“One thousand nine hundred forty-eight, February twenty-two, twelve—this is a dispatch from Guoxian County in Shanxi Province. The dispatch reports that mass struggles have already begun there, that the masses are fully prepared for land distribution, and that all preparations for equal land distribution have been completed at a meeting of peasant representatives. There were many cases of incorrect class classification in the past, but these errors have now been openly and clearly corrected through discussions among the mass representatives. The dispatch also criticizes erroneous views such as failing to provide landlords with adequate means of livelihood, failing to distinguish between landlords and rich peasants, and infringing upon the interests of middle peasants. In short, the line demonstrated at the peasant representative meetings in the two districts described in this dispatch is entirely correct. At the time the author wrote this report, land distribution had not yet been implemented in Guoxian County; therefore, this experience remains incomplete. We hope that after local authorities have corrected the mistakes in class classification—a major undertaking—completed equal land distribution, organized production, and reformed the government, another dispatch will be issued detailing the entire process.  Regarding how to carry out Party rectification work in rural areas, we already have the exemplary experience of Pingshan County in the Jin-Chahar-Hebei Liberated Area (summarized by Comrade Liu Shaoqi). As for adjusting land rather than distributing it equally in old liberated areas—since equal distribution has already taken place—we have the exemplary case of Huangjiachuan in Suide County, Shaan-Gan-Ning Liberated Area. Now we also have the experience of Guoxian County in the Jin-Sui Liberated Area, where equal land distribution is being carried out (though not yet fully completed). These three experiences deserve to be compiled into a small booklet and distributed to every cadre working in the countryside. Such a booklet presenting typical experiences is far more vivid and concrete than the resolutions and directives issued by our leading organs. It can show inexperienced comrades how to proceed and effectively counter the deeply entrenched commandism and tailism within the Party that run counter to Marxism-Leninism.  After issuing resolutions or directives on important tasks under their leadership, leaders of all Central Bureaus, Sub-bureaus, and Forward Committees should pay close attention to collecting and disseminating carefully selected, exemplary experiences, so that the mass movements they lead may advance along the correct path. We are now in an era when tens of millions of people, following the direction indicated by the Party, are launching an offensive against the feudal, comprador, and reactionary system. It is the responsibility of leaders not only to point out the direction of the struggle and define its tasks, but also to summarize concrete experiences and promptly disseminate them among the masses, ensuring that what is correct is widely adopted and that mistakes are not repeated.”  Mao Zedong, March 11, 1948  People’s Daily, February 22, 1948 “How is Land Reform Being Carried Out in Guoxian County, Shanxi?” Preface — One thousand nine hundred forty-eight, April first. Comrades, today I would like to discuss primarily issues related to the work in the Jin-Sui Liberated Area, followed by some matters concerning nationwide work. I believe that over the past year, the work of land reform and Party rectification in the Jin-Sui region has been successful. This can be seen from two perspectives. On the one hand, the Jin-Sui leadership opposed rightist deviations, mobilized the masses to engage in struggle, and has either completed or is currently completing land reform and Party rectification among approximately one million to one-and-a-half million people out of the region’s total population of over three million. On the other hand, the Jin-Sui leadership also corrected several left-leaning deviations that arose during the movement, thereby putting the entire effort on a track of sound development. From both of these angles, I consider the land reform and Party rectification efforts in the Jin-Sui Liberated Area to have been successful. Speech at the Jin-Sui Cadre Conference “From now on, no one will dare to practice feudalism anymore, no one will dare to be overbearing, and no one will dare to engage in corruption.” This is what the people of Jin-Sui have said. It is their conclusion regarding our land reform and Party rectification work. They say, “No one will dare to practice feudalism anymore,” meaning that under our leadership, they launched a struggle that has eliminated or is eliminating the remnants of the feudal exploitation system in the new liberated areas and the semi-feudal system in the old liberated areas. They also state, “No one will dare to be overbearing or corrupt anymore,” indicating that in the past there existed serious problems within the Party and government organizations—impurities in composition and conduct—resulting in many undesirable elements infiltrating these organizations and numerous officials adopting bureaucratic, domineering attitudes, using coercive orders to complete their tasks, thereby causing public dissatisfaction () or even committing acts of embezzlement () or encroaching on the interests of the masses (). However, these conditions have been fundamentally changed over the past year through land reform and Party rectification. Or, as one comrade present put it: “What was once fatal to us has now been removed; things that were previously absent are now present.” By “fatal” he meant