Mao Zedong’s Thinking and Guidance on Newspaper Work during the Anti-Japanese War
Newspaper work is an important part of the party’s ideological propaganda work. During the Anti-Japanese War, under the correct leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Party’s newspaper work made great progress. According to incomplete statistics, from 1937 to 1939 alone, there were 330 kinds of newspapers and periodicals in the four major anti-Japanese base areas in North China. Newspapers and periodicals have become an important public opinion position to publicize the party’s anti-Japanese proposition, mobilize the general public and consolidate and expand the anti-Japanese national United front.
Mao Zedong attached great importance to the work of newspapers and periodicals, and clearly pointed out the role and strength of newspapers and periodicals, "because it can make the party’s program, line, principles and policies, tasks and working methods meet the masses most quickly and extensively". During the Anti-Japanese War, Mao Zedong thought deeply about the Party’s newspaper work, and gave guidance on how to do it well many times. These thoughts and guidance are also of great enlightenment and reference significance for us to do related work well today.
First, we should regard newspaper work as a weapon to organize all work.
Newspaper work is of great significance to the cause of the party. Mao Zedong pointed out that "newspapers are the most powerful tool for the Party’s propaganda and agitation work, and they contact and influence hundreds of thousands of people every day. Therefore, running newspapers well is a central task of the Party". Mao Zedong clearly regards newspaper work as an important part of cultural work and superstructure by applying Marxist theory on the relationship between economic base and superstructure, and "a certain culture … is a reflection of the politics and economy of a certain society, which has a great influence and function on the politics and economy of a certain society". Therefore, from this perspective, newspaper work is not only an important part of the party’s cultural work, but also an important way and powerful weapon to promote political and economic work.
In March 1944, Mao Zedong pointed out in his speech at the propaganda work conference held by the the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Propaganda Committee: "We should take newspapers in our own hands as a weapon to organize all work, a weapon to reflect and guide politics, military affairs and economy, and a weapon to organize and educate the masses. We should pay great attention to this work and make it progress year by year. " "Now the heads of various organs are responsible and regard the newspaper as their own good way of working. We have a lot of political and economic work, and if we run newspapers well, we can make these work better. " He also took the revised Liberation Daily as an example to illustrate the significance of newspaper work. He pointed out that the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region is a sparsely populated and vast region with relatively backward economy and culture. Without newspapers, it is quite difficult to carry out the work smoothly, and "a Liberation Daily can organize the political and cultural life of the entire border region".
Mao Zedong has repeatedly given specific guidance on how to make full use of newspapers and periodicals to promote various work. In March 1942, at the symposium on the revision of Jiefang Daily, Mao Zedong proposed that "using Jiefang Daily should be one of the regular businesses of various organs. After newspapers spread the experience of one department, we can promote the transformation of other departments’ work … We must make good use of newspapers ". On September 15th, Mao Zedong pointed out in a letter to Kaifeng about newspapers and translation work that comrades in all departments of the central government should further improve their awareness of "using newspapers to do their work" and must "regard newspapers as their extremely important weapons". On September 22nd, Liberation Daily published an editorial, Party and Party Newspaper. The editorial pointed out that "active use of newspapers is a big problem and an important part of improving our work, which is a problem that our whole party should pay attention to." Leading organs at all levels and working departments of the party must make full use of newspapers to publicize and explain the party’s principles and policies and make full use of newspapers to carry out work and inspection. In March 1943, Mao Zedong pointed out in the Politburo meeting of the Chinese Communist Party that "newspapers are a very important way. Central comrades should be good at using newspapers and spend half their time on them. " Obviously, Mao Zedong regards newspapers and periodicals as an important way and tool for the Party to publicize policies and promote work, and it is also an important starting point for leading cadres to pay full attention to and use them. Therefore, doing a good job in newspapers and periodicals is of positive significance to promoting all the work of the party.
