Decision of the Central Committee of
the Chinese Communist Party
Regarding Agrarian Policy in the Anti-Japanese Base Areas
(Passed by the Politburo of the Central
Committee, January 28, 1942)
Since the beginning of the War of Resistance, the agrarian policy that has been
carried out by our Party in all the anti-Japanese resistance areas is the agrarian
policy of the Anti-Japanese United National Front: that is, the agrarian policy of
reducing rent and interest, on the one hand, and delivering rent and interest, on
the other. This policy, after having been carried out in all the base areas, has
gained the support of the broad masses, united people of all strata, and won
support for the War of Resistance in the enemy’s rear areas. In every base area
where the reduction of rent and interest has been carried out fairly universally,
fairly earnestly, and fairly thoroughly and where the payment of rent and
interest on loans at the same time has been guaranteed, the zeal of the local
masses to participate in the resistance struggle and in the establishment of
democracy is relatively high. Moreover, they are able to maintain day-to-day
work and to stabilize the order of social life, and there the base areas are
relatively consolidated. Nevertheless, this policy has not been universally,
earnestly, and thoroughly carried out in many base areas. In some base areas, the
reduction of rent and interest on loans has been carried out only in a certain area;
in another part of the area, the reduction of rent and interest is treated only as a
kind of propaganda slogan, and no orders have been issued, let alone put into

practice. Or, even though the government has issued orders and formally reduced
rent and interest, in fact it did not truly do it. The result is the phenomenon of
reducing rent publicly, but not reducing it behind the scenes. In these places the
zeal of the masses cannot be manifested, which means that the masses cannot be
truly organized to bring about the basis for resistance against Japan. In these
areas, the bases of resistance to Japan cannot be consolidated and cannot resist
the mopping-up operations of the enemy, thereby becoming weak and powerless
areas. But in many other areas, some leftist errors have been made. Although
these kinds of errors occurred only in some areas and have been corrected in
large part through the instructions of the Central Committee, it is still necessary
to draw them to the attention of comrades from all areas. Now, when resistance
is entering a difficult period, we demand that all the base areas mobilize even
more the zeal of resistance and production by the broad masses and unite even
more all the strata of resistance to sustain the long-term struggle in the enemy’s
rear areas. After it conducted detailed research on experiences everywhere, the
Central Committee made a decision in particular summing up the agrarian policy
of our Party. In addition, the concrete methods of executing the agrarian policy
will be issued as an appendix, along with this decision for use in all areas. It is
certainly hoped that comrades from all localities will study it and carry it out
earnestly.
1. It shall be acknowledged that peasants (including farm laborers) are the
fundamental force of resistance against Japan and the fundamental force of
production. Therefore, the policy of the Party is to help peasants, to reduce feudal
exploitation by landlords, to carry out reduction of rent and interest, and to
guarantee peasants’ human rights, political rights, land rights, and financial
rights, in order to improve the peasants’ lives and to raise the enthusiasm of the
peasants for resistance to Japan and for production.
2. It shall be acknowledged that the majority of landlords demand resistance to
Japan and that a group of enlightened gentry also approve of democratic reform.
Therefore, the policy of the Party is merely to help peasants reduce feudal
exploitation and not to eliminate feudal exploitation, still less to strike at the
enlightened gentry who approve of democratic reform. Therefore, after reduction
of rent and interest has been carried out, rent and interest must be paid. After
peasants’ human rights, political rights, land rights, and financial rights have

