On September 9, 1976, at exactly 00:10, China’s great leader and teacher Chairman Mao passed away in Beijing at the age of 83 (1893-1976). While mourning Chairman Mao, we must also realize that this year marks not only the 49th anniversary of Chairman Mao’s death but also the 49th year of capitalism’s restoration in socialist China. As revolutionaries, we must inherit Chairman Mao’s legacy, carry the revolution through to the end! Strike down the old world, build a new world, and overturn everything that revisionism has turned upside down!
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China
State Council of the People’s Republic of China
Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China
Declaration to the entire Party, the entire Army, and all ethnic groups of the nation
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, and the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China are extremely sorrowful to announce to the entire Party, the entire Army, and all ethnic groups of the nation: Our beloved great leader and teacher of the Chinese people, the great mentor of the international proletariat and oppressed nations and peoples, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, Honorary Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Comrade Mao Zedong, after suffering from illness and receiving meticulous treatment from multiple parties, ultimately due to the worsening of his condition and ineffective medical treatment, passed away at 00:10 on September 9, 1976, in Beijing.
Chairman Mao Zedong is the founder and wise leader of the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, and the People’s Republic of China. Chairman Mao led our Party in long-term, sharp, and complex struggles against right opportunism and “left” opportunist lines within the Party, defeating Chen Duxiu, Qu Qiubai, Li Lisan, Luo Zhanglong, Wang Ming, Zhang Guotao, Gao Gang, Rao Shushi, Peng Dehuai’s opportunist lines. During the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, he also defeated Liu Shaoqi, Lin Biao, and Deng Xiaoping’s counterrevolutionary revisionist lines, enabling our Party to grow stronger through class struggle and the struggle between two lines. Under Chairman Mao’s leadership, the Chinese Communist Party, after winding through a tortuous path, has developed into the great, glorious, and correct Marxist-Leninist party leading the People’s Republic of China today.
During the New Democratic Revolution, Chairman Mao, based on the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism and combining it with China’s specific revolutionary practice, creatively formulated the general line and policies of the New Democratic Revolution, established the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, and pointed out that our armed struggle for power could only follow the path of establishing rural base areas, encircling the cities from the countryside, and ultimately capturing the cities, rather than taking other routes. He led our Party and our army, and the Chinese people, to overthrow the reactionary rule of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism through people’s war, achieving the great victory of the New Democratic Revolution and founding the People’s Republic of China. The victory of the Chinese people’s revolution led by Chairman Mao changed the situation in the East and the world, opening a new path for the liberation of oppressed nations and peoples.
During the socialist revolution, Chairman Mao comprehensively summarized the experiences of the international communist movement, analyzed the class relations in socialist society profoundly, and for the first time in the history of Marxism clarified that even after the basic completion of socialist transformation of the means of production, class and class struggle still exist. He made a scientific judgment that bourgeoisie exists within the Communist Party, proposed the great theory of continuing revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat, and formulated the basic line for the entire socialist stage. Guided by Mao’s proletarian revolutionary line, our Party, our army, and the Chinese people have advanced triumphantly, winning great victories in socialist revolution and construction, especially in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, the Campaign to Criticize Lin Biao and Confucius, the Criticize Deng campaign, and the counterattack against the rightist revisionist trend. Maintaining socialism in the vast territory and large population of the People’s Republic of China, consolidating the dictatorship of the proletariat—this is Chairman Mao’s great contribution to contemporary world history. At the same time, it provided new experience for the international communist movement to oppose revisionism, consolidate the dictatorship of the proletariat, prevent capitalism’s restoration, and build socialism.
All victories of the Chinese people have been achieved under Chairman Mao’s leadership and are great victories of Mao Zedong Thought. The brilliance of Mao Zedong Thought will forever illuminate the path forward for the Chinese people.
Chairman Mao Zedong summarized the revolutionary practice of the international communist movement, put forward a series of scientific judgments, enriched the theoretical treasury of Marxism, and pointed out the direction of struggle for the Chinese people and revolutionaries worldwide. With the grandeur of a proletarian revolutionary, he launched a great struggle against modern revisionism centered on the Soviet revisionist clique, promoting the vigorous development of the world proletarian revolution and anti-imperialist, anti-hegemonist struggles of various countries, advancing human history.
Chairman Mao Zedong is the greatest Marxist of our time. For more than half a century, based on the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism and revolutionary practice, he inherited, defended, and developed Marxism-Leninism through long-term struggles against domestic and foreign, inside and outside the Party, class enemies, writing an extremely glorious chapter in the history of the proletarian revolutionary movement. He dedicated his entire life to the liberation of the Chinese people, the oppressed nations and peoples of the world, and the cause of communism. With the great perseverance of a proletarian revolutionary, he fought tenaciously against illness, continued to lead the entire Party, the army, and the nation during his illness, fighting until his last breath. His monumental achievements for the Chinese people, the international proletariat, and the world’s revolutionary peoples are eternal. He has won the heartfelt love and boundless respect of the Chinese people and revolutionaries worldwide.
The death of Chairman Mao Zedong is an immeasurable loss to our Party, our army, and all ethnic groups of our country, to the international proletariat and revolutionary peoples of all countries, and to the international communist movement. His passing will cause immense grief among the Chinese people and revolutionary peoples worldwide. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China calls on the entire Party, the entire Army, and all ethnic groups of the nation to turn grief into strength:
We must inherit Chairman Mao’s legacy, uphold the primacy of class struggle, adhere to the Party’s basic line, and continue the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat.
We must inherit Chairman Mao’s legacy, strengthen the Party’s centralized leadership, resolutely safeguard Party unity and solidarity, and closely unite around the Central Committee of the Party. In the struggle between two lines, we must strengthen ideological and organizational building of the Party, follow the five conditions for cultivating successors, and strictly implement the principle of the combination of old, middle-aged, and young.
We must inherit Chairman Mao’s legacy, consolidate the great unity of all ethnic groups based on the leadership of the working class and the worker-peasant alliance, deeply criticize Deng Xiaoping, continue the fight against the rightist revisionist trend, consolidate and develop the victorious results of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, enthusiastically support new socialist phenomena, restrict bourgeois legal privileges, and further consolidate our country’s proletarian dictatorship. We will continue to carry out the three major revolutionary movements of class struggle, production struggle, and scientific experimentation, be independent and self-reliant, work hard, struggle diligently, build the country frugally, boost morale, strive for progress, and build socialism faster, better, and more economically.
We must inherit Chairman Mao’s legacy, resolutely implement Chairman Mao’s military build-up line, strengthen military construction, develop the militia, improve combat readiness, stay alert, and be ready to annihilate any invading enemy at any time. We must also liberate Taiwan.
We must inherit Chairman Mao’s legacy, continue to resolutely implement Chairman Mao’s revolutionary diplomatic line and policies. We must uphold proletarian internationalism, strengthen our Party’s unity with genuine Marxist-Leninist parties and organizations worldwide, strengthen the unity of the Chinese people with peoples of all countries, especially those in the Third World, and unite all possible forces internationally to fight against imperialism, social imperialism, and modern revisionism to the end. We will never seek hegemony, never become a superpower.
We must inherit Chairman Mao’s legacy, diligently study Marxism, Leninism, and Mao Zedong Thought, diligently read Marxist-Leninist and Maoist works, thoroughly overthrow the bourgeoisie and all exploitative classes, replace bourgeois dictatorship with proletarian dictatorship, defeat capitalism with socialism, and strive to build our country into a strong socialist nation, making greater contributions to humanity and ultimately realizing communism.
Long live the invincible Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought!
Long live the great, glorious, and correct Communist Party of China!
The great leader and teacher Chairman Mao Zedong is immortal!
(Xinhua News Agency, September 9, 1976)
