On Practice

On Practice (simplified Chinese: 实践论; traditional Chinese: 實踐論; pinyin: Shíjiànlùn) is one of Mao Zedong's most important philosophical works. Along with On Contradiction, this essay is a part of lectures Mao gave in 1937. It expresses Mao's support for Marxism and attempts to establish a distinctly Chinese brand of communist philosophy.[1] On Practice argues that people must apply knowledge to practice in reality in order to test its truthfulness.[2]: 38  At the time it was written, the Chinese Communist Party had just endured the Long March and their nationalist foes were still at large. Plus, China was facing a tremendous Japanese threat. Mao hoped to establish himself as the leader of China's communist party in order to unite China and vanquish the Japanese. On Practice was written as a part of this mission, for it gave Mao a more legitimate claim to lead by creating the basis for his communist philosophy, Maoism.[1]

  1. ^ a b Philip Short, Mao, A Life (Great Britain: Hodder Headline, 1999), 355.
  2. ^ Marquis, Christopher; Qiao, Kunyuan (2022). Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise. New Haven: Yale University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv3006z6k. ISBN 978-0-300-26883-6. JSTOR j.ctv3006z6k. OCLC 1348572572. S2CID 253067190.

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