Speech at the Central Party School of the CPC
(August 22, 1938)

“The world outside the school is a great university, full of knowledge that can never be exhausted. Sun Yat-sen’s theories on the national democratic revolution did not originate in school; he learned them in this greater university. Similarly, Marx’s Marxism was not developed within the confines of a classroom, but rather through study in the wider world. Even Lenin created Leninism beyond the walls of formal education. Studying in school is merely the first chapter; once we leave, real learning begins on a much larger scale. We must continue learning throughout our lives—learning until we are old and frail. At the Party School, we acquire certain methods; after leaving, we must keep learning—especially by humbly acting as students—in practical struggles and in our daily work.

[1] This is part of a speech delivered by Mao Zedong at the Central Party School of the CPC, addressing three key issues: how to be a student, how to be a teacher, and how to lead in wartime.