The International Dissemination and Influence of *On Protracted War*

Comrade Mao Zedong’s *On Protracted War* systematically elucidated the general policy of the Chinese Communist Party’s protracted war strategy, becoming a programmatic document for the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership of the War of Resistance Against Japan. After *On Protracted War* was published, the Chinese Communist Party attached great importance to its international dissemination, and through the efforts of foreign journalists and international friends, it produced significant international influence.

毛泽东同志的《论持久战》系统阐明了中国共产党持久战战略总方针，成为中国共产党领导抗日战争的纲领性文献。《论持久战》出版后，中国共产党高度重视对其的国际传播，经过外国记者和国际友人传播产生了重大的国际影响。

The Chinese Communist Party’s policy of protracted war received affirmation and support from the Soviet Union and the Communist International. In order to consolidate domestic anti-Japanese forces and strengthen the people’s determination to win, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their chief representative, concentrated the wisdom of the entire Party, decided to comprehensively, systematically, and profoundly sum up the experience since the start of the War of Resistance, and respond to the concerns of the people across the country about the prospects of the war. From May 26 to June 3, 1938, Mao Zedong delivered a lengthy speech, *On Protracted War – On Why the War of Resistance Against Japan Is a Protracted War and Why the Final Victory Belongs to China and How to Conduct a Protracted War and How to Achieve Victory*, at the Yan’an Symposium on the War of Resistance Against Japan, firmly pointing out that the War of Resistance Against Japan was a protracted war and that the final victory would belong to China.

中国共产党持久战方针得到苏联和共产国际的肯定支持。为了凝聚国内抗日力量，坚定国人的必胜决心，以毛泽东同志为主要代表的中国共产党人，集中全党智慧，决定全面、系统、深刻地总结抗战以来的经验，回应全国人民对抗战前途的关切。1938年5月26日至6月3日，毛泽东连续在延安抗日战争研究会上发表了长篇演讲《论持久战——论抗日战争为什么是持久战与最后胜利为什么是中国的及怎样进行持久战与怎样取得胜利》，坚定指出抗日战争是持久战，最后胜利是中国的。

On July 1, 1938, the weekly *Liberation* formally published the 41-page *On Protracted War – On Why the War of Resistance Against Japan Is a Protracted War and Why the Final Victory Belongs to China and How to Conduct a Protracted War and How to Achieve Victory (Speech at the Yan’an Symposium on the War of Resistance Against Japan, May 26 to June 3, 1938)*. It included a table of contents with 21 questions, a main text of 120 paragraphs, and approximately 50,000 characters. Mao Zedong attached great importance to it, not only personally inscribing the title but also having his inscription printed on the cover of the same issue: “Persist in resistance, persist in the united front, persist in protracted war, final victory will surely be China’s.” The next day, Mao Zedong met with the World Student Association delegation, including James Klugmann, Yadé, Freda, and Reknan, and disseminated to them the Chinese Communist Party’s policy of protracted war of resistance.

1938年7月1日，《解放》周刊正式发表长达41页的《论持久战——论抗日战争为什么是持久战与最后胜利为什么是中国的及怎样进行持久战与怎样取得胜利（一九三八年五月二十六日至六月三日在延安抗日战争研究会的讲演）》。附有21个问题的目录，正文共120个自然段，约5万字。毛泽东高度重视，不仅亲笔题写题目，而且同期封面刊登了毛泽东的题词：坚持抗战，坚持统一战线，坚持持久战，最后胜利必然是中国的。次日，毛泽东会见世界学联代表团柯乐满、雅德、傅路德、雷克难，向他们传播了中国共产党抗日持久战方针。

On July 9, 1938, the Yan’an Liberation Press formally published the single-volume edition of *On Protracted War*, omitting the original subtitle, making the theme prominent, concise, and easy to remember and disseminate. On July 25, the Hankou *New China Daily* Press published the single-volume edition of *On Protracted War*. Subsequently, the Northeast Bookstore, Hong Kong New Democracy Press, Xinhua News Agency, Liaodong Jianguo Book Society, and the Book Department of *Translation Weekly* also successively published and distributed corrected printed editions. For a time, Mao Zedong’s *On Protracted War* was in short supply, sweeping away the people’s confused mood about the prospects of the War of Resistance.

1938年7月9日，延安解放社正式出版《论持久战》单行本，取消了原来的副题，主题突出，简洁明了，便于记忆传播。7月25日，汉口《新华日报》馆出版了《论持久战》单行本。随后，东北书店、香港新民主出版社、新华社、辽东建国书社、《译报》图书部也先后出版发行了铅印订正本。一时间，毛泽东的《论持久战》供不应求，一扫国人心中的抗战前途迷茫情绪。

On September 5 of the same year, in order to enable communist parties in various countries to understand the Chinese Communist Party’s thought on protracted war, Ren Bishi, then the Chinese Communist Party’s representative to the Communist International, writing under the pen name “Chen Lin,” published an article in the Soviet newspaper *Pravda* titled “What the Slogan of Protracted War Means in China,” clarifying that the Sino-Japanese War was not a war of quick decision but a protracted war. This indicated that the Communist International understood and endorsed the Chinese Communist Party’s policy of protracted war. Georgi Dimitrov, then General Secretary of the Communist International and in charge of Chinese affairs, highly affirmed Mao Zedong’s incisive analysis and scientific judgment, publishing an article in the Communist International’s journal *Communist International* praising: “Never before in history has anyone explained military and war issues so thoroughly; *On Protracted War* is an epoch-making work.”

