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arts/Joffre

Mao Zedong was a reader of Journey to the West. He was very familiar with the stories in the book and was good at using the stories in Journey to the West to illustrate things and principles. He often put his knowledge into practice. During his long revolutionary career, he made many insightful comments on the book. In his writings, talks, reports, and even poems, the stories and characters in the book were well edited, interspersed, and appropriately applied. Mao Zedong was the one who truly brought this classic to life.

Young people like to read Journey to the West

There is no evidence to prove when Mao Zedong started reading Journey to the West. From his and his classmates' memoirs, we know that during the period before he finished private school and entered the new-style primary school, one of his favorite books to read after helping his father with work at home was Journey to the West. It can be inferred that he read Journey to the West earlier than Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin. After he entered Dongshan Primary School, he read Journey to the West many times and became obsessed with it. In that era, Journey to the West was considered a "heretical book", and polite old gentlemen also called it a "miscellaneous book". People even thought it was a very bad thing for young people to read this book. There was a saying that old people should not read Romance of the Three Kingdoms and young people should not read Journey to the West. But the wonderful descriptions in Journey to the West deeply attracted Mao Zedong.

At Dongshan Primary School, after Mao Zedong finished studying scriptures and other courses, he often hid "Journey to the West" under the scriptures and read it secretly. According to Xiao San, Mao Zedong's classmate at Dongshan Primary School, Mao Zedong tried to find various books to read in order to satisfy his thirst for knowledge. Among these books, he particularly liked to read "Journey to the West". When reading this book, he was very diligent. He also marked circles and dots on each part, wrote comments, and recorded his experience at the time like a "regular class". He had a strong memory and remembered most of the characters and plots in the novel clearly. When telling stories to others, he could use them flexibly and make them vivid.

Young Mao Zedong also had a habit: folding characters from Journey to the West into small paper figures. He often folded Sun Wukong, Tang Monk, Zhu Bajie, etc. out of waste paper after class. This behavior was Mao Zedong's re-creation of the characters in Journey to the West, and also expressed the boy's initial understanding of gods, demons and spirits. The paper figures he folded may not be good-looking, but it was definitely a review and rereading of Journey to the West.

◆Mao Zedong when he was studying at Hunan Fourth Normal University.

Mao Zedong left Dongshan Primary School at the age of 14 to farm at home. During the day, he did a lot of hard work. At night, he kept accounts for his father. He was full of energy and still read until late at night. At that time, he read quite extensively. Among the books he read at that time, there was still "Journey to the West", and it was one of his favorite books. Mao Zedong's grandson Mao Xinyu has such a description: As long as the young Mao Zedong picked up "Journey to the West", he couldn't bear to put it down. He often read it with relish and had no sleep. His father Mao Shunsheng and mother Wen Qimei lived in the next room with his younger brother Mao Zetan. They often saw that there was still light in Mao Zedong's window, so they urged him to go to bed early. His mother was worried that he would stay up late for a long time and his body would collapse, so she urged him to go to bed quickly.

Despite this, Mao Zedong continued to read his books. Every night, he would sit under a small oil lamp and read until late at night. Many times, his parents had to urge him two or three times before he went to bed. In order to avoid his parents' urging, he often pretended to be asleep, but used the old blue flowered cloth sheet on his bed to cover the window to prevent the light from shining out. His father was a very shrewd man, and he could not hide any noise from him. Although he could not see the light, he could hear the rustling sound of his son turning pages. Once, he quietly got up from the bed, put on his clothes, walked outside, lifted the quilt that was covering him, and saw Mao Zedong still reading. Thinking that Mao Zedong was wasting lamp oil, he flew into a rage, rushed into his son's bedroom, snatched the book from Mao Zedong's hand, and said to Mao Zedong angrily: "How can you be so disobedient? You use up a lamp of tung oil from me in one night, which means hundreds of copper coins a month. If you go on like this, my family property may be lost in your hands!" Just as his father was about to lose his temper, Mao Zedong's mother, Wen, also came over. She stood between her husband and son and tried to calm the storm.

During the years when he was suspended from school, Mao Zedong stopped reading the "Four Books" and "Five Classics". Chinese classical novels became his main spiritual food. "Journey to the West" was his favorite book. He not only read the book repeatedly, but also had his own evaluation of the characters in the book. As a teenager, Mao Zedong believed that Tang Monk was kind-hearted and his will was extremely firm, and that Sun Wukong dared to think and act, and hated evil. He worked day and night and never tired of reading this book. The mythological stories and figurative descriptions in "Journey to the West" were undoubtedly a literary enlightenment education for the young Mao Zedong.

