An important reason why Mao Zedong became a great man in history and a giant of the times is that he loved reading and could read. "Knowledge is power" was most truly embodied in him.
Mao Zedong loved reading. He said: "My biggest hobby in life is reading." "You can go a day without eating, you can go a day without sleeping, and you can't go a day without reading books." Whether in the prime of his student days, the turbulent war years, or the construction period when he was busy with everything, he always eagerly sought new knowledge and studied tirelessly. Even though he was seriously ill and lying on the bed, he still persisted in reading with amazing perseverance. He couldn't read himself, so he asked others to read to him until the last breath of his life. Books accompanied him throughout his great and extraordinary life.
Mao Zedong read a lot and widely throughout his life, and he could be said to be well-read. He has dabbled in everything from China to the outside, from ancient times to the present, from social sciences to natural sciences, from Marxist-Leninist works to Western masterpieces, including philosophy, economics, politics, military science, literature, history, science and technology, religion, foreign languages, etc., And has a strong interest in it. It is impossible to accurately estimate how many books he has read. In the "Juxiang Bookstore" in Zhongnanhai alone, there are tens of thousands of books that he often reads and browses.
Of course, the books Mao Zedong read most were Marxist-Leninist works, Chinese and foreign philosophy, and ancient and modern literature and history books. He thought he had read "The Communist Manifesto" co-authored by Marx and Engels "a hundred times". Regarding "Dream of Red Mansions", he said, "You have to watch it five times before you can have a say." It is more appropriate to use the four words "never tire of reading a hundred times" to describe Mao Zedong's reading life.
