Staging History | Icons, Symbols and Official Imagery | Heroes and Models
Peking Review, No. 29, July 15, 1966 p. 32
Creatively Study and Apply Mao Tse-tung's Thought
- Excerpts From Comrade Wang Chieh's Diary
Comrade Wang Chieh was a squad leader of an engineering company of a People's Liberation Army armoured unit in Tsinan, Shantung Province. He was born in Chinhsiang County in the same province in 1942. He joined the P.L.A. in August 1961 and was admitted into the Communist Youth League of China in February 1962. He was cited as a "Five-Good" soldier for three successive years and was twice commended for meritorious service, third class. In July 1965, Wang Chieh was sent to Pihsien County in Kiangsu Province to help drill militiamen of the Changlou People's Commune. While training, a package of explosives was accidentally set off, endangering the lives of nearby militiamen and cadres of the people's armed forces. Absolutely fearless, he bravely sacrificed his own life to save the others. After his glorious death, the Party committee of his unit, acting on his former application and, after examining his history and general behaviour, posthumously admitted him as a full member of the Chinese Communist Party.
The Jiefangjun Bao (Liberation Army Daily) published excerpts from Wang Chieh's diary in two instalments lost October and November. In an editor's note, the paper pointed out: "His diary is a record of how he creatively studied and applied Mao Tse-tung's thought and raised his proletarian consciousness. It is a true and vivid record of wholehearted service to the people. It is an excellent and living source of study material for us."
"Acts of heroism never come accidentally. They have their source in Mao Tse-tung's thought. From his diary, we can see that Comrade Wang Chieh was able to lay down his life without the slightest hesitation when the need arose precisely because he studied Chairman Moo's works diligently, absorbed revolutionary sustenance constantly, remoulded his ideology all the time and raised his proletarian consciousness."
A man should be judged not only from what he says but more important, from how he acts. Lenin considered this a Marxist truth. What is especially worthy of learning from Wang Chieh is his solemn and earnest attitude in studying Mao Tse-tung's thought. He was able to integrate study and application so that whatever he said, he did. In ordinary life or at the critical juncture when he had to choose between life and death, he was able to take Mao-Tse-tung's thought as his guide to action.
To commemorate the first anniversary of his death, we publish below the first instalment of excerpts from his diary. -- Ed.
March 13, 1963
I've learnt a great deal from studying Chairman Mao's article "The Situation and Our Policy After the Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan."
"We should sweep backward ideas from the minds of the Chinese people, just as we sweep our rooms. Dust never vanishes of itself without sweeping." This is what Chairman Mao teaches us. We must always sweep the unclean ideas from our minds. It is impossible that unclean ideas will vanish by themselves without being swept away, just as, in Chairman Mao's words, "Bells don't ring till you strike them. Tables don't move till you shift them."
We're revolutionary fighters of the proletariat, shouldering the great task of defending and building socialism. To fulfil this glorious task entrusted to us by the people of the motherland, we must continuously remould our thinking and raise our political consciousness.
For ideological remoulding I plan to do three things:
(1) Take an active part in political study through which I will be able to learn to understand the Party's policies and lines and the relation between the individual and the collective. In this way I'll be sure of the right way forward and understand for whom I am a soldier and for whom I fight. I must link study with practice to get good results. I must constantly examine myself in the light of revolutionary principles, develop my good points and resolutely correct bad ones.
(2) Always steel myself in practical struggles -- in military training, productive work and political movements, particularly in hard and difficult situations. I must earnestly follow the leadership's instructions in any kind of work or duty. I must learn from the example set by advanced people, learn from their noble ideas, resolute fighting will and strict discipline, learn from Tung Tsun-jui, Huang Chi-kuang, Chiu Shao-yun, An Yeh-min, Lei Feng and other heroes, and take their exemplary achievements as a standard by which to measure myself at all times.
(3) Regularly practise criticism and self-criticism. These are effective weapons for ideological remoulding. I must learn how to use these weapons, accept criticism from other people with an open mind, criticize myself strictly. As Chairman Mao teaches us, we should daily sweep away the dust in our minds just as we wash our faces. Shortcomings, big or small, should be seriously dealt with and thoroughly corrected.
Ideological remoulding is an arduous, long-term task which cannot be accomplished overnight. But I have the determination and perseverance to carry it through, to overcome all kinds of non-proletarian ideas and to be a good revolutionary fighter.
June 5, 1963
This evening I took part in a discussion called by battalion headquarters on our experience in studying Chairman Mao's works. Everyone talked about what he had learnt and understood. Our common experience was: Don't try to read too much or too quickly; apply what you've learnt bit by bit; correct shortcomings as you study and apply immediately what you have learnt; be persistent; link study with current tasks and with personal problems; study shouldn't be undertaken without guidance from the leadership or in isolation from other comrades. I'll resolutely apply this valuable experience to my studies. I'll combine theory with practice. I'll be strict with myself and remould my ideology earnestly. I'll study Chairman Mao's works, follow his teachings, act in accordance with his instructions and be a good soldier of Chairman Mao.
