The Revolutionary Power of the Whole World
Should Unite to Oppose the Imperialist
Invasion: Essay Written for the Special
Issue of Lasting Peace and Democracy,
Commemorating the Thirty-First Anniversary
of the October Revolution
(October 17, 1948)
Now, as the enlightened working class of the whole world and all the sincere
revolutionary people are overjoyed to celebrate the thirty-first anniversary of the
Soviet Union’s great October Revolution,1 it makes me think of2 the famous paper
written by Stalin in 1918 celebrating the one-year anniversary of the October
Revolution. In this essay, Stalin wrote, “The great significance3 of the October
Revolution is primarily that: first, it expanded the scope of ethnic issues, from
are both dissatisfied with imperialism and dissatisfied with the Soviet Union, all
those who seek to stand in between the imperialists’ counterrevolutionary battlefront and the revolutionary battlefront opposing imperialism and its running
dogs in each country in the so-called “middle road,” the completely false and
completely impoverished so-called “third path”?
To want revolution is to want a revolutionary party in the style of Stalin and
Lenin. If there is not this type of revolutionary party, if there is not a revolutionary
party established according to the revolutionary theories of Marx, Engels, Lenin,
and Stalin,11 then it cannot lead the working class and the numerous masses to
victory over imperialism and its running dogs. Within the more than one hundred
years since Marxism was created, only when having the model of the Russian
Bolsheviks leading the October Revolution, leading the construction of socialism
and the defeat of fascist invasion, was it possible within the scope of the world to
establish and develop a new-style revolutionary party. Since having this type of
revolutionary party, the appearance of the world’s revolution has changed. This
change is so immense to such an extent that a transformation that the previous generation would have been completely unable to imagine has occurred on a grand
and spectacular scale. The Chinese Communist Party is a party established and
developed according to the model of the Soviet Communist Party. Since we have
had the Chinese Communist Party, the appearance of the Chinese Revolution has
completely changed. Could it be that this fact is still not clear?
The world’s united revolutionary battlefront, led by the Soviet Union, defeated
fascist Germany, Italy, and Japan. This was the result of the October Revolution.
If there had not been the October Revolution, if there had not been the Soviet
Communist Party, there would not have been the Soviet Union, there would not
have been the united revolutionary battlefront of East and West opposing imperialism, and then how could one imagine defeating fascist Germany, Italy, and
Japan and their running dogs? If we say, the October Revolution opened up extensive possibilities and a realistic path forward for liberating the working class of the whole world and the oppressed peoples of the world, then the victory in World
War II12 opened up even more extensive possibilities and an even more realistic path forward in the work of liberating the whole world’s working class and
oppressed peoples. Underestimating the significance of victory in World War II
would be an enormous mistake.
After the victory in World War II, American imperialism and its running dogs,
which supplanted fascism and madly prepares for a new world war and threatens
the whole world, reflect the capitalist world’s extreme corruption and terror as it
approaches destruction. This enemy still has strength; thus, all the revolutionary
powers within each country must unite, we must construct a united revolutionary
battlefront to oppose imperialism led by the Soviet Union and abide by the correct
policies, otherwise we cannot have victory. This enemy’s foundation is weak, its
inner parts are disintegrating, it has left behind the people, and it has no way of
extricating itself from the economic crisis; thus, it can be defeated. Overestimating
the enemy’s strength and underestimating our revolutionary strength would be an
enormous mistake.
Under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, with the objective of
opposing the insane invasion of China by American imperialism, opposing the
treasonous dictatorship and the Guomindang reactionary government that massacred the Chinese people during the civil war, the great people’s13 democratic
revolution has already achieved a tremendous victory. The Chinese Communist
Party–led People’s Liberation Army, in the two years between July 1946 and June
1948, has already beaten back attacks by the Guomindang reactionary government’s 4.3-million-man army and has turned from the defensive to the offensive.
In the two years of war (not yet including the developments after July 1948), the
People’s Liberation Army has captured and annihilated 2.64 million Guomindang
soldiers. The area of the Chinese Liberated Area is now 2.35 million square kilometers, which comprises 24.5 percent of the country’s total area of 9.59 million14
square kilometers. Now our population is 168 million, which is 35.3 percent of
the total Chinese population of 475 million. Now we occupy 586 cities, which is
29 percent of all 2,009 cities in the country. Because the Party has resolutely led
the peasants to realize reform of the land system, now an area of approximately
100 million people has thoroughly solved land problems, the land of the landlord
class and the old-style rich peasants has been distributed more or less equally
among the people of the countryside,15 with priority given to the poor peasants and
farm laborers. The number of Chinese Communist Party members has increased
from 1.21 million in 1945 to today’s 3 million people. The duty of the Chinese
Communist Party is to unite all the revolutionary power within the entire nation, to expel the invading power of American imperialism, to overthrow Guomindang
reactionary rule, and to establish a united democratic people’s republic. We know
that we still have many difficulties ahead. However, we do not fear these difficulties. We believe that these difficulties must and can be overcome.
The radiance of the October Revolution shines upon us. The suffering Chinese
people must be liberated, and they firmly believe that they will be liberated. The
previously isolated Chinese revolutionary struggle no longer felt isolated after
the victory of the October Revolution, for we have the assistance of the world’s
Communist Party and the working class. The forerunner of the Chinese Revolution
Sun Yatsen understood this point, and he implemented a policy of allying with the
Soviet Union to oppose imperialism. When he was approaching his end, he wrote
a letter to the Soviet Union to serve as a part of his will. Betraying Sun Yatsen’s
policy, standing on the imperialist counterrevolutionary battlefront, and opposing
one’s own country’s people are the Guomindang’s Chiang Kaishek and his gang
of bandits. But the people do not need long to see that the Guomindang’s total
counterrevolutionary rule will be thoroughly smashed by the Chinese people. The
Chinese people are brave, and the Chinese Communist Party is also brave; they
will certainly liberate all of China.

