I am not a lawyer, but the Chinese Communist Party really doesn't like separatism. "Who dares to even think about dividing the Motherland into two?" they ask.
Well, as it turns out, none other than their beloved Mao Tsê‑tung, in a 1920 essay for the newspaper Ta Kung Pao. Actually Mao went further and suggested dividing China up into 27 pieces, one of them being the "Republic of Hunan", Hunan being his home province.
I have only been able to find two versions of this, of which I shall be using the first version as the source text, as the second appears to have many transcription errors:
This is in
Selected Historical Materials of [the] Hunan Autonomy Movement
(《湖南自治运动史料选编》) by Li Tieming,
locatable by searching Google Books for
"湖南自治运动史料选编" "湖南建设问题的根本问题——湖南共和国"
(then scrolling back and forth until the pages are unblocked).
This is taken from the 1968 Wuhan Version of Long Live Mao Tsê‑tung Thought (1968年武汉版《毛泽东思想万岁》).
To briefly contextualise, the year was 1920, the ninth year of the proclaimed Republic of China, and the Communist Party would be founded in the year after. Mao's essay criticises the imperialist notion of 'Great Nation' that has resulted in the pillage of his country.
Today, 99 years on, wake up and ask yourselves: Who now is the imperialist and expansionist oppressor? Who now is pushing Uyghurs and Tibetans towards death? And who now forbids any mention of self-determination or independence?
The highlighting is mine, but remember, the words are Mao's:
| Source text | Target text | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 長沙《大公報》一九二零年九月三日 | Ta Kung Pao, Changsha, 3 September 1920 |
|
| 湖南建設問題的根本問題——湖南共和國 | [The] Fundamental Issue of [the] Hunan Development Issue — [the] Republic of Hunan | |
| 鄉居寂靜，一臥兼旬。 | [My] hometown residence [has been] quiet; one rest of twenty days. |
|
| 九月一號到省，翻閱《大公報》，封面打了紅色，中間有許多我所最喜歡的議論，引起我的高興，很願意繼續將我的一些意思寫出。 | [On the] first of September [I] arrived at [the] province; flipping through [the] Ta Kung Pao, [its] cover [was] struck [in] Red, [and] within [it] there were many of my favourite discussions, bringing me joyousness, [and I am] very willing to continue to write out some of my opinions. |
|
| 我是反對「大中華民國」的，我是主張「湖南共和國」的。有什麼理由呢？ | I am opposing [a] 'Great Republic of China', [and] I am asserting [a] 'Republic of Hunan'. What reasons are there? | |
| 大概從前有一種謬論，就是「在今後世界能夠爭存的國家，必定是大國家」。 | Broadly there is one kind of absurd discourse from former [times], [which] is: 'In [the] world hereafter, [the] nations [which shall be] able to survive, must be Great Nations'. | |
| 這種議論的流毒，擴充帝國主義，壓抑自國的小弱民族， | [The] spreading poison of this kind of discourse, expands imperialism, [and] oppresses [the] weaker peoples of [one's] own nation; |
|
| 在爭海外殖民地，使半開化未開化之民族變成完全奴隸，窒其生存向上，而惟使恭順馴屈於己。 | in contending for colonies overseas, causes semi-developed [and] undeveloped peoples [to] become slaves [in] full, obstructing their living [moving] upwards, and only makes [them] deferential, obedient, tame, [and] submissive unto oneself. | |
| 最著的例，是英、美、德、法、俄、奧，他們幸都收了其實沒有成功的成功。 | [The] most notable examples, are of Britain, America, Germany, France, Russia, [and] Austria-[Hungary]: they all [have been] fortunate [to] reap of success without actual success. | |
| 還有一個就是中國，連「其實沒有成功的成功」，都沒收得， | [Yet] also there is one [other], [which] is China, [for which], even 'success without actual success', [they have] not even reaped: | |
| 收得的是滿洲人消滅，蒙人、回人、藏人，奄奄欲死， | [but that] reaped is [the] annihilation of [the] Manchurians; [the] Mongolians, [the] Huis, [and the] Tibetans, breathing feebly [and] wishing to die; | |
| 十八省亂七八糟，造成三個政府、三個國會、二十個以上督軍王、巡按使王、總司令王， | [the] eighteen provinces [in] chaos [and] disarray, leading to three governments, three national assemblies, [and] above twenty military-governor kings, civil-governor kings, [and] commander-in-chief kings; | |
| 老百姓天天被人殺死姦死，財產盪空，外債如麻。 | commoners killed [and] raped to death by others every day; [and] wealth spent to depletion, [and] foreign debt as [entangled] hemp-fibre. |
|
| 號稱共和民國，沒有幾個懂得「什麼是共和」的國民， | [It] claims [the] title of Republic [and] Democratic Nation, [but] has not [even a] few citizens [who] know 'what is [a] Republic'. | |
| 四萬萬人至少有三萬九千萬不曉得寫信看報。 | [Of] four hundred million people there are at least three hundred [and] ninety million [who] know not how to write letters [or] read [the] news. | |
| 全國沒有一條自主的鐵路。 | [The] whole nation has not one self-controlled railroad. | |
