Petition for the Hunan Self-Government Movement
(October 10, 1920)
The Subject of Our Petition:
We venture to recall that it has already been nine years since it was written into
the constitution194 that the sovereignty of the Republic of China belongs to its people
194 The reference here is, of course, to the Provisional Constitution of 1912, providing for a parliamentary system, not to Yuan Shikai’s presidential-style “New Constitution” of 1914 as in the text dated
October 5–6, 1920.

as a whole. During these nine years, although under the constitution the citizens195
should have enjoyed all kinds of liberties and rights, in reality they have been entirely
stripped of these by a few bureaucrats and warlords. The reason for this is that the
fundamental supreme laws of the country have not yet been established, nor has local
self-government been carried through. Hunan Province has been plagued year after
year by incessant coups, bringing disaster and chaos in their wake. No matter whether
Hunan was governed by a Hunanese, or by someone from another province, the only
difference was whether bureaucratic rule was better or worse. It had nothing to do with
government by the people. Therefore, faced with the repeated disasters brought on us
by the soldiers, the citizens had no choice but to endure the pain and suffering, with
no means of deliverance. Now that good fortune has brought stability to Hunan, the
people are yearning for good government. The blessings of a golden age, the hope for a
happy land of government by the people, and the expectations of people both in China
and abroad have come together. The citizens know only too well the tribulations of the
past and the difficulties of the future. After careful collective deliberation, we venture to
assert that great prosperity will not be brought to Hunan unless local self-government is
instituted immediately, and that self-government cannot be perfected unless a people’s
constitutional convention is called immediately. In this regard, we the citizens believe
that the organizational and electoral laws of the people’s constitutional convention are
especially important. Basically, there are six key points in these laws: (1) that delegates
to the constitutional convention be elected by the xian on the basis of their size; (2) that
there be a three-month time-limit on the duration of the constitution-making process;
(3) that the method of direct election be used; (4) that the method of election by
universal suffrage be used; (5) that delegates not be allowed to hold an administrative
or military office at the same time; and (6) that the duration of the electoral process be
no more than two months at most. The resulting people’s constitutional convention, to
be organized on the basis of the above six points, will certainly be able to put together
the ideas of the majority and draw up an excellent constitution, which will increase the
happiness of the people of Hunan and be a model for the whole country. Moreover, our
province is now in a special position; we should exercise our revolutionary spirit, cut
off all the old fetters, and practice complete self-determination and self-government in
one province, Hunan. We will not depend on the central government or other provinces;
we will eradicate the old habits and create a new state.196 With respect to the spirit of
government which should prevail from now on, it is appropriate to adopt democracy
and socialism, in order to solve particularly difficult political and economic problems,
and avoid another tragedy of a bloody revolution in the future. Furthermore, in light
of the situation in Hunan today, we should adopt a Hunan Monroe Doctrine. The
195 Shimindeng, literally “townspeople and others.” The use of this expression confirms that, as
suggested in the note to the text dated October 7, 1920, Mao and his fellow authors are thinking of the
urban population as the key element among the citizenry.
196 The term used here is not guojia, which could refer merely to a state apparatus, but bang, which
definitely means a separate political entity.