The Little Red Book

Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung is a book of statements from speeches and writings by Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung), the former Chairman of the Communist Party of China, published from 1964 to about 1976 and widely distributed during the Cultural Revolution. The most popular versions were printed in small sizes that could be easily carried and were bound in bright red covers, becoming commonly known in the West as the Little Red Book. Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung was originally compiled by an office of the PLA Daily (People's Liberation Army Daily) as an inspirational political and military document. The initial publication covered 23 topics with 200 selected quotations by the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, and was entitled 200 Quotations from Chairman Mao. It was first given to delegates of a conference on 5 January 1964 who were asked to comment on it. In response to the views of the deputies and compilers of the book, the work was expanded to address 25 topics with 267 quotations, and the title was changed simply to Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung.