On the Question of Whether Imperialism and All Reactionaries Are Real Tigers

An article written by Mao Zedong during the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in Wuchang on December 1, 1958 mainly deals with how to treat imperialism and reactionaries, and what kind of thinking methods should be adopted. It is an important document about Mao Zedong's thinking methods and imperialist views. It was included in the Collected Works of Mao Zedong, Volume 7.

The article points out that everything in the world has duality (that is, the law of unity of opposites). Imperialism and all reactionaries also have duality. They are both real tigers and paper tigers. In history, the slave owner class, the feudal landlord class and the bourgeoisie were vigorous, revolutionary, advanced and real tigers before and after they gained the ruling power. In the following period, their opposites, the slave class, the peasant class and the proletariat, gradually grew and fought against them. They gradually turned into reactionaries, backward and paper tigers, which would eventually be overthrown by the people.

The reactionary, backward and decadent class, when faced with the people's decisive struggle, also has two characteristics: on the one hand, the real tiger will eat people, millions of people will eat them, and the cause of the people's struggle will be tortuous; on the other hand, in the long run, they will eventually turn into paper tiger, dead tiger and bean curd tiger, which is a historical fact. In essence, in the long run and strategically, imperialism and all reactionaries must be treated as paper tigers.

The article emphasizes that for socialist construction, there should also be the duality of unity of opposites. On the one hand, we should despise it and be able to accomplish it and win battles; on the other hand, we should attach importance to it and not be able to win without hard struggle. Our minds need to be both cold and hot, our energy is hot, and our scientific analysis is cold.