(October 26, 1930)
I. The Victory of Ji'an and the New Revolutionary Upsurge
Changsha has been occupied, and heavy offensives are still going on. The First
and Third Army Groups have converged, and the major city of Ji'an has been
seized. These vigorous developments of the forces of the Red Army in coordination with the sharp struggles of the proletariat in all major cities throughout the
country and the development of the soviet régime in the countryside have already ensured that the revolutionary high tide in China will soon take the form of
a general outburst. In particular, the seizure of Ji'an is the culmination of a local
uprising with the greatest mass support and the strongest foundations, carried out
by millions of organized masses in southwest Jiangxi, and by over twenty xian
soviet governments. The victory of Ji'an is the beginning of victory in the whole
province of Jiangxi. This victory is the first seizure of a major city by the Red
Army and the masses in the course of several years of fighting. It not only
provides a more solid foundation to assist the further development of the Red
Army, and it is not merely a call to the revolutionary masses of all Jiangxi to
complete the recent general uprising in Jiangxi. It is also of the greatest significance in giving an impetus to the revolutionary forces of the whole country and
achieving nationwide revolutionary victory. Beyond a doubt, we must continue
to build on the victory at Ji'an and seek victory first in Jiangxi.

Our source for this document is Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 3, pp. 159-74, where the text
is reproduced from a documentary collection published in China in 1980, after checking
with a version in the Chen Cheng collection.
Recent developments in the international situation, such as the preparations for
war by Italy and France, the breakdown of the naval negotiations between Italy
and France, the active expansion of naval forces by France, the anti-German riots
in Czechoslovakia, the forceful British denunciation of the U.S. policy of tariff
increases, and the organization by seventeen South American republics of the
South American Alliance, a movement to resist the United States, are all manifestations of the tensions of a second imperialist world war. The United States
has incited Europe and the Americas to impose an economic boycott of the
Soviet Union. The recent Soviet dumping of wheat in the United States, in
particular, has caused the price of American wheat to collapse and made it more
difficult to prevent the panic resulting from its agricultural overproduction, thus
increasing U.S. hatred of the Soviet Union. The suppression of the Communist
parties and the arrest of their leaders in various countries further demonstrate the
intensification of the attack on the Soviet Union. But the irreconcilable contradictions in the era of the imminent demise of imperialism have already urged
forward the torrent of world revolution. The French Communist Party has won a
big victory in the recent election. Opposing the government's 8 percent cut in the
wages of the metallurgical workers, 140,000 workers have waged a big strike in
Berlin. The strike of the ship-building workers of Malaga, Spain, has led to a
general sympathy strike in Vitoria, causing a situation of rebellion.² Although
the government has adopted severe measures, it cannot clamp down effectively.
Fifty thousand Hungarian workers have taken to the streets, and the Czechoslovakian Communist Party has also staged big anti-German demonstrations. The
capital of Poland has witnessed general strikes, protesting the government's
arrests of opposition leaders. In southern Chile, revolution broke out suddenly.
The strikes of silk workers in Japan have developed into armed confrontations
with the police. There have been rebellious riots of the inhabitants in India. The
socialist construction of the Soviet Union has been further consolidated and
developed. For example, agricultural production has become superior to that of
the United States. All this shows that the world revolution is developing in great
surges. This situation is very advantageous to the Chinese revolution. It will turn
the offensive wars against the Soviet Union into a war for the victory of the
world revolution.
```

III. Several Events That Have Occurred in
the Chaotic Wars among the Warlords
F. Chiang Kaishek has dispatched Xu Yuanquan, Wang Jinyu, Chen Cheng,
Xia Douyin, Cai Tingkai, Jiang Guangnai, Ye Weijun, Xiao Zichu, and others
back to Henan and dispatched Tan Daoyuan, Jin Handing, Xu Kexiang, Peng
Qilong, Mao Bingwen, Li Yunjie, Tang Yunshan, and other army units to Hubei
to suppress the revolution.
