The resting and training of troops is at the same time a condition for victory in battle; “to train troops for a thousand days” in order to “use them for one morning”. To separate and advance is at the same time a condition for a combined attack (develop to attack jointly); retreat and defence, are at the same time in order to counter-attack and take the offensive (retreat to advance, and defend to attack). There is no other reason for being devious than it is the most effective method of wiping out the enemy (be devious to be direct); in order to succeed in the west, make a thrust towards the east (cause an uproar in the east, and strike in the west). Divide the soldiers to win over the masses, in order to facilitate centralization to wipe out the enemy; centralize to wipe out the enemy in order to facilitate the division of the soldiers to win over the masses. In order to carry out orders decisively, flexible freedoms need be allowed under a unified scheme; the strict implementation of discipline requires the development of conscious initiative; the statement of individual interest is permissable, but in the end these must be subordinated to the group decision; work at the front is important, but work at the rear cannot be discarded or ignored; if one’s health is poor one must think of convalescence, but in times of urgency, one also must think of sacrifice; everybody wants life to be easy, but when economic difficulties arise, one has to suffer; military training is important, and without it we could not smash the enemy, but political work is also of importance for without it we would be defeated; the abundant experience of the old soldiers and cadres is worthwhile and valuable, but if there are no new soldiers and cadres, the war and our work cannot be continued; courage is important, but there must be a strategem; although Zhang Fei was alright, he was after all not as good as Zhao Zilong;[4-593] [p. 271] the part of the work which we lead is important, but that part led by others and the entire work is also important if not more important; small group mentality is incorrect, and when one’s own opinion and that of the group or higher authorities is in contradiction, one’s opinion can and should be explained; it is, however, impermissable to freely express that opinion to any other member at a time when the group or higher authorities have not yet given approval, still less to instigate the subordinate members to oppose the higher authorities; the discipline of the minority subordinating itself to the majority, and the lower level subordinating itself to the higher level, is the minimum discipline of the Communist Party and the Red Army. “Good medicine is bitter to the taste but beneficial for the sickness”. “Sincere advice is not pleasant to hear but it is beneficial for one’s conduct”.[4-594] “It is on disaster that good fortune perches, it is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches”.[4-595] “To love yet know their bad qualities, to hate and yet know their excellences”.[4-596] “To glance ahead but not behind is called being a boorish oaf; to know one but not two is he who is not yet a wise man”.[4-597]
All contradictory things are interconnected; not only do they coexist in a single entity in given conditions, but in other given conditions, they also transform themselves into each other. This is the full meaning of the unity of opposites.[4-598] This is what Lenin meant when he talked of how they happen to be identical, under what kind of conditions they become identical, transforming themselves into one another.[4-599]
Why is it that the human mind should take these opposites not as dead, rigid, but as living, conditional, mobile, transforming themselves into each other? Because this is just how things are in objective reality. The fact is that the unity or identity of opposites in objective things is not dead or rigid; but is living, conditional, mobile, temporary, and relative; in given conditions, every contradictory aspect transforms itself into its opposite.[4-600]
Why can an egg but not a stone be transformed into a chicken? Why is there identity between war and peace and none between war and a stone? Why can human beings give birth only to human beings and not to anything else? The sole reason is that the identity of opposites exists only in[4-601] given conditions. Without these necessary given conditions there can be no identity whatsoever.
[p. 272] Why is it that in Russia[4-602] the democratic[4-603] revolution was directly linked with the[4-604] socialist revolution, while in France the democratic[4-605] revolution was not directly linked with a socialist revolution and the Paris Commune[4-606] ended in failure? Why is it, on the other hand, that the nomadic system of Mongolia and Central Asia has been directly linked with socialism? Why is it that the Chinese revolution can avoid a capitalist future and be directly linked with socialism and avoid[4-607] the old historical road of England, America, France, etc?[4-608]Why is it that the Russian Revolution of 1905 and the Chinese Revolutions of 1911 and 1927 were not linked with revolutionary victory, but to failure? Why is it that in his entire life, most of Napolean’s wars were linked to victory, while at the one battle of Waterloo, he was roundly defeated, his army beaten and himself taken prisoner? Why is it possible to build a railroad to Xinjiang and not to the moon? Why have the cordial relations between Germany and the Soviet Union turned into enmity, while the enmity between France and the Soviet Union turned temporarily into cordial relations? In all of these questions, the sole reason is the concrete conditions of the time. When certain necessary conditions are present,[4-609] contradictions arise in processes[4-610] and, moreover, the opposites contained in them are interdependent and become transformed into one another; otherwise none of this would be possible. It is for this reason that none of the following can become an identity of opposites, or a concrete contradiction, and merely add to the material for annoyance and amusement amongst men: Don Quixote’s mighty battle with the windmill, Sun Wukong’s somersault of one hundred and eight thousand li over the clouds, Alice’s journey through Wonderland, Robinson’s wanderings on his lone island, Ah Q’s spiritual victory, Hitler’s world domination, Hegel’s absolute spirit, Bukharin’s theory of equilibrium, Trotsky’s permanent revolution, the ideological unity of the emperor’s scholars, Chen Duxiu’s opportunism, the pro-Japanese faction’s theory that weapons decide everything, and including from among Ancient China’s legends, “the man of Qi’s concern that the sky might fall”, “Gua Fu’s race with the moon”,[4-611] and so on.[4-612]
4-594
Although Mao has separated these two sentences with quotation marks, they are part of the same quotation from the
4-595
This quotation is from Lao Zi, Chapter 58. I have followed Lau’s translation; Sec Lao Tzu,
4-596
This quote comes from the
“What is meant by ‘The regulation of one’s family depends on the cultivation of his person’, is this: – Men are partial where they feel affection and love; partial where they despise and dislike, partial where they stand in awe and reverence; partial where they feel sorrow and compassion; partial where they are arrogant and rude. Thus it is that there are few men in the world who love
However, the exact meaning of this saying is not clear even in context. An alternative translation might be: “To love so as to know hatred; to hate so as to appreciate excellence”.
4-599
Here, as in the following paragraph, there are no quotation marks for this reference from Lenin. These have been added to the official text. There are also some differences in the Chinese rendering of this reference, but I have remained as close as possible to the official English translation. SW I, p. 340; XJ I, p. 304.
4-600
Addition in official text: “Reflected in man’s thinking, this becomes the Marxist world outlook of materialist dialectics. It is only the reactionary ruling class of the past and present and the metaphysicians in their service who regard opposites not as living, conditional, mobile and transforming themselves into one another, but as dead and rigid, and they propagate this fallacy everywhere to delude the masses of the people, thus seeking to perpetuate their rule. The task of Communists is to expose the fallacies of the reactionaries and metaphysicians, to propagate the dialectics inherent in things, and so accelerate the transformation of things and achieve the goal of revolution”. SW I, p. 340; XJ I, p. 305.
4-608
Official text reads: “…of the Western countries, without passing through a period of bourgeois dictatorship?” SW I, p. 341; XJ I, p. 306.
4-610
Official text reads: “…in the process of development of things and…”; SW I, p. 341; XJ I, p. 306.
4-612
Official text reads: “In speaking of the identity of opposites in given conditions, what we are referring to is real and concrete opposites and the real and concrete transformations of opposites into one another. There are innumerable transformations in mythology, for instance, Gua Fu’s race with the sun in