Mao Zedong, also known as Chairman Mao, was a politician, military strategist, and revolutionary leader whose words have left a lasting impact on Chinese and global political thought. Here are the most famous Mao Zedong quotes that reflect his views on war, revolution, communism, education, leadership, and more.
Born on December 26, 1893, in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, China, Mao Zedong rose to prominence as the founding leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and played a crucial role in leading it to victory in the Chinese Civil War.
His excellent leadership and strategies, including guerrilla warfare and mobilizing peasant support, helped overthrow the Nationalist government, establishing a new socialist state in 1949.
Mao proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PPC) in 1949, a Marxist–Leninist single-party state controlled by the CCP, marking the beginning of a new era in Chinese history.
Mao was renowned for implementing various radical policies and campaigns that aimed at transforming Chinese society.
From the Great Leap Forward to the Cultural Revolution, Mao aimed to enforce communist ideology by removing capitalist elements from society. His ideologies and theories are known are Maoism which brought significant social and political disruption.
Although Mao’s legacy remains highly controversial, he has been credited with transforming China from a semi-colony to a leading world power.
His revolutionary ideas and leadership style continue to influence China’s political and social landscape and are often talked about in discussions about his impact on modern China.
Check out the best Mao Zedong quotes from one of the most influential figures of 20th century politics and Chinese history.
Top 10 Mao Zedong Quotes
- “Learn from the masses, and then teach them.” — Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong Quotes - “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” — Mao Zedong
Quotes By Mao Zedong - “Once all struggle is grasped, miracles are possible.” — Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong Quote - “We shall heal our wounds, collect our dead and continue fighting.” — Mao Zedong
Famous Quotes From Mao Zedong - “The differences between friends cannot but reinforce their friendship.” — Mao Zedong
- “Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed.” — Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong Sayings - “The guerrilla must move amongst the people as a fish swims in the sea.” — Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong Quotations - “Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend.” — Mao Zedong
Best Mao Zedong Quotes - “Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy. ” —Mao Zedong
Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse Tung - “In times of difficulty we must not lose sight of our achievements, must see the bright future and must pluck up our courage.” — Mao Zedong
Best Mao Zedong Quotes On Revolution, Politics, And War
- “Political work is the life-blood of all economic work.” — Mao Zedong
- “Not to have a correct political point of view is like having no soul.” — Mao Zedong
- “Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent.” — Mao Zedong
- “The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history.” — Mao Zedong
- “An army without culture is a dull-witted army, and a dull-witted army cannot defeat the enemy.” — Mao Zedong
- “A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery.” — Mao Zedong
- “We will invade no one anywhere. But if others invade us, we will fight back and fight to a finish.” — Mao Zedong
- “War can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun.” — Mao Zedong
- “Weapons are an important factor in war, but not the decisive one; it is man and not materials that counts.” — Mao Zedong
- “If you want to know the taste of a pear, you must change the pear by eating it yourself. If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution. All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience.” — Mao Zedong
Famous Quotes By Mao Zedong (Power & Leadership)
- “All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience.” — Mao Zedong
- “Passivity is fatal to us. Our goal is to make the enemy passive.” — Mao Zedong
- “Despise the enemy strategically, but take him seriously tactically.” — Mao Zedong
- “Enable every woman who can work to take her place on the labour front, under the principle of equal pay for equal work.” — Mao Zedong
- “Classes struggle, some classes triumph, others are eliminated. Such is history; such is the history of civilization for thousands of years.” — Mao Zedong
- “When there is not enough to eat, people starve to death. It is better to let half of the people die so that the other half can eat their fill.” — Mao Zedong
- “In general, any form of exercise, if pursued continuously, will help train us in perseverance. Long-distance running is particularly good training in perseverance.” — Mao Zedong
- “The cardinal responsibility of leadership is to identify the dominant contradiction at each point of the historical process and to work out a central line to resolve it.” — Mao Zedong
- “We think too small, like the frog at the bottom of the well. He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view.” — Mao Zedong
- “We stand resolutely for peace and oppose war. But if the imperialists insist on unleashing another war, we should not be afraid of it. Our attitude on this question is the same as our attitude towards all disturbances: firstly, we are against it; secondly, we are not afraid of it.” — Mao Zedong
Popular Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse Tung
- “Women hold up half the sky.” — Mao Zedong
- “In waking a tiger, use a long stick.” — Mao Zedong
- “To read too many books is harmful.” — Mao Zedong
- “There is a serious tendency toward capitalism among the well-to-do peasants.” — Mao Zedong
- “I have witnessed the tremendous energy of the masses. On this foundation it is possible to accomplish any task whatsoever.” — Mao Zedong
- “We can learn what we did not know. We are not only good at destroying the Old World, we are also good at building the new.” — Mao Zedong
- “Genuine equality between the sexes can only be realized in the process of the socialist transformation of society as a whole.” — Mao Zedong
- “All political power comes from the barrel of a gun. The communist party must command all the guns, that way, no guns can ever be used to command the party.” — Mao Zedong
- “All reactionaries are paper tigers, In appearance, the reactionaries are terrifying, but in reality, they are From a long-term point of view, it is not the reactionaries but the people who are powerful.” — Mao Zedong
- “The only way to settle questions of an ideological nature or controversial issues among the people is by the democratic method, the method of discussion, of criticism, of persuasion and education, and not by the method of coercion or repression.” — Mao Zedong
Conclusion
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