A Good Way to Read --- The Story of Mao Zedong’s Way of Reading

Chen Jin， Editor-in-Chief

Guangxi People’s Publishing House

January 2022

39.80 （CNY）

Mao Zedong， a legendary man， loved reading his whole life. He is a paragon of a passionate reader and there are many stories about his reading experiences. The author of this book vividly tells the famous reading stories of Mao’s life from his mastery of the “Hundred Schools of Thought”， his love of history， his passion for poetry and literature， his ingenious study of classical novels， etc. The book focuses on the influence of fine Chinese classics on Mao’s personality， poetry compositions， intellectual enlightenment and wisdom， and how Mao applied the knowledge in books into practice with great flexibility.

Chen Jin

He is vice president of the China Institute of CPC Literature Research， president of the Mao Zedong Thought Research Association， and the former deputy director of the Party Documents Research Office of the CPC Central Committee. For many years， he has been engaged in the research of CPC historical documents and contemporary theories and the writing of films and TV documentaries. His writings have won the Chinese Government Award for Publishing， the Chinese Outstanding Publication Award， and the Best Works Award for promoting cultural and ideological progress. His major works include Mao Zedong’s Cultural Character， Mao Zedong’s Poetic and Spiritual Path， Notes on Reading Mao Zedong， and Mao Zedong’s Literary and Artistic Career.

The feature-length mythological novel Journey to the West by Ming Dynasty writer Wu Cheng’en basically reflects an imaginary world far from real life. It is challenging to extract realistic content from it merely by intuitive experience. Lu Xun talked about this kind of reading experience in his book A Brief History of Chinese Fiction， published in 1924， where he said， “Since all the stories in Journey to the West are about monsters and demons， we find it interesting to read them and forget about the gains and losses， so to speak， and appreciate them solely for their appeal.”

Before the May Fourth Movement， although there were discussions about the purpose of Journey to the West， it was by and large only concerning “encourage learning，” “Zen discussion”， and “preaching”. As the author’s tone was humorous and comical， the readers were often “indifferent” to these purposes. In the new literature movement after the May Fourth movement， Hu Shih was the one who elaborated more on the theme of Journey to the West. After extensive examination， he established that the novel “originated from folklore and mythology， and there is no supreme meaning to it. At most， it could be described as very entertaining and amusing”. Lu Xun also believes that this novel of gods and demons “is really nothing more than a fun game played by the author”.

However， when Mao Zedong read Journey to the West， he often identified its distinctive value.

This novel successfully combines divinity， humanity， and animal characteristics in its artistic portrayal. Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie have become remarkable examples in the history of Chinese literature. During their journey to obtain the Buddhist sutras， Tang Sanzang and his three disciples each had different approaches， mentalities， and contributions to recognizing problems and solving them. Their personalities are thus revealed. At the same time， the differences in their personalities led to many contradictions in this group， and they often quarreled， but in the end， they always marched west together as one.

When Mao Zedong read Journey to the West， he paid much attention to these aspects of depiction. The central idea is that he believed that while the group shared a common adherence as a “party”， they also had different “personalities”， and most importantly， they had a strong belief that they were always heading towards a goal.

In his speech at the third graduation ceremony of Chinese People’s Anti-Japanese Military and Political College in April 1938， Mao Zedong asked the students to adopt “a firm and correct political direction， a hard-working style， and flexible strategy and tactics”. He then joked about the characters from Journey to the West and used metaphors to emphasize the importance of these three ideas： Tang Sanzang was determined to obtain the Buddhist sutras in the West， and despite having encountered 81 obstacles， he never gave up or returned， and his direction is unwavering. However， he also has flaws： he is insensitive and lacks vigilance， and often fails to recognize his enemies when they change their tricks or appearance. Zhu Bajie has many flaws， but he has one virtue： he can endure hardships， and he was the one who bulged and dug through the Stinking Persimmon Alley. Sun Wukong is very versatile and agile， but his biggest weakness is lack of determination and trifling nature. Mao Zedong even made a special mention of the white horse by saying， “Don’t underestimate the little white horse. It’s not after fame or profit， but it has worked hard and carried Tang Sanzang to the West to obtain the sutras， thus representing a humble and down-to-earth style worth learning from.”

According to the recollection of his staff， Mao Zedong had repeatedly talked to different people about the journey of Tang Sanzang， Sun Wukong， Zhu Bajie， and Sha Wujing to the West. Albeit they had a little discord in the course of the trip， they eventually overcame obstacles and threats， defeated the demons and monsters， arrived in the West， obtained the sutra， and became Buddhas. When reading Journey to the West， it is essential to observe their strong faith.

With a firm belief and working toward a goal with unity and perseverance， we will invariably succeed in the end. This is one of Mao Zedong’s interpretations of the purpose of Journey to the West and an important perspective he had while reading the book.