The Compilation Background, Atheist Implications, and Contemporary Lessons of *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts*

*Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts*, published in the 1960s, is a collection of tales personally decided upon and participated in by Mao Zedong. The book selects folk stories from collections of classical Chinese anecdotal literature, with a total print run of over 200,000 copies, exerting a significant influence. It is consistently threaded through with the central idea of "not fearing ghosts." On the one hand, it inspired the whole nation to struggle against the "monsters and demons" of the United States, India, and revisionism; on the other hand, it extolled the courage and wisdom of those throughout history who possessed vision, knowledge, bravery, and resourcefulness in identifying, fighting, and defeating ghosts, thereby using this to break down superstition and propagate Marxist atheism. Clarifying the background of the compilation of *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* and grasping the atheist thought it contains holds important referential significance for doing a good job of atheist propaganda and education in the New Era and for consolidating the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological domain.

20世纪60年代问世的《不怕鬼的故事》是由毛泽东亲自决定并参与编写的故事集。该书选取中国历代笔记小说集中的民间故事编录而成，累计印刷二十余万册，影响甚巨。它以“不怕鬼”的思想主线贯穿始终，一方面鼓舞了全国人民与美、印、修等“妖魔鬼怪”相斗争，另一方面讴歌了历代有志有识、有勇有谋之士辨鬼识鬼、斗鬼打鬼的勇敢和智慧，以借此破除迷信，宣扬马克思主义无神论。厘清《不怕鬼的故事》的生成背景，把握其蕴含的无神论思想，对于做好新时代无神论宣传教育工作，巩固马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位有着重要借鉴意义。

I. The Compilation Background of *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts*

一、《不怕鬼的故事》的编写背景

From the mid-to-late 1950s to the early 1960s, the domestic and international situation underwent major changes, full of turbulence and twists and turns. China faced multiple and complex security threats and encountered resistance and challenges from various quarters. Internationally, after the 20th Congress of the CPSU, differences emerged between the Chinese and Soviet parties on ideology, policy lines, and other issues within the international communist movement. At the same time, Western imperialism, led by the United States, intensified its blockade, encirclement, and sanctions against China, aiming to subvert the newborn People's Republic. Domestically, on the one hand, after the establishment of the basic system of socialism, the Party faced the even more arduous task of consolidating and developing socialism. On the other hand, practices prevalent in the old society, such as feng shui, astrology, exorcising ghosts and inviting spirits, divination and fortune-telling, physiognomy and character analysis, and religious worship, still existed, and the ideological concepts of some people remained bound by backward and ignorant superstitious beliefs in ghosts and gods.

20世纪50年代中后期到60年代初，国内外形势发生重大变化，充满动荡和曲折。中国面临着多元复杂的安全威胁，遇到了来自多方面的阻力和挑战。国际上，苏共二十大后，中苏两党在国际共产主义运动中的意识形态、政策路线等方面发生分歧。同时，以美国为首的西方帝国主义加紧了对中国的封锁、包围和制裁，意图颠覆新生的人民共和国。在国内，一方面，社会主义基本制度建立后，党面临更加艰巨地巩固和发展社会主义的任务。另一方面，旧社会中长期盛行的风水星宿、驱鬼请神、卜卦算命、命相测字、宗教崇拜等依旧存在，部分人的思想意识观念仍受到落后愚昧的鬼神迷信思想的束缚。

With what kind of mental state should one respond to the "horde of ghosts" of the international "anti-China chorus"? How could the shackles of superstitious beliefs in ghosts and gods on the people be broken? Comrade Mao Zedong turned his gaze to ancient Chinese classical works. Comrade Mao Zedong not only often told stories of not fearing ghosts from classical novels, praising the protagonists who dared to curse, drive away, fight, and capture ghosts, but was also adept at making the past serve the present. After long reflection and deliberation, Comrade Mao decided to select relevant chapters from ancient works about anomalies and strange events to compile a literary story collection about "not fearing ghosts," using ghosts as allegories to inspire the Chinese people and the people of the world not to fear ghosts or believe in evil, and to cultivate the heroic spirit of daring to struggle and daring to win.

以什么样的精神状态应对国际上“反华大合唱”的“群鬼”，如何破除鬼神迷信对人民的束缚？毛泽东同志将目光投向了中国古代经典著作。毛泽东同志不仅经常讲古代小说中的不怕鬼的故事，礼赞其中敢于骂鬼、驱鬼、打鬼、捉鬼的主人公，而且善于古为今用。经过长期的思考与沉淀，毛泽东同志决定选取古代志怪、志异作品的有关篇章，编一本“不怕鬼”的文学故事集，以借鬼讽喻，激发中国人民和世界人民不怕鬼、不信邪，培育敢于斗争、敢于胜利的英勇志气。

Starting in the spring of 1959, Mao Zedong repeatedly told stories of not fearing ghosts on different occasions to different audiences. On April 15, 1959, at the 16th Supreme State Conference, while briefing on the domestic situation and discussing the Taiwan issue, Mao cited the story of "The Arrogant Scholar Sits Up at Night" from *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* [1]1 This is a paraphrase of a concept from Marx’s early writings, specifically the idea that the critique of religion (the negation of God) is the prerequisite for establishing human self-consciousness and autonomy., publicly telling the "story of not fearing ghosts" for the first time: "In *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio*, there is an arrogant scholar who sat reading at night. A ghost came to scare him... The author of *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* tells us, do not be afraid of ghosts. The more you fear ghosts, the less you can live; it will rush in and eat you up." In Mao's view, all enemies, opponents, and difficulties could be likened to "ghosts"; only by not fearing them could one defeat and overcome them. On May 6 of the same year, Mao Zedong, when meeting with delegations and diplomatic envoys from eleven countries including the Soviet Union and Poland, again cited the story of "The Arrogant Scholar Sits Up at Night," once more publicly discussing the issue of not fearing ghosts: "There are people in the world who fear ghosts, and there are also people who do not fear ghosts. Is it better to fear ghosts or not to fear them? There are some stories of not fearing ghosts in Chinese novels. I think there might be some in your novels too. I want to compile these stories and tales of not fearing ghosts into a small booklet. Experience proves that ghosts must not be feared. The more you fear ghosts, the more ghosts there are; if you don't fear ghosts, there are no ghosts." He then told the story from *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* of Geng Qubing reading at night, painting his face and sticking out his tongue to stare down a ghost. Later, during a meeting with a visiting delegation from the People's Chamber of the German Democratic Republic, when discussing the Tibet issue and Sino-Indian relations, he again raised the issue of not fearing ghosts: "Don't be afraid of ghosts. Ghosts are like this: the more you fear them, the more there are; if you don't fear them, they disappear. Is there material like this in your German literature, showing that some people fear ghosts and some do not?" In this speech, Mao regarded capitalism, Nazism (Hitler), and feudalism (Yuan Shikai, the Qing emperors) all as ghosts.

