I once worried that our China would perish, but now I know this is not so. Rebuilding the political system, changing the quality of the people, and improving society—there is no need for worry. The only question is how the matter of change is to be carried out. In my opinion, it must be completely remade, its material substance brought into being from destruction, like a child born from its mother’s womb. The state is thus, the nation is also thus, and humanity is still thus. In every century, every nation launches various great revolutions, constantly washing away the old and dyeing it new. This is the great change of past life and death, formation and destruction.

Note: This is a marginal note written by Comrade Mao Zedong while studying the book *A System of Ethics* during his time at the Hunan First Normal School.