## Mao’s philosophical top three 1. **Marginal notes on Paulsen’s *System of Ethics* (1917–18)** — the deepest treatment of selfhood, will, individualism, and moral idealism.[2][4] 2. **“A Study of Physical Education” (1917)** — his most polished published philosophical essay: mind depends on body; discipline creates will.[4] 3. **Letter to Zhou…

+

## Mao’s philosophical top three

1. **Marginal notes on Paulsen’s System of Ethics (1917–18)** — the deepest treatment of selfhood, will, individualism, and moral idealism.[2][4]

2. “A Study of Physical Education” (1917) — his most polished published philosophical essay: mind depends on body; discipline creates will.[4]

3. Letter to Zhou Shizhao (1920) — the clearest bridge from Confucian self-cultivation and German idealism toward Marxism.

## Yang Changji, 1917–1920

Yang died January 17, 1920, so his philosophical output ends there.

| Date | Work | Philosophical importance |

|—|—|—|

| 1917–19 | **_The Fundamental Problem of Ethics_ (Lunlixue zhi genben wenti)** | His major philosophical work: ethics, moral autonomy, self-cultivation, and the relation between individual and society. |

| 1917–19 | Ethics lectures at Peking University and Hunan First Normal | His teaching synthesized Confucian self-cultivation with Western idealist ethics; Mao attended and absorbed it. |

| 1914–19, publ. 1920–21 | _Dahua Zhai Diary_ | Most valuable surviving record of his daily philosophical reflection: education, moral discipline, quiet sitting, and national renewal. |

| 1919 | “A Message to Students” | May Fourth ethical appeal to youth; less systematic than the ethics work. |

## The philosophical line

The sequence is: Yang Changji’s ethics → Mao’s Paulsen notes and physical-education essay → Mao’s 1919 mass-union theory → Mao’s 1920 letters → Marxism. Yang supplied the Confucian-idealist language of self-cultivation; Mao converted it into a theory of collective transformation.[4]

Other works:

Here is the **early-Mao list, 1917–1924**, with the philosophical works marked. The key source is *Mao Zedong’s Early Writings, 1912–1920* (152 surviving texts), supplemented by Stuart Schram’s *Mao’s Road to Power*.[1][2]

## Mao, 1917–1924

|—|—|—|—|

| **Apr. 1, 1917** | **“A Study of Physical Education”** (*Tiyu zhi yanjiu*) | Essay, *New Youth* | **Most philosophical published essay before 1919**: body–mind relation, will, self-strengthening, national renewal. [4][5] |

| **1917–18** | **Marginal annotations to Friedrich Paulsen’s *System of Ethics*** | Reading notes | **Mao’s most philosophical text of the whole period**: individualism, self-realization, Nietzsche, Kantian ethics, spiritual power. [2][4] |

| **July 14, 1919** | **“Opening Statement of the *Xiangjiang Review*”** | Manifesto | Philosophical-political: “the greatest problem is eating”; attacks fear, superstition, bureaucracy, militarism, and capitalism. [4][6] |

| **July–Aug. 1919** | **“The Great Union of the Popular Masses”** | Three-part essay, *Xiangjiang Review* | **His central political-philosophy essay of 1919**: popular association as the engine of historical change. [4] |

| 1919–20 | Hunan self-government articles, including “The Fundamental Question of Hunan’s Reconstruction—A Hunan Republic” (Sept. 3, 1920) | Political essays | Theory of provincial autonomy and self-determination. [7][4] |

| **Mar. 14, 1920** | **Letter to Zhou Shizhao** | Letter | **Most explicitly philosophical 1920 text**: discusses Confucius, Laozi, Cheng brothers, Zhu Xi, Wang Yangming, Kant, Hegel; seeks a philosophy of self and social change. |

| 1924 | Work in the KMT/CCP united front; propaganda and organizational documents | Political work | Little surviving standalone philosophy; the major class-analysis works begin in 1925–26. [4][3] |

Sources

[1] 毛泽东早期文稿 pdf epub mobi https://pdf.onlinetoolsland.com/34995678.pdf

[2] Mao’s Road to Power: Revolutionary Writings, 1912-49: v. 1 https://www.routledge.com/Maos-Road-to-Power-Revolutionary-Writings-1912-49-v-1-Pre-Marxist-Period-1912-20-Revolutionary-Writings-1912-49/Mao-Schram/p/book/9781563244575

[3] 毛泽东集 https://www.marxists.org/chinese/pdf/chinese_marxists/mao/01.pdf

[4] [PDF] The Foundations of Mao Zedong’s Political Thought 1917–1935 https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/2340f764-342b-4700-805e-ee56a458295d/content

[5] en.wikipedia.org · wiki · Bibliography_of_works_byBibliography of works by Mao Zedong – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliography_of_works_by_Mao_Zedong

[6] 毛选8 https://www.scribd.com/document/677326543/%E6%AF%9B%E9%80%898

[7] 国共两党和苏联关于边疆民族问题的分歧与博弈（1917—1928） https://www.opentimes.cn/html/Abstract/28194.html

[8] Mao Zedong – Chinese Revolution, Communism, Chairman https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mao-Zedong/The-road-to-power

[9] Mao’s road to power : revolutionary writings 1912-1949 / Stuart R … https://librarycatalog.ecu.edu/catalog/468955

[10] Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selected_Works_of_Mao_Tse-Tung

[11] Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Volume 1 https://baike.baidu.com/en/item/Selected%20Works%20of%20Mao%20Zedong,%20Volume%201/926008

+

+ Randomposter’s Press Page

+

## Mao’s philosophical top three

1. **Marginal notes on Paulsen’s *System of Ethics* (1917–18)** — the deepest treatment of selfhood, will, individualism, and moral idealism.[2][4]

2. **“A Study of Physical Education” (1917)** — his most polished published philosophical essay: mind depends on body; discipline creates will.[4]

3. **Letter to Zhou Shizhao (1920)** — the clearest bridge from Confucian self-cultivation and German idealism toward Marxism.