1. The basic shortcoming of the cadre schools in Yan'an at present lies in the divorce of theory from practice and of what is learned from what is used, and in the existence of the serious malady of subjectivism and dogmatism. This malady is manifested chiefly in making the students learn a huge pile of abstract principles of Marxism-Leninism while paying no attention, or almost no attention, to grasping their essence and to how they are to be applied to the concrete environment of China. In order to correct this malady, it must be emphasized that the aim of studying the theory of Marxism-Leninism is to enable the students to apply this theory correctly in solving the practical problems of the Chinese revolution, and not to memorize and recite by rote the various principles found in books. First, the students must be made to distinguish between the words and phrases of Marxism-Leninism and the essence of Marxism-Leninism; second, the students must be made to grasp this essence (not taking the words at their face value, but understanding their real meaning); third, the students must be made to learn how to apply this essence skillfully to the concrete environment of China, casting aside all formalistic and empty study. For this purpose, in addition to teaching the theory of Marxism-Leninism correctly, education in Chinese history and conditions and in the history and policies of the Party must at the same time be increased, so that the students may learn both theory and practice and link the two together vividly. Cadres at and above the level of Party prefectural committee and at and above the regimental level in the army (after their problems of cultural level have been solved) should use the History of the CPSU(B) as the basic teaching material for the study of Marxism-Leninism. Particular attention should be paid to studying the concrete application of the basic concepts of dialectical materialism and historical materialism (not a huge pile
of abstract principles in this regard), for the purpose of thereby overcoming the
extremely pernicious problems of subjectivism and dogmatism.
2. Another shortcoming is that the various schools failed to stipulate clearly
their own concrete goals. For this reason it is hereby stipulated that:
a. The Central Research Institute shall be the higher-level research institution
for fostering the Party's cadres in charge of theory.
b. The Central Party School shall be the higher-level and middle-level school
for training cadres who have the ability to work fairly independently, in the
Party above the prefectural committee level involved in practical work, and
in the army above the regimental level involved in political work.
c. The Military Academy shall be the higher-level and middle-level school for
training cadres above the regimental level in military affairs work who possess the ability to work fairly independently.
d. Yan'an University, the Lu Xun Art Institute, and the Academy of Natural
Sciences shall be schools for training talented people, both Party and non-Party, in the various higher-level and middle-level specialized fields of politics, culture, and science and technology.
The curricula, teaching materials, and teaching methods of each of the various
schools described above must be suited to its specific goals.
3. To strengthen the specific leadership of each school, and to see to it that the
education provided in the various schools is coordinated with the various central
organs doing the actual work, it has been decided that the Central Research Institute is to be directly under the Central Propaganda Department, the Central Party
School is to be directly under the Central Party School Management Committee,
the Military Academy is to be directly under the Military Commission's Staff Department, and Yan'an University, the Lu Xun Art Institute, and the Academy of
Natural Sciences are to be directly under the Central Cultural Commission. The
organ responsible for each school should treat the work of the school it is in charge
of managing as an important part of its own professional work. The Central Propaganda Department should, in concert with the respective organs in charge of management, carry out unified planning, inspection, and supervision of the curriculum,
instructors, teaching materials, and expenses of each school.
4. To realize the specific goals of each of the schools, and to maximize the
effect of the limited energies and financial resources available, all schools should
operate on the principle of fewer but higher quality in recruiting students. All schools
and the organs in charge of them should reexamine the makeup of the student
body, taking as the principle that all students who do not fit the specific goals of a
particular school are to be assigned jobs or transferred to study elsewhere.
5. Improving the quality of the instructors is a determining factor in running a
school well. The education of all cadres above the prefectural committee level and
above the regimental level should be under the personal direction of Central Committee members and comrades in charge of the various central organs. Instructors

currently at the various schools should be reexamined and dealt with individually
according to the new standards. The Central Propaganda Department should provide practical help to the specially appointed instructors at all schools so as to raise
the level of quality. The political and material treatment of instructors should be
improved.
