Teachers Should Learn from the Masses; the Humanities Should Take Society as Their “Factory” [1] (August 29, 1964)  1. The source of strength lies in the people. No policy can succeed unless it reflects the demands of the masses. We must acquire knowledge and formulate policies by learning from the people, and then go on to educate them. Therefore, if one wishes to be a teacher, one must first be a student; there is not a single teacher who has not first been a student. Moreover, even after becoming a teacher, one should continue to learn from the people and gain a thorough understanding of one’s students.

2. Tsinghua University has factories. As a science and engineering institution, its students cannot rely solely on book knowledge; they must also engage in practical work. However, it is not feasible for liberal arts universities to establish “factories”—such as a “literature factory,” a “history factory,” an “economics factory,” or a “novel-writing factory.” Instead, the humanities should regard the entire society as their own “factory.” Teachers and students ought to come into contact with both rural peasants and urban workers, as well as with industry and agriculture. Otherwise, upon graduation, their education will be of little practical use. For example, those studying law cannot master the subject unless they go out into society to understand the nature of crime. There can be no “law factory”; society itself must serve as the factory.

Printed according to the edition published by the People’s Publishing House in December 1967, entitled “Chairman Mao on the Educational Revolution.”  Note [1]: This is an excerpt from Chairman Mao’s conversation with a Nepalese educational delegation.