(An Ecuadorian friend remarked, “China has a literary heritage spanning several millennia; it should be harnessed to serve socialism.”)

We ought to make full use of this heritage, but in a critical and selective manner. The so-called millennial culture belongs to the feudal era, yet it is not entirely feudal; it also contains elements rooted in the people and aspects that were opposed to feudalism. We must distinguish between the feudal and the non-feudal components. Moreover, even the feudal elements are not wholly negative: they went through stages of emergence, development, and decline. It is important to differentiate among these phases. When feudalism was still emerging and developing, it contained many positive features. Similarly, not all aspects of anti-feudal culture can be adopted uncritically. Folk works from the feudal period, too, bear some imprint of the ruling class. Don’t you agree?

What we need is skillful analysis. We should separate the cultural products of feudalism’s formative, developmental, and declining periods, and then draw upon them critically. Blind adoption will not do. While anti-feudal culture is undoubtedly superior to feudal culture, it still requires careful evaluation and differentiation. That is our understanding, and that is our current policy. As for fully utilizing this heritage, we have not yet achieved it. There are countless classical texts. For now, we are systematically organizing them by category, republishing them, and gradually presenting them through the lens of modern scholarship.

(A foreign friend observed, “We are astonished to see Chinese painters simply copying Western techniques.”)

This practice of imitation has been going on for decades, nearly a century—especially the wholesale emulation of European styles. These artists look down upon their own national cultural legacy and obsessively imitate the West. We have been criticizing this tendency for quite some time. It is an unhealthy trend.

It is not confined to painting; music is similarly affected, with certain circles relentlessly aping Western models while dismissing their own traditions. The same holds true for literature, though the situation there is somewhat better. We have engaged in criticism in this area. Following such critiques, the quality of fiction has improved, though the issue remains unresolved in poetry. I have not been closely involved with the arts community for a long while. You two—Comrade Chu Tunan and ×××—should discuss this matter with them.

(The head of the Cuban delegation asked, “Could you please explain how the cultural trade agreement between China and Cuba benefits both countries?”)

It fosters friendship and mutual support. You support us, and we support you. Your struggles strengthen ours, just as our struggles reinforce yours. We are very pleased to see strikes and demonstrations taking place across Latin America, movements against imperialism and feudalism. Such developments are encouraging.

Turning to the cultural issues we have been discussing: peoples of different nations should contribute according to their respective national characteristics. There are commonalities, to be sure, but there are also differences. The common ground lies in our shared historical moment—the second half of the twentieth century. Yet if everyone were to produce identical paintings or sing the same tunes, uniformity would be undesirable. No one would watch, listen, or appreciate such work. Universal principles are realized precisely within specific, distinctive forms.

(Following his meeting with the two delegations, Chairman Mao gave the following instructions to Comrade Chu Tunan and ×××.)

You should talk with ×× about this: in our artistic fields—painting, music, literature, and others—we may indeed learn from foreign approaches, but this should not be our primary focus. The vast majority of our artists and writers ought to cultivate and develop their own indigenous traditions. Only a small minority need to study abroad. This is an old problem that has been discussed at length, yet it has never been truly resolved. Please speak with ×× about it. We must find a way to address this issue.