从1959年春天开始，毛泽东多次在不同场合面向不同受众讲述不怕鬼的故事。1959年4月15日，毛泽东在第十六次最高国务会议通报国内形势讲到台湾问题时，举《聊斋志异》中的“狂生夜坐”故事为例，第一次公开讲述了“不怕鬼的故事”，“《聊斋志异》里有一个狂生，晚上坐着读书，有个鬼吓他……《聊斋志异》的作者告诉我们，不要怕鬼，你越怕鬼，你就不能活，他就要跑进来把你吃掉。”在毛泽东看来，一切敌人、对手、困难，可以比喻为“鬼”，只有不怕它，才能战胜它、克服它。同年5月6日，毛泽东接见苏联、波兰等十一国代表团和驻华使节时，再度援引“狂生夜坐”这个故事，又一次公开地谈到了不怕鬼的问题，“世界上有人怕鬼，也有人不怕鬼。鬼是怕它好呢，还是不怕它好？中国的小说里有一些不怕鬼的故事。我想你们的小说里也会有的。我想把不怕鬼的故事、小说编成一本小册子。经验证明鬼是怕不得的。越怕鬼就越有鬼，不怕鬼就没有鬼了。”接着又讲了《聊斋志异》里耿去病夜读，涂面伸舌与鬼相视的故事。在之后会见民主德国人民议院访华代表团，谈及西藏问题和中印关系之际，又谈到不怕鬼的问题，“不要怕鬼，鬼是这样的，越怕它，它就越多；不怕鬼，它就没有了。你们德国文学中有无这种材料，说明有人怕鬼，有人不怕鬼？”毛泽东在这次讲话中将资本主义、纳粹主义（希特勒）、封建主义（袁世凯、清帝）均视作鬼。

It was precisely under the guidance of Mao Zedong's thought of "not fearing ghosts" that the preparation, selection, and publication of *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* proceeded smoothly. The task of compiling *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* was assigned to the Institute of Literature of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with He Qifang, the director, specifically responsible. After accepting the task, the Institute of Literature gathered numerous experts and scholars to collectively select and excerpt stories of predecessors who were not afraid of ghosts from classical anecdotal literature, compiling them into a book to serve as a tool for political and ideological struggle. By the summer of 1959, after three months of editing, review, and revision, the compilation of *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* was basically completed. During the compilation process, Mao Zedong continued to pay attention to the book, personally overseeing everything from finalizing the table of contents to perfecting the preface. In 1960, Mao Zedong instructed He Qifang to refine and enrich the initial draft of the compiled *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts*, add detailed annotations, and write a preface. He Qifang revised the manuscript several times, producing a preface of nearly ten thousand characters. As late as January 4 and January 23, 1961, Mao Zedong met with He Qifang twice, specifically discussing revisions to the preface of *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* and making additions. In his instructions after the second review, Mao Zedong pointed out: "Before printing, please send the final proof to Comrades Liu, Zhou, Deng, Zhou Yang, and Guo Moruo for review, and ask if they have any further revision suggestions." After the preface was finalized, Mao Zedong requested that upon publication, the preface be published in *Red Flag* and the *People's Daily*, and that the book be translated into several foreign languages, with the preface translated first, then the book, with the English translation prioritized, and published in the *Beijing Review*.

正是在毛泽东“不怕鬼”思想的指引下，《不怕鬼的故事》的筹备、编选、出版才得以顺利展开。编撰《不怕鬼的故事》任务交给了中国科学院文学研究所，由所长何其芳具体负责。文学所接受任务后，汇聚众多专家学者以集体编选的方式，从古代笔记小说中，选择抄摘出一些前人不怕鬼的故事，编书成册，作为政治斗争和思想斗争的工具。到1959年夏天，历时三个月的编辑、审阅和修订工作后，《不怕鬼的故事》基本编撰完成。在编撰过程中，毛泽东对此书仍然保持着关注，从酌定篇目到完善序言均亲自过问。1960年，毛泽东指示何其芳将编好的《不怕鬼的故事》的初稿加以精选充实、详加注释，并撰写序言。何其芳几易其稿，写了一篇近万字的序言。迟至1961年1月4日和1月23日，毛泽东两次约见何其芳，专门谈《不怕鬼的故事》序言稿的修改，并作补充。在第二次审阅后的批示里，毛泽东指出“付印前，请送清样给刘、周、邓、周扬、郭沫若五同志一阅，询问他们是否还有修改的意见。”序文定稿后，毛泽东要求出书同时，将序言发在《红旗》和《人民日报》上，同时将此书译成几种外文，先译序后译书，英译优先翻成，并登在《北京周报》上。

After repeated revisions and proofreading, *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* was officially published by the People's Literature Publishing House in February 1961, in traditional Chinese characters, vertical layout, with 70 selected entries, intended for reading by Party cadres. A second edition was published in October of the same year, with the preface set in larger type, the selection adjusted to 66 entries, and promoted to the general public. In 1978, 1982, and 1999, the People's Literature Publishing House successively reprinted and revised the book.

经过反复修改和校对，《不怕鬼的故事》在1961年2月由人民文学出版社公开出版，形式为竖排繁体，选目70则，供党员干部阅读。同年10月再版，序文改版大字，选目调整为66则，面向大众推广。1978年、1982年和1999年，人民文学出版社陆续重印并修订出版了此书。

This thin selection of classical literature, which selected several dozen stories of outwitting and fighting ghosts and goblins from classical anecdotal literature, vividly depicted various kinds of people who were not afraid of ghosts and, with wisdom and courage, defeated them. Its content demonstrated the ancient people's irreverence towards what was generally considered terrifying—ghosts—and their fearless spirit of daring to curse, fight, and capture ghosts. It played a positive role in unifying the thinking of the entire Party and strengthening confidence in overcoming difficulties.

