Conversation with Huang Yanpei on Breaking the Cycle of Rise and Fall[1]

(July 4, 1945)

We have found a new path. We can break this cycle. The new path is democracy. Only when the people supervise the government will the government dare not slacken. Only when everyone takes responsibility will there be no collapse of government upon the death of a leader.

[1] Mao Zedong invited Huang Yanpei and others to his home. When Mao Zedong asked Huang Yanpei about his impressions of his visit to Yan’an, Huang Yanpei spoke frankly about the historical cycle of rise and fall, “It rises abruptly and perishes abruptly”, and expressed the hope that the Chinese Communist Party would find a new path to break this cycle. This is part of Mao Zedong’s conversation with Huang Yanpei on the question of breaking the cycle.