Central Working Committee, Handan Bureau, East China Bureau, Su Yu, Chen-Xie Group, Peng-Zhang Command, Yang-Luo-Yang Corps, Chen-Tang Corps, Lin Biao, Xu Tan—East China Working Committee, Fuping Bureau, Northeast Bureau, Northwest Bureau, Jin-Sui Sub-Bureau, Central Rear Committee, French Committee; also to the Central Plains Bureau and all Field Army Front Committees:  Starting today, we are transmitting via Xinhua Radio the draft of “The Central Committee’s Provisions on the Classification of Various Social Classes in the Land Reform Movement and Their Treatment” (to be delivered by messengers to the Northwest Bureau, the Jin-Sui Sub-Bureau, the Central Rear Committee, and the French Committee), comprising twenty-five chapters and over twenty thousand characters.


Upon receipt, please convene a meeting to discuss the document chapter by chapter or in several sections, and submit your comments on its content to us before March 16.


Based on your written suggestions for revision, together with the views of Yin Qin, we shall make any necessary amendments and then publish it publicly.


The purpose of this document is to correct the widespread non-Marxist conceptions within the Party regarding the observation and classification of classes, as well as to remedy the deficiency in the land reform movement of lacking specific, clear-cut policies for people of different classes and strata.


We believe that without such a comprehensive document, despite the existence of the Outline of the Land Law and certain other Party directives, it would be difficult for our cadres to avoid, or at least minimize, errors.


Our task is not only to thoroughly eliminate imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism, but also, in this great struggle, to prevent the disruption of our own ranks, the strengthening of the enemy, and our own isolation—by misclassifying social components or adopting erroneous policies.


Let us not forget that during the period from 1927 to 1935, particularly from 1931 to 1935, our Party once found itself isolated and in extreme danger due to excessively left-leaning policies. Even now, and especially during periods of rupture with the Kuomintang, the principal dangerous tendency within the Party remains, and may still be, “left” adventurism.


If we fail to take this matter seriously, we shall inevitably commit political errors.


The meetings you hold to discuss this draft document should include several leading comrades from the government, military regions, and mass organizations, so that the deliberations reach the level of the central bureaus, with broad participation and shared responsibility, ensuring that the final version is as accurate and practically applicable as possible. Once approved by the Central Committee, implementation across various localities should proceed in a coordinated rather than a piecemeal manner.


To facilitate discussion, the number of participants should not be excessive; approximately ten to fifteen leading comrades attending would be appropriate. Please make arrangements accordingly.


The Central Plains Bureau and the various Field Army Front Committees have not been sent this draft because their circumstances do not permit meaningful discussion.


Printed by the Central Committee, based on Mao Zedong’s manuscript.


Note 1: See Note [1] on page 62 of this volume for an explanation of “The Central Committee’s Provisions on the Classification of Various Social Classes in the Land Reform Movement and Their Treatment” (draft).


Lin Biao was at that time commander and political commissar of the Northeast Field Army.


Xu Tan refers to Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin, who were respectively commander and political commissar of the Shandong Corps of the East China Field Army.


Yin Qin refers to March 16.


The “Provisions of the Central Committee on the Classification of Various Social Classes in the Land Reform Movement and Their Treatment” (draft) was never subsequently published.