这部从古代笔记小说里选了几十篇和鬼魅斗智斗勇的故事的薄薄的古典文学选本，形象生动地描绘了各种各样的人不怕鬼并且有智有勇战胜鬼的故事，其内容表现出古代人民对于普遍认为可怕的鬼表示不敬，并且敢于骂鬼、打鬼、捉鬼的大无畏精神，对于统一全党思想，坚定克服困难的信心，起到了积极的作用。

II. The Atheist Thought Contained in *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts*

二、《不怕鬼的故事》中蕴含的无神论思想

As a collection of allegorical tales aimed at the general public, *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts*, while precisely meeting and deeply satisfying the spiritual and cultural needs of the people, also propagated atheist education. Studying *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* as a classic text of atheist propaganda and education reveals that it contains rich atheist ideas, such as "there are no ghosts in the world," "the more you fear ghosts, the more ghosts there are; if you don't fear ghosts, there are no ghosts," and "as long as you despise them strategically and take them seriously tactically, you can defeat ghosts."

《不怕鬼的故事》作为面向大众的讽喻故事集，在精准对接、深度满足了人民群众精神文化需求的同时，也宣传了无神论教育。把《不怕鬼的故事》作为无神论宣传教育的经典文献来研读，就会发现其中蕴含着“世界上并没有鬼”“越怕鬼就越有鬼，不怕鬼就没有鬼”“只要战略上藐视，战术上重视，就能打败鬼”等丰富的无神论思想。

(I) "There Are No Ghosts in the World"

（一）“世界上并没有鬼”

The emergence of idealist concepts such as the theory of ghosts and gods is a distorted, illusory reflection of objective existence produced when people are unable to scientifically understand natural and social phenomena. In the early days of the founding of New China, due to the relatively low level of development of the productive forces, the real soil to which feudal superstitious ideas adhered had not yet been completely eradicated. Coupled with the low scientific and cultural literacy of the people, the rhetoric of "fearing ghosts" and "believing in gods" still existed. The opening sentence of the preface to *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* clearly states: "There are no ghosts in the world. Believing in ghosts is a backward idea, a superstition, a manifestation of cowardice." It directly tells the reader that ghosts do not exist, and that believing in or even being keen on the theory of ghosts and gods is even more backward and cowardly.

鬼神论调等唯心观念的产生，是人对于自然现象和社会现象还不能科学地去理解的时候，对客观存在产生了虚幻、歪曲的反映。新中国成立初期，由于生产力发展水平较低，封建迷信思想所附着的现实土壤还没有被完全铲除，加之人民的科学文化素养不高，“怕鬼”“信神”论调依旧存在。《不怕鬼的故事》序言开篇首句就明确指出，“世界上并没有鬼。相信有鬼是一种落后的思想一种迷信，一种怯懦的表现。”直截了当地告诉读者鬼是不存在的，相信甚至热衷鬼神论调更是落后和怯懦的。

On the one hand, it overcomes the illusion of "having ghosts" generated by human fear, highlighting that "there are no ghosts in the world." *Wang Jie Is Not Afraid of Ghosts*, selected from Zhang Chao's *New Records of Yu Chu* of the Qing Dynasty, tells of Wang Jie writing an article by lamplight late at night, when "suddenly he heard a mournful ghostly sound outside the window." He thought to himself, "I dare not do evil; Bo You and Peng Sheng will certainly not harm me. Why should I fear the fierce-faced evil spirit?" He lit a fire to trace the sound, which came from a bamboo grove. "He saw a withered leaf caught in a spider's web, with the wind whistling through the hole." After hearing the desolate, piercing, and harsh ghostly sound, the reader is drawn by Wang Jie into a scene thick with a sinister and terrifying atmosphere. But Wang Jie was not scared out of his wits; he "led" the reader to explore the true reason for the shrill sound, which was merely the wind blowing through the cracks of the leaves, like a whistle, producing the mournful noise. Thus the mystery is solved, the reader's doubts are cleverly dispelled, and the theme that ghosts do not exist in the world becomes clearer. On the other hand, it eliminates the misunderstanding of "having ghosts" caused by strong human vitality, highlighting that "there are no ghosts in the world." *White Bones*, taken from Guo Zhuan's *Continuation of the Strange Cart Stories* of the Song Dynasty, tells of Mr. Liu encountering white bones in a cave. "Liu sat up and looked at them closely. The white bones suddenly rose and rushed to embrace Liu. Liu struck them with all his might, and they fell to the ground, shattered, and did not move again. Liu left, and whenever he talked about this strange event, someone said, 'This is not a monster. Your vital energy was strong and abundant, enough to attract and attach the dry bones. Now, if a child plucks a chicken feather and puts it in his bosom, moving his fingers up and down to attract it, the feather will follow. When the feather breaks slightly, it will not respond. This is the same principle.'" The text uses the simple and popular game children play with chicken feathers to explain the internal mechanism of the dry bones' attraction, allowing the readers of *Stories About Not Fearing Ghosts*, along with Mr. Liu, to receive a vivid atheist propaganda and education on the theme "there are no ghosts in the world." It exposes and satirizes the absurdity of ghosts and the falseness of superstition, dispelling the confusion caused by strange events beyond people's cognition, and firmly establishing the truth that ghosts do not exist in the world.

一方面，克服因人恐惧而产生的“有鬼”错觉，凸显“世界上并没有鬼”。选自清代张潮《虞初新志》的《汪价不怕鬼怪》，讲述了汪价于深夜在灯下写文章，“忽闻棂外呦呦鬼声”，“自思不敢为孽，伯有彭生，断不我厉。我岂畏倛头恶刹者耶？燃火迹之，声出竹畦中。见一败叶为蛛丝所罥，风入窍中鸣。”听到凄凉悲切、尖锐刺耳般鬼怪声后，读者被汪价带入阴森恐怖氛围极为浓郁的场景中。但汪价没有被吓破胆，“带领”着读者探寻声音凄厉的真实原因不过是，风从叶子缝隙中吹过，犹如哨子一般，才发出了呦呦的声响。由此悬念解开，读者心中的疑云巧妙释然，世界上并不存在鬼的主题更加明晰。另一方面，消除因人气盛而造成“有鬼”的误会，凸显“世界上并没有鬼”。取材于宋代郭彖《睽车续志》的《白骨》，讲述了刘先生穴中遇白骨，“刘方起坐，少近视之。白骨倏然而起，急前抱刘。刘极力奋击，乃零落堕地，不复动矣。刘出，每与人谈此异。或曰：此非怪也。刘真气壮盛，足以翕附枯骨耳。今儿意拔鸡羽置之怀，以手指上下引之，随应，羽稍折断即不应，亦此类也。”文中以儿童在生活中喜玩的鸡毛游戏，通俗简明地演绎了枯骨吸附的内在机理，使得《不怕鬼的故事》的读者同刘先生一道，接受了一场生动的“世界上并没有鬼”的无神论宣传教育，揭露并讽刺了鬼怪的荒谬和迷信的虚妄，消解了超出人们认知范围的怪事所带来的困惑，坚定鬼怪不存在于世间的真相。

(2) The more you fear ghosts, the more there are ghosts; if you are not afraid of ghosts, there are no ghosts.

