A Talk on the Need for the Proletarian Party to Discard the Old and Embrace the New
(November 5, 1967)
A person has arteries and veins; blood circulates through the heart, and respiration takes place in the lungs, expelling carbon dioxide and taking in fresh oxygen. This is what we mean by discarding the old and embracing the new. Similarly, a proletarian party must also discard the old and embrace the new if it is to remain vigorous and full of life. Without eliminating waste products and absorbing fresh blood, the party will lack vitality. [1]
Printed in the fourth issue of the journal Red Flag in 1968.
Notes
[1] This is a passage from a conversation Mao Zedong had on November 5, 1967, with the Cultural Revolution Group of the CPC Central Committee concerning the Ninth National Congress of the Party and the rectification of the Party. The editorial titled “Absorbing Fresh Blood from the Proletariat,” published in the fourth issue of Red Flag on October 14, 1968, quoted this passage. On October 16, 1968, People’s Daily reprinted the editorial.