“Learning from Lu Xun”
Quotations from Chairman Mao
In the past twenty years, the sharp edge of this new cultural army has brought about great revolutions in both thought and form (such as writing). Its momentum is vast, its power fierce, almost invincible. Its mobilization is broader than any era in Chinese history. Lu Xun is the greatest and bravest standard-bearer of this cultural new army. Lu Xun is the main general of China’s cultural revolution; he is not only a great writer but also a great thinker and revolutionary. Lu Xun’s backbone is the hardest; he has no trace of servility or sycophancy, which is the most precious character of the colonial and semi-colonial people. On the cultural front, Lu Xun represents the vast majority of the whole nation, charging against the enemy with the most correct, courageous, resolute, loyal, and passionate unprecedented national heroism. Lu Xun’s direction is the direction of the new culture of the Chinese nation.
Lu Xun’s Quote
Frowning coldly at a thousand pointing fingers, bowing humbly to be a willing ox for the children.
Chapter One
Learning from Lu Xun: Studying Seriously
– In commemoration of the 90th anniversary of Lu Xun’s birth… Zhou Jianren
Reading Notes:
With the sound of the October Revolution’s cannon, Lu Xun found the revolutionary truth he had long sought. Since then, Lu Xun continuously studied Marxism-Leninism in revolutionary struggle practice, gradually growing into a communist. Lu Xun’s great achievements in learning Marxism-Leninism were because he regarded revolution as the purpose of reading; in other words, he studied for the revolution and was able to apply revolutionary theory to actual struggles.
Learning Marxism-Leninism is not about rote memorization of phrases, obsessing over terminology, or meaningless speculation (like yesterday’s discussion on brain-body differences, which detached from social and historical contexts and focused purely on physiological aspects of genes and acquired practice in determining physical and intellectual abilities. All speculation detached from reality is futile; if the general direction is wrong, every step is wrong. Only by viewing brain-body differences as products of social and historical development can one correctly understand them. With the development of productive forces, the ruling class no longer engages in productive labor and thus has leisure to engage in the production of spiritual materials, such as philosophy, science, politics, literature, and art. This is an inevitable historical development, not determined by unchanging pure physiological factors. Therefore, so-called “genius theory” or “good genes” is nonsense. The economic position of the working people determines that they must spend the vast majority of their day in productive labor, as they are constantly worried about survival. Without labor, there is no money to buy means of living, and thus no survival. Workers’ labor transfers the value of means of production to new products and creates new value, including the equivalent of labor power value[1].
It is clear that working people are not naturally lacking knowledge; this is entirely caused by the brutal exploitation and oppression by the bourgeoisie. Advocating “genetic determinism” is merely to say that the children of capitalists can become officials or capitalists because of “good genes,” while the children of workers are “dull” because of bad genes, completely ignoring the social and historical roots of this phenomenon—the bourgeoisie’s dictatorship over the proletariat in the ideological and cultural fields and the bourgeois monopoly on education. Ignoring politics and focusing solely on academic speculation is a common characteristic of the reactionary ruling class, aiming to blur the people’s vision and numb their fighting spirit. As defenders of Marxism, we must reveal the true nature of things, guide the people to correctly understand the world, see clearly the reactionary nature of imperialist China, unite, overthrow it, and establish a government truly belonging to the working people).
To grasp the essential spirit, learn the proletarian stance, viewpoints, and methods, relate to reality, and solve problems. Lu Xun opposed rote learning, believing that reading “still requires one’s own thinking and observation,” and insisted on diligent study, staying up all night to clarify problems, ensuring thorough understanding and mastery, never allowing carelessness. Besides reading Marxist-Leninist books, one should also read other factual and knowledge books, including literature and history, removing dross and taking essence, analyzing with correct viewpoints, distinguishing right from wrong. This is both learning and a test of one’s theoretical level and ideological consciousness.
“The value of labor power is determined by the value of the means of subsistence necessary for its production, development, maintenance, and continuation.” — Marx, “Wages, Price and Profit,” Marx-Engels Collected Works, Vol. 16, p.146. ↩︎