ROLLS .IN THE MUD
The leading intellectual figure of the Mao regime, 74-year-old Kuo Mo-jo, made a speech April 14 that indicated how difficult it is for even an outstanding mind to grasp, retain and apply the thought of Mao Tse- ~tung.
"Although I am more than seventy," Kuo Mo-jo confessed ‘to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, "I want to roll in the: mud ; I want to be smeared - with oil and blood.
“Fora number of decades," continued the. most brilliant ornament of the Mao regime, "I have written poems, translations and... articles. On the quantitative side, this represents. more than a million characters; but,. judged by present standards, my. work is devoid of value and ought to be burned. "
Probing into. the cause of his errors,: Kuo Mo-jo said: "It lies in the fact that I did not thoroughly grasp. the. thought of Mao Tse-tung and I displayed confusion concerning social classes.
The venerable Chinese scholar said that he had been closely following the discussion over the cases of the historians Wu Han and Shein Po-tsan and that he had studied the criticisms levelled against them in order to see how he might undertake his own self-reform.
"T am not speaking light-mindedly," he said. "It's a fact that I did not thoroughly grasp the thought of Mao Tse-tung and that I was not. well ireeducated. I-want all :the less to deny my responsibilities since I am still the - chairman of the Federation of Literary and Art Workers." a i
Kuo Mo-jo accused himself of having paid only lip service ‘to Marxism-Leninism. He said he was among those intellectuals who must thank the soldiers, workers and peasants and not vice versa. He | cited as a model book, the novel written by an ordinary - soldier, The Song of Ao Yang Hai.
In his windup, Kuo Mo-jo spoke about his "regret, sufferings and confusion." He mentioned the "tears coming to my eyes" and expressed the desire "if imperialism attacks us, of throwing some .. grenades myself." me a
It is not clear in. what way Kuo Mo- jo deviated. ‘from the - a thought of Mao Tse-tung. Besides being chairman of the Federation
of ‘Literary and Art Workers, he is president. of: the Chinese Academy of Seiences and H6lds more° than twenty other official’ positions. As. chaitwan- of the China Peace’ ‘Committee , he has been a. prominent: ‘participant in national celebrations in Peking. Since the seizure of: ‘power he has served as one of the leading spokesmen of the Mao regime in the: fields of poetry, writing, history, archeology and :science. In the’ two-year-old: ‘struggle -for "correct. thought" among” thé. intellectuals, He has played' an. energetic’ role extolling the: wirtues:. of Mao’ Ss. thought’ and demanding that. others dive UP to: ‘it. me, i
Going back further in his career, his possible deviations from the thought of ‘Mao Tse- tung are’no less difficult to. locate. He was a-participant’ in’ the 1925- 27 Revolution that was. suppressed an. bloodby Chiang’ ‘Kai-Shek. He spent ten years as. an exilevin Japan ~.. writthe ‘historiteal.works::. During the war against: Japan from.1947 to 1945 he. played & . prominent role in he: national’ liberation. Struggle.
There are ‘two possible areas “where he may be considered sus-— pect. He translated two pieces of Western Titerature ‘into’Chinese -- War and Péace by Leo Tolstoy and’ Faust? “by Joharin Wotfgangi:von Goethe. And he wrote poems in 1950 and 1951 praising the traditional friends ship between the Soviet. Union and China. He was awarded the Stalin Peace’ ‘Prize. oS oe . wes come
Perhaps’ Kuo Mo- “jo as | peek 1 -aSsigned. to play:cthe role. oft Judas goat. If he sets’ ‘the. example: ‘intmaking a “public confession,.:this may. induce others to: engagé in-. ‘self-immolation, thus’ ‘providing both . justification and. fresh material for the current campaign: against the intellectuals.
“Recently: the: §vo-year-old- campaign has been: “stepped” Up «: On : May WY for - instance, Seen EIU Pao, the official army: newspaper, said: editorially: cence
“Ob UketiVE pies’ of. these antiparty, antisocialist elements”, are not ah’ aécéidental pheriomenon. They are responding °to ‘the -great. inter national anti-Chinese chorus of imperialists, modern ‘revisionists. ~ and various reactionaries to revive the Chinese reactionary class, which’ “has been ' struck down. ee Sphb GRD ur klar
Pisa ‘ Pe alae
The newspaper: aéeused certain unnamed intellectuals of ibeing linked with "right-wing opportunists" inside the Communist party. The débate developing | on the cultural front, the editorial declared, was not" simply ex! doadeniic dispute but an "strugete a ‘the death": to
of the™ Commins party. of. “China, ‘has. warned : ‘the. intellectuals to ~ get rid of their “lordly attitude" and listen to ‘the criticism of:: the masses. a Or Kes Peasants and Soldiers who are_ armed with Mao flowers feon poisonous: weeds. Eero
Chow En-Vat also wore ‘down heavily: against + ‘the intellectuals, in a'speech May 4. : ; : ve
"A socialist cultural revolution of great historic significance is being launched in our country,". the premier said. "This is a fierce and protracted struggle as to who will win, the proletariat . or bourgeoisie in the ideological field." ;
Chou En-lai called for the eradication of bourgeois ideology from all cultural fields. "This is a key question in the development. in depth of the socialist revolution at the present stage, a question concerning the situation as a whole and a matter of the first magnitude affecting the destiny and future of our party and country."
The fierce. campaign seemed to have other targets in mind besides the intellectuals. A veiled conflict. appears to have risen in the Communist party leadership, not the first since the regime was established. There were evidences of strong internal differences in 1957 at the time of the "hundred flowers bloom" turn and again when the line of the "great leap forward" seemed headed for disaster.
At present there are a number of acute issues calling for thorough consideration and. discussion by the entire revolutionary vanguard. Eas : .
First of all, there is the crucial matter of defending the Vietnamese Revolution and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Mao's sectarian rejection of a united front to bring .the maximum aid to the Vietnamese people has served as an open invitation to American imperialism to ‘escalate -the war. One of the consequences has been .: to greatly heighten the danger that China itself will suffer assault.
Secondly the revolutionary front in Southeast Asia suffered a major defeat with the collapse of the Indonesian Communist party and the subsequent slaughter of as many as 300,000 members of the Communist party. Mao Tse-tung bears special responsibility for -this because of the way he covered up the opportunism of D.N.Aidit, the head of the Indonesian Communist party. Thorough analysis of this defeat is called for in:order to rearm the. entire revolutionary vanguard in Southeast. Asia and elsewhere in the world.
‘Finally, in the Sino-Soviet dispute the isolation of the | a Chinese Communist party in the world Communist movement shows that ~ something is decidedly. wrong with Mao Tse-tung's tactics.
It may “welt be that two tendencies. are to be noted in the Chinese Communist party, both of them equally alarming to Mao. One may be spreading the argument that it might be advisable to reach a. modus vivendi agreement with Kosygin-Brezhnev even at the cost of concessions to "revisionism"; the other may be pressing for a revolutionary policy that is neither revisionist. nor sectarian -something that smacks of "Castroism" or :even "Trotskyisn. "
A réasoned discussion in the Chinese ‘Communist party is,. however, virtually excluded. The formation of tendencies and factions | : is panned. The party has not even held a congress since 1958, although not a few events have occurred in this world since then worthy of discussion by revolutionary Marxists. Even the Communist
party of the Soviet Union, which still adheres to the antidemocratic pattern laid’ down by Stalin, at least puts on a pretense of holding congresses as the recently held twenty-third congress testifies.
“In the absence of provisions for a democratic internal ‘lite, explosive ‘political pressures build up. This is very likely happening in the Chinese Communist party.
_ Mao's answer to that is to follow Stalin's thought in such matters and “begin looking for and even creating scapegoats. .
MAX BORN