A Couplet of Encouragement[1]

(1938)

Failure is the mother of success;
Difficulty is the foundation of victory!

[1] On October 25, 1937, Mao Zedong talked with the British journalist James Bertram. When Bertram asked "how to overcome capitulationism," Mao said: "Point out the danger of capitulationism in words, and organize the masses to stop the capitulationist movement in deeds. Capitulationism is rooted in national defeatism, that is, national pessimism, which holds that after suffering defeats, China is no longer capable of resisting Japan. Such pessimism fails to understand that defeat is precisely the mother of success, and that the lessons drawn from the experience of defeat constitute the very foundation of future victory. Pessimism sees only the defeats in the War of Resistance, not its achievements, and especially fails to see that within those defeats elements of victory are already contained. We should point out to the people the victorious prospects of the war, enabling them to understand the transient nature of defeat and difficulty. So long as we struggle on with unbending resolve, final victory will surely be ours." This couplet is a highly concise distillation of the spirit of this passage, created to inspire the entire nation’s military and civilians to strive for victory in the War of Resistance.

Failure is the mother of success, and difficulty is the foundation of victory! —A couplet of encouragement handwritten by Mao Zedong.