—Recently, there has been a severe shortage of grain throughout the region. The price of rice in cash has been rising day by day, and in some areas even money cannot buy rice. As a result, a portion of the masses are reduced to eating only vegetables and coarse grains, with some even resorting to leaves and roots. This has truly become a grave situation. The root cause lies in the hoarding by rich peasants and the manipulations of merchants, who deliberately make life difficult for the working people. Some among the population who have surplus grain still cling to their old ways of thinking, waiting for higher prices before they will sell their rice. They show no concern whatsoever for the hungry workers and peasants, simply because they fail to grasp the profound significance of class solidarity and mutual assistance. Moreover, others who do not have any surplus grain have not been able to set aside a portion to sell to those in need, particularly to families of Red Army soldiers, or to lend to them on a summer-borrow-winter-repay basis. With more than a month still to go before the new harvest comes on the market, a large quantity of grain will be required during this prolonged period to provide relief to the food-deprived and to the families of Red Army soldiers. In order to resolve this problem, governments at all levels must devote one hundred percent of their efforts to the following tasks:

1. Provincial-level governments should promptly convene various meetings for vigorous and detailed deliberations. Based on the actual conditions in each county, they should formulate separate, systematic, and concrete plans and submit them to lower-level governments for discussion and implementation.

2. County governments, in accordance with the resolutions of the provincial soviet and drawing on past experience with grain loans and campaigns to encourage the sale of saved grain to the Red Army, should convene conferences of district and township representatives (if distances are great or attendance too high, these may be held in two separate sessions). Township-level meetings should include the chairmen of poor-peasant leagues, trade unions, and women’s organizations, so that they can explain the principle of class solidarity to these representatives and leading activists. These individuals are then to return to their respective districts and townships to carry out extensive and enthusiastic propaganda and agitation, mobilizing the masses and fostering a spirit of class-based friendship and mutual assistance in order to overcome the current grain crisis. In areas where food shortages are most acute, we may utilize plants such as golden thread ginger, yellow chrysanthemum greens, artemisia, ramie leaves, kudzu vine, and bracken as supplementary food sources.

3. District and township governments must thoroughly implement all resolutions adopted at the provincial and county levels concerning this issue. They are to lead grain-surplus villages in assisting grain-deficient ones, and grain-surplus households in helping those in need. In this way, the Soviet masses, acting in the spirit of class solidarity, can break the stranglehold of rich peasant grain speculators and merchants and overcome the difficulties posed by the inter-harvest period.

Governments at all levels, upon receipt of this directive, are urged to undertake this work without delay; neglect is strictly prohibited.  Issued by: Chairman Mao Zedong, Vice Chairmen Xiang Ying and Zhang Guotao, and Minister of National Economy Lin Boqu, June 16th, Year Six.