A. After Chiang Kaishek seized Ji'nan, Zhang Xueliang issued a clever telegram, proposing peace and unification, while waiting for the Nanjing government to take action.

B. Zhang Xueliang led his armies south of Shanhaiguan, and occupied Beiping and Tianjin. Recently, he published a telegram, calling for the convening in
Beiping of a reconstruction conference to discuss the so-called question of "striving to save the country."3
IV. The Evaluation of These Events

C. Chiang Kaishek published two important telegrams: (1) asking the
Guomindang government to issue an amnesty for all political crimes, excluding
Chen Jiongming and Yan Xishan and the Communist Party. (2) convening the
Fourth National Congress of the Guomindang to decide on the meeting of a national
assembly for the promulgation of a provisional constitution. A proclamation to the
citizens contained five items, including eliminating the Communists (within a time
limit of three to six months, with regional responsibilities, on the one hand, and
comprehensive joint repression, on the other hand), sorting out financial affairs,
streamlining the bureaucracy, developing the economy, and practicing self-rule.
A. The wars among Chiang, Yan, and Feng are wars among Britain, Japan,
and the United States. Exploiting the tensions which have resulted from the
clashes between Britain and the United States, Japan has occupied a pivotal
position. Seizing the opportunity of the compromise between the United States
and Chiang, Japan has caused her lackey Zhang of Fengtian to obtain a sphere of
influence in Hebei. As expected, both Britain and the United States have had to
make concessions to Japan, and this has been followed by Chiang and Yan's
reluctant recognition of the advance made by the forces of Zhang of Fengtian.
Chiang especially wants to use this move to deal with Yan.

D. It was carried in the newspapers that Liu Luyin, the head of the Central
Propaganda Department in Nanjing, stated in a report regarding current affairs,
"The Japanese language newspapers have created various rumors about Zhang
Hanqing [Zhang Xueliang] and the authorities of northeast China.
The
diplomats of the Japanese government in China go so far as to instigate the
Japanese language newspapers to sow discord inside our country, thus making
people wonder whether the Japanese government is engaging in deliberate manipulation." He also said, "Englishman Simpson has helped Yan to seize the
customs, committing the crime of creating disorder in another country. No response has been made to the several protests of our country and we believe that
the British diplomatic authorities in China are irresponsible and that the British
government no longer amounts to anything."
B. The occupation of Changsha and the continuing heavy attacks [of the Red
Army], as well as the seizure of Ji'an, have not only led to widespread changes
in the Chinese revolutionary situation but have, at the same time, transformed the
relationships among the ruling classes. That is to say that the development of the
revolutionary forces and the fundamental contradictions among classes have
prompted the imperialists and the Chinese ruling classes to try desperately to
moderate the conflicts among themselves and unite in dealing with the revolution. Even the U.S. imperialists feel that this is necessary because the Nanjing
government under its control has been increasingly threatened by the revolutionary forces. The Japanese imperialists also naturally feel that the victory of the
Chinese revolution is detrimental to Japan first and foremost. Therefore, there is
the possibility of temporary compromise between Japan and the United States.
Chiang also has to win over Zhang, so as to end the wars speedily. The suppression of the Chinese revolution is urgently necessary to British imperialism as
well. With the alliance between Japan and the United States, and the disastrous
defeats of Feng and Yan, they have no alternative but to yield temporarily. The
temporary alliance of imperialism and the warlords against the revolution makes
it necessary and feasible for Chiang Kaishek to remove large numbers of troops
from the front to attack the revolution. Meanwhile, suppressing the Chinese
revolution requires the employment of new policies of reformism and deception.
