Talk at the First Annual Session of the Yan'an
New Philosophy Society

(June 21, 1940)

(Special to this paper)... On the afternoon of the 21st, on the occasion of the first meeting
of the annual conference called by the Cultural Club, the chairman invited Comrade
Mao Zedong to give us his instructions. The entire hall immediately resounded with enthusiastic applause. Smiling, he stood up and said:

Today, with the opening of this conference, I am really delighted. Thinking back
to the year before last, it has been two years since that day when the founding
meeting of the New Philosophy Society took place. The work has yielded results.
This year, with the convening of this conference, it will definitely be even better.
Theory is very important. The Chinese revolution has been going on for a number
of years, but is still very backward in theoretical activities. This shortcoming is
highly regrettable. We must be aware of the fact that, unless a revolution raises the
level of revolutionary theory, it cannot possibly succeed. In the past, we have paid
far too little attention to this, and from now on, we should intensify our theoretical
studies. Now the human factor is better than it was in the past, for a good many
cultural workers and philosophers have come together here. Only by recognizing
that our theoretical level is still very low, that the theoretical level of the entire
country is still very low, can we all assume responsibility for overcoming this
phenomenon. We ask the entire nation to work hard in this regard, asking first of
all that people in Yan'an work especially hard. With the convening of the annual
conference, the future of the New Philosophy Society is bright.

This report was first published in Xin Zhonghua bao, June 26, 1940. Our source is Mao
Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 6, p. 153, which reproduces this version.