（二）越怕鬼就越有鬼，不怕鬼就没有鬼

Mao Zedong specifically emphasized in the preface to *Stories About Not Fearing Ghosts*: "Does it mean that the more we fear 'ghosts,' the more the 'ghosts' will love us, show us mercy, and not harm us, and our cause will suddenly become smooth, everything bright and beautiful, like spring flowers blooming?" In reality, the opposite is true. *Stories About Not Fearing Ghosts* uses a large number of vivid, interesting, engaging, and dialectical traditional allegorical stories to enlighten readers through a positive and negative comparison of the different results brought about by the completely opposite attitudes of "not fearing ghosts" and "fearing ghosts": if one is timid in heart and does not liberate their thinking, then they will be afraid of ghosts and spirits that do not even exist; but if their consciousness is raised, superstition is broken, and thinking is liberated, then ghosts and spirits are actually not scary at all, and if you are not afraid of ghosts, there are no ghosts.

毛泽东在《不怕鬼的故事》序言里特意强调：“难道我们越怕‘鬼’，‘鬼’就越喜爱我们，发出慈悲心，不害我们，而我们的事业就会忽然变得顺利起来，一切光昌流丽，春暖花开了吗？”实则恰好相反。《不怕鬼的故事》以大量生动有趣、引人入胜且包含辩证意味的传统讽喻故事，在“不怕鬼”与“怕鬼”截然相异态度所导致的不同结果的正反比较中启发读者：假如心存怯懦，思想不解放，那么人们对于并不存在的鬼神也会害怕；但是如果觉悟提高，迷信破除，思想解放，那么鬼神其实一点也不可怕，不怕鬼也就没有鬼了。

For example, in the story *The Shu Monk Shanxiao*, selected from Sun Guangxian's *Jottings from the Northern Dream* of the Five Dynasties, the common people were very afraid that the Bishan God would bring disaster upon them, so they slaughtered countless livestock as offerings every year. The Western Shu monk Shanxiao was dissatisfied with the killing of plow oxen for sacrifices and rebuked the clay statue: "The sacrifices to Heaven and Earth and the gods of the soil have their proper rituals. How dare this ghost usurp the rites of Heaven and Earth! The ox is the resource for farming. You indulge in excessive sacrifices to it—is this not excessive!" He then used an axe to smash several of the clay statues. In the contrasting results of "the army and the prefecture were shocked and reported the matter to the circuit authorities" and "the monk remained perfectly unharmed," it highlights that after breaking superstitious customs like worshipping gods and making sacrifices, one will not be entangled by strange forces and evil spirits, nor will disasters harmful to oneself arise. This thus contrasts the falseness of ghosts and spirits, and the superstitious systems related to them are even more illusory. Another example is *Aizi*, selected from Su Shi's *Aizi's Fables* of the Song Dynasty. It records Aizi seeing a man who "took the statue of the Great King, laid it across a ditch, stepped on it, and left," while another man "helped it up, wiped it with his clothes, carried it back to its seat, bowed again, and left." But in the end, because "the former person already did not believe, so how could it dare to bring disaster upon him," the ghost could only "bring disaster upon the latter person." The story, by narrating Aizi witnessing two people with different attitudes and behaviors towards the statue, vividly depicts the different concrete representations of the two people's treatment of the statue—the former bold and decisive, the latter reverent and worshipful—and then, through the ghost's implicitly sarcastic words, reveals the inner essence of *Stories About Not Fearing Ghosts*: those who do not believe in ghosts and spirits cannot be harmed by them; those who believe in ghosts and spirits, on the contrary, suffer harm from them.

如选自五代孙光宪《北梦琐言》的《蜀僧善晓》一文，百姓非常怕壁山神降祸于人，每年宰杀不计其数的牲畜上供。西蜀僧人善晓不满杀害耕牛做祭祀品，痛斥泥塑像：“天地郊社，荐享有仪，斯鬼何得僭于天地！牛者，稼穑之资，尔淫其祀，无乃过乎！”随后用斧击碎土偶数躯。在“军州惊谔，申闻本道”和“而僧端然无恙”的有趣结果对比中，突出了打破拜神、祭祀等迷信习俗后，也不会被怪力乱神所缠绕，滋生出不利于己的祸端，从而反衬出鬼神的虚假，有关鬼神的迷信制度更是虚妄的。再如选自宋代苏轼《艾子杂说》的《艾子》，记录了艾子看到一人“辄取大王像横于沟上，履之而去”，而另一人“乃自扶起，以衣拂拭，捧至座上，再拜而去。”但最终因“前人已不信矣，又安敢祸之”，鬼怪便只能“祸行于后来者”。故事通过记叙艾子看见两个对待神像采取不同态度和行为的人物，鲜明刻画了前人大胆果敢，后人敬奉神明等两人对待神像的不同具象表征，进而借鬼怪暗含讥讽之语表明了《不怕鬼的故事》内在的思想精髓：不信鬼神的人，鬼神也奈何他不得；相信鬼神的人，却反遭受鬼神的祸害。

(3) As long as you despise strategically and take seriously tactically, you can defeat ghosts.

（三）只要战略上藐视，战术上重视，就能打败鬼

The strategic and tactical thought is the scientific crystallization of thought formed by the proletarian revolutionaries with Mao Zedong at their core, by fully grasping the characteristics and laws of the Chinese revolutionary war and combining the truth of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution. In January 1961, Mao Zedong met with He Qifang to discuss the revision of the preface to *Stories About Not Fearing Ghosts* and clearly stated: "Besides strategic contempt, we must also talk about tactical seriousness. We must analyze specific ghosts, one by one, pay attention to tactics, and take them seriously. Otherwise, we cannot defeat them." [1]1 This is a paraphrase of a concept from Marx’s early writings, specifically the idea that the critique of religion (the negation of God) is the prerequisite for establishing human self-consciousness and autonomy. Despising ghosts strategically is a kind of courage, embodying fearlessness; taking ghosts seriously tactically is a kind of capability, manifesting great wisdom.

