Speech at the Yan'an Mass Rally
Against Aggression

(Delivered at 7 p.M. on February 11, 1938)

Comrades:

Today's rally against aggression is not only for Yan'an but for the entire country.
Similar rallies are being held across the country these days, all of them having one
goal: opposing the war of aggression. Moreover, this rally is not only for China
but for the world. Tomorrow, a world antiaggression rally will be held in London,
with the participation of delegates from several dozen countries. This signals the
beginning of an unprecedented, great, worldwide struggle. The aggressors of the
world have now formed a front of the aggressors to destroy world peace; in consequence, those opposed to aggression have united the majority of the people of the
world to defend world peace and oppose wars of aggression. These two opposing
fronts are struggling against each other in the world. Never before in history has
there been such a great international movement, nor has there been such a great
movement similar to today's mobilization of all the regions of the world. Now is
the moment for the overwhelming majority of good people in the world to settle
accounts with the minority of bad people in the world.

Because China stands now at a critical moment for its national survival, the
Chinese people have achieved unprecedented great unity, such as has never existed before in Chinese history. There is now already a basis for the great union of
the whole country, and it is now in the process of expanding. Despite temporary
defeats and the loss of some territory, such great unity has unparalleled power.
With additional assistance from the world and the Japanese people, we will certainly triumph over the Japanese aggressors. At present, there are three antiaggression united fronts: the Chinese united front, the world united front, and, lastly, the
Japanese united front. Today, the majority of the popular masses in Japan do not
support their government's aggression against China and are forming a united
front against aggression. The goal of these three united fronts is the same; it is to
oppose unanimously the war of aggression waged by the Japanese imperialists.
Some people say that China's antiaggression movements during the past several

decades have all failed, and today's antiaggression movement will also fail. This is
wrong. Today's situation is different from that in the past, principally because not
only is there a national united front against aggression today, but this united front
coincides with an unprecedented world united front against aggression. Moreover,
it coincides not only with the world united front but also with unprecedented internal conflicts inside Japan-with the united front of the Japanese people. These
historical characteristics used to be absent. Now they all happen to be present.
Therefore, this is the basis for us to say that China's defeat is temporary, and
China's War of Resistance will certainly win final victory. The three united fronts,
like the rising sun, are advancing toward greater strength and expansion. The final
victory certainly belongs to us. There is no ground for pessimism.

That is why today's rally in the city of Yan'an has its national and international
significance. Those Chinese who are unwilling to be slaves, regardless of their
party affiliations, beliefs, sex, and age, are all rallying around the same goal. All
the people in the world who love peace and hate war are also rallying around the
same goal. A great majority of the Japanese people are also rallying around the
same goal. This goal is to oppose aggression. This is the overall direction of world
politics today. Such a great unity among the Chinese people, the people of the
world, and the people of Japan is so powerful that it will undoubtedly weaken the
strength of the aggressors gradually and ultimately defeat them. Therefore, we
resolutely declare: so long as we make an effort, China will certainly be able to
defeat the aggressors, and a New China will certainly be established.

1 This speech was first published in Xin Zhonghua bao, February 20, 1938. Our source is Mao
Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 5, pp. 149-50, which reproduces that version.