So, Chiang Kaishek, taking advantage of the military victories after the occupation of Kaifeng and Zhengzhou, published several telegrams which put forward
policies of reform and deception and attempted to establish reactionary leadership. The so-called amnesty of political prisoners and convening of a national
assembly are in fact acceptance of the programs of the reformists and attempts to
seek the support of the middle and petty bourgeoisie. At the same time, he
E. Chiang Kaishek has occupied Zhengzhou. It is reported that some of the
forces of Feng Yuxiang have been captured by Chiang Kaishek, some have
surrendered to Chiang, and still others have retreated to northern Henan. There
are also reports of an attack on Shanxi.

attempts to draw the subordinates of Feng over to his side to oppose Yan and
organize an anti-Communist alliance under the leadership of the Chiang faction,
that is to say, under the leadership of the United States, for the purpose of
crushing the Chinese revolution. This is an effort to achieve leadership in opposing the Chinese revolution, as well as to seek leadership in attacking the Soviet
Union and opposing the world revolution.
C. This counterrevolutionary alliance will inevitably disintegrate in the face
of the revolutionary upsurge. This can be predicted in advance by the contradictions, vacillations, and collapse of the ruling classes and the vigorous development of the revolutionary forces. Despite their desperate efforts to unite, the
internal conflicts among the imperialist warlords have become more acute.
Zhang Xueliang's proposal of holding a reconstruction conference obviously
clashes with Chiang Kaishek's national assembly. In the chaotic wars among
Chiang, Feng, and Yan, the Japanese imperialists and their running dog Zhang
Xueliang have actually gained the territories of Beijing and Shandong, thus
further intensifying the conflicts between Japan and the United States, and between Zhang and Chiang. The report of Liu Luyin has already provided a clue.
Chiang Kaishek has dispatched his troops to the south in a great hurry, setting
the deadline of eliminating the Communist bandits within three to six months.
These are signs of the tensions of the war between Chiang and Zhang. In particular, because the politics and economy of the ruling class are completely bankrupt, financial disorder has become a nationwide phenomenon, the rural
economy is seriously bankrupt, and the peasants' uprisings against the landlords
in various southern provinces have been taking place for several years in succession. The fact that no faction of the Guomindang can resolve this situation
indicates how much more serious the problem has become. Under the threat of
imperialist production, national industries have closed down and collapsed in
great numbers, intensifying the crisis of unemployment. Although Feng and Yan
have been defeated, the bankrupt in Shanxi and Shaanxi can no longer survive,
and a war for territory will naturally take place. In order to extricate themselves
from the industrial crisis, the British imperialists will certainly exert all their
efforts to regain the influence and political leadership in China they have lost.
This proves that, because of their fundamental economic and political bankruptcy, the imperialists and the Chinese ruling classes are no longer capable of
stabilizing their future, or of having a solid alliance, and that new fighting among
the warlords will certainly occur in the near future and further accelerate their
downfall. Chiang Kaishek's so-called peace and unification is nothing but deceptive and ridiculous nonsense. Even lackey Wu Zhihui has said, "One is afraid
that there will be no 120 percent guarantee for the hope of eternal peace." On the
basis of the facts set out above, the revolutionary movement of the proletariat
and the broad masses has, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party,
moved toward a resolute struggle to overthrow the rule of the Guomindang.
