Reply to Questions from Shi Fangbai
[1]
(May 11, 1938)

There is every confidence that the War of Resistance will surely be won.

China will eventually realize socialism, but it need not necessarily pass through a stage of capitalist development similar to that experienced by Western countries, nor does it require a bloody revolution like the October Revolution. It is possible for China to advance peacefully toward socialism.

III
The necessary conditions are not yet in place; a considerable period of time remains required. Following the victory in the War of Resistance, China…
[1] On May 11, 1938, Mao Zedong met with Shi Fangbai, an elderly member of the Kuomintang, and answered nine questions he had posed. This first section contains Mao’s response to the question concerning his level of confidence in the ultimate victory of the War of Resistance; the second addresses whether China needs to undergo a social revolution and whether such a revolution should occur only after a period of capitalist development; while the third responds to the query about whether a social revolution should be initiated immediately upon the conclusion of the War of Resistance.