Speech at the Evening Welcome Party for General Ma Zhanshan, the National Hero
(December 22, 1939)

(Special to this newspaper) . . . Following the speeches of welcome, Comrade Mao Zedong
was invited to speak. He started with a welcome to General Ma and other gentlemen, who
are constant in their attitude, and will carry the War of Resistance through to the end. He
went on to say:

In ancient times, our Chinese society admired people who were constant in their
attitude and would bring what they had started to completion without stopping
halfway. This has remained the case to the present day. Those who leave things
unfinished are unwelcome. Resistance to Japan is a great mission; we must be
consistent and continue to resist to the end. General Ma was among the first when
he started to resist Japan in Heilongjiang Province eight years ago.¹ The Red Army,
then in the south, promptly sent a telegram to pledge our warm support. So, as
early as eight years ago, the Red Army became a comrade of General Ma's in
fighting Japan. We are confident that General Ma will definitely persist in the War
of Resistance to the very end. At present there are some capitulationists, who, in
like a lion and out like a lamb,² are making compromises midway. We stand side
by side with General Ma and all those throughout the country who are fighting
Japan. We sincerely welcome these national heroes, who are consistent and will
fight Japan to the end. Since they are fighting the War of Resistance to the finish,
our welcome to them is equally endless. General Ma is now over fifty and is still
contending with the enemy in the forefront. Such a spirit is worthy of the admiration of the entire nation.

This text was first published in *Xin Zhonghua bao*, December 30, 1939. We have translated
it from *Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan*, Vol. 6, p. 135, where it is reproduced from that source.
1. Ma Zhanshan (1885–1950), *zi* Xiufang, was a native of Jilin Province. As a youth he
looked after the family horses and, after losing some of them, fled and became an outlaw. At
the time of the 1911 Revolution he joined the army and rapidly rose in rank. By 1927 he
was the commander of a cavalry division, and in 1930 he became the garrison commander
in Heilongjiang Province. When the Japanese sought to pacify Manchuria following the
Mukden Incident of September 18, 1931, he was one of the few who resisted. Later, he
feigned collaboration, only to renew his resistance. During the Sino-Japanese War, he held
a command in the Eighth War Zone, and in May 1940 he became governor of Heilongjiang.
2. The Chinese metaphor used by Mao, *longtou shewei*, literally "dragon's head and
snake's tail," conveys an idea similar to this English expression.