同年9月5日，为了使各国共产党理解中共的持久战思想，时任中国共产党驻共产国际代表任弼时署名“陈林”，在苏联《真理报》发表文章《持久战的口号在中国有何意义》，阐明中日战争不是速决战而是持久战。这表明，共产国际了解和赞同中国共产党的持久战方针。时任共产国际总书记兼管中国事务的季米特洛夫，对毛泽东精辟的分析、科学的判断十分肯定，在共产国际刊物《共产国际》上发表文章称赞：“有史以来，还没有人把军事问题、战争问题说得这样透彻过，《论持久战》是一本划时代的著作。”

To expand the international dissemination of *On Protracted War* and publicize the Chinese Communist Party’s line of total resistance against Japan and the Anti-Japanese National United Front, the Chinese Communist Party attached great importance to the English translation of *On Protracted War*. Currently, the earliest preserved English single-volume edition of *On Protracted War* is the version published by the Shanghai Book Company in 1938. However, according to researcher Zhang Shengxiang, there were at least four English translations of *On Protracted War* during the War of Resistance period.

为扩大《论持久战》的国际传播，宣传中国共产党全面抗战路线和抗日民族统一战线，中国共产党高度重视《论持久战》英文翻译工作。目前，保存较早的《论持久战》英译单行本，是1938年上海图书公司发行的版本。但是，据研究者张生祥发现，抗战时期《论持久战》英译稿至少有四种。

First, Zhou Enlai, the head of the Yangtze River Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, assigned the task of translating *On Protracted War* into English to the International Propaganda Group. At that time, the International Propaganda Group of the Yangtze River Bureau of the CPC Central Committee had few members, including Xu Mengxiong, Anna Wang, and Bi Shuowang. The first task they received was to translate Mao Zedong’s works, including *Strategic Problems in the Anti-Japanese Guerrilla War* and *On Protracted War*. However, with the fall of Wuhan in 1938, Xu Mengxiong evacuated to Chongqing, and the translation manuscript of *On Protracted War* was lost en route when the steamship “Xinshenglong” was bombed and sank, failing to be published. Second, Zhou Enlai also sent *On Protracted War* from Wuhan to Hong Kong, entrusting Soong Ching-ling with its translation into English for publication. Later, through the translation efforts of Israel Epstein and others, the English single-volume edition of *On Protracted War* was published and distributed in Hong Kong. Third, in October of the same year, to expand the influence of *On Protracted War* in the English-speaking world, Yang Gang, a reporter for *Ta Kung Pao* and an underground CPC member, completed the English translation of *On Protracted War*. From the third issue on November 1, 1938, to the sixth issue on February 9, 1939, the Shanghai English-language magazine *Candid Comment*, edited by Emily Hahn, serialized the English translation titled “Prolonged War” in four installments, with the author listed as Mao Tse Tung and the translator as Shih Ming, and included an editor’s note. Fourth, in October 1938, the 42nd issue of Shanghai’s *Translation Weekly* also published an excerpted English translation of *On Protracted War* titled “How China Can Win.”

第一，中共中央长江局负责人周恩来将《论持久战》翻译成英文的任务交给了国际宣传组。当时，中共中央长江局国际宣传组成员不多，包括许孟雄、王安娜、毕朔望等人。他们接到的第一个任务就是翻译毛泽东的《抗日战争的战略问题》《论持久战》等著作。但是，随着1938年武汉沦陷，许孟雄撤退重庆，《论持久战》的翻译手稿也在途中随“新升隆”轮船被炸沉而遗失，未能成功出版。第二，周恩来又将《论持久战》从武汉寄到香港，委托宋庆龄将其翻译成英文出版。后来，经爱泼斯坦等人翻译，《论持久战》英译单行本在香港出版发行。第三，同年10月，为了扩大《论持久战》在英文世界的影响，《大公报》记者、中共地下党员杨刚完成《论持久战》的英文翻译任务。1938年11月1日第3期至1939年2月9日第6期，项美丽主编上海英文杂志Candid Comment（《公正评论》）分四次连载了英文题为“Prolonged war”，署名为Mao Tse Tung（毛泽东），译者署名为Shih Ming（士敏），还编发了编者按。第四，1938年10月，上海《译丛周刊》第42期也刊登了摘译的《论持久战》英文稿“How China Can Win”。