the serious impurities in composition and conduct within the Party and government organizations that led to public discontent. These impurities have now been completely eradicated. As for the “things that were previously absent but are now present,” he referred to the Poor Peasants’ Association, the New Peasant Association, district and village people’s representative conferences, and the entirely new atmosphere emerging in the countryside thanks to land reform and Party rectification. I believe these observations are quite accurate. This represents the great success of land reform and Party rectification in the Jin-Sui Liberated Area. It is the first aspect of this success. Based on this foundation, the Jin-Sui Party was able to accomplish a tremendous amount of military service over the past year, supporting the Great People’s Revolutionary War. Without successful land reform and Party rectification, accomplishing such a large-scale military task would have been extremely difficult. On the other hand, the Jin-Sui leadership corrected several left-leaning deviations that had occurred during the work. These primarily involved three areas. First, in class classification, many ordinary working people who were either not engaged in feudal exploitation or only experienced very minor exploitation were mistakenly categorized as landlords or rich peasants in numerous places, thus unnecessarily broadening the scope of repression and overlooking our strategic policy in land reform—to unite approximately 91 percent of households and 90 percent of individuals in the rural population, that is, virtually all rural laborers, to form a united front against the feudal system. This deviation has now been corrected, greatly stabilizing morale and strengthening the revolutionary united front. Second, there was a tendency in land reform to infringe upon commercial and industrial enterprises owned by landlords and rich peasants, to exceed the proper scope in the campaign to purge economic counter-revolutionaries, and to impose excessive taxes on businesses. All of these constituted left-leaning deviations in dealing with the business sector (). These have since been corrected, allowing commerce and industry to recover and develop. Third, during the intense land reform struggle of the past year, the Jin-Sui leadership failed to strictly adhere to the Party’s prohibition against indiscriminate killing, resulting in the unnecessary execution of some landlord and rich peasant elements in certain areas (), which provided an opportunity for hostile elements in the countryside to take revenge. As a result, several innocent workers were tragically killed. We believe that for those 354 particularly egregious and dangerous counter-revolutionary elements—those who have committed grave crimes and pose a significant threat to the revolution—it is entirely appropriate and necessary to sentence them to death through the people’s courts and democratic governments. However, for ordinary Nationalist Party supporters, most landlords and rich peasants, or those guilty of less serious offenses, indiscriminate killing must be prohibited. Furthermore, when the people’s courts and democratic governments try criminal defendants, the use of physical torture must be forbidden. The deviations that occurred in this regard in Jin-Sui over the past year have now also been corrected. Having corrected all of the above deviations, we now have a solid basis for believing that all work under the leadership of the Jin-Sui Central Sub-bureau is moving forward on a healthy trajectory. Determining policies based on actual conditions is the most fundamental principle that all Communist Party members must firmly keep in mind. The mistakes we make, and the reasons behind them, stem from our departure from the specific local realities and our subjective decision-making regarding policy. This serves as a valuable lesson for all comrades.  Regarding the work of organizing grassroots Party organizations, you have, in accordance with the Central Committee’s instructions on carrying out land reform and Party rectification in old and semi-old liberated areas, adopted the experience of Pingshan County in the Jin-Chahar-Hebei Liberated Area—that is, inviting non-Party members to participate in branch meetings, conducting criticism and self-criticism, thereby improving the purity of composition and conduct within the Party organization and strengthening ties between the Party and the masses. By doing so, you will be able to successfully complete the comprehensive reorganization of your Party organizations. As for cadres, regardless of any mistakes they may have made, they should still be educated rather than simply discarded. Those of you who have already implemented or are currently implementing this policy are on the right track. The establishment of district and village-level people’s representative conferences based on the Poor Peasants’ Association and the Peasant Associations in the struggle against feudalism is an extremely valuable experience. Only people’s representative conferences established on the genuine will of the broad masses can truly be considered legitimate. Such representative conferences are now becoming possible in all liberated areas. Once established, these conferences should become the highest authority at the local level, with all power vested in the conference and its elected executive committee. At that point, the Poor Peasants’ Association and the Peasant Associations will serve as auxiliary bodies. We had originally planned to establish people’s representative conferences in rural areas only after their land reform tasks were largely completed. However, your experience, together with that