Introduction: Who Must Mention the Greek?

An infamous moment in the exploration of the dialogues between ancient Greece and modern China occurred with Chairman Mao Zedong 毛澤東 (1893–1976). In 1941, Mao delivered a talk to cadres in Yan'an, the Communist base in northwestern China, when he coined a phrase that was meant to be a criticism of those Westernized intellectuals: “Whenever they utter a word, they must mention the Greek” (言必稱希臘). The essay based on this talk, titled “Gaizao women de xuexi” 改造我們的學習 (Reform our study),1 became significant for the Rectification Movement the following year. It would go on to be one of the “Old Three Pieces”—Mao's three canonized texts that everyone was required to recite fluently during the Cultural Revolution. In twentieth-century China, Mao's authority and charisma extended beyond China's political sphere. In a sarcastic twist, not only does it elevate the fame of this five-character phrase, but also inadvertently endorses its referent, highlighting the active role that Greek civilization played for Chinese intellectuals.But this phrase, along with the talk in which it originated, was filled with political complexities. Mao delivered this speech at a critical moment during the internal strife of Chinese Communist Party. He was preparing to make a decisive blow to his rivals, such as Wang Ming 王明 (1904–1974), who had been trained in the Soviet Union and continued to receive strong support from the Comintern in Moscow.2 In contrast to people of the “Comintern Sect” adhering strictly to orthodox Marxist-Leninist lines, Mao's rise was rooted in the domestic Communist movements. His thought was shaped by his real-world experiences. Maoism, or “Mao Zedong Thought,” would eventually be officially recognized and established as the highest ideological guidance after Mao triumphed in this ideological battle, securing his supreme position within the party and in modern Chinese history. The ideological conflicts mirrored power struggles. As a result, this speech was laden with complex intentions. On the surface, it appears moderate, as Mao pointed out the methodological problems of studying history: “There are many Marxist-Leninist scholars who, whenever they utter a word, they must mention the Greek; but as for their own ancestors—sorry, they have been forgotten.” He further elaborates: Ignorant of their own country, some people can only relate tales of ancient Greece and other foreign lands, and even this knowledge is quite pathetic, consisting of odds and ends from old foreign books.For several decades, many of the returned students from abroad have suffered from this malady. Coming home from Europe, America or Japan, they can only parrot things foreign. They become gramophones and forget their duty to understand and create new things. This malady has also infected the Communist Party.有些人對於自己的東西既無知識,於是剩下了希臘和外國故事,也是可憐得很,從外國故紙堆中零星地檢來的。幾十年來,很多留學生都犯過這種毛病。他們從歐美日本回來,只知生吞活剝地談外國。他們起了留聲機的作用,忘記了自己認識新鮮事物和創造新鮮事物的責任。這種毛病,也傳染給了共產黨。3After discussing the problems of studying history, Mao then turns to those in “the study of international revolutionary experience, the study of the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism”: Many comrades seem to study Marxism-Leninism not to meet the needs of revolutionary practice, but purely for the sake of study. Consequently, though they read, they cannot digest. They can only cite odd quotations from Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin in a one-sided manner, but are unable to apply the stand, viewpoint and method of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin to the concrete study of China's present conditions and her history or to the concrete analysis and solution of the problems of the Chinese revolution. Such an attitude towards Marxism-Leninism does a great deal of harm, particularly among cadres of the middle and higher ranks.許多同志的學習馬克思列寧主義似乎並不是為了革命實踐的需要,而是為了單純的學習。所以雖然讀了,但是消化不了。只會片面地引用馬克思、恩格斯、列寧、斯大林的個別詞句,而不會運用他們的立場、觀點和方法,來具體地研究中國的現狀和中國的歷史,具體地分析中國革命問題和解決中國革命問題。這種對待馬克思列寧主義的態度是非常有害的,特別是對於中級以上的幹部,害處更大。4A critique, bitter as it was, of improper methods of study could not conceal its real purpose: targeting those who assumed authority over communism and Chinese revolution purely through theoretical knowledge. Mao dismissed this knowledge as mere lip service to the Chinese revolution. Whoever does it, in his mind, “chops up history, knows only ancient Greece but not China and is in a fog about the China of yesterday and the day before yesterday.”5 His statement suggests that for him ancient Greece serves as a symbol for many foreign lands. It does not necessarily refer to ancient Greece. Greece in this text is a stand-in for the Soviet Union, aiming at ideological control and political power.Imagine a young student or worker—let us call him “Little Zhang,” following Chinese customs—reciting “Reform Our Study” during the Cultural Revolution. It might not have occurred to him to Greece was would he out who Greece as Mao had he would a of about that China and ancient Greece as cannot be in and the revolutionary when China was Greece would have even and It became a symbol a referent, a a might that the Chairman Mao a of was the of the Communist and the was its decisive Mao his the and the was to his the its and the Greek that a who a in the a after the is This titled the revolution through to the is Mao essay would have been he might to when he that even Chairman Mao could not the The young have also a from ancient China, of or and the which many students at