July 25, 1964
In studying Chairman Mao's works, as in doing other things, we must stress practical results. You can't measure results merely by totting up the number of articles read and the time spent on them. This is only one aspect of study. We must see whether we can grasp the essence of Chairman Mao's works and use it to remould ourselves ideologically, to guide our work and to analyse and handle practical problems. Chairman Mao says, "It is necessary to master Marxist theory and apply it, master it for the sole purpose of applying it." The more practical problems we can explain and solve by applying Chairman Mao's stand, viewpoints and methods, the more evident our progress in remoulding our ideology and improving our work -- mean the greater results we are getting from our study. On the other hand, if we fail to apply Chairman Mao's teachings to our ideology and work, we'll get nothing from our study even if we read hundreds of articles and take thousands of notes. In the whole process of learning, we must set out to get results from whatever we learn, to really understand the essence and apply it, putting the stress on "application" so that we really practise what we learn.
Without conscientiousness, we definitely won't get good results from studying Chairman Mao's works. Chairman Mao says, "Unless they [the masses] are conscious and willing, any kind of work that requires their participation will turn out to be a mere formality and will fail." Only when we realize that Chairman Mao's works are as necessary to us revolutionaries as "sunshine," "air" and "food" can we study his works and apply them properly. Determination, perseverance, enthusiasm and time for study come from conscientiousness. Only with conscientiousness can we really resolve the contradiction between work and study, and achieve the aim of remoulding our ideology and improving our work.
Protracted persistence is necessary in studying Chairman Mao's works. It's a lifetime affair; if we live to an old age we must study them to our old age. Our determination and perseverance must be continually strengthened to always carry the study on.
In our studies we must also earnestly and comprehensively adhere to the principles put forward by Comrade Lin Piao: "Study Chairman Mao's works with certain problems in mind, study and apply them creatively, combine study with application, and study first what is needed most so as to get prompt results." Problems will continue to arise as long as we do revolutionary work -- new ones appear as old ones are solved. Wherever there is work and wherever there is struggle, there we'll find problems to bear in mind as we study. So it's not that there are no problems; there are endless problems to bear in mind as we study. But we should pick out and put the emphasis of study on those problems which most urgently need to be solved. Just like in fighting a battle, we must, to use Chairman Mao's words, "concentrate superior forces for a war of annihilation." We should concentrate our strength on the crucial points, solve problems one at a time, and put whatever point we learn immediately into practice. If we do this, we'll get a deeper understanding of Chairman Mao's teachings and be able to make use of them properly and improve our work in a down-to-earth way.
July 8, 1964
Chairman Mao says, "Reading is learning, but applying is also learning and the more important kind of learning at that." What he means here is that a person who has had no opportunity to go to school can also learn warfare -- he can learn through fighting in war. . . . It is often not a matter of first learning and then doing, but of doing and then learning, for doing is itself learning. Studying Chairman Mao's works and recalling the three years of my army life has given me a deeper understanding of the meaning of his teaching: doing is itself learning. Whatever you don't know, you'll learn through doing it. Where there's a will, there's a way. In the past three years, I've learnt from army life what I could never have learnt in school. My ideological level is raised, my class consciousness is higher, my military skill is better, and I've cultivated the habit of living simply and plainly. All this I've learnt from practice. We must learn through practice. Theory must be combined with practice. Only thus can we say that we have studied to any purpose.
August 22, 1963
Studying Chairman Mao's works has made me feel deeply that, just as a locomotive cannot move once it is off the track, so a revolutionary fighter will become muddle-headed and go astray if he doesn't study Chairman Mao's works.
"Flowers do not bloom without sunshine, crops do not grow without rain, a revolutionary fighter loses his bearings if he is not armed with Mao Tse-tung's thought."
March 19, 1964
Studying Chairman Mao's works has made me feel deeply that Mao Tse-tung's thought is like a rising sun in the East driving away the darkness with its brilliance and lighting up the hearts of the oppressed peoples. It's a beacon standing upright on the shore, steadily glowing with a red light to guide the navigators. Mao Tse-tung's thought is the best weapon to help one distinguish the enemy from the people and take a correct stand.
February 20, 1963
Lei Feng was a good soldier of Chairman Mao. All the things he did were quite ordinary, but it was these ordinary things that shaped his noble revolutionary character and while doing these ordinary things he performed stirring deeds.
I used to think there was no future in an ordinary post, that nothing could be achieved in it. Now Lei Feng's heroic deeds have opened my eyes and given me strength. In our country's socialist construction it is just these "ordinary" jobs which make up our great cause. It is the countless people doing "ordinary" jobs who form a vital force for the building of socialism. Great contributions can be made in an ordinary post if, like Lei Feng, one wholeheartedly serves the people and determines to serve as a screw in a machine, a screw always free from rust. From now on I'll learn from Lei Feng, be an ordinary soldier in the defence of my motherland -- be Chairman Mao's good soldier of Lei Feng's type, be a screw which is always free from rust.
