Comments on Reprinting “Comrade Mao Zedong’s Discussion on How Imperialism and All Reactionaries Are Paper Tigers” and Amendments to the Editor’s Note in the People’s Daily (October 1958)  To Comrade Wu Lengxi [1]: This article [2] may be reprinted. The issue at hand is a major one on a global scale, one that has long remained unresolved for many. The editorial department of World Knowledge has compiled my writings from various periods expounding this viewpoint into a single piece, which now appears almost like a new essay. It would be worthwhile to reprint it and also broadcast it. I suggest translating it anew into three or four foreign languages and publishing it as a small booklet; a Chinese edition could likewise be produced. What do you think? Please discuss this with Comrade Lu Dingyi [3] and see whether he agrees. As for the editor’s note in World Knowledge, you may either reproduce it verbatim or draft a new paragraph—whichever seems more appropriate. Printed according to the Selected Letters of Mao Zedong (with manuscript).

II. Although most of these articles, speeches, and conversations have already been published, with only a few remaining unpublished, and although they span a period of twenty years, presenting them in collected form nevertheless gives the impression of a fresh, coherent political treatise. The reason lies in the fundamental contradiction between imperialism and its lackeys on one side, and the peoples of all countries on the other, a contradiction that has yet to be resolved. Moreover, U.S. imperialism has recently been particularly belligerent, threatening world peace with atomic war. This tense situation has captured the attention of oppressed and threatened peoples, who urgently seek a solution to this contradiction. Consequently, readers naturally take a keen interest in Comrade Mao Zedong’s discussion of one of the primary and most crucial questions involved in resolving this contradiction: namely, whether imperialists and reactionaries are truly paper tigers or not. [4]

III. Editor’s Note: At that time, population surveys were inaccurate, leading to an estimate of only 450 million people nationwide. Following liberation, after more rigorous investigations, it was determined that China’s population had reached 600 million. [ ] Printed from Mao Zedong’s manuscript. Published in the People’s Daily on October 31, 1958. Notes [1] Wu Lengxi, then Editor-in-Chief of the People’s Daily and concurrently President of the Xinhua News Agency. [2] Refers to the October 20, 1958, reprint in the Guangming Daily of excerpts from the magazine World Knowledge titled “Chairman Mao on How Imperialism and All Reactionaries Are Paper Tigers.” When the People’s Daily reprinted the same material on October 31, 1958, it added some supplementary content, made certain layout adjustments, and changed the title to “Comrade Mao Zedong’s Discussion on How Imperialism and All Reactionaries Are Paper Tigers.” [3] Lu Dingyi, then Alternate Member of the CPC Central Political Bureau, Head of the Central Cultural and Educational Leading Group, and Minister of the CPC Central Propaganda Department. [4] This is a passage added by Mao Zedong while reviewing the draft of the People’s Daily editorial department’s note accompanying the reprint of “Comrade Mao Zedong’s Discussion on How Imperialism and All Reactionaries Are Paper Tigers.” In this note, Mao appended his remarks after the following excerpt from his report “The Current Situation and Our Tasks,” delivered at a CPC Central Committee meeting on December 25, 1947: “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army had become quite fatigued after eight years of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and moreover, the liberated areas of China at that time contained little more than ten million people.”