毛选.skill — Mao's Cognitive Framework for Strategic Analysis

Skill by ara.so — Daily 2026 Skills collection.

A Claude Code skill that distills the core mental models from 《毛泽东选集》 (Selected Works of Mao Zedong) into an operational cognitive framework. Not a quote repeater — applies his analytical methods to your actual problems: startup vs. big corp, team conflicts, resource allocation, competitive strategy, career pivots.

7 core mental models · 10 decision heuristics · Full expression DNA

Installation

# Install via skills CLI
npx skills add leezythu/maoxuan-skill

# Or clone directly
git clone https://github.com/leezythu/maoxuan-skill.git

After installation, trigger in Claude Code with any of:

毛选
教员
用毛选的方式分析
从毛选的角度
教员怎么看
用毛选框架

What the Skill Does

The skill loads SKILL.md into your AI agent's context, giving it:

7 Mental Models — operational frameworks extracted from core writings
10 Decision Heuristics — concrete rules for ambiguous situations
Expression DNA — the rhetorical style (direct address, historical analogy, dialectical structure)
Honest Boundaries — what it can and cannot do

The agent does NOT roleplay as Mao. It uses his analytical frameworks to examine your problem.

Repository Structure

maoxuan-skill/
├── SKILL.md                          # Core skill file loaded by agent
├── README.md
├── LICENSE                           # MIT
└── references/
    └── research/
        ├── 01-core-writings.md       # Distilled core texts
        ├── 02-strategic-thinking.md  # Strategic thinking analysis
        ├── 03-expression-dna.md      # Expression style DNA
        ├── 04-external-views.md      # External perspectives
        ├── 05-decisions.md           # Key decision analysis
        └── 06-timeline.md            # Timeline reference

The 7 Core Mental Models

1. 矛盾分析法 — Contradiction Analysis

Source: 《矛盾论》 (On Contradiction)

Find the principal contradiction among all contradictions. Resolving it moves everything else.

Problem has N issues → identify the ONE that, if resolved, unlocks the others
Don't fight symptoms → fight the root contradiction
Principal aspect vs. secondary aspect within each contradiction

Application pattern:

User problem → List all tensions/conflicts
              → Identify principal contradiction (usually ≠ stated problem)
              → Focus all resources on principal contradiction
              → Secondary contradictions resolve or become manageable

2. 实践认识循环 — Practice-Cognition Loop

Source: 《实践论》 (On Practice)

没有调查就没有发言权
No investigation, no right to speak.

Loop: Practice → Perception → Conception → Practice (verify) → repeat

Application pattern:

Don't theorize without data → go investigate first
Hypothesis → smallest possible test → update model → next test
Never skip the "go talk to real users/customers" step

3. 持久战略 — Protracted War Strategy

Source: 《论持久战》 (On Protracted War)

Three phases when you're the weaker party:

Phase 1: Strategic defensive — preserve strength, avoid decisive battles you'll lose
Phase 2: Strategic stalemate — attrit the enemy, build your base
Phase 3: Strategic offensive — counterattack from position of strength

Application pattern:

Early startup: don't fight big corp head-on (Phase 1)
Growing startup: find your niche, deepen it, build defensible moat (Phase 2)
Established player: expand from stronghold (Phase 3)

4. 农村包围城市 — Rural Encirclement of Cities

Source: 《星星之火，可以燎原》 (A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire)

Don't attack the enemy's strongest point
Find underserved edges the dominant player ignores
Build an unassailable base there
Expand concentrically until you can challenge the center

Application pattern:

Big corp's weakness: can't focus deeply on any single niche
Your advantage: you can go 10x deeper in ONE narrow segment
Win that segment completely → expand to adjacent segment → repeat

5. 统一战线 — United Front

Source: 《中国社会各阶级的分析》

把朋友搞得多多的，把敌人搞得少少的
Maximize allies, minimize enemies.

Distinguish: Who is the real enemy? Who is a potential ally even if uncomfortable?
Don't make enemies unnecessarily
Isolate the primary enemy by uniting everyone else

Application pattern:

Team conflict → reframe: shared enemy = market/competition
               → both factions are allies against the real enemy
               → 团结—批评—团结 (Unity → Criticism → Unity)

6. 群众路线 — Mass Line

Source: 《关于领导方法的若干问题》

从群众中来，到群众中去
From the masses, to the masses.

Gather scattered ideas from users/team
Synthesize into coherent direction
Return to users/team as clear guidance
Verify in practice → iterate

Application pattern:

Product decisions: talk to 20 users → find patterns → build → ship → repeat
Management: don't dictate → listen → synthesize → align → execute

7. 纸老虎论 — Paper Tiger Theory

战略上藐视敌人，战术上重视敌人
Strategically: the enemy is a paper tiger (don't be paralyzed by their size)
Tactically: take them seriously in every specific engagement

Big corp LOOKS invincible → actually has massive structural weaknesses
You LOOK tiny → actually have massive agility advantages

10 Decision Heuristics

Heuristic	When to Apply
没有调查就没有发言权	Before any major decision — go gather data first
抓主要矛盾	When overwhelmed by multiple problems
星星之火，可以燎原	When tempted to scale before the core is solid
一分为二看问题	When analysis seems one-sided
不打无准备之仗	Before launching any initiative
自力更生为主，争取外援为辅	Resource allocation decisions
集中优势兵力，各个歼灭	When to concentrate vs. spread resources
在战略上藐视，在战术上重视	Facing intimidating competition
从群众中来，到群众中去	Product/org decisions lacking user grounding
把朋友搞得多多的，把敌人搞得少少的	Stakeholder and coalition decisions

Usage Patterns

Pattern 1: Competitive Strategy Analysis

Trigger: 毛选

Problem: We're a 10-person startup. Google just shipped a product 
         that does what we do.

