Mao Zedong's "Talks at the Yan'an Conference on Literature and Art": A Translation of the 1943 Text with Commentary (2025)

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1. Translated by James R. Lawler, in The Collected Works of Paul Val&ry, ed. Jackson Mat hews (London, 1971), 1:397.
2. Subsequently published as Communist Chinese Literature, ed. Cyril Birch (New York, 1963).
3. Douwe W. Fokkema, Literary Doctrine in China and Soviet Influence, 1956-1960 (The Hague, 1965), p. 19. The state- ment is conditional and impersonal, but seems to sum up Fokkema T s attitude.
4. T. A. Hsia, "Twenty Years After the Yenan Forum," China Quarterly, no. 13 (January-March 1963), pp. 226-53, esp. p. 246.
5. Ernst Fischer, The Necessity of Art: A Marxist Approach, trans. Anna Bostock (Harmondsworth, 1963), p. 205.
6. See Terry Eagleton, Criticism and Ideology: A Study of Marxist Literary Theory (London, 1976), and Marxism and Literary Criticism (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1976);
7. David Craig, The Real Foundations: Literature and Social Change (London, 1973), esp. pp. 229, 286-87, and Craig, ed. , Marxists on Literature: An Anthology (Harmondsworth, 1975);
8. Raymond Williams, Culture and Society (London, 1958), and Marxism and Literature (London, 1977), esp. pp. 202-3; Maynard Solomon, comp., Marxism and Art: Essays Classic and Contemporary (New York, 1973), esp. pp. 250-52; Ernst Fischer, The Necessity of Art (Harmondsworth, 1963). In Real Foundations, Craig only refers to Mao as a political leader, but praises Lu Xun at length; in his Marxists on Literature, he quotes a cru- cial passage from the "Talks" in his introduction (p. 14), and includes two Lu Xun essays in the body of the anthology.
9. Craig T s selections (e.g. , those by Thomson, Kettle, Craig, 11. For further details on different versions, see Appendix 2.
10. For further details on translations, see Appendix 3.
11. For a complete list of all revisions that survive translation, see Appendix 1.
12. In one passage in the Introduction, Mao uses the expression "workers, peasants, and soldiers" (gong nong bing) four times and the expression "workers and peasants" (gongren he nongmin) once. In the revised version, this is changed to "workers and peasants" four times and "workers, peasants, and fighters in a revolutionary army" (gongren, nongmin, he gemingjunde zhanshi). This may itself point to a de-emphasis on the military, but as the only instance of such a change, it should perhaps not be seen as significant.
13. See Paul G. Pickowicz, "Qu Qiubai T s Critique of the May Fourth Generation: Early Chinese Marxist Literary Criticism," in Goldman, Modern Chinese Literature, pp. 351-84, and "Ch T u Ch T iu-pai and the Marxist Conception of Revolutionary Litera- ture and Art," China Quarterly, no. 70 (June 1977), pp. 296-314; and C. T. Hsia, History of Modern "Chinese Fiction, pp. 311-12.
14. The influence of Lu Xun on Mao ? s "Talks" is claimed by Victor Nee and James Peck in "Introduction: Why Uninterrupted Revolution?" in China's Uninterrupted Revolution, From 1840 to the Present, ed. Victor Nee and James Peck (New York, 1975), pp. 40-42; and by Jean Charbonnier, "Mao Tse-tung et Lu Hsun," France-Asie, no. 4 (1974), pp. 7-28. Although the precise nature of such an influence has yet to be established, Lu Xun is still the only May Fourth writer praised by name in Mao T s published work.
15. Only a few eyewitness accounts of the Yan T an Conference have come down to us, and these are all from a party point of view; e.g. , Liu Xuewei, Lun wenxuede gongnongbing fangxiang [On the worker-peasant-soldier direction in literature] (Shanghai, 1949), cited in T. A. Hsia, "Twenty Years after the Yenan Forum," p . 226; Ma Ke, "Yan'an Luyi shenghuo zayi" [Recollections of life at the Lu Xun Academy of Literature and Art in Yan T an], Hong qi piaopiao [The red flag flutters] ,
16. Engels, excerpts from "Letter to Paul Ernst, June 5, 1890," "Letter to Minna Kautsky, November 26, 1885," and "Letter to Margaret Harkness, Beginning of April, 1888 (Draft)" in Marx and Engels, ed. Baxandall and Morawski, pp. 87, 112-13, 114-16.
17. See Lenin, "Party Organization and Party Literature," in James, Soviet Socialist Realism, pp. 12-13, 15-16 et passim; Solomon, Marxism and Art, pp. 180-87, 187-88, 237-38; Eagleton, Marxism and Literary Criticism, pp. 40-42; and Fokkema, Literary Doc- trine, pp. 8-9.