While the English edition of Mao Zedong’s *On Protracted War* was being disseminated internationally, Japan, through its intelligence agencies in China and other channels, translated and published its Japanese version, disseminating it to the Japanese military and the Japanese public. In fact, even before the publication of *On Protracted War*, Japanese media had already begun to translate and introduce Mao Zedong’s views on the War of Resistance, taking note of the protracted war policy. For example, in March 1937, the Japanese journal *Diplomatic Times* published “Mao Zedong’s Theory of Anti-Japanese Warfare” by the “China hand” Murata Shiro, which excerpted Snow’s July 1936 interview with Mao Zedong on the War of Resistance Against Japan. After the formal publication of *On Protracted War*, Japanese media increased their translations and introductions of it. In October 1938, the Japanese journal *Kaizo* published a 98-page Japanese excerpt of *On Protracted War*. On November 6, 9, and 10, the *Yomiuri Shimbun* serialized a commentary titled “Characteristics and Prospects of the New Stage of the Anti-Japanese War.” In the same month, the *Yangtze River Magazine* published “Our Method of Long-Term Anti-Japanese Resistance.” In 1939, the Japanese Kaizōsha publishing house published *The Current Situation of the Chinese Communist Army*, excerpted and translated by Fukada Yuzō. In March 1939, the secret intelligence document “Various Issues in China’s Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Warfare,” compiled by the Japanese Hankou Army Special Service Department, again elaborated in detail on the main points of *On Protracted War*. On January 8, 1940, the *Tokyo Asahi Shimbun* published an editorial titled “Handling the Incident and Protracted War.”

毛泽东的《论持久战》英文版向国际传播的同时，日本通过在华情报部门等多种途径翻译出版了其日文版内容，向日军和日本传播。事实上，早在《论持久战》出版前，日本媒体就已经开始译介毛泽东的抗战言论，关注到持久战方针。如1937年3月，日本《外交时报》刊登了“中国通”村田孜郎所著《毛泽东的抗日作战论》，节译了1936年7月斯诺采访毛泽东关于抗日战争的访谈录。《论持久战》正式出版后，日本媒体对《论持久战》的译介增多。1938年10月，日本《改造》杂志刊登长达98页的《论持久战》日文节译内容。11月6日、9日、10日，《读卖新闻》连载评论《抗日新阶段的特点和前途》。同月，《扬子江杂志》刊登了《我们的长期抗日法》。1939年，日本改造社出版了深田悠藏摘译的《中共军队之现势》。1939年3月，日本汉口军特务部编辑的秘密情报《中国抗日游击战争的诸问题》中，再次详细阐述了《论持久战》的主要观点。1940年1月8日《东京朝日新闻》发表社论《事变处理和持久战》。

The Japanese invading general Okamura Yasuji valued reading Mao Zedong’s *On Protracted War*. In his post-war confession, he frankly admitted: “This is an extremely valuable strategic document, demonstrating the extraordinary strategic foresight and organizational capacity of the Chinese Communist Party.” Senior officers of the Japanese Army Ministry and the Imperial General Staff even established a special “Mao Zedong Literature Research Group,” which translated the full text of *On Protracted War* into Japanese and distributed it to key officers for reading and reference. Their attitude toward Mao Zedong’s *On Protracted War* was generally one of disdain in the early period, attention in the middle period, and despair in the later period.

日军侵华将领冈村宁次重视阅读毛泽东的《论持久战》。他在战后供述中坦言：“这是一篇极有价值的战略文件，展示了中国共产党非凡的战略远见与组织能力。”甚至日本陆军省、参谋本部的高级军官，专门成立了“毛泽东文献研究小组”，把《论持久战》全文翻译成日文，分发给主要军官阅读参考。他们对待毛泽东的《论持久战》的态度，总体是前期不屑、中期重视、后期绝望。

The international dissemination of Mao Zedong’s *On Protracted War* had a positive impact in the Western world, and the international community generally gave it high praise. It is said that at the time, on Stalin’s desk lay the Russian translation of *On Protracted War*, which he had specially commissioned. At the same time, on the desks of Roosevelt and Churchill, English editions of *On Protracted War* were placed. Joseph Stilwell, Chief of Staff of the China Theater of the U.S. Army, after reading *On Protracted War*, considered it a “superb textbook” and suggested that the U.S. government accelerate aid to China, which would surely hasten the arrival of victory. Edgar Snow, who had visited Yan’an many times, praised Mao Zedong’s *On Protracted War* as “a prophecy from the cave dwelling.”

毛泽东《论持久战》的国际传播在西方世界产生了积极影响，国际社会普遍给予很高评价。据说，当时在斯大林的案头放着他专门请人翻译成俄文的《论持久战》文稿。同时，在罗斯福、丘吉尔的案头，都放着《论持久战》英文本。美军中国战区参谋长史迪威看了《论持久战》，认为这是一部“绝妙的教科书”，并建议美国政府加快对华援助，一定会加快胜利的到来。曾多次访问延安的斯诺称赞毛泽东的《论持久战》“是窑洞中的预言”。

(The author is a researcher at the Research Center for Journalism and Social Development, Renmin University of China)

（作者系中国人民大学新闻与社会发展研究中心研究员）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心