What the masses demand is not the national assembly of the warlords, bureauOCTOBER 1930 579
crats, despotic gentry, landlords, and bourgeoisie, but the soviet assembly of the
workers, peasants, soldiers, and broad masses of the oppressed toilers, which is
scheduled to be held on November 7. What the masses demand is not the constitution and laws that maintain the oppression and exploitation of the ruling
classes, but the soviet laws, ordinances, and programs that guarantee the dictatorship of the proletariat and the interests of the workers, peasants, and toiling
masses. What the masses demand is not the local autonomy of the political
régime of the despotic gentry and landlords, but the soviet politics of the dictatorship of the workers and peasants. Why are the reformists and the Chiang
Kaishek faction putting forward these tricks at this time? Precisely because the
revolution is moving toward its high tide and striving for the thorough overthrow
of the ruling classes, and because they see the masses waging resolute struggles
for the above demands, they have to propose so-called national assemblies,
constitution, and laws to attract the middle and petty bourgeoisie in jointly suppressing the demands and the revolution of the workers and peasants. These
conspiracies and tricks further lay bare the increasing collapse of the ruling
classes and their ugly features of fright and helplessness. The counterrevolutionary alliance of the imperialists and warlords is formed in the present situation of
a raging tide of revolution throughout the world and the vigorous development of
the Chinese revolution. The nature of these attacks is that the ruling classes are
trying to save themselves from crisis and doom. It is not at all the case that the
ruling classes are trying to destroy the revolutionary forces at the low ebb of the
revolution, as in the past, when they conducted the campaigns of joint suppression against the Jinggangshan. We must reply to the massive offensives of the
warlords of the Chiang faction with a nationwide revolutionary uprising. In the
present situation where on the one hand the imperialists and warlords are forced
to compromise, and on the other hand they are not able to reconcile their contradictions, so that they are tottering on the brink of collapse, we must confirm our
victory in this decisive class struggle by obtaining not just victory in one province, but the victory of the revolution in the whole country.
D. There are two incorrect evaluations concerning the fighting among the
warlords. The first is a nonclass and unrealistically optimistic evaluation, which
holds that the chaotic struggles among the warlords will become forever larger
and larger until the destruction of the warlords themselves, and that they will
never unite to oppose the revolution. This is a totally wrong and nonclass evaluation. It shows a lack of the understanding that when the class contradictions
supersede the internal contradictions of the ruling classes, the ruling classes must
inevitably wage last-ditch struggles, abandon their own contradictions for the
time being, and unite to oppose the revolution. The consequence of this evaluation will be relaxation in the arrangement of the revolutionary work, a purely
military viewpoint, which can easily lead to separation from the masses in our
concrete actions, and helplessness whenever we face a reactionary alliance.
These empty optimistic evaluations will certainly lead to extreme pessimism.

The other evaluation is pessimistic in believing that the enemies are united
against us, and therefore the revolution is faced with great difficulties. This is
another nonclass analysis, for it does not understand the revolutionary high tide.
The last-ditch joint struggle of the ruling classes is directed at meeting the
offensives of the revolutionary forces, and this proves that the revolution has
reached high tide. If the revolution is about to destroy the ruling classes, why
should not the ruling classes unite and save themselves from dangers and destruction? When the revolution is still developing within one province, the ruling
classes use the forces of one province to deal with the revolution every time.
This is also the case in the period of guerrilla warfare. On the other hand, when
the ruling classes are forming a nationwide alliance, this undoubtedly proves the
existence of a nationwide revolutionary high tide. Those who do not recognize
this point are incapable of truly understanding the revolutionary high tide and
will develop pessimism, evasion, and shameful capitulationism. The correct understanding is that the victory of the Chinese revolution will encounter the brutal
wars not only of the domestic warlords but of the international imperialists. As
the revolution begins to be victorious, the imperialists and warlords must and can
set aside the contradictions among themselves and join forces in dealing with the
revolution. This requires us to step up the arrangement of our work throughout
the country, pay attention to the balanced development of the four major revolutionary forces, and get ready for the final brutal struggle. The fundamental economic and political bankruptcy of the Chinese ruling classes can no longer be
salvaged, and the revolutionary forces are expanding vigorously. We must definitely seek the victory of the Chinese revolution under the conditions of coordinating the work of the whole nation and the smooth development of the world
revolution. At present, while the ruling classes are uniting in confronting the
revolution, the rightists are easily pessimistic, and those who always used to be
optimistic have also turned pessimistic. Therefore, correctly pointing out the
vacillation and collapse of the ruling classes, the brewing of new wars, the
vigorous development of the revolutionary forces, and the struggle against pessimistic ideas constitutes the necessary preliminary work in order to carry out
decisive class struggles and achieve victory in one province.

