Staging History | Icons, Symbols and Official Imagery | Heroes and Models

Peking Review, No. 30, July 22, 1966, pp. 29-31

Creatively Study and Apply Mao Tse-tung's Thought

-Excerpts From Comrade Wang Chieh's Diary

Following is the second instalment [sic] of excerpts from the diary of Wang Chieh, the great communist fighter. The first instalment [sic] appeared in our last issue (No. 29). -Ed.

September 6, 1963

A genuine revolutionary should be prepared to face any kind of difficulty in the course of struggle, to despise them, to overcome them, to withstand all storms, to be firm and march forward unswervingly -even in the teeth of a 12-degree typhoon.

In making revolution, one shouldn't be afraid of sacrifice. Otherwise, one couldn't carry on the revolution steadfastly to the end and revolutionary determination would be out of the question. The victory of the Chinese revolution was the result of the heroic struggle of countless revolutionaries who, unafraid of sacrifice, marched on wave after wave. It was won at the cost of blood.

On joining the vanguard that is the Chinese Communist Party, many comrades were resolved to dedicate themselves to the cause of the liberation of the Chinese people, to the great ideal of communism and for the interests of the revolution; they were resolved to be the first to bear hardships, the last to enjoy comforts, and ready to give up everything, even their lives. Their revolutionary iron will was unshaken by bombs and bullets, prisons and execution grounds, enemy blockades, the cold of the snowy mountains or the hunger at the grasslands en route the Long March. Revolutionaries have no fear of death when faced with the need to sacrifice their lives. Their only thought is of the victory this would bring. Liu Hu-lan's only thought at the moment of her heroic death was to keep a secret to protect the revolution. When Hsiang Hsiu-li lost her life in putting out a fire she thought only of the public property that would be saved. When Huang Chi-kuang blocked the firing-slit of an enemy pillbox with his own body, he was only thinking of covering his comrades' advance. As the revolutionary martyr Hsia Ming-han wrote in his poem:

It matters not if I'm beheaded, So long as my ideal is true. Hsia Ming-han may be killed, But others will follow.

Their successors will assuredly carry the revolution to final victory!

August 19, 1963

I've been assigned a new task on flood-prevention in a certain place. I'm still waiting for orders to start; the time for departure has not been decided. Everything is ready. Although I'm still here, my heart has already flown to the stricken area. The lives and property of the people are waiting to be saved by us, Why don't we start? Time passes so slowly, a day is like a year. We'll fly to the stricken area as soon as the orders come.

I expressed my determination and gave my pledge to the leadership in the following words: I've become a soldier for the people, for the Party and for the motherland. I'll go wherever the Party sends me, and do whatever it says. If necessary, I will willingly contribute my youth.

December 9, 1963

It started to snow at 8 a.m. By 7 p.m. the snow was pretty deep, which made our road-building work difficult. But we kept on without a let-up. We sang a song:

The north wind may blow, The snow may fall. We rise early, We knock off late. We work with a will, Our spirits are soaring.

All of us were wet through, our hands cracked with the cold, but we kept on working. We knew the meaning of glory: it means the harder the working conditions, the better we work. We're building roads and bridges for socialism. Wherever we go, however difficult the job may be, we'll fulfil the task the Party and the people entrusted to us.

January 11, 1964

Last night the leadership announced that I'd been made acting deputy squad leader. I felt my ability unequal to the task. The weight of the responsibility lay heavy on me - I lacked both ability and experience in leadership; I was somewhat shy of the work. Faced with this difficulty, I turned to Chairman Mao's works. I found the article "On the Chungking Negotiations" in which he said, "What is work? Work is struggle. There are difficulties and problems in those places for us to overcome and solve. We go there to work and struggle to overcome these difficulties. A good comrade is one who is more eager to go where the difficulties are greater . . . ." He also said: "Hard work is like a load placed before us, challenging us to shoulder it . . . ."

As I read this passage again, I felt as if it had been written for me. I asked myself: am I really afraid of difficulties? Should I back away from them? No! I shouldn't be afraid. I have the Party's leadership and my comrades' support. I'll be able to do my work well if I always talk things over with my comrades, boldly take charge of administrative work, stick to the truth, be patient in persuasion, set an example by my own conduct, follow the Party's instructions and work as hard as I can.

April 5, 1964

While I was loading explosives today my hand got burnt by some smouldering pitch. It was very painful. But what was more painful to me was that it affected my work. I had to ask other comrades to help me out for the time being. But I felt bad about it and wouldn't let others go on duty for me. I insisted that I could work. Comrades wouldn't let me go on duty, they wouldn't let me do anything. But I just couldn't remain idle. I kept on working, slowly but steadily, clenching my teeth whenever my hand hurt. I thought of the 25,000-li Long March and how our army fought back so heroically on the Sino-Indian border. What does a little injury matter? I must keep on, keep on!

September 3, 1964

Through studying Chairman Mao's works, I now understand that the revolution is my ideal; struggle alone is genuine happiness.

November 30, 1963

Chairman Mao wrote in his article "In Memory of Norman Bethune" that Bethune "was constantly perfecting his skill." I've not been perfecting my skill though I did get full marks in all subjects during the examination. In some subjects, I could repeat the theories by heart, but I couldn't put them into practice. Even when I could, I failed to answer when asked why and how. Engineering techniques seem easy. Who cannot dig a pit and plant a mine? Even people without any education can do it as soon as they see it done. To ask me, a junior middle school graduate, to do the job, would be like "wasting A.A. shells on mosquitoes," That's what I used to think, but not now. I find there is profound knowledge in engineering techniques once I delve into them. In my case, it's not a question of a man with great ability doing a trivial job, but the other way round. My educational level is not high enough. I must constantly perfect my skill like Bethune if I wish to be really proficient.