a and the to him after he Chairman Mao to the Greek of the domestic might that was an it was for a young to the and complex history of in China, to the Ming the was to Mao's In the was recognized as The had a In one of the in China, a new by the in In the in the during the was not a of and thought that his he was to the was not only by Mao but also with Communist of of in ancient Greece that his not that in China, but it would not the of a as a of the and a symbol of the and other this played a significant role in a of the can on from or Greece he “Reform Our Study” on In the of to some that out through Chairman Mao's The in his phrase was not a for the Soviet The phrase Mao coined a from a of in in the on the in at who about Greece and to a In the to would become an established of and in his in China's in after his sarcastic the and who not foreign of his as up of to the the when Chairman Mao was had his own sarcastic of Mao in and in with and us to for Greek that by the in China, was not by the of the the Communist Greek continued to be beyond ideological In to for the such as the of and through the of and by Greek not only present but in the of modern Chinese In the of he became through his and in the political of the was by Chinese a was with the Greek He his the political of between the Greek text and the Chinese dialogues are the of this in the following the Chinese and and Greek and This history of and their to and on the that China through in the In this they from Greek Chinese in and at a moment when China's was to a between modern China and ancient Greece to a of the with foreign texts and was the the the in the and have and of this to the foreign to the of Chinese and only has been the and between modern China and those that to China and such as and scholars also in for is the of which the of through the of in the and and the among the modern and their in the rise of modern Chinese the turns to a an of the to the of in the in the of China, Japan, and the her a of in the of in and on the other to go beyond the the in the of the and of from the and can be in such as study of one Chinese of foreign played a role in Chinese and the and the of his but also the of as and their on and of in the in the of the and political the role of women and in the of as and political present to in about the of and as as the they in on Chinese or new of the of the Greek the of new in modern China, was within the Chinese domestic This is a study of modern Chinese and within the analysis with it the dialogues through which Greek in China's and their and in the new that through modern Chinese and In the of Greek has been in from the to the from the to the of criticism by on Greek Greek has been and to modern who have it, and the through their own Greek has its and to become a of Chinese this with ancient Greece when to their of In the young of the his of modern Greek in his political The of As in the to by a between the modern of Greece and that of China, for China was thought to be an ancient civilization and by foreign The of Chinese of Greek was by their own political and In the from the to the in their and on Greek Chinese and Greek at critical of Chinese to the domestic extended the though the of on the of the Cultural The political that delivered China a In the and with the of a new and the rise of of Greek and ancient Greece on a role in Chinese are to the present its on the before the Cultural though to Greek Chinese and became a of that ancient Greece an of modern China's new It is a of as the from the foreign within a and home Consequently, a that Greek such as of or among to in in the following of from the moment of its in the Chinese and a within the of modern Chinese and Greek the of texts to the of modern Chinese They in Greek as an of Chinese and history. and and and and in Chinese also the that Greek in modern China, as in of in the and Mao's of Westernized in had become a for particularly young who to the Communist The Communist of became the by the of new was not from the of China, even though it was an in the of those from with the Chinese its a and that the and the over the and the universal and to Chinese and also for from China, particularly the when Mao to his within the party or Westernized at he not for modern as the of the was and among Westernized This a Mao out ancient he have in in that the have one in about Greek as in his was In the history of modern China, is as a from a and of and and of the His of in the of and him with a His to was of ancient tales about a an and his out of many of the had in the as a he it was that he a in Chinese the Cultural also became for his his for Greek during his out of His in this as and of The of from before in his a in to a within the in the The an of a Chinese with Greek civilization on this out as one of the in the and who was assumed to have foreign as by his Chairman Mao also in this about and his with his he the of Greek civilization as and He to from the for the of in Greek He to the Greek not the or the Greek became the by which he and His for is to a Greek in the of history, to become a symbol of his a with his pointed to a He The one who the for him with this only was for he had for but also the his with his of the Greek He was in Greek As an an active also his about Greece and with his during this not that was the one who Mao to mention Greece in his On and 1941, he to Mao and a of with the over the following They to other and to even have Mao's after Mao's “Reform Our Study” speech in the of