The Current Situation and Orientation¹
(November 1, 1937)

Comrades:

You have asked me to talk about problems of the current situation, and I shall take
advantage of the opening of your school to address this question. You are intimately involved in this question because those who study and those who teach
have a single goal, which is to resolve the national and social crises.
The situation now is extremely tense. The second line of defense in Shanghai
has fallen. The enemies in eastern Shanxi have already broken through Niangziguan,
and they are attempting to act in concert with the enemies in northern Shanxi and
advance toward Taiyuan. At present, there are two issues facing us: 1. To continue
to fight or to stop fighting? 2. How to fight?
The present war situation is obviously unfavorable to China. This is because in
the past we only engaged in a one-sided War of Resistance, and not an all-out war.
Now many people say that the present war is already an all-out war. This is incorrect because, although from a territorial standpoint, it is an all-out war, in terms of
social composition it is still a one-sided war. The broad masses have still by no
means been mobilized for the War of Resistance. Only armies and governments
are involved, so we have suffered many defeats. Under such circumstances, a new
kind of danger is growing: Traitors and pro-Japanese elements are taking the opportunity to raise their heads, and such arguments as "Fighting will inevitably lead
to defeat" and "Weapons alone will determine the outcome" will certainly be encouraged as a result. Their conclusion is that China cannot win, so it must surrender. The theory of national surrender is the new danger now.
We must realize that the War of Resistance has registered indelible achievements in the past. What are these achievements? (1) China's War of Resistance is
unprecedented in the past hundred years and is by nature a revolutionary war.
(2) During the War of Resistance, China has become more united internally. (3) Although we have suffered many military setbacks, we have dealt rather heavy blows

to the Japanese bandits. (4) We have gained international sympathy. (5) Most
important, we have learned a profound lesson in the war, namely, that we cannot
win by waging a one-sided War of Resistance.
We must never become disillusioned because of the current situation. We are
in complete agreement with Mr. Chiang Kaishek's speech of October 9 and will
fight to the end with determination, even to the last person and the last gun. This is
the meaning of the Communist Party's statement about "shedding the last drop of
blood for the defense of the motherland," and it constitutes our fundamental policy
in the current situation.
We shall certainly continue to fight, but how should we fight? Militarily, we
must emulate the methods of the Eighth Route Army, that is, we should fight flexibly and not rigidly. In the past, we were always attacked by the enemy, so our
method of fighting must change, and we should attack the enemy. The most important thing is that we must carry out the Ten-Point Program for resisting Japan
and saving the country put forward by the Communist Party, mobilize the 450
million Chinese to take part in the War of Resistance, organize them, and arm
them. They constitute an extremely great force, and it is only with this force that
China can be victorious. The whole country should definitely learn from the Eighth
Route Army, truly bring about unity between soldiers and civilians, and between
officers and soldiers, transform the spirit of the army, and strengthen political work
in the army, in order to achieve our goals. Only thus can we turn around the current
grave situation. This is the correct method for carrying out the policy of continued
fighting.
If we have the two aspects represented by the above orientation and methods,
we can definitely defeat Japanese imperialism.
We need to create for the national revolution large numbers of cadres who
understand revolutionary theory, are infused with the spirit of sacrifice, and are
the vanguards of the revolution. Only by relying on tens of thousands of good
cadres, capable of applying revolutionary policies and methods, can an all-out
nationwide revolutionary war emerge in China and the enemy be finally defeated.

Our source for this document is Mao Zedong wenji, Vol. 2, pp. 62-64, where it is reproduced
from the text published in Xin Zhonghua bao, November 4, 1937. The same version can also
be found in Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 5, pp. 131-32.

--- Notes

1. This is Mao Zedong's speech at the opening ceremony of the Northern Shaanxi Public
School.