Mao Zedong on Dialectical Materialism: Writings on Philosophy, 1937

by Mao Zedong, Nick Knight (Editor, Translator)

New and annotated translations of philosophical essays written by Mao Zedong in 1937, which have come to be regarded as a cornerstone in the development of Chinese Marxism. The editor analyzes their textual, philosophical and historical significance.

Genres: China, Philosophy, Theory, Nonfiction

302 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1990

About the author

Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung, and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, statesman and leader of the Chinese Revolution. He was the architect and founding father of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment in 1949, and held control over the nation until his death in 1976. His theoretical contribution to Marxism–Leninism, along with his military strategies and brand of policies, are collectively known as Maoism.

Mao rose to power by commanding the Long March, forming a Second United Front with Kuomintang (KMT) during the Second Sino-Japanese War to repel a Japanese invasion, and later led the Communist Party of China (CPC) to victory against Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's KMT in the Chinese Civil War. Mao established political and military control over most of the territory formerly contained within the Chinese Empire and launched a campaign to suppress counterrevolutionaries. He sent the Communist People's Liberation Army into Xinjiang and Tibet but was unable to oust the remnants of the Nationalist Party from Taiwan. He enacted sweeping land reform by using violence and terror to overthrow landlords before seizing their large estates and dividing the land into people's communes. The Communist Party's final victory came after decades of turmoil in China, which included the Great Depression, a brutal invasion by Japan and a protracted civil war. Mao's Communist Party ultimately achieved a measure of stability in China, though Mao's efforts to close China to trade and market commerce, and eradicate traditional Chinese culture, have been largely rejected by his successors.

Mao styled himself "The Great Helmsman" and supporters continue to contend that he was responsible for some positive changes which came to China during his three decade rule. These included doubling the school population, providing universal housing, abolishing unemployment and inflation, increasing health care access, and dramatically raising life expectancy. A cult of personality grew up around Mao, and community dissent was not permitted. His Communist Party still rules in mainland China, retains control of media and education there and officially celebrates his legacy. As a result, Mao is still officially held in high regard by many Chinese as a great political strategist, military mastermind, and savior of the nation. Maoists promote his role as a theorist, statesman, poet, and visionary, and anti-revisionists continue to defend most of his policies.

Reviews

[Sinan Öner]

The Founder President of People's Republic of China, the General Secretary of Communist Party of China Mao Zedongh's "Dialectical Materialism: Writings on Philosophy, 1937" was published by Routledge in 2016 again. Mao Zedongh wrote about philosophy since his youth! Mao Zedongh worked on Chinese philosophy history, European philosophies and modern Marxist philosophy, Mao Zedongh is one of the best Marxist (Dialectical Materialist) philosophers in the 20. Century because of his works and writings for the history of philosophy. Mao Zedongh thinks Communist Party of China must be teacher of Marxist philosophy (Dialectical Materialism) of all the Chinese People, to teach Marxism to China is the main "ideological" mission of Communist Party of China. Mao Zedongh, like Marx and Engels worked in Europe to teach their philosophy to Europeans, like Lenin worked in Russia to teach Marxism to Russia, worked in China to teach Marxism to China.

[Sinan Öner]

Mao Zedong, Chinese Marxism's leader in the 20. Century, wrote a lot of pages on the philosophy! Mao's articles, essays, notes in "Mao Zedong on Dialectical Materialism: Writings on Philosophy, 1937", a chance to think on the history of dialectical materialism in the modern China. Mao Zedong walks on the road of dialectical thinking which sources from the ancient philosophies of Greece, Rome, China, with Marx's, Engels', Lenin's modern works on the philosophy. For Mao Zedong, Marxist philosophy is practising all the power of philosophy since the ancient ages in the different branchs of philosophy. Marxism's philosophy is a summarizing of history of philosophy in a critical way, like Engels wrote: "Knowledge of contradictions which are in the essence of objects", Marxism's philosophy is the knowledge of contradictions in the world!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for Marxist-Leninists; Mao's essays and notes on dialectical materialism synthesis trends in both pre-revisionist Soviet and pre-PRC Chinese Marxism to create a clear exposition of dialectical materialism and its laws, focused specifically upon the law of the unity of contradictions.

[Timothy Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

1984 has gotten me interested in diamat, or dialectical materialism! I still don't get it, in about the same way that I don't get a lot of things in philosophy! I've read Orwell, Trotsky, Che, Lenin, Stalin, and now Mao! I don't get it! What is so bad about idealism? What does it mean to make your dialectic materialist?

[Taylor Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommed this. Good explanation

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

everytime Mao sat at this typewriter he be like ‘aight, lemme drop some hard truth bombs on these counts’

[Mjau · Rating 5 out of 5]

mao mi rey

[Austin James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mao is always a great read. He’s able to explain difficult concepts in a very relatable and easy to understand way.