Sha He Wen

“The Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society” is an important work of historic significance in the development of Mao Zedong Thought. During the Great Revolution it exerted considerable influence, being published not only in various periodicals but also as a separate booklet, and serving as instructional material in peasant movement training schools, thereby achieving wide circulation. After the founding of the People’s Republic, it was included as the opening essay in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, further enhancing its importance. Following the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, several scholars in the fields of ideological theory and Party history conducted multi-faceted research on this work, producing a number of insightful articles and raising a number of questions worthy of discussion. Among these, some have pointed out that when the work was incorporated into the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, certain key points were revised and supplemented; they therefore suggest reprinting its original version so that comparative study may lead to a more accurate understanding and grasp of the evolution of Mao Zedong’s thought.

Based on existing materials, “The Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society” first appeared in the fourth issue (published December 1, 1925) of the bi-monthly journal Revolution, sponsored by the Headquarters of the Second Army of the National Revolutionary Army. On February 1, 1926, it was reprinted in the second issue of Chinese Peasants, published by the Central Peasant Department of the Kuomintang, with minor textual alterations. Subsequently, the Shantou Bookstore in Guangdong issued a single-volume edition based on the text as it appeared in Chinese Peasants. In March 1926, the organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, Chinese Youth, serialized the work in issues 116 and 117, at which time the author made numerous revisions. Thereafter, until the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, no other editions of this work were published. During both the War of Resistance Against Japan and the Liberation War, various collections of Mao Zedong’s writings and anthologies compiled in anti-Japanese base areas and liberated zones, as well as the Party historical compilations Prior to the Sixth National Congress and The Two Lines edited and published by the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, did not include this work.

In 1950, the CPC Central Committee decided to publish the Selected Works of Mao Zedong. At that time, only the version originally appearing in Chinese Youth had been collected, and it was used as the base text for revision when the work was included in the Selected Works. The date of composition was likewise set to March 1926, corresponding to the publication date in Chinese Youth. Mao Zedong made several careful revisions and additions to the work, resulting in multiple revised drafts. Around this time, the Central Committee also decided to reprint the 1942 compilation Prior to the Sixth National Congress, a collection of Party historical documents. With Mao Zedong’s consent, this work was appended as a supplementary document to the reprinted edition completed in February 1951. However, as editing of the Selected Works was still underway, Mao Zedong subsequently made further textual changes, ultimately shaping the final version that was included in Volume One of the Selected Works, published in October 1951. After the publication of the Selected Works, the versions from Chinese Peasants and Revolution gradually came to light. In the early 1960s, during the revision of the annotations to Volumes One through Four of the Selected Works, some comrades proposed revising the date of composition to December 1, 1925, aligning it with the publication date in Revolution. However, due to the onset of the Cultural Revolution, the revision work was suspended and the proposal was never implemented.

Mao Zedong’s successive revisions of “The Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society” reflect his evolving understanding of certain key issues within the text. In particular, the final version included in the Selected Works—intended for study by cadres and the general public—represents a carefully polished masterpiece dedicated to readers. Mao Zedong was a rigorous scholar who never rested on his achievements at any given stage, constantly drawing intellectual nourishment from practical experience and scientific research to correct and supplement his own views where they were inadequate or incomplete, striving for greater clarity and precision in theoretical exposition and for smoother, more concise language. Consequently, this work as it appears in the Selected Works is undoubtedly an important source for studying and researching Mao Zedong Thought. Of course, for researchers seeking to trace the development of Mao Zedong’s thought, it remains equally necessary to consult earlier versions, especially the original, prior to their inclusion in the Selected Works. These versions, shaped under specific historical conditions, undoubtedly possess significant historical and documentary value.

Taking into account the needs of researchers, this journal now republishes the original version of “The Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society.” Furthermore, the forthcoming collection of Mao Zedong’s works from the Period of the Founding of the Party and the Great Revolution, jointly compiled by two editorial teams—the Research Office of Documents of the CPC Central Committee and the Hunan Provincial Committee of the CPC (specifically, the Hunan team entrusted by the provincial committee to collaborate with the Central Documents Research Office in editing the Collected Early Works of Mao Zedong and the Collection of Mao Zedong’s Works from the Period of the Founding of the Party and the Great Revolution)—will also include the original versions of “The Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society” and “A Report on the Peasant Movement in Hunan,” two works that had a major impact during the Great Revolution, alongside their versions as they appear in the Selected Works. A brief introduction will be provided in the headnote outlining the principal changes across the various editions. Details regarding these revisions will be presented in a separate article and will not be elaborated upon here.

○ Party Documents, No. 1, 1989   Sponsored by the Research Office of Documents of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Archives   pp. 45–46