February 23, 1963
The revolutionary army is a big school for tempering men. I will be a piece of coal, to be thrown and burnt in the smelter that is our fighting life, glowing with the light and heat of the times. . . .
July 3, 1963
I believe that:
You will know your own weakness and make progress only when you compare your shortcomings with the merits of others. You'll never make progress if you overestimate yourself and think you are better than others.
August 5, 1963
A vain man is only interested in personal fame.
An honourable man is always concerned with the cause of his motherland.
August 8, 1963
Chairman Mao says: "... dust will accumulate if a room is not cleaned regularly, our faces will get dirty if they are not washed regularly. Our comrades' minds and our Party's work may also collect dust, and also need sweeping and washing."
I'll do as Chairman Mao says. Every night before going to bed I'll recall what I've done during the day: what I've done right and what I've done wrong, and how to do them in future. I'll examine myself weekly and monthly. I'll keep up this practice; it will help me to do better work.
January 1, 1964
1963 has passed. It's been a great year. In the past year I've received more honours from the leadership than my work deserves. I've done some work and made some progress under the Party's education. I feel I'm like a young plant shooting out of the rich soil of the revolutionary ranks, where the Party showers me with its sunshine and rain and the comrades help me to grow. I cannot live a minute if I'm separated from the Party and the people.
Although I made much progress in the past year, on looking back, I also find many shortcomings. I still lack self-cultivation; I'm not as warm towards my comrades as Lei Feng was -- with the "warmth of spring." I'm not careful and painstaking enough in my work. I cannot stand much hardship. I haven't done my best to improve my skills. I haven't given enough help to those comrades who lag behind. I do too many things by myself, ignoring others. In the film Youth in the Flames of War, Comrade Kao Shan, the heroine, I remember, pointed out that he who fights a battle single-handedly and blindly can't be called a hero. All these defects fall short of the Party's teachings. When I think of them I feel ashamed of myself.
As the new year begins, I'll bear firmly in mind what Chairman Mao teaches us: "Modesty helps one to make progress whereas conceit makes one lag behind." The Party has given us new and heavier tasks for the new year. How can I live up to the Party's hopes? I must carry forward my achievements and overcome shortcomings. As in a race, I must start off from the starting point and run steadily forward step by step. I must be worthy of the honour the Party and the people have given me, heighten my political consciousness, set my sights high and work hard in 1964.
To work better for the Party and the people in the current year I'll study Chairman Mao's works harder, emulate Lei Feng's drive and his spirit of putting every possible minute into study and getting to the bottom of things, of taking one's problems to find answers through studying, of really understanding what one studies and putting it into practice bit by bit. The past year has taught me one thing very clearly and that is, there is no shortcut to serving the people wholeheartedly, being a good servant of the people and carrying out the tasks given by the Party. The only way is to study Chairman Mao's works, follow his teachings, act in accordance with his instructions, and always strive to be a good soldier of Chairman Mao.
December 28, 1964
I re-read Chairman Mao's "Serve the People" and "In Memory of Norman Bethune." They immediately gripped my mind. I've read them before, but never have they appeared to me so profound, so fresh, so magnetic as this time. I was moved to tears by the noble character of Chang Szu-teh and Bethune. They were so utterly devoted to others without any thought of self. What is the purpose of life? For whom do we live? How should we live? These are fundamental questions in life. I haven't thought much about them before, so naturally I've never solved them.
In "Serve the People" Chairman Mao points out a very clear direction. He says, "These battalions of ours are wholly dedicated to the liberation of the people and work entirely in the people's interests."
Calling on us to learn from Bethune, Chairman Mao says, "We must all learn the spirit of absolute selflessness from him. With this spirit everyone can be very useful to the people. A man's ability may be great or small, but if he has this spirit, he is already noble-minded and pure, a man of moral integrity and above vulgar interests, a man who is of value to the people."
I did a lot of thinking about these words and I now realize that my life is meaningful only if I can live like Chang Szu-teh and Bethune. The interests of the Party, the revolution and the masses are identical. I must never hesitate to do things in the interest of the revolution. Every bit of revolutionary work counts; there is no distinction between which is higher and which is lower. The important thing is to give every ounce of energy wholeheartedly to the revolution. So, as I read on I made up my mind to learn from these two comrades, to try and emulate their absolute selflessness.
February 29, 1964
Family origin plays a certain part in a person's maturing, but it depends mainly on his own ideological remoulding, his own efforts. In life, one is subjected to the influences of various environments, idea, and ways of living, some good, some bad. They exert a good or a bad influence on a person's growth. The good influences should be absorbed and developed and the bad ones reformed. That is to say, the principal causes of a person's maturing are internal, not external. If he wants to mature quickly, he must consciously temper himself. A proletarian revolutionary must be able to hold his ground against bad influences in good environments, and even more so in the bad environments. A good comrade is one who is able to stand the test.
[Photo of Wang Chieh, p. 33. Caption: Wang Chieh - Chairman Mao's good soldier]