Organizing revolutionary warfare and putting an end to warlord conflicts are the central tasks of the current revolution. To accomplish this mission, we must build an ironclad Red Army and win over the broad masses. Therefore, it is imperative to strengthen political education within the Red Army so that its commanders and soldiers clearly understand their duties and resolutely carry them out. At the same time, we must intensify propaganda and organizational work among the masses, mobilizing the broad popular forces in the combat zones to rise up and struggle. These have become our most urgent tasks. The political commissars and political departments of the Red Army are responsible for implementing these tasks. To oversee these functions across all regional Red Armies, a General Political Department is required. Given the substantial growth of Red Armies throughout the country, there is an urgent need to unify and reinforce their political leadership. Accordingly, a General Political Department is hereby established within this Conference, with Mao Zedong as its Director. For practical reasons, the General Political Department of this Conference will temporarily also assume the functions of the General Political Department of the First Front Army. The General Political Department shall direct the political departments of the Red Army and guide the political work of the political commissars. All orders issued by the General Political Department must be strictly obeyed by the political departments of the Red Army. Similarly, with regard to matters pertaining to political work, the political commissars shall likewise receive and comply with such directives. The political departments of each Red Army are required to submit regular reports to the General Political Department. In addition to reporting to their superior political committees, political commissars shall also present political work reports to their next higher-level political departments. Although the political departments and political commissars of the Red Army each maintain their own separate organizational structures, in practice the lower-level political departments must follow the command of their superior political departments while simultaneously heeding the guidance of their peer political commissars; likewise, lower-level political commissars are subject to the direction of their superior political commissars and, in matters of political work, to the guidance of their superior political departments as well. Upon receipt of this circular, strict implementation is earnestly requested.

Chairman Xiang Ying, Vice Chairmen Zhu De and Mao Zedong  November 17, 1931, Gregorian calendar