April 2, 1965

Training has started for 1965. Work in the new year is hard, and, clearly, beset with difficulties. First of all, we are carrying out "night tiger" training with x x x night assignments. And then we are to popularize advanced experience. This is an even harder job for me. How should a revolutionary fighter overcome difficulties and train well? I studied "The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains," and it gave me confidence. I am young and strong - shall the Foolish Old Man beat me? I'm out to match myself against the Foolish Old Man. I will follow Chairman Mao's instructions in my work: surmount every difficulty to win victory. I also studied Vice-Chairman Lin Piao's directive on giving prominence to proletarian politics. Provided we persist in the "four firsts"* in work, persist in studying Chairman Mao's works and arm ourselves with his thought, a difficulties will be readily solved. Chairman Mao's thought will help us through all difficulties.

April 8, 1965

We practised mine-laying on a tank training ground today. The ground was so hard that my pickaxe made hardly any dents in it and my hands hurt from the impact. It took me 20 minutes to plant a mine. Why go to all this trouble? Surely, we'd never have to dig up such hard ground in actual combat? Why can't we practise on softer ground? No, that won't do! Didn't Chairman Mao tell us that when the enemy sharpens his sword, we must sharpen ours too? And Vice-Chairman Lin Piao also pointed out that we must train hard in peace time so that we will be able to defeat the enemy in battle. War is a complex thing. If we train only in easy conditions, how will we succeed under unfavourable battle conditions? Chairman Mao always tells us to give ample thought to difficulties. Now, here's a chance to train ourselves. Right! So we went hard at it, not caring about the blisters on our hands or the soaking wet shirts on our backs. A whole afternoon's drill has rapidly improved my technique. Now, I can plant mines on hard ground within the specified time. True, I was tired out, but elated, because I had mastered skill to wipe out the enemy.

August 20, 1963

After reading "Serve the People," I realize that the old saying "sweep the snow off your own doorstep, ignore the frost on other people's roofs" is entirely wrong. But I too once had this idea. I used to think that I had become a soldier to serve the people and for this reason I must do my work well. I also thought that as long as I performed the duties assigned by the leadership well, it was all I had to do. I was not concerned whether others made progress or not. I thought I'd better not interfere in other people's affairs. Because of this view I didn't help my comrades enough and I didn't have many heart-to-heart talks with them.

The article "Serve the People" has made me see my mistake. Chairman Mao says: " . . . all people in the revolutionary ranks must care for each other, must love and help each other." The more I think about this, the more I realize how wrong I'd been. From now on I must do as Chairman Mao says. I'll have frequent talks with my comrades and we'll help each other. That way we'll make progress together.

May 21, 1964

This year, the older comrades got "Liberation Shoes" which cover more of the instep, and the newer ones got those which cover less of it. In building work, the former are better than the latter because you don't get hurt easily coming in and out of the work sites. Because of this, the new comrades all prefer those which cover more of the instep. Hsiao Hu wanted to swap a pair with someone. Shall I swap with him? If 1 did so, there's the chance that I'd get hurt. Yet Hsiao Hu's work requires more intensive labour, so if I didn't, he's more liable to get hurt. Shall I take the hardship on myself, or shall I leave it to others? How often has Chairman Mao told us that "our cadres must show concern for every soldier, and all people in the revolutionary ranks must care for each other, must love and help each other," and be "the first to bear hardships, the last to enjoy comforts"? I should do whatever Chairman Mao says. So I gladly exchanged my shoes with Hsiao Hu.

December 20, 1964

Dear new comrades are coming! What shall I give them as gifts? The Good Eighth Company on Nanking Road presented new comrades with copies of Chairman Mao's works and packets of needles and thread. It's only when a person becomes ideologically progressive that he can take upon his shoulders the weighty load of the revolution. So I went and bought 19 copies of Chairman Mao's articles in pamphlet form, including "The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains," "Serve the People" and "Carry the Revolution Through to the End," and presented them to my dear new comrades.

March 5, 1964

Chairman Mao says, "We must see to it that all our cadres and all our people constantly bear in mind that, while ours is a big socialist country, it is an economically backward and poor country, and that this is a very great contradiction. If we want to see China rich and strong, we must be prepared for several decades of intensive effort which will include, among other things, carrying out a policy of building our country through hard work and thrift -- of practising strict economy and combating waste."

Chairman Mao's every word, every sentence impresses me deeply. This year we took part in construction work for national defence. Because we lacked the idea of practising economy and were careless about our equipment, there was quite a lot of waste at first in oil, dynamite and other materials.

Chairman Mao's works have made me see the importance of being economical. A drop of oil, a screw, a fuse, an ounce of explosives, everything belongs to the state and the people. Ours is a big socialist country but it's also economically backward and poor, so we must be thrifty. We must practise economy just as frequently as we wash our faces. This year's construction work is a long-term job. We must save on every little bit -- oil, fuses, explosives. I'll do my best to save for the country.

(To be continued.)

*The "four firsts" are: First place must be given to man in handling the relationship between man and weapons; to political work in handling the relationship between political and other work; to ideological work in relation to other aspects of political work; and, in ideological work, to the ideas currently in a person's mind as distinguished from ideas in books. - Ed.

[p. 30, photo of diary page: Caption: Comrade Wang Chieh creatively studied and applied Chairman Mao's works. He applied bit by bit what he studied, integrating study with application. He suited his actions to his words. This is a page from his diary dated August 20 (1963) expressing his thoughts after reading "Serve the People" by Chairman Mao.]