V. Opposing the Guerrilla Line in Seizing Political Power in One Province

Today, the task of seizing political power in one province actually confronts us.
To fulfill this task requires modifications in the guerrilla line inherited from the
guerrilla period of the Red Army in the past, that is, changes in the line of lightly
armed raids based on the purely military viewpoint. Because this line does not
include a correct evaluation of the chaotic wars among the warlords and does not
understand that seeking victory in one province is work contributing to the
decisive class struggle, it leads to a divorce from the masses and pays no attention to winning over the masses, establishing work among the masses, or expanding the Red Army and strengthening the forces of the Red Army. With
regard to military tactics, it still employs only guerrilla warfare and does not
know the conditions that are necessary in preparing for the final decisive battle
between the classes. Superficially, purely military lightly armed raids (the raids
mentioned here refer to the strategic line of seeking victory in one province; it is
not a matter of opposing surprise attacks in military tactics) appear as a result to
correspond to the left-wing line of resolute attacks, but in fact they delay the
coming of the initial victories of the revolution, thus becoming an extremely
right-wing line. The events of Changsha and Ji'an have abundantly educated us
on this point. The inability to hold Changsha firmly and continue to occupy it the
first time resulted mainly from inadequate preparations among the masses, and
the fact that the Red Army forces were still not the backbone forces of the Red
Army. The second time, because conditions among the masses and contacts with
enemy soldiers were still inadequate, it became simply an attack of the Red
Army. As a result, half a month of ferocious attacks did not lead to victory. In
Ji'an, conditions were quite different; there was a broad mass base, so it could be
truly seized. As for the seizure of Changsha the first time, the enemies then had
no reinforcements and no fortifications. Only under such circumstances was
there the possibility of employing lightly armed raids. At present, as the enemies
greatly reinforce their forces and Nanchang and Jiujiang consolidate their fortifications, the Red Army's lightly armed raids on Nanchang and Jiujiang, with the
considerable lack of supplies and provisions for the Red Army and the seriously
inadequate conditions of transportation, will unquestionably become guerrilla
attacks. The consequence is that the Red Army cannot seize the cities and will
have to move to other places, thus putting off the victory in one province instead.
Therefore, such guerrilla ideas of lightly armed raids run completely counter to
the systematic and planned strategy of seeking victory in one province and
should be firmly corrected. The Central Committee has recently pointed out that
the Red Army needs intensified training and promotion of cadres from among
the good elements of peasants and the workers to become the backbone of the
Red Army and turn the Red Army into an iron army. It has stated that thirty to
fifty thousand backbone troops of the Red Army are required to secure victories
in big cities and establish the confidence of the masses in the Red Army. Fighting must be based on the systematic and planned use of strategy. This has given
greater depth to our arrangements for seeking victory in one province. We believe that this instruction is very clear. Of course, using the lack of coordination
with the masses as a pretext not to launch strong offensives by the Red Army,
scattering the work aimlessly, refusing to attack even when success is assured,
and lacking understanding of the importance of supplies, reinforcements, and
training are problems that can be solved only in the course of struggles waged
according to a plan. Naturally, abandoning the task of achieving victory in one
province is also a serious right-wing viewpoint, which should be guarded
against. Another problem which should be pointed out is the inability to employ

strategies and tactics flexibly. Strategies are determined by both objective conditions and subjective forces, whereas tactics involve the use of all available means
in the light of various actual conditions at a particular time to realize the objectives of a strategy. So without contravening the strategy, the tactics may change
frequently. To take Ji'an first in the task of seizing Nanchang is a very correct
strategy. One should not mechanically ask why Ji'an should be attacked first,
since it was originally planned to attack Nanchang. For example, under the
strategy of occupying the Nanchang-Jiujiang Railroad, the tactics of either moving into the city with attacks or destroying the main forces of the enemy at
appropriate places on the two banks of the Gan River and then trying to seize the
city depend on the objective and subjective conditions at that time; there are no
rigid rules. This should be especially understood by the lower-ranking cadres and
the soldier masses of the Red Army. Otherwise, if the masses know only the
general objective, they will be suspicious and wavering once they encounter
strategic and tactical changes, and will even require the superior leading organs
to adapt to the backward thinking of the masses and hinder the flexible use of
strategies and tactics. This issue deserves attention.