Go to "Penglai Fairy Island" to find the feeling

Young Mao Zedong was still very interested in "Journey to the West". He was born in Shaoshan, Hunan, and had never seen the sea until he was in his 20s. In the winter of 1918, young Mao Zedong went to Beijing to launch a movement to expel Hunan warlord Zhang Jingyao. Beijing is very close to Tianjin, so he took time to go to Tianjin to see the sea with his classmate Xiao San. But they didn't expect that the seashore here would also freeze in winter. According to Xiao San's recollection: They took the train to Dagukou, got off the train and walked to the seaside to see that the sea had frozen. So they made an appointment: the two of them walked to one side, circled it, and then returned to the original place to meet. Mao Zedong went west and Xiao San went east. But Mao Zedong came back late, and Xiao San waited for a long time and felt his feet were frozen. Xiao San asked him, where have you been? He smiled and said, I intend to find the "Penglai Fairy Island" in "Journey to the West", but I didn't find anything...

◆In 1939, Mao Zedong and Xiao San (right) at Yangjialing in Yan'an.

Young Mao Zedong did not know that he could not find the "Penglai Island" in "Journey to the West" in Tianjin, but his action showed how much influence "Journey to the West" had on him. He wanted to take this opportunity to go to the "Penglai Island" described in "Journey to the West" to get a feel for it.

In 1939, Xiao San returned to Yan'an from the Soviet Union to meet Mao Zedong. The two of them ate millet rice in Mao Zedong's cave and recalled the "trip" and smiled at each other. Not long after meeting Xiao San, Mao Zedong talked to people around him: At that time, I still believed in the Penglai Island written in "Journey to the West"... When I was eight years old, I believed in God very much. My father didn't believe in it, and my mother and I thought it was wrong and would bring bad luck to the family! Some people say that I didn't believe in God since I was a child, but that's wrong...

My favorite character is Sun Wukong in Journey to the West

In the summer of 1927, the Great Revolution was at a low ebb, and the CPC Central Committee had decided to launch an armed resistance against the KMT's massacre. Mao Zedong went from Hankou to Yang's family in Bancang, Hunan, to bid farewell to his wife Yang Kaihui and his three sons Mao Anying, Mao Anying, and Mao Anying, to lead the Autumn Harvest Uprising in Hunan. The future was dangerous and his life and death were uncertain, but Mao Zedong seemed very optimistic and relaxed, and full of confidence in the future of the revolution.

In the rare time he spent with his family, Mao Zedong told the children the story of Sun Wukong's havoc in the Heavenly Palace in Journey to the West. Mao Xinyu described this situation in My Uncle Mao Anying: When the mountain breeze blew, Mao Zedong's family sat on the wheat field. Mao Anying was still young, but Mao Anying and Mao Anying were already sensible, so they asked their father to tell a story. Mao Zedong asked the children what story they wanted to hear. Anying said it was about "Sun Wukong", and Anying said it would be a long story. So Mao Zedong told them the story of "Sun Wukong's havoc in the Heavenly Palace". Anying and Anying hurriedly sat on a small stool, leaned on their father's lap, and listened quietly. After listening to the story, the children were very happy. Anying picked up a piece of bamboo and danced in the moonlight: "I am Sun Wukong, I am Sun Wukong." Anying followed behind, shouting: "I want to be Sun Wukong." Little Anying, who was held in his arms, saw his brothers so happy and danced with joy.

◆The stage version of the Peking Opera movie “Havoc in Heaven”.

At this time, Mao Zedong told the children the story of "The Monkey King Makes Trouble in Heaven". In addition to the fact that he himself loved the Monkey King and felt that he was more charming and attractive to imaginative children, there was another meaning: In the face of powerful reactionary forces and under the high pressure of Chiang Kai-shek, the Communist Party of China must, like the Monkey King, dare to "make trouble in Heaven", take up arms and smash the old world.

