The Problem of Opposing Rich Peasants
Notice No. 2 of the Central Revolutionary
Military Committee
(1931)

I. The rationale for opposing the rich peasants

First, the rich peasants are the semi-landlords and the capitalists of the countryside, and are an exploiting class. They support the feudal forces and also want to
become capitalists; their interests are diametrically opposed to those of the
masses of workers, farm laborers, poor peasants, and middle peasants. If we want
to protect the interests of the workers, farm laborers, poor peasants, and middle
peasants, we must oppose the rich peasants.

Second, the rich peasants are an exploiting class. They often collude with the
reactionary forces to sabotage the revolution. If we want to consolidate the
soviet régime and ensure the success of land redistribution, we must definitely
oppose the rich peasants.

Third, the road the rich peasants are taking is the capitalist road. We are
moving towards the socialist road. Their road and ours are completely opposite,
so that if we want to make the revolution advance to the socialist road, we must
intensify our struggle against the rich peasants.

II. Mistakes in opposing the rich peasants

If we examine the opposition to the rich peasants in the past, four major mistakes
were made.

First, instead of taking opposing exploitation as the criterion, opposition to the
rich peasants was seen exclusively as a means to raise funds. Not exploitation,
but money, was presented as the criterion. The financial criterion of not attacking
those who had less than a hundred yuan, but only those with over a hundred yuan
was exploited by vagabond leaders, and in a few places they even went so far as
to attack those who had only upwards of twenty yuan, or anyone who could

Our source for this document is Mao Zedong ji, Vol. 2, pp. 259-62, where it is reproduced
from Chifei jimi wenjian huibian (A Collection of Red Bandit Secret Documents), no. 5,
compiled by the Guomindang armed forces in September 1931.


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afford to raise an old sow. This caused a state of panic among the masses, who
felt that the revolution must be about making everyone poor, instead of making
everyone better off and improving their lives.
Second, they encroached on the interests of the middle peasants. Because of
the existence of the first mistake, there also arose the second mistake of encroaching upon the interests of the middle peasants. Middle peasants are those
who can get enough to eat and live on by farming the land, who are not exploited
by others, and do not themselves exploit others. Not only must we refrain from
encroaching upon these people, but rather we should closely unite with them and
all oppose the rich peasants together. For the only way out for the middle peasants is to make revolution under the leadership of the proletariat, and we, for our
part, can only strengthen the revolutionary forces and make the revolution advance rapidly by uniting with the middle peasants.
Third, the redistribution of the rich peasants' land was not done thoroughly. In
very many places, distribution of the land followed the principle of drawing on the
plentiful to make up for the scarce, but not that of drawing on the fat to make up for
the lean. The rich peasants monopolized the good farmland, and the forests, dwellings, ponds, and so on were not thoroughly distributed either. As a consequence, the
rich peasants were in a privileged position economically, and also seized political
leadership. The soviet governments and revolutionary organizations were dominated
by rich peasants, and the rich peasants have taken further advantage of their political
and economic power to exploit and oppress the masses of poor peasants.
Fourth, the masses were not mobilized. Because opposition to the rich peasants was merely to raise funds for the government, equal land distribution was
not thoroughly carried out either, and the masses were not made to recognize
that rich peasants are counterrevolutionary. Everyone started opposing the rich
peasants in various ways, and the government consequently became divorced
from the masses and isolated.
III. The correct way to oppose the rich peasants
A. The political aspect. First, consolidate the leadership of the proletariat. In the
soviet government, the Red Army, the Red Guards, and all revolutionary organizations, rich peasants should not be allowed to participate as committee members
in the soviet government or as deputies to soviet congresses. Leaders among
workers, farm laborers, and poor peasants, and the most active elements among
the middle peasants should be elected to discuss and handle all matters, and poor
peasant associations should be organized to unite the broad masses of poor
peasants into a strong alliance with the middle peasants to oppose the rich
peasants. Where middle peasants' interests have been encroached upon in the
past, either by fining them or having their money donated to the poor peasants,
they must be fully compensated. The vagabond leaders' policy of random imposition of fines, not based on class and divorced from the masses, must also be


opposed. If such things happen again, people should be allowed to file charges with
higher authorities. Second, suppress the reaction of the rich peasants. The rich
peasants are an exploiting class, and so will inevitably oppose and sabotage the
revolution by various means. Therefore, it is especially necessary to watch out
for reactionary moves on the part of rich peasants throughout the soviet territory,
and whenever their counterrevolutionary organizations such as the AB Corps and
others are discovered to be colluding with the White bandits to oppose and
sabotage the revolution and so on, the government must severely punish them as
counterrevolutionary criminals. Rich peasants may be allowed to exist or run
their business only if they obey every law issued by the soviet and refrain from
all counterrevolutionary conspiracies and activities.
B. The economic aspect. First, oppose exploitation by the rich peasants. The
goal of opposing the rich peasants at present is not at all to wipe out the rich
peasants; rather it is to oppose firmly all economic exploitation by the rich
peasants, because exploitation by the rich peasants adds to the suffering of us
workers, poor peasants, and so on. Rich peasants may be permitted to hire farm
laborers, as long as they treat their hired hands in accordance with the Labor
Protection Law. Harsh treatment and oppression are prohibited. Doing business
is also permitted, but monopolizing purchase or sale and usury are forbidden.
More specific regulations such as these are best worked out by the xian government,
preferably through a representative assembly of the xian, according to actual local
conditions. This sort of policy is not meant to eliminate capitalists altogether, but
rather to oppose harsh exploitation by capitalists and promote lively development of
the economy in society. As for the fact that it is sometimes necessary to solicit
donations from the rich peasants, it is to meet the needs of the revolution. The rich
peasants can afford to give the amount for which they should be responsible. But it's
not the case that the economy of the rich peasants should be eliminated altogether at
this point. Speaking of the peasants' land, it must be divided completely equally.
Second, carry out the economic policies. What is described above in terms of limiting exploitation by rich peasants is still only a passive measure. It is not enough to
oppose the rich peasants only in a passive way; it is also necessary to oppose the rich
peasants by carrying out economic policies according to social conditions. For example, the government can lead the people in operating credit cooperatives to provide low interest loans to the impoverished masses, operating production
cooperatives to develop manufacturing, and operating commercial cooperatives to
minimize exploitation by merchants and rich peasants, and so on. These organizations can actively resist exploitation by the rich peasants, provide the broad
masses of poor people with a certain measure of liberation, and prepare for the
development of the economy in society in the direction of socialism.
IV. Preventing abuses
The purpose of pointing out above the mistakes made in opposing the rich
peasants and of stating that now is not the time to eliminate the rich peasants is

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certainly not to have people ease up in opposing the rich peasants. On the
contrary, it is to have everyone understand the strategy of opposing the rich
peasants and oppose the rich peasants even more intensely. As we rectify our
strategy, we must prevent the rich peasants who are hiding under cover in the
revolutionary ranks as well as supporters of the rich peasants from moderating
our work in opposing the rich peasants. Even more must the rich peasants be
forbidden from opposing the government under any pretext. It is so proclaimed.

Chairman
Vice-Chairmen
Xiang Ying
Mao Zedong
Zhu De