"as spring planting began in April 1959, Mao wrote directly to provincial, district, county, commune brigades and village production teams begging them not to boast about production"
That is a very important bit of Information - do you have any scholarly link that documents that, though? Chinese language is fine, an internet search for your translated quote didn't yield any results.
Wu Faxian (2006), (Difficult years: Wu Faxian memoirs, volume 2), Hong Kong: 2006. Chairman Mao: several important historical events and episodes that I was personally involved in), Beijing: Xinhua chubanshe. In Gao, Battle for China’s Past.
Mobo Gao is your go-to guy on this topic, having lived through it in a village himself.
I never cease to be bewildered by the time it takes to be free of one's own conditioning. Thank you for this.
Thanks for this. Illuminating, Mike Liston
"as spring planting began in April 1959, Mao wrote directly to provincial, district, county, commune brigades and village production teams begging them not to boast about production"
That is a very important bit of Information - do you have any scholarly link that documents that, though? Chinese language is fine, an internet search for your translated quote didn't yield any results.
Wu Faxian (2006), (Difficult years: Wu Faxian memoirs, volume 2), Hong Kong: 2006. Chairman Mao: several important historical events and episodes that I was personally involved in), Beijing: Xinhua chubanshe. In Gao, Battle for China’s Past.
Mobo Gao is your go-to guy on this topic, having lived through it in a village himself.
Hi Godfree,
thanks for the reply. I did further research and came across this:
https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-8/mswv8_30.htm
Reading that, it really gives credit to the down to earth nature of Mao - at least in correspondence.
Yes, he was a straight shooter.
Thanks for the link!