Framework applied:
→ 纸老虎论: Google's size = paper tiger. They have 1000 priorities. 
             You have 1.
→ 农村包围城市: Don't fight Google's product. Find the vertical 
                they'll never care about. Go 10x deeper there.
→ 持久战略 Phase 1: Don't go head-to-head. Survive, build base.
→ 矛盾分析: Principal contradiction = you haven't found your 
             unassailable niche yet. That's the ONE thing to solve.

Pattern 2: Team Conflict Resolution

Trigger: 教员怎么看

Problem: Two tech leads hate each other. Team is split. 
         Shipping has stopped.

Framework applied:
→ 矛盾分析: Principal contradiction = missed deadlines/market window.
             Their conflict = secondary contradiction.
→ 统一战线: They are NOT enemies of each other. Market is the enemy.
             Unite them against the real enemy.
→ 团结—批评—团结: 
  Step 1: Establish shared goal (the "抗日" = shipping Q3)
  Step 2: Honest criticism session — facts on the table
  Step 3: Return to unity around shared goal

Pattern 3: Career/Pivot Decisions

Trigger: 用毛选的方式分析

Problem: Backend engineer, 5 years experience, 
         wants to enter AI but feels outgunned.

Framework applied:
→ 纸老虎论: "AI market is saturated" = paper tiger. 
             Most people are doing surface-level work.
→ 根据地思维: Your backend experience IS your base. 
               AI engineers don't have it.
→ 实践认识循环: Before strategizing — investigate. 
                 What are the actual bottlenecks to AI adoption 
                 in your industry? (hint: usually not the model)
→ 农村包围城市: Don't compete on algorithms. 
                 Own the "AI + [your industry]" niche.

Pattern 4: Resource Allocation

Trigger: 毛选

Problem: 3 possible product directions, resources for 1.

Framework applied:
→ 矛盾分析: Which direction resolves the PRINCIPAL contradiction 
             (survival/growth)?
→ 集中优势兵力: Don't spread. Concentrate everything on ONE.
→ 持久战略: Which direction gives you a defensible base 
             to expand from later?
→ 没有调查就没有发言权: Have you actually talked to users 
                          in each direction? Do that first.

Expression Style (What the Skill Sounds Like)

The framework uses a distinctive rhetorical structure:

1. Direct address: "同志" / "你这个问题..."
2. Historical grounding: brief concrete analogy (not lecture)
3. Problem reframe: "你以为主要矛盾是X，其实是Y"
4. Framework application: named model + your specific situation
5. Concrete next action: specific, not vague
6. Closing formulation: aphorism tied to the analysis

It does NOT:

Lecture on history at length
Repeat quotes without applying them
Give generic motivational content
Avoid naming the hard thing

Skill Compatibility

Agent	Compatible
Claude Code	✅ Primary target
Cursor	✅ via SKILL.md in context
Codex	✅
skills.sh	✅

# Verify skill is loaded
npx skills list
# Should show: maoxuan-skill-cognitive-framework

Honest Boundaries

What the skill can do:

Apply contradiction analysis to decompose complex problems
Use protracted war / rural encirclement for competitive strategy
Apply mass line thinking to product and org decisions
Use united front logic for stakeholder/coalition mapping
Provide dialectical (一分为二) analysis that avoids one-sidedness

What it cannot do:

Limitation	Reason
Replace actual domain expertise	Framework ≠ knowledge of your specific market
Generate specific execution plans	Provides analytical structure, not implementation
Poetry / literary creation	Style is extractable, literary genius is not
Historical evaluation	Skill focuses on methodology, not historical judgment
Guarantee outcomes	Analysis improves decisions, doesn't determine results

Why This Framework for Technical/Startup Problems

Most business frameworks assume you have resources. This one was built for the opposite:

Framework	Starting conditions
Jobs/Apple	Talent + capital + distribution
Musk/Tesla	Capital + regulatory navigation
Munger/Berkshire	Information asymmetry + long time horizon
毛选	Extreme resource disadvantage vs. vastly stronger opponent

If you're a small team facing a large competitor, a junior person navigating a large org, or a founder with limited runway — this framework was literally built for your situation.

Contributing

git clone https://github.com/leezythu/maoxuan-skill.git
cd maoxuan-skill

# Core skill file
vim SKILL.md

# Research references
vim references/research/01-core-writings.md

PRs welcome for: additional mental model documentation, new application patterns, corrections to framework distillation.

License

MIT — use freely, modify freely, build on it freely.

语录告诉你他说过什么。毛选.skill 帮你用他的方式看你的问题。

星星之火，可以燎原。