been guaranteed, the landlords’ human rights, political rights, land rights, and
financial rights must also be guaranteed in order to form an alliance with the
class of landlords to resist Japan together. Only toward the traitor elements who
are absolutely and firmly unwilling to repent will a policy of exterminating their
feudal exploitation be adopted.
3. It shall be acknowledged that the capitalist mode of production is a relatively
progressive mode of production in present-day China and that the bourgeoisie,
especially the petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie, is a relatively
progressive social component and political force in present-day China. The mode
of production of rich peasants has a capitalist character. Rich peasants are the
bourgeoisie in the rural areas and are an indispensable force in the resistance to
Japan and for production. The petty bourgeoisie, the national bourgeoisie, and the
rich peasants not only demand resistance to Japan, they also demand democracy.
Therefore, the policy of the Party is not to weaken capitalism and the bourgeoisie,
and not to weaken the class of rich peasants and the production of rich peasants,
but, under the condition of improving the life of the workers, at the same time to
encourage capitalist production and to ally with the bourgeoisie; to encourage
and reward the production of the rich peasants and to ally with the rich peasants.
But among the rich peasants there is a group that engages in feudal exploitation,
and the middle peasants and poor peasants resent this. Therefore, when carrying
out the reduction of rent and interest in the rural areas, the rent for land and
interest on loans of rich peasants must also be reduced accordingly. After
reducing the rent for land and interest on loans of rich peasants, rent for land and
interest on loans must at the same time be paid, and the human rights, political
rights, land rights, and financial rights of rich peasants must be assured. For the
group of landlords that manage their land according to the capitalist mode of
production (the so-called managing landlords), the treatment is the same as that
for the rich peasants.
4. The above-stated three basic principles are the starting point for the Anti-Japanese United National Front of our Party and for its agrarian policy. The
experience of the last four years proves that only when these principles are
upheld can we consolidate the Anti-Japanese United Front, correctly resolve the
land problems, and ally with all the people to support national resistance, thus
leaving the Japanese aggressors completely isolated. Any ultraleftist or

ultrarightist deviations will hinder reaching this goal.
5. Within the United Front in the rural areas, the contradiction between
landlords and peasants—for example, landlords opposing or impeding the
demand for democracy and the demand for people’s livelihood by the peasants,
and so on—must be properly dealt with according to the above-stated principles.
The reasonable demands by both sides must be satisfied, but both sides should
obey the interests of the national resistance as a whole. In treating the disputes in
the rural areas, the working personnel of the Party and the government shall not
side with any specific party of either peasants or landlords, but, according to the
above-stated basic principles, adopt the guiding policy of coordinating both sides.
6. The “Three-Thirds” system is a rational political form that coordinates the
internal relations of all the anti-Japanese classes. This system must be executed
firmly, earnestly, and universally within both the system of the representative
bodies and the system of government. The view that this system is nothing but a
method to go through the motions for the non-Party personages is not correct.
7. Government laws and decrees should have two-sided stipulations but not
attach too much weight to this and too little weight to that. On the one hand, it
shall be stipulated that landlords generally reduce rent for the land and reduce
interest on loans. They must not resist carrying out the reductions. On the other
hand, it shall also be stipulated that peasants have the obligation to deliver rent
and interest to their landlords; they must not resist delivering them. On the one
hand, it shall be stipulated that landlords’ proprietary rights to their land and
property still belong to the landlords. Landlords, by law, shall have the rights to
sell, pawn, mortgage, or treat their land in any other way. On the other hand, it
shall also be stipulated that landlords consider the peasants’ life when they deal
with their property in this way. The conclusions of land deeds and of all debts
must, according to the wishes of both sides, include that any party has the
freedom to terminate the contract when it has been fulfilled.
8. As to funds for resistance against Japan, people of all classes, except those
living in abject poverty, must pay to the government, according to a progressive
principle; they must not attach too much weight to this and too little weight to
that; and they must not resist paying.
9. After the reduction of rent and interest has been carried out, the prerequisite
for raising agricultural production has been provided and agricultural production

