We must integrate reality with summing up the experience of revolutionary war[1]
(December 25, 1960)
People need to be pressured, just like pressing oil—without pressure, no oil comes out. Without pressure, people will not make progress. I myself have been pressured; I received three major punishments, was "expelled from the Party," had my military post removed, was not allowed to command troops, and was not allowed to participate in the Party's leadership work. I stayed inside a single room, and for two or three years, not a single soul came to my door. I did not seek anyone out either, because they said I was engaged in factionalism—the so-called Deng, Mao, Xie, Gu[2] affair. In fact, I had never even met Comrade Deng Xiaoping. Later they said we met in Wuhan, but I have absolutely no impression of it; perhaps we met but never spoke! At that time, they stuck all sorts of labels on me. They said that no Marxism-Leninism came out of the mountains, only from their cities. But they also did not investigate or study the facts; I was not born in the mountains. I was first in the cities, and only later went to the mountains. To be honest, after working in the mountains for several years, I had a bit more experience there than they did. They also called me "consistently Right-leaning opportunist," "narrow empiricist," "worshipper of the gun," and so on. At that time, I had nothing to do. When traveling, I sat on a stretcher. What was there to do? The bearers carried the stretcher, and I read my books. They criticized me again, saying I commanded battles relying on *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* and *Sun Tzu's Art of War*. In fact, at the time, I had not even read *Sun Tzu's Art of War*. I had read *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* several times, but when commanding battles, who could still remember *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*? It was all forgotten. I then asked them: Since you say I commanded battles according to *Sun Tzu's Art of War*, presumably you must be thoroughly familiar with it. So, may I ask: how many chapters does *Sun Tzu's Art of War* have? What does the beginning of the first chapter talk about? They were speechless. It turned out they had never read it either! Later, upon arriving in northern Shaanxi, I read eight books, including *Sun Tzu's Art of War*, Clausewitz's[3] works, military drill manuals written by Japanese, and books written by Soviets on strategy and coordinated operations of various arms of the military, among others. I read these at that time to write *Problems of Strategy in China's Revolutionary War*, to sum up the experience of revolutionary war.

I wrote *On Practice* and *On Contradiction* to give lectures at the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University. They invited me to lecture, and I was willing to go and serve as a teacher. Lecturing allowed me to summarize revolutionary experience. To deliver one lecture, it took a full week to prepare, and during that preparation, I had to stay up for two whole nights without sleep. After preparing for a week, I gave a two-hour lecture, and it was "sold out." You cannot lecture by sticking to the book. If you lecture that way, the listeners will doze off. Prepare yourself, combine theory with reality, sum up revolutionary experience, and the listeners will be full of enthusiasm.

Letter to Staff Members About to Be Sent Down to the Grassroots
(December 26, 1960)
Comrades Lin Ke, Gao Zhi, Zilong, Li Yinqiao, Wang Jingxian, Little Feng, and Wang Dongxing[4]: Read carefully. With the exception of Wang Dongxing, all six of you are to go down. Do not go to Shandong; change your destination to Xinyang Prefecture[5]. Conditions there have begun to improve, and there is relief grain to eat, which will be somewhat better for your health. I have prepared a medical kit for each of you, and will have my head nurse explain to you once how to use the medicines. The climate in the Huai River basin is warmer, better than Shandong. On January 2[6], go to Beijing for a two-week training course, so that you are fully mentally prepared. Comrade Wang Dongxing, please make the preparations. If you get very hungry, I will send you beef and mutton.

Mao Zedong
December 26, my birthday.
Next year I will be 67 years old. I am getting old; you have a great future ahead of you.

Read the Xinyang report[7] carefully, one document.
(December 26, 1960)