Two, the newspaper work should be "completely in line with the party’s policy"
It is the fundamental principle of the party’s newspaper work to adhere to the principle of party spirit and to insist that the party newspaper bears the name of the party. The party’s newspaper work must obey the party’s leadership, serve the overall situation of the party’s work, and conform to the party’s principles and policies. During the Anti-Japanese War, Mao Zedong attached great importance to the issue of upholding the principle of party spirit in party newspapers and periodicals, and always stressed that the party’s newspaper propaganda must be subordinate to the party’s work and policies.
(1) The work of newspapers and periodicals should serve the overall situation of the Party’s work. Newspapers and periodicals are an integral part of the Party’s work and must serve the Party’s central work and overall situation. In October, 1939, Mao Zedong put forward that the purpose of founding communist party People was to "help build a Bolshevized the Communist Party of China (CPC) with nationwide, broad masses and complete ideological, political and organizational consolidation", and clearly pointed out that the mission of communist party People was to serve the great project of party building. In February, 1940, he pointed out in "The China Workers" that the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s political and organizational task is to unite all forces that can be United to oppose the class oppression of imperialism and feudalism, overthrow their rule and create a new democratic China, and "The China Workers" was published for this task. In the same month, in an article commemorating the first anniversary of the revision of New China Newspaper in Yan ‘an, Mao Zedong proposed that the political direction of New China Newspaper in the second year "is to emphasize unity and progress, so as to oppose all the cigar smoke that harms the Anti-Japanese War, with a view to further victory in the anti-Japanese cause". This political direction is completely consistent with the policy of "resistance, unity and progress" put forward by the party at the second anniversary of the Anti-Japanese War in 1939.
In May, 1941, Mao Zedong mentioned the mission of newspapers and periodicals in the Preface of Liberation Daily. He pointed out that "Liberation Daily" should be subordinate to the cause of the party, therefore, "what is the mission of this newspaper? Uniting the people of the whole country to defeat Japanese imperialism is enough. " In 1942, the rectification movement began, which was a far-reaching and party-wide Marxist educational practice carried out by our party during the Anti-Japanese War. During the movement, newspapers and periodicals, as an important tool and platform, became an important channel for the party to carry out ideological education.
In September 1941, the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee made a decision, and the Liberation Daily was expanded from two pages to four pages from September 16, and at the same time, the propaganda against subjectivism and sectarianism was added to the content. In April 1942, Mao Zedong pointed out at the meeting of the Central Learning Group that the publicity and education materials of the rectification movement should be widely disseminated by newspapers such as Liberation Daily. He believes that under the situation that the whole world is at war, there must be news of war, but less news can be published, while more publicity and education materials should be published. During the whole rectification movement, Party newspapers and periodicals played an important role in publicizing the Party’s relevant policies and carrying out rectification work, which became a vivid example of the Party’s newspaper work serving the Party’s cause during the Anti-Japanese War.
(2) Newspaper propaganda should serve the Party’s policies. During the Anti-Japanese War, the party’s principles and policies were adjusted with the changes of the situation, and the party’s newspaper work must be highly consistent with the party’s policies. This point is more prominent in the unity and struggle between the party and the Kuomintang and the efforts to safeguard the overall situation of the war of resistance.
After the Anti-Japanese War entered the stalemate stage, the Kuomintang die-hards began to destroy the United front and create friction more blatantly under the Japanese policy of inducing surrender. Starting from the overall situation of the Anti-Japanese War, the Communist Party of China (CPC) not only fought back against the Kuomintang’s efforts to strive for unity and maintain the United front, but also resolutely responded to its friction and anti-communist upsurge. Under such circumstances, the party’s newspaper work must follow the changes of the party’s principles and policies in time to ensure that it can correctly and effectively serve the overall cause of the party.
