On Resolving the Grain Problem Among the Masses

(June 16, 1933)

Recently there has been a shortage of grain. The price of rice has been rising day by day, and in a few places, even with money one cannot buy rice. As a result, some of the masses have no rice to eat, subsisting daily only on vegetables and coarse grains, and some are even eating tree leaves and grass roots. This has truly become a serious phenomenon. The cause lies in the concealment of grain by rich peasants and the manipulation by merchants, who deliberately make things difficult for the toiling workers and peasants. Some of the masses who have surplus grain still cling to their old mentality of each looking out for himself, always wanting to wait for high prices before selling their rice and grain. They are utterly indifferent to the hunger of other toiling workers and peasants. This is entirely because they do not understand the great significance of class mutual aid. There are also some of the masses who do not have surplus grain but have also failed to save a portion of their grain to sell to those toiling masses who lack grain, especially to the families of Red Army soldiers, or to lend it to them by the method of borrowing in summer and repaying in autumn.

Now there is still more than a month before the new grain comes to market. During such a long period, a large quantity of grain is still needed to provide relief to those masses and Red Army family members who lack grain. In order to resolve this problem, governments at all levels must exert one hundred percent of their strength to carry out the following work:

1. Provincial-level governments must swiftly convene various meetings to conduct heated and detailed discussions, and based on the actual conditions of each county, decide on individual, systematic, and concrete plans to be handed down to lower-level governments for discussion and implementation.

2. County governments must, in accordance with the resolutions of the Provincial Soviets and the past experience of the movements to borrow grain and save grain to sell to the Red Army, convene district and township representative meetings (if the distance is too great and there are too many people, they may be convened in two separate locations). At the township level, the chairperson, representatives of the Poor Peasant League, trade unions, and women’s representatives must participate. Explain to these representatives and activists the

relations of class mutual aid, so that they return to their respective districts and townships to carry out extensive and heated propaganda and agitation, mobilizing the masses, enhancing the spirit of class fraternity and mutual aid among the masses, in order to resolve the current grain difficulties. In places where grain is most scarce, we may adopt plants such as huangjin (wild mountain ginger), huangqiucai, tonghao, ramie leaves, kudzu, and ferns as supplementary foodstuffs.

3. District and township governments must thoroughly implement all resolutions of the provincial and county levels on this issue. They must lead townships with more grain and rice to help townships with less grain and rice; villages with more grain and rice must certainly help villages with less grain and rice; and households with more grain and rice must help households with less grain and rice. Under the significance of class mutual aid, let the Soviet masses break the manipulation of rich peasants and rice merchants and resolve the difficulties of the period of scarcity before the new harvest.

Upon receiving this order, all levels of government are expected to diligently carry out this work. Do not treat it negligently. This is imperative. This order is issued.

Chairman Mao Zedong

Vice Chairmen Xiang Ying, Zhang Guotao

Minister of National Economy Lin Boqu

June 16, 1933