Army soldiers are not oppressed. This situation demonstrates that the tools which
the ruling classes use for the desperate struggle are not reliable. Besides, the
experience of the enemy soldiers wavering and unwilling to fight in the past
further indicates to us that we should not be frightened by the large numbers of
enemy troops. At present, although the warlords of the Chiang faction have
dispatched many troops to Jiangxi, the struggle among the ruling classes for the
counterrevolutionary leadership has by no means been resolved, and new clashes
are brewing. Chiang Kaishek is merely using a temporary compromise to deal
with the revolution. Furthermore, after the prolonged and chaotic fighting, the
soldiers are extremely exhausted and wavering. So long as we step up political
and organizational leadership, we can undoubtedly destroy the main forces of the
enemy's offensives. Therefore, the tasks of the Party in Jiangxi, and of the First
Front Army, are undoubtedly to coordinate their actions with the masses of
Jiangxi to carry out the decisive class struggle in a planned and systematic way
and to strive resolutely for an initial victory in Jiangxi.

VI. To Achieve Victory in Jiangxi First Is the Current
Task of the First Front Army and the Party Headquarters of Jiangxi
VII. The Line of the First Front Army and of the Party in Jiangxi
for Work in Accordance with This Task

Basing ourselves on the premise that victory must first be won in the provinces
and regions surrounding the center of Wuhan, we must now strive for victory in
Jiangxi and then to go on to realize victory in Wuhan. Naturally, victory in
Jiangxi cannot be separated from the nationwide revolutionary upsurge. Nevertheless, the conditions for victory are more likely to exist in Jiangxi. Jiangxi has
over sixty xian soviets, and the peasants' uprising has become a widespread
revolutionary upsurge. The convergence of the forces of the First and Third
Army Groups, the continuous attack on Hukou and Panyang by the Tenth Army of
the Red Army and the recent occupation of Ji'an, in particular, have combined
all revolutionary forces and seriously threatened Nanchang. The economic bases
of the bourgeoisie and landlords in the countryside of Jiangxi have been basically destroyed and are shaking and collapsing further under the increasingly
serious threat against Nanchang. The Red Army has been carrying out propaganda from the other side of the river, targeting the Eighteenth Division of the
enemy forces. One platoon of their soldiers have come over with their guns and
joined the Red Army. The enemy soldiers and we have agreed that we will not
fire arms in attacking Nanchang, and the enemy officers are greatly alarmed,
gathering the soldiers and reprimanding them in the middle of the night. Not long
ago, there were soldiers who came over to the Third Army Group with guns. In
May, when they were not paid a single cash, the soldiers were all unwilling to
fight, and the officers were often assassinated. It was discovered that there were
frequent calls among the troops to go to the Red Army, and they feel that Red
1. Intensify propaganda to promote resistance to the warlords' suppression of
the revolution, support the armed uprisings to seize political power in Jiangxi,
expand propaganda regarding the victory at Ji'an and regarding the establishment of the soviet government in Jiangxi Province and the laws and ordinances
issued by it, and raise the slogans of "opposing the suppression of the revolution
by the warlords" and "carrying out armed uprisings to seize political power in
Jiangxi." We must inspire the masses to fight for the soviet régime, and to reply
to the enemy's attacks with a resolute and decisive class struggle and the
achievement of initial victory in Jiangxi. Before the high tide of the revolution,
increased efforts should be made to oppose the deceptive policies of the reformists, the Reorganizationists, the Third Party, the AB Corps, the liquidationists,
and recently of Chiang Kaishek's national assembly, fully exposing all their
crimes and eliminating their influence among the masses. This has become a
serious political task in smashing the enemy's plots to weaken the revolution
during the period of the decisive class war.