战略战术思想是以毛泽东为核心的无产阶级革命家，在充分把握中国革命战争的特点及规律的基础上，将马克思列宁主义真理和中国革命具体实践相结合而形成的科学思想结晶。1961年1月，毛泽东约见何其芳就修改《不怕鬼的故事》序言进行谈话，明确表明：“除了战略上的藐视，还要讲战术上的重视。对具体的鬼，对一个一个的鬼，要具体分析，要讲究战术，要重视。不然，就打不败它。”战略上藐视鬼是一种勇气，体现大无畏；战术上重视鬼是一种本领，彰显大智慧。

*Stories About Not Fearing Ghosts* tells many stories of daring to struggle with ghosts, being good at struggling, and further defeating ghosts after seeing through their tricks, inspiring and encouraging people that if they both despise ghosts strategically and take them seriously tactically, they can defeat ghosts. For example, *Song Dingbo Catches a Ghost* from *Stories of the Strange* tells of Song Dingbo meeting a ghost while walking at night when he was young. Facing the ghost's doubts, "You are too heavy, aren't you a ghost?" and "Why are you making noise?", Song Dingbo cleverly dispelled the ghost's suspicion and gained its trust by saying, "I am a new ghost, so my body is heavy" and "I just died and am not used to crossing water." He then pretended to avoid the new ghost's taboos to probe its fatal weakness, "It only dislikes being spat upon," and then caught the ghost and sold it for money. Another example is *Zhang De Binds a Ghost* from Liu Fu's *Famous Talks from the Han Mansion* of the Northern Song Dynasty. Because "at the Southern Red Hill Inn, there were always monsters at night," "travelers were afraid and dared not pass." But "De had always been bold." "De grabbed its two feet and tied them to his waist with a rope. After walking several li, the old woman said, 'Let me go!' De did not respond. The old woman begged for mercy incessantly, then her voice became very low and her body light. When they reached the front inn, he lifted it up to look, but it was only a piece of rotten coffin board tied up. He burned it, and the stench could be smelled for several li, with a squeaking sound, and the monster ceased." Also, *Chen Zaiheng* from Huang Junzai's *Seven Pots of Gold: Waves of Gold* of the Qing Dynasty, Volume One, tells of Chen Zaiheng walking in the wilderness at night. He saw "two people" lighting a fire to smoke a pipe, but it wouldn't catch fire for a long time. One of them asked, "Has your first seven [days after death] passed?" [2]2 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022. The Political Bureau is a top decision-making body of the Party. Upon hearing "first seven," Chen immediately understood that he had encountered two ghosts. He realized that the ghosts thought he was also a ghost, so he played along and probed their weakness: "'People say people fear ghosts. Is that true?' The ghost said, 'No, ghosts actually fear people.' Chen said, 'Why should people be feared?' It said, 'They fear spitting.' Chen then took a deep breath and spat at them." "He spat three times, and they vanished." There are many more stories in *Stories About Not Fearing Ghosts* that depict protagonists who despise ghosts in their entire spirit and are very cautious and resourceful when dealing with specific ghosts, so they will not be listed one by one. Through layered depictions of people encountering ghosts, deceiving ghosts, catching ghosts, fighting ghosts, and killing ghosts, these allegorical stories praise the wit and bravery of the protagonists, recreating for the reader heroic images of those with courage and insight, good at strategy, and brave in catching ghosts. They propagate the truth that ghosts and monsters are not scary; if one is not afraid of superstition in their thinking, dares to break superstition, has courage, despises it fearlessly in strategy; uses wisdom, takes it seriously in tactics, earnestly studies methods to overcome difficulties, and sees through the ghost's weaknesses, they will surely be able to repel ghosts or even use them for their own purposes in the struggle between humans and ghosts.

《不怕鬼的故事》讲述了大量的同鬼敢于斗争、善于斗争，识破鬼的花招后进一步打败鬼的故事，激励和鼓舞民众既在战略上藐视鬼，又在战术上重视鬼，就能打败鬼。如出自《列异传》的《宋定伯捉鬼》，讲述了宋定伯年少时夜行逢鬼，在面对鬼疑惑的“卿太重，将非鬼也？”“何以作声？”，宋定伯以“我新鬼，故身重耳”“新死，不习渡水故耳”，巧妙地解除了鬼的怀疑，取得了鬼的信任，并假借规避新鬼的畏忌来探寻其致命弱点“唯不喜人唾”，进而捉鬼、卖鬼赚钱。再比如选自北宋刘斧《翰府名谈》的《张德缚鬼》，因“南赤冈店，夜辄有怪”，“行人恐惧不敢过”。而“德素有胆”，“德捉其两足，绳缚于腰间。行数里，姥却云：‘放下！’德不应，姥求哀不已，既而言甚低身亦轻，到前铺，举视之，但缚古烂棺板一片，焚之，臭闻数里，啾啾有声，其怪遂绝。”还如，选自清代黄钧宰《金壶七墨·金壶浪墨》卷一的《陈在衡》，陈在衡夜行郊野，见“二人”就火吸烟，但久久烧不着。其中一位问道“君过首七未耶？”陈听闻“首七”立刻明白自己碰上了两个鬼。他意识到对方以为自己也是鬼，便将错就错，试探对方的虚实，“‘世言人畏鬼，信乎？’鬼曰：‘非也，鬼实畏人。’陈曰：‘人何足畏？’曰：‘畏啐。’陈即长吸而啐之。”“三啐之而灭”。《不怕鬼的故事》中刻画主人公在整个精神上藐视鬼，且在具体对待鬼的时候又很谨慎、很有智谋的故事还有很多，就不一一列举了。这些讽喻故事通过人逢鬼、骗鬼、捉鬼、斗鬼、杀鬼等层层深入的描绘，赞扬了主人公的机智和勇敢，为读者再现了一个个有胆有识、善于谋略、勇于捉鬼的英雄形象，宣扬了鬼魅不可怕，倘若思想上不怕迷信、敢于破除迷信，有勇气，在战略上无所畏惧地藐视它；用智谋，在战术上重视它，认真研究克服困难的办法，识破鬼的畏忌之处，必能在人鬼相斗中退鬼甚至为我所用的真理。

III. The Contemporary Lessons of *Stories About Not Fearing Ghosts* for Atheist Propaganda and Education in the New Era

三、《不怕鬼的故事》对新时代无神论宣传教育的现实镜鉴

Although the cause of atheist propaganda and education in the New Era has made gratifying progress, it has not yet reached a season of bright spring and gentle breezes. Its overall strength is relatively weak, a complete atheist ecology has not yet been established, and it often encounters various kinds of "ghosts" causing trouble and disruption. Therefore, drawing on and promoting the atheist thought contained in *Stories About Not Fearing Ghosts* has important practical significance for doing a good job in atheist propaganda and education in the New Era and consolidating the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field.

