A. In order to raise the theoretical level and political level of senior cadres within the Party, it is decided to establish senior study groups. Their composition shall include members of the Central Committee, various Central Bureaus, Central Sub-Bureaus, regional Party committees or provincial Party committees, principal leading cadres of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, certain staff members of various senior organs, and certain instructors of various senior schools. The total number nationwide shall be limited to three hundred, of which Yan’an shall account for one-third, and areas outside Yan’an shall account for two-thirds.

B. The method shall be the unity of theory and practice. In the first period, lasting half a year, study the ideological methodology of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin and the twenty-year history of our Party—these two topics—and then study other questions concerning Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin and the Chinese revolution, so as to achieve the goal of overcoming erroneous ideologies (subjectivism and formalism) and developing revolutionary theory.

C. In Yan’an and all important locations outside Yan’an, senior study groups shall be established, extending down to the army level, military sub-district, or column in military areas, and down to the regional Party committee or provincial Party committee in civilian areas. Each senior study group shall have one group leader, one deputy group leader, and one study secretary. Under the study groups, a number of study subgroups shall be established, each under the responsibility of a subgroup leader. The senior study groups in Yan’an and all localities shall be uniformly managed and guided by the Central Study Group (composed of members of the Central Committee, with Mao Zedong as group leader and Wang Jiaxiang as deputy group leader), which shall assign materials on schedule, sum up experience, and resolve questions.

D. This study shall be carried out under the condition that it does not impede the principal work tasks borne by each comrade.

Central Secretariat
Reference Materials on the History of the Chinese Communist Party (V)
People’s Publishing House, 1979.1