Text: Mao Tse-Tung. Manifesto of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-4/mswv4_22.htm
Before analyzing the text make sure to have a look at the following page for a better understanding of how to use the text to help you with your assessments: https://language-literature.com/sample-text-analysis-blog-posts/
Some elements of this text to consider:
- This text is too long for an actual Paper 1. Also, it is extremely unlikely that the IB would use a text in translation for paper 1. However, texts in translation can definitely be used in other parts of the course.
- The manifesto starts off with some quite strong language – not surprising given the context (e.g. “smashed Chiang Kai-shek’s offensive,” “the people give thunderous cheers”)
- The second paragraph includes a very clear statement of the goal of the army: “the liberation of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation”
- The third paragraph and fourth paragraphs spend a significant amount of time / space attacking Chiang Kai-shek.
- Page 3 of the manifesto gives specific policies of the Chinese army. Each of the eights points starts with a verb which clearly indicates that the army is focused on action.
- This type of manifesto (particularly one published during a time of way) will differ significantly from, for example, a manifesto of a human rights NGO.