Talk with Leading Cadres and Teachers of the Lu Xun Academy of Arts and Yan’an University About to Go to the Northeast[1]

(November 1945)

This time we have made a winning move. They thought we would not dare to go. We went, and they could not come up with a plan. This shows a lack of sincerity. By going, we have let the people of the whole country know that we truly desire peace. We also gave some gifts (referring to our agreement to withdraw our troops from several areas south of the Yangtze River). It is, after all, by the side of someone else’s couch! Some democratic personages feel that we have suffered a loss, but that is also very good—they understand that we have made concessions.

When you go to the Northeast, the situation there is tense; it is a place that must be contested. At present, the enemy is still strong and we are weak. We must concentrate superior forces to annihilate the enemy.

For example, suppose our strength is five fingers, and the enemy’s strength is also five fingers. How should we fight? Not five fingers against five fingers, but using two fingers to pin down four of the enemy’s fingers, and then using three fingers to annihilate one of the enemy’s fingers.

Your task this time in going to the Northeast is to win over the youth and run universities. On this trip, amid ice and snow, some may fall ill, and there may even be sacrifices. When you encounter problems, you must analyze them; you must learn to analyze. A watermelon can be cut into two halves—one half is called difficulties, the other half is called brightness. Just now I said that the Northeast is a place that must be contested. The matter brooks no delay; once it is decided, you must go. Our “airplanes” are our two legs.

[1] This is part of Mao Zedong’s talk with leading cadres and teachers of the Lu Xun Academy of Arts and Yan’an University about to go to the Northeast.