Chapter 34 What should I study at Kangda University?[1]

(April 9, 1938) All students do not shy away from hardships, travel far and wide to come here to study, this kind of spirit, this kind of determination is very good.We don't know each other, but it can be said that we all know each other, because we are on the same front politically, politically and spiritually, we are connected and know each other.The time you study here is very short, only a few months, and you can’t learn much, unlike other universities where you can study for many years, but you can learn one thing, one very important thing, that is, to learn a purpose, this The purpose is the purpose of the entire Chinese nation in the whole country - to resist Japan and save the nation.This is the general policy of our school, and it is also the request of the people of the whole country.Specifically, you should learn the following things here:

First, first of all, learn a political direction.There can be many different political orientations, and you must learn a correct political orientation, which is the correct political orientation for fighting Japan, how to fight Japan, and why Japanese imperialism will surely be overthrown.Secondly, we must learn a work style that achieves and completes this political direction—the work style of hard work.This style of work is necessary to achieve and complete the above political direction.Again, it is necessary to learn some strategies and tactics.The Anti-Japanese University is a military school, and one must learn to be a soldier and learn some military skills.Soldiers are created by ordinary people. If everyone refuses to be soldiers, Japanese imperialism cannot be defeated; only when the majority of ordinary people are willing to become soldiers can Japanese imperialism be defeated.So you have to learn to be a soldier, learn military affairs, and learn strategies and tactics—flexible strategies and tactics.Our strategy and tactics here are not rigid, but flexible. No matter what method the enemy uses to attack, we have a way to deal with it.Using flexible strategies and tactics, we can defeat the enemy when his skills are exhausted.In short, here you have to learn a firm and correct political direction, a work style of hard work, and flexible strategies and tactics.With these three things, we can finally defeat the enemy.This is number one.

Second, you must learn to be cadres here.Cadres alone cannot defeat the enemy, nor can the enemy be defeated without cadres.Cadres are required to mobilize and organize the broad masses of the people, turning tens of thousands of people into organized troops; without organization, there will be no strength to defeat Japanese imperialism, and it is impossible without such vast organized troops.You must mobilize and organize the people, both in the front and in the rear, and organize them politically and militarily.Japan has a small population and China has a large population, but it can bully us because our people are not well organized, and so far they are still not organized enough.You must firmly grasp the correct political direction, spread this political direction to the broad masses of the people through you, educate them, and organize them.Because in fact it is impossible to get all the people of the whole country to come here to study, but you can rely on you to tell the people of the whole country this political direction during your work in the future, so that they can all understand how China can and will definitely defeat the enemy, and make this political direction become the goal of the people of the whole country. political direction.At the same time, you must also spread the work style of hard work, so that the general public can unwaveringly fight against any difficulties.Like eating millet here and climbing Qingliang Mountain, it can also be said to be a kind of hard work. It is for you to change your weak style of hard work and have a little "strength". But still stood up and moved forward.It is not enough for you to have this style of work. The people of the whole country must have this style of work.There is a thing on our journey, its name is "difficulty". We tell it that we are trained from the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, and we are not afraid of you! It says that it has great abilities and can make us have no clothes to wear. We are not afraid; it can make us starve, we are not afraid.It says it still has planes, cannons, tanks, but none of us are afraid.We overcame all the difficulties, and asked if there was any more, and it said no, so we had to hand in our guns.This is how we are going to defeat Japanese imperialism! You must educate the people of the whole country so that they are not afraid of difficulties and can overcome them. By doing so, Japanese imperialism will surely be overthrown.You must educate the general public with flexible strategies and tactics so that they all know and know how to fight Japan.It is up to you cadres to organize and train the people of the whole country.So second, you must learn to be cadres.

Third, you have to make a resolution.You have come to Yan'an to study hard from far away places, I think you have already made up your mind.What kind of determination is there? Yan'an has no chance to get promoted and make a fortune. You came here not to get promoted or to get rich, so why come here from a long distance? Undoubtedly, it is to resist Japan and save the country, so you have the determination to resist Japan and save the country.You want to learn how to resist Japan and save the nation, and we want to help you complete it.But some people only have a "probable" determination. The so-called "probably" means that it may be a little vague, not very firm and thorough.Among them, it is inevitable that some people followed others because they saw others coming, without thorough understanding and determination.This means that their determination is not based on a firm political direction, but is not well thought out.Today we are here to climb the mountain and eat small rice. It is not a great difficulty. There are much more difficulties ahead. You must know that airplanes and cannons have no eyes.Now, although the Japanese invading army has been defeated in Lunan, it is likely that they will come again.They robbed our Shanghai and Nanjing, and tried to occupy our Tongguan and even Wuhan. Now the enemy army in Shanxi has captured Linfen and reached Fenglingdu.If Japanese imperialism is a wild ox, then our Chinese army of tens of thousands in Shanxi is dragging its tail behind the ox to prevent it from going south.For example, our Eighth Route Army, in the enemy's rear, has difficulties in providing relief, with planes on board and cannons on the ground, but under such difficult circumstances, it still has to drag its tail and continuously attack the enemy.When you set off from various places, some of you thought about it, and I'm afraid some of you didn't think about the hardships in Yan'an. In other places, there are fish, meat and rice, but here there is only rice, and you have to climb Qingliang Mountain.Now you have the determination to eat rice and climb Qingliang Mountain, but in the future you still have to "drag the ox's tail". There are still many difficulties in the journey of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and you have to make an even greater determination - not afraid of any hardship The determination to move forward! The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression is a protracted war, and it cannot be resolved in a year or a half. Moreover, a new China will be built in the future.I think you all have no beards. People without beards are called young people. Young people are courageous, but when you grow beards (of course lesbians don’t grow beards), you will die when you are old. Don't waver, don't back down.The process of revolution is like sailing a boat on a turbulent river, and the cowardly will often waver and be at a loss.There are people in history who waver and retreat when encountering difficulties in the great tide of revolution. I hope there are no such people among you. You must never shrink back for the liberation of the Chinese nation and the construction of a new China. Go forward bravely and be resolute Fight to the end for the 450 million compatriots in the country! Not for yourself, but for the 450 million compatriots in the country, not for your own family, but for the family of the 450 million compatriots, sacrifice everything .So the first resolution is to sacrifice promotion, the second resolution is to sacrifice to get rich, and the third is to make the final resolution to sacrifice your own life! Now you sacrifice the initial resolution to get promoted, get rich, eat rice, and climb Qingliang Mountain Yes, but it is not enough without the final determination. You must also have the determination to sacrifice yourselves and contribute your life for the 450 million compatriots!

Published based on the transcript of the speech kept by the Central Archives. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Note [1] This is Mao Zedong's speech at the opening ceremony of the third brigade of the fourth phase of Yan'an Anti-Japanese Military and Political University.