecting its
common small size and bright cover.
After the Cultural Revolution ended, some Chinese people also adopted the nickname simplified
Chinese: 红宝书; traditional Chinese: 紅寶書; pinyin: hóng bǎoshū.
During the 1960s, the book was the single most visible icon in mainland China, even
more visible than the image of the Chairman himself.
In posters and pictures created by CPC's propaganda artists, nearly every painted character whether
smiling or looking determined, was always seen with a copy of the book in his or her
hand.
After the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976 and the rise of Deng Xiaoping in 1978,
the importance of the book waned considerably, and the glorification of Mao's quotations
was considered to be left deviationism and a cult of personality.
Today, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung is mostly a piece of nostalgia.
Various editions are popular with some collectors, and rare and unusual printings command extremely
high prices.
It may be purchased at shops in Beijing, Shanghai, other major cities, as well as at some tourist
attractions.
Images from "The Little Red Book"
Content and format Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung comprises
427 quotations, divided thematically into 33 chapters.
It is also called "Thoughts of Chairman Mao" by many Chinese people.
The quotations range in length from a sentence to a few short paragraphs, and borrow heavily
from a group of about two dozen documents in the four volumes of Mao's Selected Works.
In the book's latter half, a strong empiricist tendency evidences itself in Mao's thought.
Usually the quotations are arranged logically, to deal with one to three themes in the development
of a chapter.
The table below summarizes the book.
Please note that the summaries represent what Mao is claiming or writing in each chapter.
See also Chairman Mao badge
Cult of personality The Green Book
Ruhnama The History of the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union References
Further reading DeFrancis, John: Annotated Quotations from
Chairman Mao.
Yale University Press, 1975.
ISBN 0-300-01870-3.
Bristow, Michael: Who owns Mao's millions?.
BBC News, 2007.
Han, Oliver Lei: Sources and early printing history of Chairman Mao's "Quotations".
External links Zhengyuan Fu, Autocratic Tradition and Chinese
Politics, source for total number printed.
Original Chinese text 毛泽东语录, at Wikiquote
English translations of original text Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, at
Terebess Asia Online Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, at
Art-bin.com Quotations from Mao Tse-Tung, at Mao Tse Tung
Internet Archive, Marxists.org