Among the characters in Journey to the West, Sun Wukong was mentioned the most by Mao Zedong. From the armed resistance against the Kuomintang to the establishment of revolutionary bases, the character in Journey to the West that Mao Zedong liked to talk about the most was Sun Wukong. At that time, he highly praised Sun Wukong's fighting spirit. After Mao Zedong led the Red Army to Jinggang Mountain, facing the "enemy siege", Mao Zedong thought of the powerful Sun Wukong and said: "We must learn from Sun Wukong's skills, go to heaven and earth, change into various forms, make a big fuss in the Heavenly Palace, and overthrow the reactionary rule and the entire old society." During the Anti-Japanese War, Mao Zedong also often talked about Sun Wukong. He once said to Dong Biwu: "Sun Wukong made a big fuss in the Heavenly Palace and defeated the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals. We should learn from Sun Wukong and make a big fuss in the Heavenly Palace of the reactionary rulers..." In the late 1950s, facing the complex international situation, Mao Zedong seemed particularly calm and heroic. He once wrote the following poem: "The golden monkey raised his thousand-pound stick, and the Jade Sky cleared the dust. Today we cheer for Sun Dasheng, only because the evil fog has come again." He regarded Sun Wukong as a force representing light and justice. With this kind of power in the world, there will be fairness and justice in the world. Mao Zedong clearly affirmed: This kind of power is the power of the people. There are many Sun Xingzhe, and they are the people. The masses are the real driving force for the advancement of history.

Advocate a spirit in Journey to the West

The creation of bases, the Long March, and the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression were all difficult periods in Mao Zedong's revolutionary career. During this period, Mao Zedong had a deeper understanding of the "Journey to the West" that he was familiar with. He believed that the entire "Journey to the West" was permeated with a spirit, which was the spirit of Tang Monk's journey to the West. The connotation of this spirit was: after identifying a goal, move towards this goal with unyielding perseverance, and despite experiencing 81 difficulties, he remained as persistent as before. Mao Zedong believed that this spirit was the main vein (in today's words, the "main melody") throughout the book "Journey to the West". He combined this spirit that permeated the entire book "Journey to the West" with the consciousness, will, and character that Communists should have, combining the past and the present, and transformed it into the faith, will, perseverance, style, courage, and wisdom that the Communist Party of China should have under difficult circumstances, in order to inspire people, gather strength, and fight for a common cause.

◆During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Mao Zedong often talked about "Journey to the West" and called on the Communists to "learn from Sun Wukong and make a big fuss in the reactionary rulers' Heavenly Palace."

In the midst of hardships, Mao Zedong talked about the spirit of Tang Monk's journey to the West many times. During the difficult years in the Central Soviet Area, Mao Zedong talked to the Red Army cadres about how the Chinese Communist Party had to go through many difficult and tortuous processes to achieve the goal of overthrowing the three mountains, just like Tang Monk and his four disciples had to go through many difficult and tortuous processes to achieve the goal of obtaining the scriptures in the West. He highly appreciated the firm belief of Tang Monk and his four disciples in obtaining the scriptures in the West, and extended this persistent belief in the cause to revolutionary practice. He encouraged the Red Army cadres and soldiers to have firm beliefs, strong wills, and tenacious perseverance. During the Long March, Mao Zedong used the story of Tang Monk's journey to the West to encourage the Red Army on the Long March to have the spirit of struggle to not be afraid of hardships and dangers, to identify the goal and to move forward firmly. In Yan'an, he said: "Tang Monk went to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures with all his heart and soul. He suffered 81 hardships and never gave up. His direction was unwavering." After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, it was difficult to strive for domestic peace. Mao Zedong told the Communists and allies: "Tang Monk went to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures and had to endure 81 hardships. If we want to strive for peace, it will not be achieved overnight. We also need Tang Monk's unyielding and unwavering faith."

In difficult and tortuous moments, Mao Zedong not only talked about the determination of Tang Monk in Journey to the West, who was not afraid of setbacks, was determined to obtain the scriptures, and his determination became stronger after going through 81 difficulties, but also often talked about other characters in Journey to the West to compare the present and inspire cadres and soldiers to temper good character. He praised Sun Wukong for his fighting spirit of challenge and anti-authority, and his fearless spirit of being loyal to the cause of obtaining the scriptures and not afraid of any difficulties and obstacles. He praised Zhu Bajie for his hard work. He praised the down-to-earth, hard-working, and unconcerned fame and fortune of the White Dragon Horse. He said with deep feeling that since ancient times, anyone who can withstand great suffering is a person with lofty ambitions; a person with lofty ambitions must be a person with great ambitions; only those who set great ambitions can work hard; only those who work hard can achieve great things. He used the spirit of Tang Monk and his disciples to encourage Communists to strengthen their ideals and beliefs and to fight for their ideals and beliefs unswervingly.

Talking about the profound meaning of Journey to the West in Chongqing

Mao Zedong was not only familiar with Journey to the West, but also good at applying the stories in this book to the practice of struggle. In August 1945, during the Chongqing negotiations, Mao Zedong established friendships with many leaders of democratic parties. They talked together, very frankly and easily. They talked about everything, and the topics were very wide. However, Mao Zedong's conversation with them seemed casual, but it contained deep meaning. Once, Mao Zedong and a group of leaders of the Democratic League had dinner and chatted. Mao Zedong was in high spirits, quoted extensively, and talked for an hour. Mainly talking about Journey to the West. In the conversation, Mao Zedong especially praised Sun Wukong, saying that he was good at challenging, anti-authority, and had a fighting spirit. He also praised Sun Wukong for his contempt for norms, unrestrained and free love.