新时代无神论宣传教育事业虽然取得了可喜的进展，但还未达到春光明媚、风和日丽的时节，其整体力量比较薄弱，尚未营建出完善的无神论生态，时常会遭遇形形色色的“鬼”的刁难、捣乱等。因此，借鉴并发扬《不怕鬼的故事》中蕴含的无神论思想，对于做好新时代无神论宣传教育工作，巩固马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位有着重要的现实意义。

(1) Dare to struggle, and propagate Marxist atheism with a clear stand.

（一）敢于斗争，旗帜鲜明宣传马克思主义无神论

The preface to *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* points out: “As long as people are not afraid of ghosts, dare to despise them, and dare to strike at them, then ghosts will fear people.” Not fearing ghosts can not only serve as a metaphor for strategically despising religious superstition and other ghostly doctrines, but this metaphor can also be expanded to refer generally to all things encountered in the development of atheist propaganda and education that seem frightening but are in fact not so. In view of this, when facing the new challenges of the massive and fragmented nature of theistic thought in the information society, and when various Chinese and foreign religious forces, especially ignorant superstitious activities and extremist religious ideologies, are rampant, we must continue to promote the spirit that “there are no ghosts in the world,” maintain a clear head and a firm stance on matters of principle, dare to struggle, and propagate Marxist atheism with a clear flag.

《不怕鬼的故事》序言指出：“人只要不怕鬼，敢于藐视它，敢于打击它，鬼就怕人了。”不怕鬼，这不但可以作在战略上藐视宗教迷信等鬼神论调的比喻，而且还可以扩大这个比喻的内容，泛指在无神论宣传教育事业发展过程中所遭遇到的一切看起来似乎可怕但实际上并没有什么可怕的事物。有鉴于此，面对有神论思想在信息社会海量化和碎片化的新挑战、在各种中外宗教势力特别是愚昧迷信活动和宗教极端思想泛滥时，要继续发扬“世界上并没有鬼”的精神，在大是大非面前头脑清醒、立场坚定，要敢于斗争，旗帜鲜明宣传马克思主义无神论。

First, we must attach great importance to atheist propaganda and education. Marxist atheism, as a thorough and scientific atheism, profoundly reveals that there are no supernatural or super-societal mysterious forces in the world, “and through this negation, posits the existence of man.” [1]1 This is a paraphrase of a concept from Marx’s early writings, specifically the idea that the critique of religion (the negation of God) is the prerequisite for establishing human self-consciousness and autonomy. To a certain extent, Marxist research and propaganda and education inherently contain the positions, viewpoints, and methods of atheism, but this does not mean that everyone who receives the infiltration of the scientific truth of Marxism can immediately grasp this ideological weapon of atheism. Therefore, we must avoid replacing atheist propaganda and education with general Marxist education, nor should we, under the gratifying situation of the rapid disciplinary development of Marxism, think that further discussion of atheism is superfluous. Instead, we must actively conduct atheist propaganda and education, squeeze out and even eradicate the living space of ghostly and superstitious doctrines, and gradually eliminate the ideological and social foundations for the emergence and spread of theism.

一是要高度重视无神论宣传教育。马克思主义无神论作为彻底的、科学的无神论，深刻揭示出世上没有超自然超社会的神秘力量存在，“并且通过这种否定而设定人的存在”。一定意义上来讲，马克思主义研究与宣传教育内在地包含着无神论的立场、观点和方法，但这并不意味着接受马克思主义科学真理浸润的人都立刻能掌握无神论这一思想武器。因此，切忌以一般的马克思主义教育代替无神论宣传教育，也不能在马克思主义学科化飞速发展的可喜情况下认为再讲无神论是浮笔浪墨，而是要积极地进行无神论宣传教育，挤压直至铲除鬼神迷信论调的生存空间，逐渐消除有神论产生和传播的思想基础和社会基础。

Second, we must firmly grasp the two major targets of atheist propaganda and education. Party members and leading cadres, as the backbone of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, are the key targets of atheist propaganda and education; youth, as the fresh force and main force for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, are the key targets of atheist propaganda and education. If these two groups are not thorough or firm in their belief in Marxist atheism, become captives of religious deities, lose their ideals and convictions, and vainly hope to place their trust in an illusory heavenly kingdom, then the mainstream ideology will inevitably be in danger, thereby endangering political security and institutional security. Therefore, it is absolutely impermissible to have a fluke mentality or leave room for retreat in atheist propaganda and education. We must dare and be adept at conducting atheist propaganda and education work targeting Party members, leading cadres, and youth, liberating these two groups from the bonds of various theisms, enabling them to master their own destiny, and consciously become firm believers and practitioners of Marxist atheism.

