(June 18-19, 1933)

I. The Land Investigation Movement Is the Central and
Major Task in a Broad Area

All our experiences in the past have proved: only after the land question is
correctly resolved, and the flame of class struggle in the countryside rises to its
highest point under resolute class slogans, can we mobilize the broad masses of
the peasants under the leadership of the proletariat to participate in the revolutionary war and in all aspects of building the soviets; build a solid revolutionary
base; increase the power of the soviet movement; and achieve greater development and greater victories.

According to the experience we have obtained from the development of
the agrarian revolution, the development of class struggle in the countryside
has, broadly speaking, the following stages: (1) the stage of confiscating and
redistributing the land, (2) the stage of land investigation, and (3) the stage of
land construction. In accordance with these three stages of the land struggle,
there exist, broadly speaking, three kinds of zones in any soviet area. They
are (1) areas in which the struggle has penetrated deeply, (2) areas in which the
struggle has lagged relatively far behind, and (3) areas in which new development is taking place.

In areas in which new development is taking place, the development of the
land struggle is still at the stage of land confiscation and redistribution. The
central question here is to overturn the political power of the landlord class by
military force; to establish provisional revolutionary political power (a revolutionary committee); to establish local armed forces of the workers and peasants;
to establish revolutionary mass organizations; to confiscate the land and property
of the landlord class and the land of the rich peasants; to distribute land to the

This report was first published in three installments in Hongse Zhonghua, nos. 86, 87, and
88, dated respectively June 17, 20, and 23, 1933. The text is conveniently reproduced in
Mao Zedong ji, Vol. 3, pp. 243-50, which constitutes our source.


farm laborers, poor peasants, and middle peasants and to give poor land to the
rich peasants; to abolish debts; and to burn land deeds and loan contracts. The
struggle during this stage includes the beginning of a direct confrontation between revolution and counterrevolution, as well as the entire period during which
the revolutionaries defeat the counterrevolutionaries and carry through the disposal of their land and property.
In areas in which the struggle has penetrated deeply, a stable soviet political
power has already been established, local armed forces and revolutionary mass
organizations have been developed on a large scale, the feudal and semifeudal
forces of the landlords and rich peasants have been completely overcome, the land
has been completely redistributed, and, as regards the land question, the struggle
of the peasant masses has already entered a new stage of improving the land and
developing production. Consequently, the main problem in such places is that of
land construction.
In areas in which the struggle has lagged behind, its stage of development lies
between the two stages just mentioned. It has moved from the period of provisional political power to that of regular political power, but has not yet reached
the period in which political power is completely consolidated. In an area like
this, open counterrevolutionary struggles by the landlords and rich peasants have
already been defeated by the revolutionary masses during the first phase, but
since then, many landlord and rich peasant elements have suddenly changed their
identities, replacing their counterrevolutionary masks with revolutionary masks.
They, too, approve of the revolution and of land redistribution. They call themselves poor peasants who should receive land just like the other poor peasants.
They become very active, and relying on their historical advantages "it is they
who know how to speak, it is they who know how to write" they take advantage of the opportunities to steal the fruits of land reform during the first stage.
Facts from innumerable localities have shown that they controlled the provisional political power, sneaked into the local armed forces, manipulated the
revolutionary organizations, and received more and better land than the poorer
peasants. It was only with the coming of the second period, when higher levels
of government exercised supervision, mass struggle developed further, the revolutionary committee was changed into a soviet, and the mass organizations and
local armed forces took their first steps toward reform and development, that
such fake revolutionaries were partly eliminated. In many places, the land has
been redistributed a second time, and even a third or fourth time, and part of the
land stolen by the landlords and rich peasants has been dealt with. But many
class-alien elements are still lurking in the soviet mass organizations and local
armed forces, "wearing red ribbons and addressing people as comrade," concocting rumors, holding secret meetings, and denouncing the masses for their "left
opportunism," "indiscriminate attacks on the local bullies," and "using public
authority to seek personal revenge." Or, they "talk enthusiastically at meetings,
but do nothing after the meeting." When the struggle was very fierce, they set up