2. Make arrangements for work in Nanchang and Jiujiang, and on the Nanchang-Jiujiang Railroad. Today the proletarian uprising has become the principal and
indispensable force in seizing the major cities. The last desperate struggle of the
enemy is to rely on strong fortifications to hold the cities. The events in
Changsha teach us that it is impossible to achieve victory in one province if work
in the main cities is lacking. Now we should correct the pessimism and neglect
of the work in cities and overcome all difficulties in setting up the work in cities.
The main line of the trade union movement is the direct organization of armed
uprisings and strengthening the political alliance in preparation for strikes. Red trade

unions of the masses, pickets, and the Red vanguards, which are the core force at
the time of the uprisings, should be established. The daily economic struggle
should naturally not be abandoned and should be linked to the armed struggle.
3. Carry out local uprisings. First of all, local uprisings should be carried out
in such xian as Anfu, Taihe, Xinyu, Fenyi, and Yuanzhou in western Jiangxi,
Jishui, Yongfeng, Le'an, and Xin'gan in eastern Jiangxi, and Ganzhou in southern Jiangxi. In the White regions, guerrilla wars should be resolutely initiated,
and preparations made for uprisings so as resolutely to eliminate the situation of
confrontation between the Reds and Whites and join together all the Red regions.
Then, Fujian, Hunan, and Hubei should be connected, and we must prepare to
use the flame of the mass uprisings to destroy the advancing forces of the
enemies and complete the local uprisings. It is imperative to learn the lessons of
the past, and confiscate all the land rapidly, for only thus can thorough equalization of the land be carried out. In this struggle, it is necessary to establish the
leadership of the farm laborers and set up independent trade unions of farm
laborers. When poor peasant committees and soviet Red Guards are set up, rich
peasant elements should be strictly prohibited from joining them. Farm laborers
and poor peasants should be resolutely selected as leaders. From the beginning of
the rural struggle, not only should the landlord class be fiercely attacked, but at
the same time the redistribution of land and refusal to pay land rent and debts
should also take place. All exploitation and oppression of the poor peasants by
the rich peasants should be opposed, and the impoverished peasant masses
should be mobilized to combat the rich peasant class, thus laying a solid revolutionary foundation for the thorough destruction of the feudal forces.
4. Mobilizing the broad masses to participate in the fighting and the expansion of the soviet régime. We should point out the development of the national
revolutionary situation and the inevitability of a political victory. On this occasion when the warlords are repressing the revolution, we must summon the
masses and mobilize all the people, men and women, old and young to cooperate
with the Red Army, carry out the final decisive class struggle, destroy the main
forces of the enemy, and achieve initial victory in Jiangxi. In all the regions
subjected to the attacks of the enemy forces, such as Xiajiang, Xinyu, Fenyi,
Yuanzhou, Anfu, and Lianhua, and in Ji'an, Jishui, Yongfeng, Le'an, and other
xian, the Red Guards and Young Pioneers need to be concentrated. Military and
political training should be strengthened and the command should be unified.