6. The study of Marxist-Leninist theory is impossible without a relatively high
level of education. Senior cadres above the xian level or the battalion level who are
from worker and peasant backgrounds and who have too low an educational level
but need to learn and are capable of it should first be given remedial lessons. This
kind of remedial learning should not be limited to simply recognizing more characters, but should include the attainment of reading and writing skills and of rudimentary knowledge in history and geography, social politics, and natural sciences.
The criteria for constituting such basic education classes should be the students'
level of education and not their rank on the job.
7. All schools of a specialized nature (such as military, politics and law, finance
and economics, natural sciences, literature and the arts, normal education, medicine, and so on) should take as their main curricular focus the study of theory and
practice relevant to their specialized field of work. The respective proportions of
literacy courses, courses on politics, and courses in specialized subjects should be
determined according to the situation at each school. Generally speaking, specializations should make up 50 percent of the courses (in schools where remedial
education is not necessary, specialized courses should constitute 80 percent), literacy classes should make up 30 percent, and courses on politics should make up
20 percent. The abnormal phenomenon in the past of aiming to have courses on
politics override all other courses must be firmly corrected.
8. All comrades who carry on educational work in the schools should earnestly
examine the content of the curriculum and the teaching methods so as to put into
effect the principle of unifying theory and practice with regard to curriculum content and teaching methods. As far as teaching methods are concerned, the style of
inspiring, doing research, and experimentation should be adopted firmly so as to
develop the students' self-motivation and creativity in their studies, and the styles
of cramming, force-feeding, and using hollow words should certainly be abandoned. As far as the teaching process is concerned, the practical materials used in
the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and its adjacent areas should be fully
utilized through all sorts of investigative and research methods.
9. As far as the teaching and learning of Marxism-Leninism are concerned, the
erroneous orientation of the past, in which emphasis was laid not on understanding
its essence but, rather, only on knowledge of its form, and in which emphasis was
laid not on its application but, rather, only on repetition by rote, should be corrected resolutely. The schools' authorities and instructors must pay full attention to having the students progress from grasping the essence of Marxism-Leninism to
specifically applying this essence to the study of China's environment. The standard by which to measure whether or not the student has truly grasped (comprehended, come to know, understood) something is whether or not he is able to apply
it. What is meant here by application is using the spirit and methods of Marxism-Leninism to analyze China's history and current concrete problems and to sum up
the experiences of China's revolution, so that students will cultivate this habit of
application, which will make them adept at applying the spirit and methods of
Marxism-Leninism in analyzing problems and guiding their practice after they
finish school.
10. As far as teaching materials in politics for the schools is concerned, full use
should be made of Jiefang ribao, Central Committee documents, and the reference
materials and books and publications put out by the various central departments
and committees. Various sorts of necessary textbooks and supplementary reading
materials should be compiled or reproduced according to a plan. In concert with
the publishing organs and finance organs, the Central Propaganda Department should
draw up a publishing plan and an expenditure budget in education for 1942 and
submit them to the Central Committee for approval and implementation.
11. Necessary improvements should be made with regard to student life and
educational facilities in all the schools according to present circumstances.
12. The general principle for administrative organizations in the schools is short
and small in scope but strong and capable in action. The task of the Party branch
within a school is to ensure the completion of the school's educational plan and to
correct the problematic phenomenon of the branch and the administration existing
side by side. The branch may make suggestions to the school's administration
through Party channels, but this cannot be done in an interfering manner. In schools
whose nature is that of the united front, the "Partification" work-style in which
Party members run everything should be corrected.
13. Within the schools, the style of learning to be fostered among students
includes thinking freely, seeking truth from facts, working hard and independently,
abiding by discipline, being self-motivated and self-controlled, and helping one
another in solidarity, and to be opposed firmly are the pernicious faults of subjectivism, sectarianism, dogmatism, aiming beyond one's limitations, making arbitrary assertions or following blindly, indulging in exaggeration, considering oneself
always in the right, and being crude and careless or content with superficial understanding. Regarding the cultivation of this style of learning, the instructors themselves should serve as examples.
14. This decision shall apply to Yan'an. All basic principles within this decision,
however, are applicable at the same time to all other anti-Japanese base areas. 3

3. The previous two sentences were also added by Mao during revision of this text.