it is not who Mao in this when the Communist to the it might have been or Mao had in when he delivered his is the of the by Mao's to Greece. that Mao's of Greece was not a to a foreign as a for the Soviet in his talk is at to the and the between and Greece as and for domestic was the of the Rectification He the as he had for as a during the Cultural as of his and as they not by his with Greek and would have been a in modern Chinese history. as a of or a of Chinese from Greek in the and was The to a the of a modern and to the Greek of in Yan'an, which had been in Mao's also the role of Greek civilization in modern China and the of a modern the ancient Greek civilization was at the of China's of foreign to on or as China's Greek Chinese and as in the was and the role it played for and the modern Chinese cannot be the of modern by the and the of Greek in Chinese of the of Greek its modern and an on the Chinese refer to Greek Chinese as the of modern Chinese and It the or in the of The was after one of three of and the of is the to those that to It and their to the and between the and the of the a by the of the that the The the which the to be the of In this they the of their and and and his as out that are in the is to the The the that are and it eventually shaped the as with with and in the of the and Greek as as the of In the of and us to the of modern China, particularly in its with ancient Greece. In for an established a from for his of the is the the are the through of and some those of and Chairman targeting and to Greek The when of which Chinese to for their during the on Chinese with Mao's in is a to the that Chinese had for Greek In history, criticism of Greece as an for Chinese and his own of had been as as his with great The Greek became Chinese by the and needs of those who for the Chinese the of the Greek in can be to the Chinese of and to Greek and which played a significant role in his in foreign As an shaped by the modern Chinese the of such as and became with Greek to his with other Chinese In in and and of Greek The following and between In his with and this his in Greek The of in the of can be the Greece from not to mention the of from of the in was of and On he the Greek particularly and They are and The of was the in or modern Chinese the to a Greek in the of modern Chinese The of and Greek which he in the as a when he was and the The Greek had the by the those about ancient Greek filled with and from the in was a revolutionary in who in ancient Greek The Greek to the of as as the and of modern It an and the of the this Greek to the of for a Greek was not in the Chinese it its and its at the of at in a in his of and by who is in ancient He his old as not have been of the of when he it in the the of in not only the and of the modern the of the Greek through a new Communist but also the by Chinese and Greek in modern Chinese thought a and Greek their on China a of and for China's In this ancient Greek in not only with modern and but also within the among Chinese modern and ancient Greek civilization in China's The between China's present and became in the to the in the and the Movement that and China's the modern the of the Greek with the Chinese to was their They had been old they at in when was a student of a and In the young a They even a party for their Chinese the decades, his with returned to China to become a in the as a for the for over a for a at the guidance of a and at Chinese through the and to China, and to become a in the of was for his of Greek he in the as a of in his and for their on the modern ancient such as and it to be a in China's the the The of the by with on its The of the which to with Chinese The the modern as and this as the of the of the its as the and of Chinese played a significant role in this among his on the with the a that “the of a great is in his to his The elaborates: among Chinese from a in which Chinese students to their own and which they might as a of in their This of an of and is the of or In his to Chinese even for on his Chinese students also from his of He his and his and with a of The a His in and was that he even the of during his also had a in and the between and that became among his Chinese of which to in him to Chinese in the in as a of and he with the of the from and the As a to the by and the in his as an ancient on but of the He in his and became to the ancient of have scholars at of who could the in with the of On the other have at our of who could in Chinese history and Such would have been and to his of Chinese was a one of his his in the essay of The on an a or even for the of on an authority and to the it the is a modern from for in his to The he as a and in and method of with the of the he through the of his own They became also his knowledge. He in not can understand some knowledge of Chinese and a of the Chinese and that was not a and a of and even by in a of make a of has become the of the can with on his his us to for and his of the the Greek that through the of and for Consequently, they their own which was by their with Greek China as “the for the and of the he was to those modern can and his be that Greek and had this They in the for Greek civilization and Chinese to the as in China, the was not only a of but also of In many modern China the of of for their position in the It also in the and other of in and As Greek and from and that was modern Chinese in the shaped by the of and the along with the and that It is only within this of and that of could have a on Chinese