(April 15, 1933)

Firearms are important weapons of war and should be concentrated within the
Red Army and local organs of armed workers and peasants, to be used for
attacking the enemy and engaging in warfare; private individuals may not carry
them at will. As for the enemies of the worker and peasant classes-landlords,
rich peasants, capitalists, and all counterrevolutionary elements-it is even more
strictly forbidden for them to have weapons in their hands. Moreover, counterrevolutionary elements are to be strictly prevented from infiltrating our armed
forces-independent Red Army divisions and regiments or the Red Guards and
Young Pioneers-to pilfer arms. This is an essential prerequisite for guaranteeing the victory of the revolution.

Military uniforms are to be worn by the Red Army, and to avoid confusion,
those who are not part of the Red Army may not wear the uniform of the Red
Army at will.

We have found through investigation that in the victories of the first, second,
and third wars,¹ a large number of firearms were dispersed into the villages and
not all of them were retrieved. At the same time, although we have totally
destroyed the various local landlords' armed forces that existed in the past,
inevitably a small number of firearms has been hidden away by counterrevolutionary elements. It is difficult to prevent these firearms that have been dispersed
from falling into the hands of counterrevolutionaries. It is a fact that recently an
investigation of landlords and rich peasants in the xian of [Chang]ting,
Hui[chang], Shi[cheng], and so on, turned up quite a lot of firearms. Further-

This document was first published in Hongse Zhonghua, no. 71, April 20, 1933. We have
translated it from Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol 4, pp. 107-9.
more, the discovery during the campaign to eliminate counterrevolutionaries of
armed conspiracies on the part of such counterrevolutionary organizations as the
assassination brigades (in Huichang), the extermination brigades (in Yudu), the
secret watch brigades (in Xunwu and Wantai), and so on, fully demonstrate the
gravity of this problem. As the present class struggle becomes most intense, we
not only must thoroughly eliminate the enemy who is attacking from without, we
must also completely disperse the armed forces of the counterrevolutionary factions that are operating within the soviet districts and suppress all counterrevolutionary schemes, in order to defend the soviet areas and strengthen their
development and victory. Firearms are the most important of all weapons, and it
should be guaranteed that they are in the hands of the armed forces of the
workers and peasants. Undertaking an investigation and banning privately owned
firearms, and carrying out the registration of firearms constitute important tasks
in ensuring the victory of the revolution.
Recently a great many Red Army uniforms have been dispersed among the
masses, especially through deserters who have gone home wearing their uniforms. This makes it hard to distinguish between those in the Red Army and
those who are not, and causes a large financial loss for the government. Furthermore, it directly affects the expenditures of the revolutionary war, so it is imperative that an investigation and a ban be carried out immediately.
Accordingly, the following measures have been decided upon:
1. Undertake an inspection for firearms, and except for the official armed
forces—independent Red Army divisions and regiments, guerrilla brigades, defense forces, the Red Guards, and the Young Pioneers—private individuals may
not carry or conceal firearms.
2. All personnel of xian level organs and above and special agents of the
State Security Bureau who must carry firearms for work-related reasons are
restricted to handguns and rifles only, and with the signature of the person in
charge of that organ, shall register and obtain a firearm permit from that level of
the State Security Bureau. In the border areas, at the district and township levels,
personnel who need to carry firearms for reasons related to the circumstances or
to their work are to obtain permits through validation and registration by the
directly related xian organs.
3. From now on, any private individual who is found to possess firearms
without a permit will be charged with the crime of privately concealing military
weapons.
4. Except for fighters who have been taken away from production to be on
active duty with the armed forces, government personnel on active duty, and
disabled Red Army fighters who have gone home, all of whom may wear the
Red Army uniform, the Red Guards, Young Pioneers, popular mass organizations, and private individuals are all forbidden to wear the Red Army uniform.
Both military and government personnel should turn in their uniforms when they
leave active duty.


5. For the Central [Soviet] Area the month of May is designated as the period
of inspection for firearms and uniforms. In other soviet areas inspection shall be
completed within twenty days of receipt of this document.

6. Those who voluntarily turn in [firearms and uniforms] during the inspection period will not be prosecuted. Otherwise, following discovery, they will be
charged with the crime of privately concealing military weapons and uniforms.
After the time limit, however, those who voluntarily come forward will be given
lighter punishment.

7. The organs of inspection shall be put into operation by the xian and district
military affairs offices in coordination with the security bureaus.

8. The Red Guards and Young Pioneers and the various popular mass organs
must be mobilized to participate in the inspection. Moreover, the masses must be
mobilized and encouraged to report regularly to the government and the security
bureaus on those who privately conceal weapons.

It is important that government organs at all levels and State Security Bureau
organs at all levels coordinate actions in determining and carrying out concrete
measures regarding the above, and that the circumstances of inspection and
registration be reported to the appropriate levels. It is so ordered.

Chairman Mao Zedong
Vice-Chairmen Xiang Ying
Zhang Guotao

April 15, 1933, by the Western calendar
--- Notes

1. Once again, the first, second, and third campaigns of "Encirclement and Suppres-sion" are meant.