Mao Zedong's words were actually aimed at Chiang Kai-shek's dictatorship at the time. He used these words about the story of "Journey to the West" to express the Communist Party's dissatisfaction with Chiang Kai-shek's policies and also showed the Communist Party's attitude. The topic was about Sun Wukong, but they all hit the nail on the head and criticized the Kuomintang's fascist dictatorship. The leaders of the democratic parties were all very smart and politically experienced. They not only understood the deep meaning of Mao Zedong's story of "Journey to the West", but also agreed with the Communist Party's policies. They also supplemented the story of "Journey to the West" to express their trust and support for the Communist Party in this way. In Chongqing, the center of the Kuomintang's dictatorship at the time, Mao Zedong and the leaders of the democratic parties talked about "Journey to the West" and the story of Sun Wukong in a relaxed manner, using the ancient to illustrate the present, and painted a wonderful picture of contemporary political struggles. This can only be done by masters who can easily control the political situation.

Witty metaphors in Journey to the West

Mao Zedong often used people and events in Journey to the West to illustrate truths. His remarks were witty, humorous, and easy to understand and accept.

When encountering difficulties, Mao Zedong often said: "There is no Flaming Mountain that cannot be crossed!" This is a proverb he created after a deep understanding of the plot in "Journey to the West". During the Yan'an period, the guards around him recalled that Mao Zedong said in difficult times: "Okay! As long as we work together, there is no Flaming Mountain that cannot be crossed! I believe that the revolution will always succeed!" He used this proverb to express his full confidence in overcoming difficulties and achieving his career based on firm beliefs. Mao Zedong also often used this proverb to express his full confidence in the future of the revolution. He acknowledged the existence of the "Flaming Mountain" and firmly believed that we would definitely be able to cross the "Flaming Mountain". Dare to fight and dare to win. He has enough confidence: in front of the Communists, there are no difficulties that cannot be overcome, no difficulties that cannot be overcome, and no enemies that cannot be defeated. This is Mao Zedong's will and this is Mao Zedong's character.

When talking about the unity of party spirit and individuality, Mao Zedong used the characters in Journey to the West to explain. He compared Tang Monk and his disciples to a collective. This group has a common belief, which is their commonality and the "party spirit" of their group. But they all have their own personalities. This group is a unity of commonality and individuality. Mao Zedong said, "... their personalities are also typical. Tang Monk, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Monk, their personalities are different. The party spirit of their group is to believe in Buddhism", that is, to believe in Sakyamuniism. They all converted to Buddhism, believed in Buddhism, and had a clear understanding and definition of the nature of their team. This is the "party spirit" or "commonality" of the group that went to the West to seek Buddhist scriptures. Although the members of this group have different personalities, their "party spirit" maintains the cohesion of the group. Mao Zedong used this example to illustrate that within the Communist Party, there should be a unity of commonality (party spirit principle) and individuality. Every party member has his or her own personality, but every party member must firmly believe in communism and fight for the cause of communism. Only in this way can the party be united and march in step. Mao Zedong believed that the fundamental reason why Zhang Guotao was divisive was that he had problems with his party spirit. When analyzing Zhang Guotao's divisive behavior, he once said with emotion: "Who was the most determined when Tang Monk went to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures? Tang Monk. Who was the most wavering? Zhu Bajie." He said: Zhang Guotao "is Zhu Bajie on the Long March!"

In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong also cited the example of Tang Monk and his disciples in Journey to the West when summarizing the lessons of the destructive effects of Gao Gang and Rao Shushi's separatist behavior on the party organization. Bo Yibo recalled that Mao Zedong believed that Tang Monk's group "had a strong belief". "We must see that they have a strong belief. Tang Monk, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Monk Sha, they went to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures together. Although there was some disunity on the way, they helped each other and united, and finally overcame difficulties and obstacles, defeated demons and monsters, arrived in the West, obtained the scriptures, and became Buddhas." Mao Zedong even directly described Tang Monk's group as "a small party". "Although the sparrow is small, it has all the organs"; the experience of this "small party" is worth learning from. This "small party" has "party spirit", while Gao and Rao in our Communist Party do not, and they are not even as good as Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Monk Sha. Mao Zedong discovered the secret of the success of Tang Monk and his disciples' "small party": they have a common belief. When disunity occurred in our party, Mao Zedong used the success of the "small party" described in "Journey to the West" to aptly illustrate the "similar" problems of "our party" and profoundly clarified the basis of unity within the party.