In October 1938, just after the Anti-Japanese War entered the stalemate stage, Mao Zedong profoundly pointed out that under the new anti-Japanese war situation, "the first task of the whole nation is to highly develop national self-esteem and self-confidence, overcome the pessimism of some people, resolutely support the government’s policy of continuing the anti-Japanese war, oppose any attempt to surrender and compromise, and persist in the anti-Japanese war to the end". "To this end, we must mobilize newspapers, publications, schools, propaganda groups, cultural and artistic groups, military and political organs, mass organizations, and all other possible forces to make extensive propaganda and agitation to front-line officers and soldiers, rear garrison troops, people in occupied areas, and the people of the whole country, firmly and systematically implement this policy, advocate the war of resistance to the end, oppose capitulation and compromise, clean up pessimism, and repeatedly point out the possibility and inevitability of final victory. There is only a way out in the war of resistance, calling on the whole nation to unite, not afraid of difficulties and sacrifices. We must be free, and we must win, so as to achieve the goal of continuing the war of resistance unanimously throughout the country. "
At the beginning of 1941, the Kuomintang die-hards created the Southern Anhui Incident, which shocked China and foreign countries, and launched the second anti-communist climax. The Communist Party of China (CPC) attached great importance to the overall situation of the Anti-Japanese War, strictly defended himself militarily, and resolutely fought back politically. By publishing a large number of facts, he exposed the plot of the Kuomintang to undermine the Anti-Japanese War, and with the support of progressive forces from all sides, he finally quickly repelled the anti-communist climax of the Kuomintang. After repelling the anti-communist upsurge of the Kuomintang, the Communist Party of China (CPC) paid attention to easing the propaganda struggle against the Kuomintang from the perspective of maintaining the overall situation of the Anti-Japanese War.
In September 1942, Mao Zedong pointed out in a telegram to Chen Yi, acting secretary of the Central China Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and acting commander of the New Fourth Army, that the situation began to turn to resume negotiations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, which led to a better relationship between the two sides, and then restored the legal status of the New Fourth Army in order to unite the period of the Anti-Japanese War. Mao Zedong demanded that we should pay close attention to the guidance of newspapers and periodicals in northern Jiangsu, and "ensure that their propaganda is subject to the Party’s current policies".
However, in the spring of 1943, the Kuomintang die-hards launched the third anti-communist climax, and launched a propaganda offensive by the dissolution of the Communist International in May, demanding the dissolution of communist party and advocating fascism. In this regard, the Communist Party of China (CPC) resolutely refuted and hit back. From July to October, 1943, Mao Zedong repeatedly gave instructions on using public opinion propaganda to counter the Kuomintang die-hards, with special emphasis on giving full play to the role of newspapers and periodicals, and instructed Xinhua Daily, The Mass and other newspapers and periodicals to "publish more anti-fascist articles in order to carry out ideological struggle".
Under the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s resolute counterattack, and public opinion at home and abroad generally demanded that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party cooperate and jointly resist Japan, after mid-September 1943, the anti-communist propaganda of the Kuomintang obviously weakened, and the anti-communist climax and public opinion attacks of the Kuomintang die-hards were repelled. In this case, Mao Zedong promptly instructed the relevant newspapers and periodicals to "temporarily stop publishing the remarks exposing the Kuomintang as a sign of easing, and see if the Kuomintang has a political solution and a tendency to ease the current situation", and at the same time asked Xinhua News Agency to stop publishing "articles exposing the Kuomintang" in an effort to safeguard the overall situation of unity and the war of resistance.
(3) Improve the level of the Party’s leadership over the work of newspapers and periodicals. Newspapers and periodicals are the mouthpiece of the party. To give full play to the role of newspapers and periodicals in serving the party’s cause and policies, we must strengthen the party’s leadership over the work of newspapers and periodicals, strive to improve the level of the party’s leadership over the work of newspapers and periodicals, and especially improve the political literacy and discipline awareness of the party’s newspaper staff. On October 28th, 1942, Mao Zedong pointed out in his instructions to the central bureaus and sub-bureaus drafted for the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee that "the local central bureaus and sub-bureaus paid little attention to the work of local news agencies and newspapers, lacked guidance to propagandists and propaganda work, and did not realize the great role of news agencies and newspapers as propagandists and organizers of revolutionary policies and revolutionary work, and did not understand that many of the work of leaders should be done through newspapers". He urged all localities to "correct the past habit of not discussing news policies and editorial guidelines, pay close attention to the leadership of news agencies and newspapers, ensure that their propaganda fully conforms to the party’s policies, and ensure that our propaganda strengthens party spirit", and "educate our propagandists with many documents published by Liberation Daily on how to strengthen the party spirit of newspapers, and overcome the wrong tendency of making independence among propagandists". On the same day, he also stressed in a telegram to Lin Feng, secretary of the Jinsui Branch of the Central Committee that "the news policy and editorial policy of the whole news agency and newspaper office must be constantly paid attention to and mastered by the branch to make our propaganda fully conform to the party’s policy."