18. Solomon, Marxism and Art, pp. 187-88, 237-38, and Eagleton, Marxism and Literary Criticism, p . 43.
19. See Nikita S. Krushchev, "For Close Links Between Literature and the Life of the People," in The Great Mission of Literature and Art (Moscow, 1964), pp. 12-48, esp. p . 19.
20. See Liu Xuewei as quoted in T. A. Hsia, "Twenty Years after the Yenan Forum," p . 228.
21. See Demetz, Marx, Engels and the Poets, pp. 127-29; cf. Prawer, Karl Marx and World Literature, pp. 410-11.
22. These two essays were first published in the literary page of Jiefang ribao, 9 March 1942, 13 and 23 March 1942, p . 4. See also Goldman, Literary Dissent, pp. 23-24, 25-26, and Fokkema, Literary Doctrine, pp. 12, 15-16. For translation and 12. Add: over the enemy, Japanese imperialism, and all other enemies of the people
23. Omit: our friends, 14. of various kinds: of various kinds in the united front 15. criticize and oppose: firmly oppose
24. Add: and struggle with their own shortcomings and mistakes 17. Add: excepting only those who cling to their errors 18. Border Area: Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Area 19. general rear: Nationalist-controlled areas 20. or: and even less so 21. cadres in the party, the government, and the army: revolu- tionary cadres
25. Yours is the language of intellectuals, theirs is the language of the popular masses. : That is, you lack an adequate know- ledge of the rich, lively language of the popular masses. Be- cause many workers in literature and art have cut themselves off from the masses and lead empty lives, they are naturally unfa- miliar with popular speech, so that not only does the language they write in seem rather dull, but in addition they frequently insert strange and unfamiliar expressions which they have just made up and which are quite out of keeping with popular usage.
26. Omit: I have mentioned before that 24. we should start by studying: we should conscientiously study 25. the masses 1 language: a great deal of the masses' language 26. workers, peasants, and soldiers: workers and peasants 27. workers, peasants, and soldiers: workers, peasants, and soldiers in the revolutionary army 56. The problem we have now with one group of comrades, or the key to their inability: The key to the present inability of one group of comrades 57. that is: or
27. workers, peasants, and soldiers: the masses of workers, peasants, and soldiers
28. the intelligentsia: the petty bourgeois intelligentsia 62. the intelligentsia from petty bourgeois backgrounds: them 63. the shortcomings of the petty bourgeoisie: their shortcomings 64. workers, peasants, and soldiers: the masses of workers, peasants, and soldiers 65. workers, peasants, and soldiers: laboring people 66. petty bourgeois: petty bourgeois intelligentsia 67. Omit: popular speech 68. the intelligentsia, the petty bourgeoisie: the petty bourgeois intelligentsia 69. have their arses: stand 70. people: many people 71. arses: standpoint
29. Marxism-Leninism: Marxism
30. Add: , that genuinely serves the proletariat.
31. using them as models [from which we may learn what to accept and what to reject]: critically assimilating whatever is benefi- cial and using them as examples
32. process works of literature and art as conceptualized forms: create works 110. literature and art: raw materials of literature and art 111. as models: as legacies and models 112. they are only models and not substitutes: they are legacies and models, and cannot in any way become substitutes for our own creative work
33. imitation, or substitution: or imitation 114. dead people: the ancients
34. Omit: of the same basic nature as dogmatism in military, poli- tical, philosophical, or economic affairs
35. devoting body and soul: devoting their entire energies to [Literally-with whole body and mind: with whole mind and will]
36. all literature and art in their natural form: all the raw material of literature and art 118. processing or creating: creating
37. Omit: where you integrate raw materials with production, the stage of study with the stage of creation
38. 2 0 • Q m it: since without raw materials or semi-processed goods you have nothing to process 121. will: you will
39. Although literature and art in their natural form are the sole source of literature and art in conceptualized form,: Although human social life is the sole source of literature and art, 191. deficient: quite deficient 192. discuss: concentrate on discussing 193. miscellaneous: specific 194. good or better, : good, 195. bad or worse.: bad. 196. his works: chiefly his works 197. works: the existence of works 198. Add: and repudiate
40. a methodology of artistic creation: methods of artistic creation and criticism
41. in every class society and in every class within that society,: in every class in every class society, 202. artistic quality [degree].: artistic achievement.
42. reject the reactionary political qualities of bourgeois works of literature and art and accept their artistic qualities only with discrimination.: distinguish between works of literature and art from past ages by first examining their attitude towards the people and whether they have any progressive significance in history, and determine their own attitude accordingly.
