Death is heavier than Mount Tai, and lighter than a feather. Dying for the people is more important than Mount Tai. This sentence was used by Mao Zedong in the book "Serving the People" to praise Zhang Side for his sacrifice in serving the people. His death was more important than Mount Tai, and then educated the majority of party members, cadres and soldiers to Zhang Side learned the spirit of serving the people.

"Serving the People" is Chairman Mao Zedong's speech at the memorial service of Comrade Zhang Side on September 8, 1944. Comrade Zhang Side died when the charcoal kiln collapsed while burning charcoal in Shaanxi. Speech delivered at the memorial service.

At that time, the Anti-Japanese War was at a very difficult stage, and there were many difficulties that needed to be overcome. In response to this situation, Chairman Mao Zedong explained the principles of serving the people and called on everyone to learn from Comrade Zhang Side's spirit of completely serving the people and unite to defeat the Japanese aggressors.

Creative background:

In the article "On Coalition Government", he once again emphasized: "Stand closely with the Chinese people and serve the Chinese people wholeheartedly. This is The sole purpose of the army." Judging from the requirements put forward by Mao Zedong at that time, it should be said that this was a requirement for the revolutionary army, the New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army, and a requirement for the majority of revolutionary workers. It was a high-standard requirement. ?

“Serving the people” or “serving the people wholeheartedly” embodies the fundamental requirements of socialist morality, is an objective need of the socialist economic foundation, and is a requirement for establishing and developing a socialist market economy. It is the spiritual motivation to perform professional duties and the highest standard for measuring the right and wrong of professional behavior.

Later it became a highly summarized language for the founding purpose of the Communist Party of China; after the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was also adopted by the party and government organs at all levels of the Communist Party of China and their work People are used as motto and action slogan.