Willows and Pines
—Talk to Cadres Going South with the Army—
1944

You must also learn two skills: the first is the skill of the pine, and the second is the skill of the willow. The pine grows and develops, unafraid of wind and rain, standing firm and towering even in bitter cold. The pine possesses "principle." The willow, wherever it is planted, can survive. When spring comes, its branches grow long and its leaves flourish, swaying gracefully in the wind—truly delightful. The willow possesses "flexibility." A Communist Party member should have the principle of the pine and the flexibility of the willow—neither can be lacking.

*Selected Materials, 1967 (Excerpt)*
☆ *Educational Revolution, Issue 5* ☆
*Long Live Mao Zedong Thought, February 1967* ☆
*Long Live Mao Zedong Thought (Vol. II), Willows and Pines, p. 139*