43. Omit: for example, fascist literature and art 205. highest: most perfect 206. with a harmful content: with mistaken political views 207. which is only concerned with content and not with form; : which only has correct political views but no artistic power;
44. among many of our comrades.: in the thinking of many of our comrades.
45. Add: , not in the abstract 210. has: only has 211. Omit: in the abstract,
46. Add: and the popular masses
47. the bourgeoisie and the petty bourgeoisie: the landlord class and the bourgeoisie
48. Add: . The human nature encouraged by a few members of the petty bourgeois intelligentsia is divorced from or opposed to the popular masses, and what they call human nature is in fact nothing but bourgeois individualism 215. Omit: so-called
49. Add: so-called
50. society has sentenced both to a common fate and integrated our two separate lives into one.: society has made them feel that they share a common fate with the proletariat. 218. split: divided
51. The ruling classes, Confucius, and even Tolstoy all upheld it,: All ruling classes in the past and many so-called sages and wise men have been fond of upholding it,
52. Classes cause splits within society,: Classes divide society into many opposing groups,
53. Omit: and unity restored 2 2 2 • Omit: fascists,
54. Add: and describes negative characters 224. shortcomings: descriptions
55. the science of history and historical materialism: scientific knowledge of history
56. Add: and the evil influence they have on people, 227. but these are chiefly a result of the rule exercised over them by aggressors, exploiters, and oppressors, so that our revolu- tionary writers and artists should expose them as evils for which aggressors, exploiters, and oppressors are responsible;: and these shortcomings should be overcome by criticism and self-criticism within the people's own ranks, and one of the most important tasks of literature and art is to carry out such criticism and self-criticism;
57. 9 * Omit: If we take the essay and the Lu Xun style just to mean satire, then this view is only correct when it applies to enemies of the people.
58. Add: and everything that harms the people 2 3 1 • Orait: a n d Special Branch 232. should not take: should not simply take 233. that the popular masses can't understand.: that isn T t easy for the popular masses to understand.
59. world and of history?: history, mankind, and the world? 242. the people: the proletariat 243. Omit: his sweetheart as well, plus 244. whether: how many of 245. or what are known as: , what is known in creative work as 246. "Studying: "To uphold the study of 247. Marxism-Leninism: Marxism 248. Omit: only
60. Marxism-Leninism: "Marxism" 250. Omit: three 251. foreign dogmatism: dogmatism
61. Omit: Of course, some people are even worse: on the organi- zational level, they join the Japanese party, Wang Jingwei f s party, or the Special Branch of the big bourgeoisie and big landlords party, but afterwards they also bore their way into the Communist party or Communist-led organizations, adver- tising themselves as "party members" and "revolutionaries." 253. the vast majority: the majority 254. put in order our internal affairs: put things in order 255. Omit: and the popular masses
62. our country, and our own heads.: and our country.
63. * Omit: directed towards the enemy, friends, comrades, and ourselves
64. base areas and nonbase areas,: revolutionary base areas and Nationalist-controlled areas, 260. base area: revolutionary base area 261. period of rule: period
65. Omit: workers, peasants, and soldiers, and 263. general rear: 'general rear T 264. is also changing: will also change 265. base areas: revolutionary base areas
66. Add: ; at least in China, as you know, it had a very great influence
67. join in with the masses and serve them; this process: join in with the masses and serve them, they must go through a pro- cess where each side gets to know the other. This process 268. Omit: workers, peasants, and soldiers, and 1. "Zai Yan T an wenyi zuotanhuishangde jianghua" [Talks at the Yan T an conference on literature and art], Jiefang ribao, 19 October 1943, p . 1,* This is the basic text for all editions up to February 1953. Unless otherwise noted, the title is the same in all subsequent editions.
68. Zai wenyi zuotanhuide jianghua-yinyan yu jielun [Talks at the Yan T an conference on literature and art-introduction and conclusion] (Yan T an: Jiefang she, October 1943). Cover title: "Wenyi wenti" [Problems of literature and a r t ] . The first four- teen pages of text are numbered 317-30; the remaining twenty- two pages are unnumbered. This edition is not listed in the Wenwu bibliography (see below).
69. Eighty-four single volume editions of the "Talks" under various titles published between October 1943 and March 1953 are listed with brief descriptions in Wenwu, no. 5 (May 1972), pp. 17 and 29; for more details, see the accompanying article by Qi Si from Peking Library, " T Zai Yan T an wenyi zuotanhuishangde jianghua' banben luetan" [A brief talk on the editions of "Talks at the Yan T an Conference on Literature and Art"], pp. 10-16.