Third, the party’s newspapers and periodicals should adhere to seeking truth from facts and oppose subjectivism.
Seeking truth from facts is the fundamental viewpoint of Marxism, the fundamental requirement for the Communist Party of China (CPC) people to understand and transform the world, and the basic thinking method, working method and leadership method of our party. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, Mao Zedong combined the basic principles of Marxism with the concrete reality of the China Revolution, emphasizing that communist party should "eat by Marxism–Leninism’s truth, seek truth from facts and eat by science". This requirement also runs through Mao Zedong’s thinking and guidance on doing a good job in the Party’s newspapers and periodicals.
(1) We must persist in investigation and study in the work of newspapers and periodicals. No investigation, no right to speak. Investigation and research is the basic requirement of seeking truth from facts, and it is also the basic skill for us to do a good job. Mao Zedong pointed out, "People who do propaganda work can never give a lecture without investigating, researching and analyzing their target audience.". Newspapers and periodicals should publish more articles for solid investigation and study, and advocate the style of seeking truth from facts. He clearly opposed the practice of "no investigation, no research" and "hard writing" directly, thinking that it was a very irresponsible attitude.
On September 14th and 15th, 1941, Liberation Daily published an investigation report "Lu Zhongcai’s Long March" written by Gao Kelin, then secretary-general of the Party Committee of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. This paper is the result of Gao Kelin’s in-depth practice and investigation, and describes the story of Lu Zhongcai leading a transport team to the "trilateral" areas (Anbian, Jingbian and Dingbian) belonging to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region for long-distance salt transportation. Mao Zedong wrote a note specially for this article, pointing out that "this is a report reflecting the actual situation with concise words" and "Comrade Gao Kelin’s report was written after a three-person investigation meeting in one night. His investigation meeting was very good and his report was well written. What we need is this kind of thing, not those stereotyped’ rhetoric’, not those stereotyped party writing. " In his opinion, this article is a model of persisting in investigation and study and reflecting the actual situation, which is completely different from those articles written by Wan Li who are far from the point, as well as those articles that are full of rhetoric, so it is worth studying carefully.
(2) Newspapers and periodicals should resolutely oppose subjectivism and stereotyped Party writing. The job of newspapers and periodicals is propaganda, but the basis of propaganda is facts. Newspapers and periodicals must resolutely oppose all unrealistic subjectivism and stereotyped Party writing if they rely on facts. Stereotyped Party writing is a style of writing that is divorced from reality, flashy and formalistic, and a manifestation of subjectivism. In 1942, Mao Zedong elaborated on eight counts of stereotyped Party writing in his famous article "Opposing Stereotyped Party Writing", including "empty talk, nothing to say", "putting on airs to scare people", "shooting at the target without looking at the object" and "tasteless language, like a beggar". He pointed out that some people in the party like to write long articles, but they only have form and no content, just like the foot-binding of a lazy woman, which is smelly and long. This long article with nothing to say must be cleaned up first. He called for "foreign stereotyped writing must be abolished, empty and abstract U-turns must be sung less, dogmatism must rest, and replaced by fresh and lively China style and China style that are loved by China people". In March 1942, the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee formulated the Notice on Reforming Party Newspapers according to Mao Zedong’s opinion, which pointed out that "the words of party newspapers in various places should be popular and concise, so that they can be read not only by ordinary cadres, but also by people with a little education". This further concretizes the demand against stereotyped Party writing.
