Comrades:

Today our primary task is that of the vanguard. As this great national war of self-defense rapidly advances, we need a large contingent of intellectuals to provide leadership and a well-trained vanguard to blaze the trail. Such vanguards are open-hearted, loyal, energetic, and upright; they seek no personal gain but strive solely for the liberation of the nation and society. They fear no difficulties, remaining steadfast in the face of adversity and pressing forward courageously. They are neither reckless nor careerists, but down-to-earth individuals imbued with a practical spirit, playing a guiding role on the revolutionary path. In the current war situation, if resistance were confined solely to the government and the military without the broad participation of the people, there could be no assurance of ultimate victory. We must now cultivate a vast vanguard dedicated to the unswerving struggle for national liberation—a vanguard that is also the most thoroughgoing in its commitment to that cause. We will fight to the bitter end to accomplish this mission.

Today, as we commemorate Mr. Lu Xun, our first priority is to truly understand him and to appreciate his place in the history of the Chinese revolution. We honor him not merely as an outstanding writer, but because he stood at the forefront of the national liberation movement, devoting all his strength to the revolutionary struggle. Although he was never formally a member of the Communist Party, his thought, actions, and writings were thoroughly infused with a Marxist spirit. Especially in his later years, he displayed a vitality even more youthful than before. Throughout his life, he waged an unyielding and resolute struggle against feudal forces and imperialism. Amidst the oppressive and destructive environment imposed by his enemies, he persevered and resisted—just as the students of the Shaanbei Public School have diligently studied revolutionary theory under such harsh material conditions, embodying a spirit of arduous struggle. The Shaanbei Public School may lack proper facilities, yet it is a place where truth prevails, freedom is proclaimed, and revolutionary pioneers are forged.

Lu Xun emerged from a decaying feudal society, only to turn and strike back—withering blows directed at the very corrupt order he had known, and against the malignant forces of imperialism. With a pen both incisive, humorous, and sharp, he laid bare the grotesque visages of darkness and of imperialist oppression, revealing them for what they truly were. He was, in essence, a masterful artist. In his final years, he firmly aligned himself with the proletariat and the national liberation movement, fighting for truth and freedom.

The first distinguishing feature of Mr. Lu Xun lies in his political foresight. Like one who surveys society through both a microscope and a telescope, he saw far and saw clearly. As early as 1936, he boldly warned of the dangerous tendencies of the Trotskyist bandits. Subsequent events have fully confirmed the soundness and clarity of his judgment: it has become abundantly evident that the Trotskyists have indeed become a traitorous organization, directly receiving subsidies from Japanese intelligence agencies.

In my view, Lu Xun’s stature in China ranks him among the nation’s foremost sages. While Confucius was the sage of feudal society, Lu Xun is the sage of modern China. To perpetuate his memory, we have established the “Lu Xun Library” and the “Lu Xun Normal School” in Yan’an, so that future generations may grasp the magnitude of his greatness.

The second hallmark of Lu Xun is his indomitable fighting spirit. As mentioned earlier, amid encroaching darkness and violence, he stood firm as a towering tree, rather than yielding like a blade of grass swaying in either direction. Once he had discerned the correct political course, he pressed forward with unwavering resolve toward his goal, never surrendering or compromising along the way. Take, for example, certain half-hearted revolutionaries such as Kautsky and Plekhanov—there have been many like them in China as well. As Mr. Lu Xun observed, at first everyone professes left-wing views and revolutionary ideals; but when repression arrives, some promptly defect, betraying their comrades and offering them up to the enemy as a token of good faith (this, I believe, was his general point). Lu Xun loathed such individuals, combating them relentlessly and constantly educating and training the young literary talents under his guidance to remain steadfast in their struggle and to take the lead in forging their own path.

The third characteristic of Lu Xun is his spirit of sacrifice. He feared neither the threats, enticements, nor brutal persecution leveled against him by his adversaries. Without flinching, he wielded his pen like a steel blade, directing it straight at everything he detested. Often standing amidst the blood and tears of the fighters, he persisted in his resistance, advancing with a defiant roar. Lu Xun was a consummate realist; he made no concessions whatsoever. Firm of purpose, he once wrote advocating that one should “kick a dog while it is drowning.” If you fail to do so, he argued, the dog will surely leap out of the water—not merely to bite you, but at the very least to splash you with mud. Thus he urged that the fight must go to the bitter end, devoid of any hypocritical pretense or false compassion. Today, Japan’s imperialist regime remains that mad dog, still not driven into the waters; we must continue to press the attack until it can no longer rise up to threaten China’s borders. It is precisely this spirit of Lu Xun that we ought to emulate and apply throughout the country.

Taken together, these qualities constitute the great “Lu Xun Spirit.” This spirit permeated every aspect of his life, enabling him to achieve unparalleled heights as a writer and to serve as an exceptionally capable and seasoned vanguard within the revolutionary ranks. As we commemorate Lu Xun, let us learn from his spirit and carry it forward, deploying it across all united-front organizations nationwide in our struggle for the liberation of the Chinese nation.

(Note): This article is excerpted from the semi-monthly journal “July,” published in Chongqing in March 1938.

This speech was first published in 1938, and that version has been reprinted in _Mao Zedong
ji_, Vol. 5, pp. 279–82. The author of this transcript (who signed himself Dahan) stated in an
accompanying note that he had not shown the text to Mao and took responsibility for any
errors it might contain. A carefully edited version differing only slightly from the earlier text
was printed in _Renmin ribao_ on September 22, 1981, and is reproduced in _Mao Zedong
wenji_, Vol. 2, pp. 42–45. We have taken this as our source.
1. This last sentence does not appear in the 1938 version.
2. The preceding sentence does not appear in the 1938 version. The Chinese means
literally “a Bolshevik outside the Party,” but this is undoubtedly intended as a translation of
the term “non-Party Bolshevik,” commonly used in the Soviet Union to designate a person
who follows the Party line without actually being a member.
3. The 1938 version contains the following sentence, omitted here: “It has already become quite obvious that the Trotskyite faction has become an organization of Chinese traitors and receives subsidies directly from Japanese intelligence organs.”