MAO TSE-TUNG
(January 1940)
ON NEW DEMOCRACY
CONTENTS:
Whither China?
We Want To Build A New China
China's Historical Characteristics
The Chinese Revolution Is Part Of The World Revolution
The Politics Of The New Democracy
The Economy Of New Democracy
Refutation Of Bourgeois Dictatorship
Refutation Of "Left" Phrase-Mongering
Refutation Of The Die-Hards
The Three People's Principles, Old And New
The Culture Of New Democracy
The Historical Characteristics Of China's Cultural Revolution
The Four Periods
Some Wrong Ideas About The Nature Of Culture
A National, Scientific And Mass Culture
Notes
I.
WHITHER CHINA?
A lively atmosphere has prevailed throughout the country ever since the War
of Resistance began, there is a general feeling that a way out of the
impasse has been found, and people no longer knit their brows in despair. Of
late, however, the dust and din of compromise and anti-communism have once
again filled the air, and once again the people are thrown into
bewilderment. Most susceptible, and the first to be affected, are the
intellectuals and the young students. The question once again arises: What
is to be done? Whither China? On the occasion of the publication of Chinese
Culture, [1] it may therefore be profitable to clarify the political and
cultural trends in the country. I am a layman in matters of culture; I would
like to study them, but have only just begun to do so. Fortunately, there
are many comrades in Yenan who have written at length in this field, so that
my rough and ready words may serve the same purpose as the beating of the
gongs before a theatrical performance. Our observations may contain a grain
of truth for the nation's advanced cultural workers and may serve as a
modest spur to induce them to come forward with valuable contributions of
their own, and we hope that they will join in the discussion to reach
correct conclusions which will meet our national needs. To "seek truth from
facts" is the scientific approach, and presumptuously to claim infallibility
and lecture people will never settle anything. The troubles that have
befallen our nation are extremely serious, and only a scientific approach
and a spirit of responsibility can lead it on to the road of liberation.
There is but one truth, and the question of whether or not one has arrived
at it depends not on subjective boasting but on objective practice. The only
yardstick of truth is the revolutionary practice of millions of people.
This, I think, can be regarded as the attitude of Chinese Culture.
II.
WE WANT TO BUILD A NEW CHINA
For many years we Communists have struggled for a cultural revolution as
well as for a political and economic revolution, and our aim is to build a
new society and a new state for the Chinese nation. That new society and new
state will have not only a new politics and a new economy but a new culture.
In other words, not only do we want to change a China that is politically
oppressed and economically exploited into a China that is politically free
and economically prosperous, we also want to change the China which is being
kept ignorant and backward under the sway of the old culture into an
enlightened and progressive China under the sway of a new culture. In short,
we want to build a new China. Our aim in the cultural sphere is to build a
new Chinese national culture.
III.
CHINA'S HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
We want to build a new national culture, but what kind of culture should it
be?
Any given culture (as an ideological form: is a reflection of the politics
and economics of a given society, and the former in turn has a tremendous
influence and effect upon the latter; economics is the base and politics the
concentrated expression of economics. [2] This is our fundamental view of
the relation of culture to politics and economics and of the relation of
politics to economics. It follows that the form of culture is first
determined by the political and economic form, and only then does it operate
on and influence the given political and economic form. Marx says, "It is
not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the
contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness." [3] He
also says, "The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various
ways; the point, however, is to change it." [4] For the first time in human
history, these scientific formulations correctly solved the problem of the
relationship between consciousness and existence, and they are the basic
concepts underlying the dynamic revolutionary theory of knowledge as the
reflection of reality which was later elaborated so profoundly by Lenin.
These basic concepts must be kept in mind in our discussion of China's
cultural problems.
Thus it is quite clear that the reactionary elements of the old national
culture we want to eliminate are inseparable from the old national politics
and economics, while the new national culture which we want to build up is
inseparable from the new national politics and economics. The old politics
and economics of the Chinese nation form the basis of its old culture, just
as its new politics and economics will form the basis of its new culture.
What are China's old politics and economics? And what is her old culture?
From the Chou and Chin Dynasties onwards, Chinese society was feudal, as
were its politics and its economy. And the dominant culture, reflecting the
politics and economy, was feudal culture.
Since the invasion of foreign capitalism and the gradual growth of
capitalist elements in Chinese society, the country has changed by degrees
into a colonial, semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. China today is
colonial in the Japanese-occupied areas and basically semi-colonial in the
Kuomintang areas, and it is predominantly feudal or semi-feudal in both.
Such, then, is the character of present-day Chinese society and the state of
affairs in our country. The politics and the economy of this society are
predominantly colonial, semi-colonial and semi-feudal, and the predominant
culture, reflecting the politics and economy, is also colonial,
semi-colonial and semi-feudal.
It is precisely against these predominant political, economic and cultural
forms that our revolution is directed. What we want to get rid of is the old
colonial, semi-colonial and semi-feudal politics and economy and the old
culture in their service. And what we want to build up is their direct
opposite, i.e., the new politics, the new economy and the new culture of the
Chinese nation.
What, then, are the new politics and the new economy of the Chinese nation,
and what is its new culture?
In the course of its history the Chinese revolution must go through two
stages, first, the democratic revolution, and second, the socialist
revolution, and by their very nature they are two different revolutionary
processes. Here democracy does not belong to the old category -- it is not
the old democracy, but belongs to the new category -- it is New Democracy.
It can thus be affirmed that China's new politics are the politics of New
Democracy, that China's new economy is the economy of New Democracy and that
China's new culture is the culture of New Democracy.
Such are the historical characteristics of the Chinese revolution at the
present time. Any political party, group or person taking part in the
Chinese revolution that fails to understand this will not be able to direct
the revolution and lead it to victory, but will be cast aside by the people
and left to grieve out in the cold.
IV.
THE CHINESE REVOLUTION IS PART OF
THE WORLD REVOLUTION
The historical characteristic of the Chinese revolution lies in its division
into the two stages, democracy and socialism, the first being no longer
democracy in general, but democracy of the Chinese type, a new and special
type, namely, New Democracy. How, then, has this historical characteristic
come into being? Has it been in existence for the past hundred years, or is
it of recent origin?
A brief study of the historical development of China and of the world shows
that this characteristic did not emerge immediately after the Opium War, but
took shape later, after the first imperialist world war and the October
Revolution in Russia. Let us now examine the process of its formation.
Clearly, it follows from the colonial, semi-colonial and semi-feudal
character of present-day Chinese society that the Chinese revolution must be
divided into two stages. The first step is to change the colonial,
semi-colonial and semi-feudal form of society into an independent,
democratic society. The second is to carry the revolution forward and build
a socialist society. At present the Chinese revolution is taking the first
step.
The preparatory period for the first step began with the Opium War in 1840,
i.e., when ...
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