will be the main production in the anti-Japanese base areas. The working
personnel of the Party and government must promote it with all their force. The
government should extend a great deal of agricultural credit to resolve the
peasants’ difficulties in borrowing money.
10. The task of the Peasant Relief Association before the reduction of rent and
interest was mainly to assist the government in carrying out the laws on the
reduction of rent for land and interest on loans. After the reduction of rent and
interest, its task is mainly to assist the government in mediating disputes in the
rural areas and in developing agricultural production, and not to replace the laws
and decrees of the government with its own or to replace the government with
the Peasant Relief Association. In the task of mediating disputes in the rural
areas, it should adopt the mode of arbitration instead of the mode of making
arbitrary decisions. In the task of developing agricultural production, it should
mobilize all members of the Peasant Relief Association to play the role of
establishing leadership models.
11. Now that the reduction of rent and interest and the guarantee of peasants’
human rights, political rights, land rights, and financial rights are the numberone aspect of our Party’s agrarian policy, there are still many places within the
base areas that have not yet carried out the reduction of rent and interest
universally, earnestly, and thoroughly. The reason is not that landlords resisted
the execution of this policy, but that the working personnel of the Party and
government adopted an indifferent and bureaucratic attitude. Consequently, the
working personnel of the Party and government in all the base areas must
conduct serious investigations of their own work, send their members separately
to different places in the countryside to inspect the extent of the execution of the
policy, conduct careful investigations and research, sum up comprehensively the
experiences of all of the places, carry forward the examples of correct execution,
and criticize examples of bureaucracy. They must know that between issuing
slogans and orders, and carrying out slogans and orders, there often exists a big
gap. If the bureaucracy is not punished severely and if Right deviation is not
opposed, there is no way that the slogans and orders can be carried out.
12. Given that delivery of rent for land and interest on loans and the guarantee
of the landlords’ human rights, political rights, land rights, and financial rights
are the second aspect of our Party’s agrarian policy and given that leftist errors

used to take place that overlooked this aspect within various base areas, the
reason was not that peasants were unaware of the agrarian policy of our Party. It
was that the working personnel of the Party and government did not understand,
or did not completely understand, the policy of our Party. In order to prevent
these kinds of errors from recurring, now or in the future, we must, within the
Party and among the peasant masses, clearly explain the policy of the Party,
making it understood that the agrarian policy for the United National Front of
resistance of our Party at present is fundamentally different from the agrarian
policy during the Civil War. We must make sure that they do not limit
themselves to their current narrow interests, but connect their current interests
with the interests of the future and connect their local interests with the interests
of the entire nation. We must advise peasants that, after the reduction of rent and
interest, the guarantee of the peasants’ human rights, political rights, land rights,
and financial rights will be carried out. At the same time, we shall also carry out
the delivery of rent for land and interest on loans and the guarantee of landlords’
human rights, political rights, and land rights. It is just the same as reducing rent
for land and reducing interest on loans, and guaranteeing peasants’ human rights,
political rights, land rights, and financial rights. We must advise the landlords
that they should not limit themselves to their current narrow interests, but should
take the future interests of the entire nation into account.
[Mao’s concluding remarks:] This decision marks the first time that capitalist
production has been openly recognized and encouraged. In resolving the land
question, at present we must preserve a certain degree of feudalism so as not to
make the landlords run to the side of the enemy. Carrying out such a policy is the
best method for breaking up the enemy’s united front. We have been studying
the land question for many months, and hitherto our Party had not taken a
decision. Matters should never be lightly decided; they should be decided only
when the circumstances are ripe.
Note
This document does not appear to have been drafted by Mao, but Zhonggong zhongyang wenxian yanjiushi,

ed., Mao Zedong nianpu, 1893–1949 (Beijing: Zhongyang wenxian chubanshe, 1993), Vol. 2, pp. 358–59.
reproduces a substantial portion of the text, followed by a forceful quotation from Mao’s remarks
underlining its importance at the January 28, 1942, Politburo meeting. We are therefore including it here.
Our source for the decision is Takeuchi, Minoru, ed., Mao Zedong ji (Tokyo: Hokubosha, 1970–1972; second
edition, Tokyo: Sososha, 1983). where it is reproduced from Jiefang ribao, February 6, 1942; Mao’s concluding
comments are taken from Nianpu.