of another liberated area in North China, has now proven that it is both feasible and necessary to establish district and village-level people’s representative conferences and their executive committees during the course of the land reform struggle itself. Therefore, you should proceed accordingly. This practice should be extended to all liberated areas. Once district and village-level people’s representative conferences have been widely established, county-level people’s representative conferences can then be formed. With county-level and higher-level people’s representative conferences in place, it becomes much easier to establish further levels of representation. In all levels of people’s representative conferences, it is essential to ensure that all democratic classes—workers, farmers, independent laborers, freelancers, intellectuals, and enlightened merchants—are represented as fully as possible. This should not be achieved through artificial quotas, but rather by distinguishing between towns and rural areas, considering the size of towns, and differentiating between urban and rural populations, naturally and organically bringing together all democratic groups. The great mass struggles of land reform and Party rectification have trained and produced tens of thousands of active participants and cadres. They are the bridge to the masses and represent an invaluable asset to the People’s Republic of China. Going forward, we must strengthen their education so that they continue to improve in their work. At the same time, we must caution them against becoming complacent or arrogant due to their successes. Because of all these factors, and given the successes achieved on all fronts, it can be said that the Jin-Sui Liberated Area is now more consolidated than ever before. Other liberated areas that have followed suit have likewise become stronger. The main reasons for the success of the Jin-Sui Liberated Area, from a leadership perspective, are as follows: (A) Following Comrade Liu Shaoqi’s direct instructions last spring and Comrade Kang Sheng’s guidance during his work in Haojiapo Administrative Village in Lin County last summer, the Jin-Sui Sub-bureau convened a secretaries’ meeting in June of last year. At this meeting, they criticized the existing rightist deviations in previous work, thoroughly exposed various serious departures from the Party’s line, and resolved to adopt a motion stating that without recognizing these problems and taking corrective action, the work of land reform and Party rectification could not possibly succeed. The motion passed unanimously. Among the shortcomings identified in the class classification were: failing to follow the guidelines for old and new liberated areas, making decisions about land reform without adequately considering the specific circumstances of each locality, focusing excessively on investigating the property of landlords (), and lacking clear analysis when addressing the demands of the masses, instead broadly proclaiming the slogan “do whatever the masses want.” Regarding this latter issue—the relationship between the Party and the masses—it should be understood as follows: the Party must base its policies on the correct opinions of the people and guide them accordingly; while incorrect opinions expressed by the masses must be patiently explained and corrected. The original motion merely emphasized the need for the Party to implement the opinions of the masses, neglecting the importance of educating and guiding the masses themselves. In January of this year, the Jin-Sui Sub-bureau took appropriate steps to correct these deviations. This action was taken immediately after the sub-bureau’s comrades returned from attending the Central Committee’s November meeting. The sub-bureau issued five directives in response. This corrective measure was highly responsive to the needs of the masses, swiftly implemented, and within a short period of time, nearly all of the deviations had been rectified. Speech at the Jin-Sui Cadre Conference “The leadership line of the Jin-Sui region during the Anti-Japanese War was fundamentally correct. This was reflected in the implementation of rent and interest reductions, the relatively successful restoration and development of agriculture, household textile production, military industry, and parts of light industry. We established the foundations of the Party, set up a democratic government, and built a people’s army of nearly 100,000 soldiers. Relying on these achievements, we were able to wage a victorious Anti-Japanese War and repel attacks by reactionary forces such as Yan Xishan NXilllx. Of course, the Party and government of that period had their shortcomings—shortcomings that we now fully understand: impurities in composition and conduct, and the various negative phenomena that resulted from them. Nevertheless, overall, the work during the Anti-Japanese War was fruitful. This provided us with favorable conditions to defeat Chiang Kai-shek’s counter-revolutionary offensive after Japan’s surrender. The main shortcomings or errors in the Jin-Sui leadership during the Anti-Japanese War lay in its failure to rely on the broadest masses to overcome impurities in composition and conduct within the Party and government, as well as the negative consequences that arose from these impurities (). This responsibility was left to you to address until now. Some of the Jin-Sui leaders at that time lacked a thorough understanding of the true situation facing the Party and the masses, which contributed to the aforementioned problems. This is another lesson that comrades should draw. Moving forward, the task of the Jin-Sui region is to continue, with utmost diligence, to complete land