(3) Newspapers and periodicals should publicize materialism and materialist dialectics. Mao Zedong pointed out that some people in the party "think they believe in Marxism, but they don’t try to publicize materialism, and they don’t think about what is subjective after listening to or watching it, and they don’t make comments. This attitude is not the attitude of Communist party member ". Mao Zedong put forward that "if we want to oppose subjectivism, we should publicize materialism and materialist dialectics" and "we should publish more articles in newspapers, reward articles on dialectical materialism and oppose subjectivism". He further demanded that materialist dialectics should be carried out in the work of newspapers and periodicals to get rid of the influence of subjectivism. In his view, if we can’t adhere to materialist dialectics well and don’t conduct in-depth analysis and research, the conclusion will be too simplistic, either absolutely positive or absolutely negative. "The lack of analytical articles in our newspapers and the fact that the habit of analysis within the Party has not been fully developed all indicate the existence of this problem. This situation should be improved in the future, and the way to improve it is to use Marxism and "make a concrete analysis of specific situations."
Fourth, running newspapers and periodicals well depends on the joint efforts of the whole party and the masses
The party’s newspaper work is a part of the party’s cause and needs the efforts of the whole party; For the sake of the masses, the party’s newspaper work should also fully rely on the masses. Mao Zedong believes that to do a good job in newspapers and periodicals, we should not only rely on the joint efforts of all party member, but also practice the mass line and rely on the masses to do a good job in newspapers and periodicals.
(a) adhere to the "whole party newspaper". In order to promote the development of the party’s newspaper work, Mao Zedong emphasized that the whole party should be mobilized to participate in the newspaper work. In 1942, the editorial "Party and Party Newspaper" of Liberation Daily pointed out that "not only the higher authorities of the party newspaper … have the responsibility to have the closest relationship with the newspaper and provide it with various guidance, materials, articles and opinions, but also the party organs at all levels, organizations at all levels and even every party member are responsible for the party newspaper". What is this responsibility? That is, reading party newspapers frequently, including studying and discussing important articles and conversations in party newspapers; Help the party newspaper to carry out editing and distribution work, including helping the party newspaper to assemble manuscripts, participating in the party newspaper newsletter, and actively promoting the party newspaper.
Mao Zedong believes that only by mobilizing all Party comrades to participate in running a newspaper can a party newspaper truly become a party newspaper, otherwise, it will be more or less just a newspaper owned by its colleagues. Taking the wall newspaper as an example, he pointed out that the wall newspaper is also a kind of newspaper. If there are 100 people in a catering unit, a wall newspaper can be published. "In this way, there can be thousands of newspapers in the whole border area, which is called running a newspaper by the whole party."
Mao Zedong also actively mobilized the party’s leading cadres to write articles for newspapers and support their work. In May 1941, in the notice about the publication of Liberation Daily, Mao Zedong asked the leading comrades of the Central Committee and important cadres of the Party to write editorials for Liberation Daily. In September, at the enlarged meeting in the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, he also pointed out that "comrades working in various ministries and commissions of the Central Committee should write more articles for Liberation Daily to explain the Party’s policies and introduce their work experience, so as to truly become the organ of the whole Party reflecting the actual leadership work". In January, 1942, he pointed out in Politburo meeting of the Chinese Communist Party that the newspaper should assign topics to the central leading comrades to write social reviews and monographs, and at the same time, "the central ministries and commissions should organize their own news and write press releases and commentaries". In September 1942, after the Liberation Daily was expanded from two pages to four pages, there were often insufficient manuscripts, especially the fourth edition with strong theory. In this regard, Mao Zedong personally drafted the method of soliciting contributions for the fourth edition of Liberation Daily, and asked Deng Fa, Peng Zhen, Wu Yuzhang, Cai Chang, Fan Wenlan and others to be responsible for soliciting contributions, ranging from 5,000 words to 12,000 words per person per month. He also specifically requested that "all comrades should choose and revise the manuscripts they are responsible for, so as to ensure that there is no problem in thinking, the words are fluent, and strive for popularization."