secret counterrevolutionary organizations, such as the Guomindang, the So-
cial Democratic Party, the AB Corps, the New Communist Party, and others
of every description, sabotaging the revolution and plotting to murder revolutionary activists. In sum, the landlord and rich peasant classes are trying by
every possible means to suppress the struggle of the masses, in an attempt to
maintain their privileges in the domains of political power, land, and property, and to preserve the remnants of their feudal power. In districts like this,
there is a grave struggle between the revolutionary masses and the landlords
and rich peasants, but this struggle is not like the open struggle that took
place between the Red and White flags during the first period. It is rather a
struggle between the revolutionary masses of the peasantry and the landlord
and rich peasant elements whose faces are covered by false masks. Such a
struggle presents a special difficulty because, unlike the open counterrevolutionaries, the hidden counterrevolutionaries cannot be recognized at
a glance by the peasants. Besides, given the various kinds of deep-rooted
feudal relationships in the countryside, such as the relations between nationalities,¹ it will not be an easy task to raise the class consciousness of the
peasants to the extent that they all realize that, in the end, it will be essential
to eliminate the feudal remnants. To achieve this will definitely require that
the Communist Party and the Soviet Government explain it to the peasants
very patiently. Much arduous work must be done, and a correct class line and
a correct method of mass work will be required. Here the central question is
the question of land investigation and the investigation of classes. Without
resolving this question, the revolutionary activism of the peasant masses cannot be brought into full play; the remnant feudal forces cannot be completely
crushed; the soviets cannot be consolidated to the highest degree; and many
major tasks, such as expanding the Red Army, raising funds for the Red
Army, expanding local armed forces, carrying forward land construction and
economic construction, and promoting culture and education, cannot be accomplished with the greatest success. Consequently, the Land Investigation
Movement is the most essential and important task within these areas.
Speaking of the Central Soviet Area, such districts in which the struggle is
lagging behind cover a large part of the entire Soviet Area. The land question has
not been thoroughly resolved in many areas, including the whole of thirteen xian,
namely, Huichang, Xunwu, Anyuan, Xinfeng, Le'an, Yihuang, Guangchang,
Shicheng, Jianning, Lichuan, Ninghua, Changting, and Wuping; most of Ruijin,
Yudu, Bosheng, Shengli, and Yongfeng; some parts of Gonglue, Wantai, Gan-

1. Aside from a few hundred She minority people, there were hardly any non-Han
people living in the Central Soviet Area. There were, however, large numbers of Hakkas,
people of Han Chinese origin but distinctive customs and dialect. It is possible that Mao
was referring to distinctions between Hakka and non-Hakka inhabitants when he spoke of
"nationalities" here. Given the omnipresence of lineages in this area, it is also possible that
minzu (nationality) was written when jiazu (lineage) was meant.

xian, Shanghang, Yongding, and Xinquan; and even two districts, Juncun and
Huangtang, of Xingguo.
The peasant masses in these areas have not been mobilized as broadly as
possible; the feudal forces have not been finally put down; a large number of
class-alien elements are still hiding and working under cover in the Soviet Government, the mass organizations, and the local armed forces; and many secret
counterrevolutionary organizations are still engaging in clandestine activity everywhere to sabotage the revolution. This is the reason why war mobilization and
economic and cultural construction in these areas are lagging far behind the
advanced areas (almost the entire xian of Xingguo; part of Shengli, Ganxian,
Wantai, Gonglue, Yongfeng, and Shanghang; Huangpi District in Bosheng;
Wuyang District in Ruijin; Xinpo District in Yudu; and Xi'nan District in
Yongding). In fact, these areas cover nearly 80 percent of the total surface of the
Central Area, and the masses number more than two million. To develop a
universal and thoroughgoing Land Investigation Movement in this vast area, to
kindle the flame of class struggle to its highest point among the masses, who
number more than two million, and to wage a final war against the feudal forces
and overthrow them completely, are tasks which the Communist Party and the
Soviet Government can no longer delay even for an instant.