Mao Zedong also drew on Journey to the West when he talked about the need for people to undergo training. He said: "Sun Wukong would have become even better if he had been trained in the Eight Trigrams Furnace of Taishang Laojun. Isn't Sun Wukong a very powerful figure? People call him the 'Great Sage Equaling Heaven', and he still had to be burned in the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Isn't that about training?" Mao Zedong meant to say that our comrades also need to undergo training in order to have higher consciousness and skills. Mao Zedong also quoted a story from the sixth chapter of Journey to the West, "Guanyin went to the meeting to ask the reason, the little saint used his power to subdue the great saint": "The great saint took the opportunity to roll down the cliff, and lay there and transformed into a land temple: his mouth opened wide, like a temple door, his teeth became door panels, his tongue became a bodhisattva, and his eyes became window frames. Only his tail was difficult to deal with, so it stood up behind him and turned into a flagpole." Mao Zedong used this story to satirize some intellectuals who were showing off their tails. He said: "When the intellectuals show off their tails, they are longer than Sun Wukong's tail. Sun Wukong performed 72 transformations, and finally turned his tail into a flagpole, so long. It's amazing when intellectuals show off their tails!" Sun Wukong's plan was discovered by Erlang Shen: "I have seen temples before, but I have never seen one with a flagpole standing at the back. It must be this beast making a fuss."

◆Books read by Mao Zedong.

When talking about the characters in Journey to the West, Mao Zedong always adopted a dialectical analysis attitude, with the aim of making the cadres understand more truths from it. Mao Zedong highly praised Tang Monk's firm belief and perseverance, and repeatedly used Tang Monk's spirit of seeking scriptures to inspire the fighting spirit of the whole party, but he also saw Tang Monk's weaknesses very clearly. The two lines of poetry "Monks are stupid and blind and can be taught, but monsters are ghosts and will inevitably cause disasters" are his evaluation of Tang Monk's weaknesses. He believed that Tang Monk could not distinguish between monsters and good people, and was a fool and a blind man. This practice of not distinguishing between enemies and friends would definitely cause great harm. He hoped that the majority of cadres would learn from Tang Monk's firm belief and will, but not from his "stupidity and blindness."

Mao Zedong also saw the weakness of his favorite character in Journey to the West, Sun Wukong - a bit of personal heroism. He hoped that the cadres of the Communist Party would learn from Sun Wukong's courage to fight and struggle, but this struggle should be a struggle within the Communist Party collective, not personal heroism.

Mao Zedong analyzed the relationship between eliminating evil and doing good in Journey to the West and formed the following understanding: eliminating evil is doing good. In the 28th chapter of Journey to the West, "The Monkeys Gather in Huaguo Mountain, Sanzang Meets the Demon in the Black Pine Forest", it is written that Sun Wukong returned to Huaguo Mountain and beat more than a thousand intruders to a bloody mess, clapping his hands and laughing, saying, "Happy! Since I surrendered to Tang Monk, he always advised me, 'Do good for a thousand days, and the good is still not enough. Do evil for a day, and the evil is always more than enough.' This is indeed true. I followed him to kill a few monsters, and he blamed me for committing crimes. Today, I came home and killed so many people." When Mao Zedong read this paragraph, he used " ” next to Sun Wukong's words. The pencil annotation says: "'Do good for a thousand days, and the good is still not enough. Do evil for one day, and the evil is always more than enough.' This is the idea of ​​a hypocrite. Sun Wukong's idea is the opposite. He does not believe in this, that is, the author Wu Chengen does not believe in this. His doing good is to eliminate evil. His eliminating evil is to do good. The so-called 'this is indeed true' is understood in this way." The "hypocrite" mentioned in Mao Zedong's annotation refers to the philosophy of life that "you are good, I am good, and he is good", does not ask right and wrong, and does not offend anyone. It is commonly described as a "good-for-nothing". The ancients also believed that the "good-for-nothing" who does not offend anyone is actually not good. "The Analects of Confucius·Yang Hu" said: "Hypocrite is the thief of virtue." This means that this kind of "good-for-nothing" is not virtuous, but fake virtue, which harms and damages virtue. The words and deeds of Tang Monk in "Journey to the West" are typical examples of hypocrisy. Mao Zedong opposed Tang Monk to be a good-for-nothing and praised Sun Wukong for eliminating evil and seeking good.