Purpose The purpose of this paper is to elaborate a unique approach to researching into the mind of Mao and, at the same time, review of papers in this issue of Chinese Management Studies. Through this paper, the editor hopes to communicate the three simple yet important criteria that should feature in the selection of future papers. Design/methodology/approach Values of scholarly community as embodied within the 1,040-year-old Yuelu Academy are first introduced as translated by the joint efforts of the authors. The relevance of such cultural values for modern scholars is then discussed. This is followed by the author highlighting the unique research opportunity (documentary study and analysis) as offered by the Shaoshan Mao Memorial Museum. Perhaps it is possible to get a hint of the thinking of Mao Zedong. Finally, consistent with the earlier two review papers, a bird-eye view of key findings is given of the nine selected papers, namely, on politics, state-owned enterprises, team, socialism, planning, human resource management, leadership, competition and knowledge. Findings Clearly the modern scholarly community will benefit by imbibing the values of the Yuelu Academy with their strong emphasis on ethical behaviors, diligence and the deep pursuit of scholarly inquiry. Also, the Chinese, by documenting the writings of Mao Zedong (Shaoshan Museum), made him perhaps the most well-documented strategist for in-depth research. From the latest review of manuscripts, authors have yet to incorporate Chinese cultural, historical and social background as an integral part of their papers. Originality/value This paper calls for scholars to try to reintegrate Chinese cultural values back into research on Chinese management. Professor Warner Malcolm, Cambridge University, a contributing author wrote to the journal saying in essence: “[…] Chinese management is […] deeply rooted in Chinese cultural norms […]” Hopefully more of the submissions will begin to reflect such an orientation.