| 不能辦郵政，不能駕「洋船」，不能經理食鹽。 | [We] cannot do postal services, [we] cannot drive 'foreign ships', [and we] cannot manage table salt. |
|
| 十八省中像湖南、四川、廣東、福建、浙江、湖北一類的省，通變成被征服省，屢踐他人的馬蹄，受害無極。 | Amidst [the] eighteen provinces, [the] provinces like [the] likes of Hunan, Szechuan, Kwangtung, Fukien, Chekiang, [and] Hupeh, [have] all changed into conquered provinces, repeatedly treading [the] horse hoofs of others, [and have] been harmed without limit. | |
| 這些果都是誰之罪呢？ | [And] all these consequences are whose crime? | |
| 我敢說，是帝國之罪，是大國之罪，是「在世界能夠爭存的國家必定是大國家」一種謬論的罪。 | I dare say: [it] is [the] crime of imperialism, [it] is [the] crime of the Great Nation, [and it] is [the] crime of absurd discourses, [the] likes of 'in [the] world hereafter, [the] nations [which shall be] able to survive must be Great Nations'. | |
| 根本的說，是人民的罪。 | Fundamentally speaking, [it] is [the] crime of the people. | |
| 現在我們知道，世界的大國多半瓦解了。 | Now we know [that], [of the] Great Nations of [the] world, [the] majority [have] crumbled. | |
| 俄國的旗子變成紅色，完全是世界主義的平民天下。 | Russia's flag [has] become Red; [it] completely is [a] cosmopolitanist commoner's world. |
|
| 德國也染成了半紅。波蘭獨立，截克獨立，匈牙利獨立，猶太、阿剌伯、亞美尼亞，都重新建國。 | Germany also [has been] dyed to become half Red. Poland [has become] independent, Czecho-[Slovakia] independent, [and] Hungary independent; Judea, Arabia, [and] Armenia [have] all established nations anew. | |
| 愛爾蘭狂欲脫離英吉利，朝鮮狂欲脫離日本。 | Ireland ferociously wishes to break away from England, [and] Korea ferociously wishes to break away from Japan. | |
| 在我們東北的西伯利亞遠東片土，亦建了三個政府。 | [The] far eastern Siberian land to our north-east, [has] also established three governments. | |
| 全世界風起雲湧，「民族自決」高唱入雲。 | [In the] whole world, [the] wind stirs [and the] clouds surge; 'people's self-determination' [is] sung loud into [the] clouds. |
|
| 打破大國迷夢，知道是野心家欺人的鬼話。 | Smash [the] illusion of the Great Nation: know [that it] is the ambitionist's lie [for] deceiving others. |
|
| 推翻帝國主義，不許他再來作祟，全世界蓋有好些人民業已醒覺了。 | Overthrow imperialism, [and] let it not come again to make trouble; [the] whole world has indeed [a] good few peoples [who have] already awoken. | |
| 中國呢？也醒覺了（除開政客、官僚、軍閥）。 | [And] China? [It] also [has] awoken (apart from [the] politicians, [the] bureaucrats, [and the] warlords). | |
| 九年假共和、大戰亂的經驗，迫人不得不醒覺，知道全國的總建設在一個期內完全無望。 | [The] experiences of nine years of [a] Fake Republic, [and of the] Great War, [have] forced people no choice but [to be] awake, [and to] know [that the] whole nation's collective development, in one term, [is] completely without hope. |
|
| 最好辦法，是索性不謀總建設，索性分裂，去謀各省的分建設，實行「各省人民自決主義」。 | [The] best way, is [that we] may as well not go for collective development: [we] may as well split up, to go for [the] separate development of each province, [and] implement 'self-determinationism of the people of each province'. | |
| 二十二行省、三特區、兩藩地，合共二十七個地方，最好分為二十七國。 | Twenty-two provinces, three special regions, [and] two bordered lands, totalling twenty-seven places, [are] best split into twenty-seven nations. | |
| 湖南呢？至於我們湖南，尤其三千萬人個個應該醒覺了！ | [And] Hunan? As to our Hunan, in particular thirty million people: every one [of them] should [be] awakened! | |
| 湖南人沒有別的法子，唯一的法子是湖南自決自治，是湖南人在湖南地域建設一個「湖南共和國」。 | [The] Hunan people have no other way. [The] only way is Hunan's self-determination [and] autonomy; [it] is [for the] Hunan people [to] establish [a] 'Republic of Hunan' in [the] Hunan region. | |
| 我曾著實想過，救湖南，救中國，圖與全世界解放的民族攜手，均非這樣不行。 | I have really thought about [this]: [to] save Hunan, [and to] save China; [to] seek to join hands with [the] liberated peoples of [the] whole world: all [ways which are] not thus, [will] not work. |
|
| 湖南人沒有把湖南自建為國的決心和勇氣，湖南終究是沒辦法。 | [If the] Hunan people have not [the] determination and courage to establish Hunan itself as [a] nation, Hunan [in the] end has no way [forward]. | |
| 談湖南建設問題，我覺得這是一個根本問題。 | On [the] Hunan development issue: I feel this is [a] fundamental issue. | |
| 我頗有一點意思要發表出來，乞吾三千萬同胞的聰聽，希望共起討論這一個頂有意思的大問題。 | I really have one [more] point of opinion [which] needs to [be] expressed, [so I] request [the] clear audience of my thirty million fellow citizens, [and] hope to discuss together this big issue of utmost interest. |
|
| 今天是個發端，餘俟明日以後繼續討論。 | Today is [a] beginning; [the] remainder awaits continued discussion tomorrow [and] thereafter. |
Conway (2023). Mao on separatism: 27 Chinas. <https://yawnoc.github.io/mao-on-separatism> Accessed yyyy-mm-dd.