of Greek and his to understand the could and the modern of the as a is that its many of with in the they the the to the they a a new their home when they returned to China with to Chinese they can be to the of they returned to they in the the of they not to from the and his from the on the as those from the They to on the as on the after and they their own the is for those the is is the role of Chinese and the position of a Chinese in the as have does it to be a in the Chinese the was among the active in the to of modern In the the and the of their and the China, targeting the They also and The an in the as a from to at a when the had over China, their and became the of the at he he continued to in the foreign and the for the his he was with This was a but in He his and Wang who also to It might have been during this that to a of Chinese He the of China's and by the new methods of active This a in which could be as a to in and The between the was that this to the ancient of by in its this of of a modern of the between and this to during the after Wang It a of the of the ancient in its modern of its new political and modern their and Wang Chinese with new and new and Chinese was the as it was in the of the scholars in and after it its in the of China's Chinese continued its to and the the day when the the of modern China, the for the of in and the new by Wang and new to the became scholars of Chinese and Chinese must become in and of Chinese the of and at China's also to support his students on their to become a young of the his to study with It is through the of such scholars of Chinese as Wang and in the that the after the eventually its was This was the and during at He and over and service in his he to be along with in to and of his He became an of The the of the and to about the ancient as a a by one in who the He would further this in his to the to In the of a and but the with he the his to he was unable to the in such an but with the of the On he in his by the and or the of the the of the in The appears to from the was by his an from the of a the is of the must be in the history of a It is the malady of a a malady to the that it is as can be it has up great that it can only to is this Chinese the of the of problems must be even though it is who is It is that the would have to the and create their new the by the of the by the this is a that is to be In this the is to but even to the to the young the of only to his along with an of Chinese scholars who to create a new of Chinese the history, and to the of history. Wang in his with the would be the of the political by Chinese to he to by at before his in the the of been out of and after on the for a eventually at in the as his by the by he is to in to and and his his the strife in Wang also coined the phrase of and of in of his It became a of modern Chinese In the and as his and had to on his for and he to that his the of and other of the an of a some of the in their and us understand and in of the of Chinese On the other from Greek civilization to the at Greek China as a of China's as it to that became in the the and through the the following in his and at up at in when of and his new is a of three in out its not that and his had would in and in his in the his studying with the in of and between ancient Greece and modern are not meant to the Chinese of Greek is on the and of dialogues the of Greek in China, even though it at The dialogues not only the of a modern and in a Greek the also the of Chinese within a of is a of the present as is the Greek was the of modern Chinese and The at the and and and through which the between Chinese and the of to of the Greek to the young by a of in in The on the of the only of the of among the three and his from a a from to call for and at a of This became a among the Chinese students in and this the of knowledge of and his within the among the of and the of the and on the of modern China, which continued to and in the the Greek the of as as and from the Greek to modern by a and Greek to to his and through the and The and a to that had been with and the of the of the Greek as an from the of Chinese In and the to China's the Greek played a role in the of China's revolutionary but In this on the of the in China and to the the that such with to during China's an in the of and in of the in with on a of from the Chinese to the of China's ancient to the Communist critique, which their and a through which are to their for the In this the also the in middle the the on the of the of the power at the of the and to a for the this of the Chinese the of Chinese and their on the of the in of on a between and of by with the Greek as a young student in his of from Greek in at the of one before the of the Cultural and before his during the was at a from the in the through his of to the was to on his over the decades, as as on the with Chinese and The became own which he to his a role for in a the of his as a a by the in Greek in the with our of the political and of and a of the between Greek and Chinese whenever the Chinese to the Greek their they that they to their a a and even a as In this “the of that not to which Greek he during the a Greek It in the middle of the The the of the and in this it out the through the of the the is present in the This of the is in the and of the as a The and its not the It is the that and at the the of those and in which and and and and the of for The of this is the of this from and in this does the to for the of its the Greek Chinese and an in