Comments and Revisions
(November 18, 1963)

Comrade Kang Sheng:
There is a minor revision on the last page—please review and decide.

Mao Zedong
2:00 a.m., November 18

The aggressive and war-mongering actions of imperialism and reactionaries across nations are educating the peoples of the world to gradually awaken. Social practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. Those who hold erroneous views on the issues of war and peace, under the negative education of imperialism and reactionaries, will see more and more people come to their senses.

(1) The editorial departments of *People’s Daily* and *Red Flag* magazine published the article *Two Lines on the Question of War and Peace—Fifth Comment on the Open Letter of the Central Committee of the CPSU* in *People’s Daily* on November 19, 1963, and in *Red Flag* magazine, Issue 22, 1963.

(2) The first part consists of Mao Zedong’s comments written on the first page of the finalized draft of the *Fifth Comment on the Open Letter of the Central Committee of the CPSU*. The second part comprises Mao Zedong’s revisions to the finalized draft of this article. The text printed in Song typeface represents the words added by Mao Zedong.

The forces of imperialism and reactionaries are already enormous. The Soviet people, the peoples of socialist countries, and the peoples of the world must never allow the imperialist war forces and their trumpeters to dictate their own destiny.

The aggressive and war-mongering actions of imperialism and reactionaries are being gradually recognized! Those who hold erroneous views on the issues of war and peace, under the negative education of imperialism and reactionaries, will see many come to their senses. On this, we firmly believe that as long as communists and all peace-loving people worldwide can expose the schemes of imperialism and break free from the shackles of revisionism, and shoulder the banner of safeguarding world peace, they will surely be able to thwart the imperialist plans to launch a new world war and uphold world peace.

Mao Zedong’s handwritten revisions to *Two Lines on the Question of War and Peace—Fifth Comment on the Open Letter of the Central Committee of the CPSU* (partial).