70. In Zhengfeng wenxian [Rectification documents] (Yan T an: Xinhua shudian, 1945)*; rev. ed., 1946; rev. ed., 1949; rev. ed., 1950. I have not tried to determine the difference between these "editions." Most of the documents in this collection, which seems to have circulated widely in China, have been translated in Boyd Compton T s Mao's China: Party Reform Documents, 1942- 1944 (Seattle, 1950). Compton does not indicate which text he used, and there are undoubtedly more "editions" than the ones Asterisks are used to indicate works that I have personally seen and checked.
71. Literature, 1918-1942 (Cambridge, Mass., 1975). Fine transla- tions by Cyril Birch of a selection of Mao's poems have just been published in Literature of the People's Republic of China, ed. Kai-yu Hsu (Bloomington, Ind., 1980), pp. 373-76 and 843-44.
72. No. 2. The Cultural Revolution: 1967 in Review, four essays by Michel Oksenberg, Carl Riskin, Robert Scalapino, and Ezra Vogel. No. 3. Two Studies in Chinese Literature, by Li Chi and Dale Johnson.
73. Early Communist China: Two Studies, by Ronald Suleski and Daniel Bays.
74. No. 5. The Chinese Economy, ca. 1870-1911, by Albert Feuerwerker. No. 8. Two Twelfth Century Texts on Chinese Painting, by Robert J. Maeda.
75. No. 9. The Economy of Communist China, 1949-1969, by Chu-yuan Cheng. No. 10. Educated Youth and the Cultural Revolution in China, by Martin Singer.
76. No. 11. Premodern China: A Bibliographical Introduction, by Chun-shu Chang.
77. No. 12. Two Studies on Ming History, by Charles O. Hucker. No. 13. Nineteenth Century China: Five Imperialist Perspectives, selected by Dilip Basu, edited by Rhoads Murphey. No. 14. Modern China, 1840-1972: An Introduction to Sources and Research Aids, by Andrew J. Nathan.
78. No. 15. Women in China: Studies in Social Change and Feminism, edited by Marilyn B. Young.
79. No. 17. China 1 s Allocation of Fixed Capital Investment, 1952-1957, by Chu-yuan Cheng.
80. No. 18. Health, Conflict, and the Chinese Political System, by David M. Lampton. N o .
81. 9 . Chinese and Japanese Music-Dramas, e d i t e d b y J . I . Crump and William P. Malm.
82. No. 21. Rebellion in Nineteenth-Century China, by Albert Feuerwerker.
83. No. 22. Between Two Plenums: China f s Intraleadership Conflict, 1959-1962, by Ellis Joffe.
84. No. 23. "Proletarian Hegemony" in the Chinese Revolution and the Canton Commune of 1927, by S. Bernard Thomas.
85. No. 24. Chinese Communist Materials at the Bureau of Investigation Archives, Taiwan, by Peter Donovan, Garl E. Dorris, and Lawrence R. Sullivan.
86. No. 25. Shanghai Old-Style Banks (Ch'ien-chuang), 1800-1935, by Andrea Lee McElderry.
87. No. 26. The Si an Incident: A Pivotal Point in Modern Chinese History, by Tien-wei Wu.
88. No. 27. State and Society in Eighteenth-Century China: The Ch'ing Empire in Its Glory, by Albert Feuerwerker. No. 28. Intellectual Ferment for Political Reforms in Taiwan, 1971-1973, by Mab Huang.
89. No. 29. The Foreign Establishment in China in the Early Twentieth Century, by Albert Feuerwerker.
90. No. 31. Economic Trends in the Republic of China, 1912-1949, by Albert Feuerwerker.
91. No. 32. Chang Ch'un-ch'iao and Shanghai's January Revolution, by Andrew G. Walder.
92. No. 33. Central Documents and Politburo Politics in China, by Kenneth Lieberthal.
93. No. 34. The Ming Dynasty: Its Origins and Evolving Institutions, by Charles O. Hucker.
94. No. 35. Double Jeopardy: A Critique of Seven Yuan Courtroom Dramas, by Ching-hsi Perng.
95. No. 36. Chinese Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy in the 1970s, by Allen S. Whiting.
96. No. 37. Shanghai, 1925: Urban Nationalism and the Defense of Foreign Privilege, by Nicholas R. Clifford. No. 38. Voices from Afar: Modern Chinese Writers on Oppressed Peoples and Their Literature, by Irene Eber. No. 39. Mao Zedong's "Talks at the Yan'an Conference on Literature and Art": A Translation of the 1943 Text with Commentary, by Bonnie S. McDougall.

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