Conventions
This is not a book to read straight through. It is arranged by theme: each of the thirty-three chapters stands on its own, and you may enter at any one.
Every entry carries a 'source' - the title and date of the original speech or article. To verify the original, follow the reference.
The right-hand panel is the 'historical background': the situation in which an entry was said and to whom. Without the background, many sentences are misread.
To see the English, use the toggle at bottom right. The English comes from the 1966 Peking Foreign Languages Press edition. Twelve chapters have a different English entry count from the Chinese; those chapters are flagged - do not read them as a line-by-line match.
Editions
Chinese basePLA General Political Dept., 1966 revised edition (Lin Biao preface), 33 ch. / 411
Traditional displayRegenerated from the base via OpenCC s2t + variant map (2026-09-24), 33 ch. / 411
English editionPeking Foreign Languages Press, 1st English ed., 1966 (33 ch. / 422)
AlignmentPaired by position (ch. N item i <-> ch. N item i); no shift-guessing
Where to start
- First read: Chapters 3 (Socialism and communism), 17 (Serve the people) and 22 (Methods of thinking and work) - the three most often quoted.
- For methodology: Chapters 22 and 23 are the longest and most re-quoted.
- For the military: Chapters 5-9 run from the view of war to people's war.
- For conduct: Chapters 17, 19, 20, 21 on service, heroism, thrift and self-reliance.
Glossary
paper tigerA force that looks frightening but is hollow inside. The book uses it for imperialism and reaction, emphasising 'despise strategically, take seriously tactically'.
revisionismA term the book uses to accuse deviations from what it takes to be the fundamentals; a word from the 1960s intra-communist debates.
imperialismThe expanding, oppressing powers the book points to. The concept comes from Lenin's 'Imperialism' (1917).
contradictions among the peopleA class of contradictions the book separates out in Chapter 4: disagreements on the basis of a fundamental community of interest, to be settled by discussion, criticism and persuasion rather than dictatorship.
guerrilla warWarfare by small mobile units. The book raises it to a strategic level, paired with regular war in people's war.
people's warA form of war relying on broad popular participation and base areas - the core military concept of the book.
mass line'From the masses, to the masses': concentrate scattered opinions, then return them to the masses for action and testing.
rectificationThe inner-Party ideological cleanup launched in 1942 against subjectivism, sectarianism and stereotyped Party writing.
stereotyped Party writingA style the book criticises: empty verbiage, nothing said, no sense of audience.
subjectivismJudging from subjective imagination rather than objective reality; treated as a main source of error.
dogmatismApplying theory as a dead formula without concrete reality.
empiricismActing only on local experience and refusing theoretical guidance; criticised alongside dogmatism.
commandismGetting things done by order without persuasion; explicitly opposed in Chapter 29.
united frontThe tactic of uniting all who can be united to concentrate on the principal enemy.
three democraciesThe army democracy proposed in Chapter 15: political, economic and military.
people's democratic dictatorshipThe 1949 formulation of the state form: democracy for the people, dictatorship over reaction.
supply systemA needs-based distribution of livelihood goods without wages; mentioned in Chapter 20.
red and expertBeing strong in both political stand and professional skill; see the book's writings on intellectuals.
investigation and researchThe working method of going to reality to gather material before judging. Chapter 23 is devoted to it.
criticism and self-criticismThe basic method of inner-Party correction: point out others' problems, and examine oneself publicly. Chapter 27.
self-relianceThe policy of relying on one's own strength. Chapter 21.
hard struggleThe style of persisting through material hardship, paired with self-reliance.
contradictionThe unity of opposites within a thing. Heavily used in Chapter 22.
practiceHuman activity remaking the objective world. The book holds that knowledge comes from practice and is tested by it.
Famous lines
- Imperialism and all reactionaries are paper tigers —— Chapter 6 title, and the most widely circulated line in the book.
- No investigation, no right to speak —— Chapter 23. Stresses that conclusions must follow investigation.
- Serve the people —— Chapter 17 title, from the 8 Sept 1944 eulogy for Zhang Side.
- Policy and tactics are the life of the Party —— End of Chapter 1; execution-level policy cannot be sloppy.
- A single spark can start a prairie fire —— Describes how a small base area can grow into a large situation.
- The masses are the true heroes —— Chapter 11. The practitioner's knowledge precedes book knowledge.
- Modesty helps one to progress, conceit makes one lag behind —— A caution about the attitude to learning.
- Self-reliance and hard struggle —— Chapter 21 title.
- Criticism and self-criticism —— Chapter 27 title, the basic method of inner-Party correction.