二是要牢牢掌握两大无神论宣传教育对象。党员领导干部作为中国特色社会主义事业的骨干，是无神论宣传教育的关键对象；青年作为中华民族伟大复兴的生力军和主力军，是无神论宣传教育的重点对象。这两大对象如若对马克思主义无神论信仰不彻底不坚定，变成宗教神灵的俘虏，丧失理想信念，妄图寄希望于虚幻的理想天国，那么主流意识形态必然处在危险之中，进而危及政治安全、制度安全。因此，无神论宣传教育抱有侥幸心理、留有退让余地是万万不可取的，要敢于和善于面向党员领导干部和青年进行无神论宣传教育工作，把两大对象从各种有神论的束缚中解放出来，使其自己掌握自己的命运，自觉做马克思主义无神论的坚定信仰者和践行者。

(II) Rooted in Excellent Chinese Culture, Excavate Resources for Atheist Propaganda and Education

（二）根植中华优秀文化，挖掘无神论宣传教育资源

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during the sixth collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee: [2]2 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022. The Political Bureau is a top decision-making body of the Party. “Adhere to developing Marxism unceasingly by rooting it in the historical and cultural soil of one’s own country and nation, strengthen historical confidence and cultural confidence, adhere to making the past serve the present and weeding through the old to bring forth the new, and comprehensively excavate the treasure trove of China’s five-thousand-year civilization under the guidance of Marxism.” The same applies to atheist propaganda and education work. Excellent traditional Chinese culture contains rich resources for atheist propaganda and education. Adhering to the guidance of Marxism to excavate these “treasure troves of civilization” is an important task for Marxist atheist propaganda and education in the New Era. Just as *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* takes “not fearing ghosts” as its main thread, comprehensively sorting through strange ghost stories from the Jin Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, [3]3 The Jin Dynasty (265–420 CE) and the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912 CE) are historical periods in China. The book compiled stories from a wide span of Chinese history. ultimately selecting over seventy usable allegorical stories that could be integrated with the actual context of the time, it gave new life to the atheist resources contained in the strange tales of traditional Chinese culture.

习近平总书记在中共中央政治局第六次集体学习时指出：“坚持植根本国、本民族历史文化沃土发展马克思主义不停步，坚定历史自信、文化自信，坚持古为今用、推陈出新，以马克思主义为指导对中华五千多年文明宝库进行全面挖掘”。无神论宣传教育工作也是如此。中华优秀传统文化蕴含丰富的无神论宣传教育资源，坚持以马克思主义为指导挖掘这些“文明宝库”是新时代马克思主义无神论宣传教育的重要任务。正如《不怕鬼的故事》以“不怕鬼”为主线，全面梳理了从晋到晚清的志异鬼怪故事，最终挑选出七十余篇可利用的故事内容与当时现实语境可融合的讽喻性故事，推动中华传统文化中志怪故事蕴含的无神论资源焕发出新的生机。

On the one hand, we must deeply excavate and systematically sort out the atheist resources contained in traditional culture, enriching the content of atheist propaganda and education in the New Era. Whether taking representative figures as points, dynastic changes as lines, or different schools as planes, we should systematically sort out atheist thought in traditional culture and construct a resource library of traditional culture with distinctive characteristics, taking “atheism” as the main clue. On the other hand, we must focus on activating the excellent elements of traditional culture through the demands of the times, optimizing the supply of resources for atheist propaganda and education. The ideas of “exhausting human effort” (尽人事) and “following nature” (法自然) in Chinese culture embed a very obvious atheist orientation, providing, in a certain sense, a source of strength for efforts to break free from the fetters of ghosts, gods, and other mysterious forces on people. For such value orientations and modes of thinking contained in traditional culture, if they are re-studied and re-reflected upon from the actual circumstances of the new journey of the New Era, their atheist concepts can be activated, empowering new content with new paradigms, and prompting them to radiate vitality in the new era.

一方面要深度挖掘和系统梳理传统文化中蕴含的无神论资源，厚植新时代无神论宣传教育内容。或以代表人物为点或以朝代更替为线或以不同流派为面，系统地梳理传统文化中无神论思想，构建起以“无神”为主要线索的具有鲜明特征的传统文化资源库。另一方面，要注重以时代诉求激活传统文化中的优秀元素，优化无神论宣传教育的资源供给。中华文化中“尽人事”和“法自然”思想，内嵌着非常明显的无神论取向，一定意义上为努力挣脱鬼神等各种神秘力量对人的羁绊提供了力量支撑。对于此类蕴含在传统文化中的价值取向和思维方式，如果从新时代新征程的现实际遇予以再研究再反思，则能够激活其中的无神论观念，以新的范式赋能新的内容，促使其在新的时代焕发生机。

(III) Enrich External Forms, Innovate the Discourse Expression of Atheist Propaganda and Education

（三）丰富外显形式，创新无神论宣传教育的话语表达

Eradicating ghostly and superstitious ideas is a long-term and complex undertaking. Precisely because of its long-term nature, the intrinsic attributes, content scope, and external manifestations of theism differ across different periods, so it must be persistently pursued, with increased effort devoted to criticism and governance. Also because of its complexity, it is even more necessary to enrich external forms, innovate the discourse expression of atheist propaganda and education, “transcode” atheist thought into forms that the audience is good at accepting and willing to accept, effectively answer the deep-seated ideological and practical questions that concern the people, and dismantle the “psychological bridge” that leads people to ghostly and superstitious ideas.

破除鬼神迷信思想是一项长期且复杂的事业。正是因为长期性，有神论在不同时期的内在属性、内容囊括和外在表现均有所不同，所以必须久抓不懈，加大气力进行批判和治理。也正是因为复杂性，更需要丰富外显形式，创新无神论宣传教育的话语表达，将无神论思想“转码”成受众善于接受、乐于接受的形式，有效回答民众关心的深层思想问题和实践问题，拆除人们通往鬼神迷信思想的“心理桥梁”。

On the one hand, we must innovate the discourse expression carriers of atheist propaganda and education. Mao Zedong, relying on the text of *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts*, called on the people to “not fear ghosts,” which resonated between atheism and the broad masses and achieved a good propaganda and education effect. Atheist propaganda and education in the New Era should take the compilation of the text *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* as a model, avoiding the rootless “floating” of single-line indoctrination and dry political discourse. Instead, starting from the actual lives of the people, we should create a large number of vivid and interesting pictures, short videos, emojis, and textual readings that meet the ideological concepts and cultural needs of the masses to spread atheist thought, narrowing the psychological distance between atheist propaganda and education and the audience, so that the people identify with and accept atheism through subtle influence. On the other hand, we must enhance the discourse expression art of atheist propaganda and education. *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* used vivid and readable allegorical stories from traditional culture to raise the people’s ideological awareness of “not fearing ghosts,” opening a new path to solve the discourse dilemmas faced by atheist propaganda and education at the current stage, such as “having truth but being unable to articulate it” and “being able to articulate it but unable to spread it.” This enlightens workers in atheist propaganda and education in the New Era to be adept at using vivid, interesting, and profound stories, to be able to tell distinctive “Chinese language,” to speak specific and rich “everyday language,” and to be good at using vibrant “internet language,” embedding atheist thought within stories and examples, enhancing the appeal and influence of atheist propaganda and education, making the audience feel that atheist propaganda and education is not only “meaningful” but also “interesting,” thereby promoting resonance, consensus, and transformation between the content of atheist education and the educated.