The main routes used by the enemies should be reconnoitered, and the rear of the
enemies and their transportation systems should be disrupted. In addition, capturing the enemies' arms, cutting off their supplies, launching surprise attacks everywhere, and engaging in all sorts of rioting and terrorist activities will entrap
the enemies in the Red regions and immobilize them, leading to their total
destruction. The Red Guards ought to help the Red Army in guarding and reconnoitering, transportation, and first aid. All xian need to get organized and prepared. The arms of all xian, including spears and home-made cannons and
ammunition, should be fully prepared by the districts and townships with all
possible means. The work described above must employ agitation, the mass line,
and soviet mass meetings held in every district and xian to enable the masses
themselves to decide on the concrete actions and preparations involved in their
participation in the struggle. Only the initiation of spontaneous and enthusiastic
participation constitutes a political victory. Therefore, commandism (abandoning
persuasion and agitation, and forcing the masses to implement the line without
understanding the situation) and the parochial line (the Party and the soviet
régime do not play the role of agitation and leadership; major issues are not
decided by the mass meetings, and an atmosphere of commandism of the few is
formed in which the masses feel that they are working only for the sake of
individual destinies) must be opposed. On the other hand, the brutality of the
warlords in suppressing the revolution, killing villagers, and burning forests must
also be exposed. The voluntary confession of betrayals and conspiracies [should
be encouraged], and class hatred should be heightened. The slogan of "fighting
for the class to the end, and never surrendering" should be put forward to inspire
determination in the struggle. In noncombat soviet regions, similar mobilization
should also be conducted, and forcefully expanded outward, in order to eliminate
the confrontation between Red and White [areas], and win over the masses in
carrying out joint attacks against the despotic gentry and landlords. The Red
masses need to be persuaded to restrain their vengefulness, and to redistribute
the land equally and resolutely. During the considerable time of occupation of
the White regions, the masses should be helped to divide up the land and to set
up Red Guard units in order to eliminate the serious obstacle of confrontation
between Red and White.
5. Stepping up the movement among the White soldiers. Because of brutal
sacrifices in the confused fighting, the unbearable oppression and misery of life,
and the influence of the revolutionary upsurge of the workers and peasants, the
White soldiers are wavering in the extreme. In recent times, incidents of surrendering to the Red Army with guns have been happening incessantly. The conditions for soldiers' uprisings are entirely ripe. The fact that not many uprisings
have taken place results from the lack of organization and leadership by the
Communist Party. Local Party headquarters and army Party committees must
address the past neglect of this work and pay great attention to it. It must be
understood that unless the enemy forces disintegrate, the revolution will assuredly not be victorious. This work line is aimed at establishing a broad political base and strict organizational leadership. In the process of turning the wars of
warlords into the revolutionary wars of defeating the warlords and the wars of
killing workers and peasants into wars of assisting the liberation of workers and
peasants, the class consciousness of the soldiers and their uprisings should be
raised and organized, the past parochial opportunist line and purely military

--- Notes

1. This conference took place in Luofang, Xinyu xian, northeast of Ji'an, from October
25 to November 1, 1930. The purpose was to discuss strategic options in the wake of the
retreat from Changsha. See Zhongguo gongchandang huiyi gaiyao (A Summary Account
of Chinese Communist Party Meetings) (hereafter Party Meetings) (Shenyang: Shenyang
chubanshe, 1991), pp. 120-22; see also Nianpu, Vol. 1, p. 321.
II. The International Situation and the Development
of the World Revolution


2. More than four hundred strikes, mainly under Communist and Anarcho-Syndicalist
leadership, took place in Spain during the year 1930. Malaga was one of the centers
affected by the first big wave of strikes, which began in June. The locality transcribed
Weiduoli by Mao, which we assume to be Vitoria, a small city in northern Spain, may well
have been involved too, but there is no reason to believe that there was any direct influence between two places so different and so far apart. Probably Mao is simply making the
point that the strikes swept across the whole country, from North to South.


3. In February 1930, Yan Xishan had called for Chiang Kaishek's resignation, and in
April he had launched an offensive against Chiang in alliance with Feng Yuxiang. After
some initial successes, the dissident forces were decisively defeated in August. It appeared
that only Zhang Xueliang could save the northern coalition, and Yan Xishan, on assuming
office as chairman of the state council in Beiping on September 9, sought Zhang's collaboration. Instead, Zhang Xueliang issued a call on September 18 for a "reconstruction conference" (shanhou huiyi, literally, "a conference so that things will be better afterward") to
bring peace to the country and sent his forces into North China.
```


4. Baofuzhuyi, literally "revengeism."