Speech at the Meeting of the Presidium and Delegation Heads of the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China[1]

(May 23, 1945)

The idea of "fewer but better" is good, but this is an ideal. Mountain strongholds must be taken into consideration. It is impossible for every member of the Central Committee to possess knowledge in all areas. As for how to treat those who have made mistakes, in the past, at the August 7th Conference, Chen Duxiu was not allowed to attend, and later he was not elected. In the past, some also advocated that all those who had made mistakes should be excluded—none of this was correct. The list currently drafted appears very jumbled in form, but in substance it is vastly different. The world situation has now changed, the Party has gained experience from three periods, and since the Rectification Movement, great changes have taken place among the twenty-five Central Committee members. "Fewer but better" is only one aspect of the truth; fewer does not necessarily mean better, and a little more does not necessarily mean not better. That is to say, we must take mountain strongholds into account, we must take comrades who have made mistakes into account, and we must not strive for an absolute refinement all at once; excessive refinement will lead to detachment from the masses.

[1] On May 23, Mao Zedong presided over a meeting of the Presidium and delegation heads of the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Central Auditorium in Yangjialing. The meeting heard reports on the discussions concerning election issues. During the discussions among the delegations, opinions were raised such as that the Central Committee should be "fewer but better," that mountain strongholds should not be accommodated, and whether Chen Shaoyu should be included in the candidate list for the Central Committee. This is part of Mao Zedong's speech after hearing the reports.