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Notes

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong ji, Vol. 10, pp. 185–89, where it is reproduced
from Renmin ribao, November 7, 1948.
4.  opposing the local issue of ethnic repression → the struggle of opposing the local
issue of ethnic repression in Europe
9.  constructed → established
10.  constructed → established

--- Notes

1.  October Revolution → October Socialist Revolution

2.  it makes me think of → I think of

3.  great significance → great global significance

opposing the local issue of ethnic repression4 to the whole issue5 of liberating each
repressed ethnic group, each colony, and each semi-colony from imperialism.
Second, it opened up extensive possibilities and a realistic path for this liberation;
in this way, it has greatly accelerated the cause of liberating the oppressed peoples
in the East and West, and it has recruited6 them into the strong, victorious current
of anti-imperialism.7 Third, in this way it then set up a bridge between the socialist West and the enslaved East, constructed8 a new battlefront opposing world
imperialism from the Western proletariat, passing through the Russian Revolution
to the oppressed peoples of the East.” History has developed according to the direction pointed out by Stalin: the October Revolution has opened up extensive
possibilities and a realistic path for the cause of liberating the people of the world;
the October Revolution has constructed9 a new battlefront opposing world imperialism from the Western proletariat, passing through the Russian Revolution to the
oppressed peoples of the East, and this revolutionary battlefront was constructed10
and developed under the brilliant guidance of Lenin and Stalin, and under the brilliant guidance of Stalin after the death of Lenin.
Within the scope of the world, could it be that in addition to this revolutionary
battlefront, there are other revolutionary battlefronts? Could it be that thirty-one
years of history still have not confirmed the truth about this: all the people who

5.  whole issue → overall issue

6.  recruited → attracted

7.  anti-imperialism. → the anti-imperialist struggle.

8.  constructed → established
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-163

11.  Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin, → Marxism-Leninism

12.  World War II → the anti-fascist World War II

13.  people’s → Chinese people’s

14.  9.59 million → 9,597,000

15.  people of the countryside, → peasants,