一方面，要创新无神论宣传教育的话语表达载体。毛泽东依托《不怕鬼的故事》文本来号召民众“不怕鬼”，引起了无神论与广大民众的共鸣，起到了较好的宣传教育效果。新时代无神论宣传教育就是要以《不怕鬼的故事》文本的编撰为范例，避免单线灌输、枯燥无味的政治话语无根“漂浮”，而是要从百姓的实际生活入手，创作大量符合人民群众思维观念和文化需求的生动有趣的图片、短视频、表情包、文本读物来传播无神论思想，拉近无神论宣传教育与受众的心理距离，使得民众于潜移默化中认同并接受无神论。另一方面，要增强无神论宣传教育的话语表达艺术。《不怕鬼的故事》以传统文化中生动可读的讽喻故事提高了群众“不怕鬼”思想觉悟，为解决现阶段无神论宣传教育面临“有理说不出”“说出传不开”等话语困境开辟了一条新路径。这就启示新时代无神论宣传教育工作者应善于运用生动有趣而寓意深刻的故事，会讲特色鲜明的“中国话”、能讲具体丰富的“家常话”、善讲活力四射的“网络话”，寓无神论思想于故事、事例之中，提升无神论宣传教育的感染力和影响力，让受众觉得无神论宣传教育不仅“有意义”更“有意思”，进而促进无神论教育内容与受教育者之间产生共鸣、达成共识、形成转化。

(IV) Flexibly Use Work Strategies, Improve the Overall Effectiveness of Atheist Propaganda and Education

（四）活用工作策略，提高无神论宣传教育的整体效能

Making timely scientific responses to the new phenomena and new problems revealed by ghostly and superstitious ideas under the new situation is a basic requirement of atheist propaganda and education, and flexibly using strategic and tactical strategies is the necessary path to make the ultimate effectiveness of atheist propaganda and education radiate vigorous vitality. The preface to *Stories of Not Fearing Ghosts* also states: “Ghosts are nothing to be afraid of; humans are fully capable of defeating and subduing them. But for each specific ghost, for each specific situation in which one deals with a ghost, humans must adopt a cautious attitude, must have wisdom and strategy, and only then can they ultimately achieve victory.” Therefore, when facing various ghostly legends and tricks of playing the ghost and talking nonsense, it is not enough to just say “not fearing ghosts” and solve the problem once and for all. Despising ghosts strategically is always accompanied by taking ghosts seriously tactically.

针对新形势下鬼神迷信思想表露出的新现象和新问题及时作出科学回应，是无神论宣传教育的基本要求，而活用战略战术策略则是促使无神论宣传教育最终效能焕发出蓬勃生机的必由之路。《不怕鬼的故事》序言里也写道：“鬼并没有什么可怕，人是完全能够打败它、制服它的。但对于每一个具体的鬼，对于每一个同鬼相周旋的具体场合，人又必须采取谨慎态度，必须有智谋，然后才能最后取得胜利。”因而，面对各种鬼神传说及装神弄鬼、鬼话连篇的把戏，不是只讲“不怕鬼”就能一劳永逸的，在战略上藐视鬼总是和在战术上重视鬼相伴而生的。

On the one hand, atheist propaganda and education in the New Era must adhere to a strategy that takes the overall situation into account while focusing on specifics in tactics. From an overall perspective, atheist propaganda and education is a scientific undertaking that conforms to the laws of nature, human society, and human thought. Superstitious beliefs in ghosts and gods, and religious fantasies, as forms of social consciousness, will not last forever; they will ultimately vanish, which is an inevitability of socio-historical development. From a specific perspective, every confrontation between atheism and theism is a form of struggle, a process of one waxing while the other wanes. This requires atheists to be adept at analyzing and judging the specific process of atheist propaganda and education, to comprehensively discern the overall manifestations of superstitious beliefs in ghosts and gods, and to be skilled at grasping and breaking through their weak links. On the other hand, atheist propaganda and education in the New Era must adhere to daring to struggle strategically and being skilled at struggling tactically. In developing the theory and cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, workers in atheist propaganda and education are naturally "revolutionary soldiers" charging at the front; they must possess the courage to draw their sword against a powerful enemy and the victorious courage to fight and win. From a tactical perspective, being skilled at struggling requires that atheist propaganda and education adopt a cautious attitude towards struggle rather than an arrogant and contemptuous one. It is necessary to conduct realistic research on the factors influencing the current soil that breeds theism, to carry out atheist propaganda and education by recognizing the general trend, observing proper limits, and emphasizing practical results, gradually causing superstitious beliefs in ghosts and gods and religious fantasies to be engulfed in the vast ocean of the people, and making all "illusory concepts of God, heaven, and redemption" [4]4 A reference to Marx's critique of religion as the "opium of the people" and the illusory happiness of the people, found in his *Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right: Introduction*. that dominate people's minds collapse without a fight.

一方面，新时代无神论宣传教育必须坚持战略着眼整体、战术着眼具体。从整体来讲，无神论宣传教育是顺应自然界、人类社会和人的思维等规律的科学事业，鬼神迷信、宗教迷梦作为社会意识的表现形式，并不会永世长存，其最终会走向消亡，这是社会历史发展的必然。从具体来讲，每一次无神论和有神论的交锋都是某种形式的斗争，是此消彼长的过程，这就要求无神论者要善于分析研判具体的无神论宣传教育过程，全面洞察鬼神迷信的整体表现，善于把握并突破其薄弱环节。另一方面，新时代无神论宣传教育必须坚持战略上敢于斗争、战术上善于斗争。发展中国特色社会主义的理论和事业，无神论宣传教育工作者理所当然是冲锋在前的“革命战士”，必须有敢向强敌亮剑、敢打必胜的胜战勇气。从战术上说，善于斗争要求无神论宣传教育要有慎战意识而非骄傲轻敌情绪，需对当下滋生有神论土壤的影响因素作出符合实际的调研，识大势、讲分寸、重实效地进行无神论宣传教育，逐步使鬼神迷信、宗教迷梦陷于人民群众的汪洋大海中，使一切支配人们头脑的“上帝、天国和救赎等虚幻观念”不攻自破。

Online Editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心