II. The First Step of the Land Investigation Movement—
Organizational Mobilization on a Large Scale

How, then, shall we conduct the Land Investigation Movement?
First of all comes organizational mobilization.
The whole of the experience that we have gained from leading the mass
struggles in the Soviet Area tells us that only when the Communist Party, the
soviets, and the revolutionary mass organizations are all three united and act in
unison under the leadership of the Party can the objectives of each of our struggles be accomplished with complete success. The Land Investigation Movement
is a cruel and fierce class struggle; it is a great revolutionary movement of the
masses; it is the foundation for improving the work of the Party, the soviets, and
the mass organizations; it is the most essential link in our work at present. Only
if the entire Party and all the soviets and labor unions mobilize all their forces to
participate in the movement can we launch, develop, and carry through this
movement. As regards the mobilization of the Party, the Central Bureau has
already issued its correct instructions. As for mobilizing the soviets, we must
first of all reject the old view according to which the Land Investigation Movement belongs solely to the work of the Commissariat for the Land. Not only have
the Commissariats for Finance, Military Affairs, the National Economy, and
Education believed that they had nothing whatsoever to do with the Land Investigation Movement; the Workers' and Peasants' Procuratorate and the Commis-sariat for Justice, as well as the Political Security Bureau, thought that they were
not really much related to this movement. Even the Presidium did not take

charge of the Land Investigation Movement. This is totally wrong. It must be
made plain that no department in the whole of the soviets may distance itself
from the Land Investigation Movement and pay no attention to it. First, the
presidium of governments at all levels must do its utmost to take the lead in the
whole movement. Secondly, the land departments, worker-peasant procuratorates, and justice departments, as well as the state political security bureaus
and their special agents, are the organs of the government at various levels for
leading the Land Investigation Movement and carrying out the work. If we want
to resolve the land question completely, reform the soviets at the three levels of
township, district, and xian, and liquidate the counterrevolutionaries in the countryside in the course of the Land Investigation Movement, these government
departments must put forth their utmost efforts. Departments of finance should
be concerned to strike a blow at the remnant feudal forces by imposing fines on
landlords and collecting donations from rich peasants, thus increasing the revenue of the country at the same time. Departments of military affairs should focus
on reorganizing and expanding the local armed forces during the Land Investigation Movement, and mobilize activists among the masses to join the Red Army.
Departments of the national economy should pay attention, as the Land Investigation Movement develops, to advancing the restoration and development of
agricultural and handicraft production, as well as to developing cooperatives and
adjusting the exchange of products and consumer goods. It is not true that departments of education have nothing to do. In order to promote the Land Investigation Movement, they should provide some simple and popular textbooks and
pamphlets and distribute these to all the cadres and masses who are involved in
land investigation. As the Land Investigation Movement develops, they should
also undertake to promote cultural education for the masses. Since the majority
of the members of the labor unions in the soviet areas are living in the countryside and have close links to the land, and the Land Investigation Movement is a
great and fierce class struggle, the proletariat must be its staunchest leader.
Consequently, under the guidance of the Executive Bureau of the All-China
Federation of Trade Unions, all unions, including agricultural unions, handicraft
unions, and others, must mobilize their best cadres and all their members in the
countryside to participate in the Land Investigation Movement. The most important thing is for them to play a role in promoting and encouraging the poor
peasant league, and offer positive and firm proposals for land investigation, class
investigation, and the reform of the government. In a word, the Land Investigation Movement is no ordinary or trivial job. It is not a task that can be completely
accomplished in a month or even in half a year. For this reason, there must be a
large-scale mobilization conducted jointly by the Party, the Youth League, the
government, and the unions.
Here the problem of the education of cadres needs to be addressed. First of
all, responsible cadres from the lower levels must be called together for a meeting at which they will be given a full explanation of some major problems in the