(2) Newspapers and periodicals work for and rely on the masses. The mass line is the lifeline and fundamental working line of our party, and it is an important heirloom for our party to maintain its youthful vitality and combat effectiveness forever. Facing and relying on the masses is not only an important principle of our party’s newspaper work, but also an important method to run newspapers well. The party’s newspaper work is to stand on the position of the party and the people, report and publicize the deeds of the people, and strive to serve the people.
In February, 1942, Mao Zedong pointed out in the Politburo meeting of the Chinese Communist Party that "the newspaper should focus on the affairs of its own country". He criticized Liberation Daily for publishing too much news from domestic and foreign bourgeois news agencies, while neglecting to publicize our party’s policies and mass activities. He demanded that the propaganda focus of Liberation Daily should be China’s anti-Japanese war, our party’s policies, the construction of base areas, and the people’s production, life and struggle practice. In October 1944, when Mao Zedong visited the staff of Jiefang Daily and Xinhua News Agency in the auditorium of Qingliangshan Central Printing Factory in Yan ‘an, he encouraged everyone to serve the people wholeheartedly and run Jiefang Daily and Xinhua News Agency well.
The broad masses of the people are an important force to promote the party’s newspaper work. To do a good job in the party’s newspaper work, we must rely on the masses closely and adhere to the working methods of coming from the masses and going to the masses. Mao Zedong believes that "in all practical work of our Party, all correct leaders must come from the masses and go among them". It is an important magic weapon to do well the party’s newspaper work by coming from the masses, going among the masses and relying on the wisdom of the masses to promote the work. In February, 1940, Mao Zedong pointed out in the Preface of Workers in China that "once a newspaper has been set up, it should be done as a matter, and it must be done well. This is not only the responsibility of the person who does it, but also the responsibility of the person who looks at it. It is very important for readers to give their opinions, write short messages and send them to show what they are happy about and what they are not happy about, so as to make this newspaper run well. " In fact, this is to advocate the broad masses of the people to put forward requirements and expectations for the work of newspapers and periodicals and help them improve their work.
In March, 1942, he wrote an inscription for Liberation Daily, "Going deep into the masses, not empty talk", hoping that journalists could go deep into the masses, understand their reality and report their experiences. In the same month, Mao Zedong also proposed that "Xinhua Daily, Jiefang Daily and newspapers and periodicals in the anti-Japanese base areas should attract non-party people to express their opinions, so that all anti-fascist and anti-Japanese imperialists have the opportunity to speak in our party newspaper, and try their best to attract non-party people to participate in the editorial committee, so as to make the newspapers and periodicals run better".
In March, 1943, Liberation Daily was revised to better meet the needs of the masses, and Mao Zedong praised it: "Liberation Daily has made progress since it was revised in April last year, and it has touched the working methods from the masses to the masses, so the sources of newspaper materials are endless." At the end of December, 1944, Mao Zedong demanded in his instructions to the Anti-Japanese Daily in the Jin-Sui Border Region that the Anti-Japanese Daily "is a newspaper for the people in the Jin-Sui Border Region, and should be based on the needs of the local people (contacting the masses and serving them), otherwise it would be divorced from the masses and lose its local guiding significance". The basic spirit of Mao Zedong’s instructions and demands is to ask the party’s newspapers and periodicals to practice the mass line, reflect the will and voice of the masses extensively and timely, gather the strength of the masses, rely on the masses to promote their work and better serve them.
During the Anti-Japanese War, starting from the overall situation of the Anti-Japanese War and the overall situation of the Party’s work, Mao Zedong thought deeply about the Party’s newspaper work and gave many instructions on how to do a good job. These thoughts and guidance not only provided important guidance for the party’s newspaper work to better serve the party’s cause and the masses at that time, but also provided important enlightenment and reference for us to fully understand the significance of newspaper work, give full play to the role of newspapers and periodicals and further do a good job in ideological propaganda today.
