To President Liu of the Military Academy, all commanders, political workers, logistics personnel, instructors, and all comrades of the first graduating class of the Senior Accelerated Course and the Upper-Level Accelerated Course:

The first term of the Senior Accelerated Course and the Upper-Level Accelerated Course of the People’s Liberation Army Military Academy of China—marking one of the great transformations in the history of the Chinese people’s army building—has now concluded its studies and is holding its graduation. I extend my enthusiastic congratulations.

The establishment of the Military Academy and its educational work over the past year and more have made important contributions to the building of a regularized and modernized national defense force. This is the result of the efforts of President Liu, the efforts of all the Soviet adviser comrades, and the concerted and united efforts of all commanders, political workers, logistics personnel, instructors, and students. I hereby express my gratitude and solicitude.

The history of the Chinese people’s army building has already traversed a long journey of twenty-five years. The richness of its revolutionary experience is unparalleled internationally except for that of the Soviet Union. However, before the Chinese people won nationwide victory, due to the limitations of objective material conditions, its military development was still at a relatively low stage—that is, a stage characterized by simple and inferior equipment, irregular organization and systems, a lack of strict military discipline, and non-centralized, non-unified, and guerrilla-style operational command, and so on. These were necessary, unavoidable, and therefore correct in the past.
[1] This is a directive by Mao Zedong, Chairman of the People’s Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People’s Government. Mao designated Liu Bocheng, President of the Military Academy, to deliver it on behalf of the Military Commission to the first graduating class of the academy’s Senior Accelerated Course and Upper-Level Accelerated Course.

However, since the Chinese people won nationwide victory, this objective situation has undergone a fundamental change. We have now entered the advanced stage of army building, that is, the stage of mastering modern technology. The objective conditions have fully made this possible, and it can certainly be realized with tireless subjective efforts. Corresponding to modernized equipment is the requirement for the regularization of troop construction—the requirement to implement unified command, unified systems, unified organization, unified discipline, and unified training, and to achieve close coordination among the various arms of the services. To this end, it is necessary to overcome such phenomena as non-centralization, non-unification, lax discipline, simplistic approaches, and guerrilla habits, which were correct in the past but are now incorrect. Instead, we must strengthen the sense of organization, planning, precision, and discipline cultivated in all work and command, and first and foremost through education and training. This is one of the indispensable and important conditions for building a regularized and modernized national defense force.

At the same time, in order to organize such complex, highly mechanized, modern campaigns and battles, it is impossible to do so without a sound command organ that functions as the brain and is rich in scientific organization and division of labor. The previously unsound, inefficient, and even extremely incompetent command organs must be greatly strengthened from now on. The past phenomenon of emphasizing political work (it is correct to emphasize political work, and it must still be emphasized in the future) while neglecting staff work must be resolutely changed. In the past, some relatively weak individuals lacking organizational ability, or even those who had made some mistakes and lacked initiative, were assigned to work in command organs, which to varying degrees affected the lack of prestige of the command organs and caused some commanding officers to be unwilling to serve as chiefs of staff or as staff officers. This phenomenon must be fundamentally corrected. Henceforth, excellent commanders rich in organizational and command abilities must be selected for command organs at all levels, so as to create a new style and a new atmosphere in the command organs. This is likewise one of the indispensable and important conditions for building a regularized and modernized national defense force.

To all commanders, political workers, logistics personnel, instructors, first-term graduates, and currently enrolled comrades of the Military Academy: The Military Commission hopes that you will continue your efforts in the glorious undertaking of building a regularized and modernized national defense force, and hopes that through your efforts, the spirit of building a regularized and modernized national defense force will be carried through to all units.

Mao Zedong
Chairman of the People’s Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People’s Government
July 10, 1952