Land Investigation Movement. In the past, most of the staff at different levels
have not understood that this movement was an urgent task. They did not understand how to distinguish class status in reality. They did not understand the line
and the methods for winning over the masses and unleashing a struggle. Thus
there was no way they could launch this movement. Second, such an education
should also be provided to all those cadres summoned from lower levels in the
locality and cadres transferred from other, more advanced districts. It is advisable to put on for them a short-term training course regarding the Land Investigation Movement. Provincial and xian governments should run several such
courses regarding the Land Investigation Movement. The classes may last from
one to two weeks, and the lectures should concentrate on a few key problems of
the Land Investigation Movement. Within the land departments, worker-peasant
procuratorates, and political security bureaus at the provincial, xian, and district
levels, each such unit should form a group of staff members (most of them at the
district level do not withdraw from production). Each department should give
this group of its staff members a complete education on the work of land investigation. Third, there is another kind of education which should be conducted in
the course of action, which consists in the provincial and xian governments
sending out their staff members to carry out inspections. Every five or seven
days, they should call together the staff members they have sent out and those
from the district level, along with the chairmen of township soviets and heads of
the poor peasant league for a meeting, to review the course of their work.
Without this final method, the first two methods cannot secure the greatest
possible success in our work.

III. Conduct the Land Investigation Movement According to
the Different Conditions in the Development of
the Class Struggle in the Countryside

As we have stated in the first section, there are three kinds of districts existing in
the soviet areas:
(1) areas in which the struggle has penetrated deeply;
(2) areas in which the struggle is lagging behind;
(3) areas in which new development is taking place.
This is the case not only within a province, but also within some xian in
border regions. For example, the three kinds of areas exist simultaneously in
Yongfeng. In most parts of the border regions, there are two kinds of areas in a
single xian, the fairly backward and those in which new development is under
way. As for the hinterland, though of course there are some xian that, generally
speaking, are entirely backward, one can also find some fairly advanced districts
within them. In Huichang, for example, though most of its districts are backward, yet Xijiang District is fairly advanced. Ruijin illustrates a different case.
Wuyang District can be regarded as an area in which the struggle is deepening;

eight districts, including Taohuang, Huangpi, Shaxin, Ruilin, Jiubao, Yunji,
Dutou, and the City [of Ruijin], are fairly advanced areas; the remaining six
districts are backward areas. Nevertheless, in whatever district of whatever xian,
so long as a soviet has been established in the area and the district has gone
through the phase of land confiscation and redistribution, there will probably be
some relatively advanced and some relatively backward townships in any such
district. Similarly, in any township, there will be relatively advanced and relatively backward villages. Within a single township, is there any such phenomenon of unbalanced development? Yes, there is, in many places. There are many
places where the small villages (small hamlets) are advanced, while the big
villages (big hamlets) are backward. There are some places where, because of
different historical conditions, individual big villages are advanced, while on the
contrary individual small villages are backward. Such things also exist. These
circumstances determine the orientation of our work. They incite us, when we
launch the Land Investigation Movement in a given xian, district, or township, or
even in a village, to concentrate our attention on the backward areas and exert
the greatest efforts there. To regard [such a geographical unit] as a single entity
and devote an equal amount of energy to everything is wrong. For in this case, in
the light of the fact that it is difficult to win over the masses and start the struggle
in the backward areas, we just say "we cannot get in there" and we shift the
direction of our work to areas where development is easy. If we put the difficult
places entirely to one side and ignore them, that is even more erroneous. The
natural progression in our work, if we are speaking for example of a township, is
that we can, and indeed should, start from a village which is easy to mobilize,
but the center of gravity of our work plan should still be situated in those
backward villages. In order to do away with the backward condition in a certain
village (into which "we cannot penetrate" for the time being), we may start with
the easy ones first, and then use them to influence those backward ones, so as
finally to launch the struggle in the backward villages. It is absolutely right to do
this. But in dealing with a xian or a district, we cannot proceed in this way. In
planning the Land Investigation Movement for a xian or a district, we must, from
the very beginning, exert all our strength to make a concentrated effort on those
backward areas, while devoting a lesser effort to those fairly advanced ones.
The unbalanced condition in the progress of the movement also teaches us
another method: mobilizing cadres from the advanced areas to go to the backward ones to lead the Land Investigation Movement. Of course, it is important to
mobilize the cadres from the most advanced districts such as Xingguo to go to
the backward areas, but it is equally urgent to mobilize the cadres from all the
relatively advanced areas to go to the backward areas. All the advanced or fairly
advanced areas should take the responsibility of guiding the backward areas,
while all the backward areas should learn from the advanced areas. Only in this
way can we cause the Land Investigation Movement to unfold rapidly.