Comrade Xi Zhongxun’s Report on the Work of Land Reform in the Northwest and Instructions for Its Forwarding (January 20, 1948)

I fully agree with these opinions of Comrade Xi Zhongxun.[1] In those old liberated areas in North China and Central China where similar circumstances exist, it is imperative to pay close attention to correcting the “Left” errors. In any place where “Left” errors have occurred, as long as the leading bodies handle the matter properly, they can be corrected within a few weeks; do not delay for a long time before correcting them. At the same time, be careful not to let the lower levels misinterpret the correction of “Left” errors as meaning no action should be taken.

[1] In his report to Mao Zedong, Xi Zhongxun pointed out that because a latent “Left” sentiment had been fostered at the Yihe Conference and due to the direct influence of the Jin-Sui area, as soon as land reform reached the countryside, an extreme “Left” deviation occurred. In all areas where it was launched, there was much emphasis on the “poor peasant and farm laborer line” and opposition to the so-called “middle peasant line,” leading to phenomena such as indiscriminate struggle, indiscriminate beatings, indiscriminate confiscation of property, and indiscriminate sweeping out of people from their homes.