Quote collection
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"It was the Russians that introduced the Chinese to Marxism. Before the October Revolution, the Chinese were not only ignorant of Lenin and Stalin but did not even know of Marx or Engels. The salvos of the October Revolution awoke us to Marxism-Leninism."
"The only way to settle questions of an ideological nature or controversial issues among the people is by the democratic method, the method of discussion, of criticism, of persuasion and education, and not by the method of coercion or repression."
"The most effective method of propaganda directed at the enemy forces is to release captured soldiers and give the wounded medical treatment... Whenever soldiers of enemy forces are captured, we immediately conduct propaganda among them...This immediately knocks the bottom out of the enemy's slander that the Communist bandits kill everyone on sight."
"On all basic points our policies have proved correct from the very beginning."
"The arrow of Marxist-Leninism must be used to hit the target of the Chinese Revolution."
"Where do correct ideas come from? Do they drop from the skies? No. They come from social practice, and from it alone; they come from three kinds of social practice, the struggle for production, the class struggle and scientific experiment."
"The atom bomb is a paper tiger which the United States reactionaries use to scare people. It looks terrible, but in fact it isn't."
"There is a serious tendency toward capitalism among the well-to-do peasants."
"All reactionaries are paper tigers."
"Be pupils of the masses as well as their teachers."
"Some people have read a few Marxist books and think themselves quite learned but what they have read has not penetrated, has not struck root in their minds, so that they do not know how to use it and their class feelings remain as of old. Others are very conceited and having learned some book-phrases, think them terrific and are very cocky; but whenever a storm blows up, they take a stand very different from that of the workers and the majority of the peasants. They waver while the latter stand firm, they equivocate while the latter are forthright."
"We desire peace. However, if imperialism insists on fighting a war, we will have no alternative but to take the firm resolution to fight to the finish before going ahead with our construction. If you are afraid of war day in day out, what will you do if war eventually comes? First, I said that the East Wind is prevailing over the West Wind and war will not break out, and now I have added these explanations about the situation in case war should break out. Both possibilities have thus been taken into account."
"I have witnessed the tremendous energy of the masses. On this foundation it is possible to accomplish any task whatsoever."
"You have never suffered-how can you be a leftist?"
"Our principle is that the Party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the Party."
"The sky is no bigger than the mouth of the well."
"The state machine, including the army, the police and the courts, is the instrument with which one class oppresses another. It is an instrument of oppression against all hostile classes; it means violence and is certainly not anything 'benevolent.' 'You are merciless.' Quite so. We definitely do not adopt a benevolent policy towards the reactionary activities of the reactionaries and the reactionary classes."
"At the beginning of anything out of the ordinary, the mass of the people always dislike it."
"Man must conquer nature."
"It is right to rebel against reactionaries."