reform and Party rectification, to further develop and support the People’s Revolutionary War, to avoid placing additional burdens on the people, and to appropriately reduce existing burdens while restoring and developing production. You are currently holding production meetings. The purpose of restoring and developing production in the coming years is twofold: to improve people’s living standards and to support the People’s Revolutionary War|^. You possess vast agricultural and handicraft resources, as well as some light and heavy industries that utilize machinery. You must manage these productive sectors effectively; otherwise, you cannot be considered a true Marxist. In the agricultural sector, the brigades and cooperatives that were previously controlled by bureaucratic elements and proved harmful to the people have collapsed, which is entirely understandable and entirely justifiable. Your task is to carefully preserve and develop those brigades, cooperatives, and other essential economic organizations that enjoy the support of the masses, and to promote their widespread adoption throughout the region. Five. The national situation is of concern to all comrades. Since last year, when the Party’s National Land Conference decided to adopt a new policy and launch land reform and Party rectification, large-scale cadre meetings concerning these issues have been held in almost all liberated areas. These meetings have criticized right-wing tendencies within the Party and exposed the existence of impurities in composition and conduct at various levels. As a result, the Party has embarked on a path of sound development across many regions. Almost all People’s Liberation Armies have taken advantage of lulls in combat over the past few months to conduct large-scale training exercises. These exercises have been conducted in a highly disciplined and orderly manner, employing democratic methods. This has ignited the revolutionary enthusiasm of commanders and soldiers, clarified their understanding of operational objectives, eliminated several incorrect ideological tendencies and negative phenomena within the troops, and significantly enhanced the combat effectiveness of officers and men. This new type of democratic mass military training should continue going forward. You can clearly see that the Party rectification, military training, and land reform initiatives of historic significance that we have undertaken are precisely what our enemy, the Kuomintang, is utterly incapable of achieving. In contrast, we have diligently corrected our own shortcomings, uniting the entire Party and army almost as if they were a single entity, closely integrating the Party, the army, and the masses, and effectively implementing all policies and strategies prescribed by the Central Committee, thereby waging a victorious People’s Revolutionary War. Our adversaries, however, are the opposite: they are riddled with corruption, plagued by endless, unresolved internal conflicts, ostracized by the people and isolated, and have suffered countless defeats. Consequently, they are inevitably headed toward destruction. This is the complete contrast between the Chinese Revolution and the Counter-Revolution. Under these circumstances, all Party members must firmly grasp the Party’s overarching line—the line of the New Democratic Revolution. The New Democratic Revolution is not just any revolution; it must and can only be led by the proletariat (the people () against imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism. This means that no other class or political party can serve as the leader of this revolution; only the proletariat and the Communist Party of China are qualified to do so. Accordingly, the united front formed by those participating in this revolution is extremely broad, encompassing workers, farmers, independent laborers, freelancers, intellectuals, wealthy capitalists, and even monarchs who have abandoned their former positions to join the democratic coalition. Together, they constitute a democratic coalition government representing all democratic classes. The only targets of this revolution are imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism. The concentrated manifestation of these enemies is the reactionary rule of Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang. Feudalism serves as an ally of imperialism and bureaucratic capitalism, forming the very foundation of their rule. Therefore, land reform constitutes the core content of the New Democratic Revolution. The general strategy for land reform is to rely on poor peasants, unite with middle peasants, systematically and selectively eliminate the feudal exploitation system, and develop agriculture. The primary force driving land reform must and can only be the poor peasantry. Together with tenant farmers, they account for approximately seventy percent of China’s rural population. The main task of land reform is to meet the demands of poor and tenant farmers. Land reform must unite middle peasants; poor peasants must forge a solid united front with middle peasants, who comprise roughly ten percent of the rural population. Otherwise, poor peasants will become isolated, and the land reform effort will fail. Another objective of land reform is to accommodate the needs of certain middle peasants. It is permissible to allow some middle peasants to retain a larger landholding than the average. We support farmers’ demand for equal land distribution because it facilitates the transition to a capitalist land ownership system, rather than promoting egalitarianism per se. Anyone advocating absolute equality is mistaken. A destructive trend currently prevalent in rural areas involves promoting the idea of absolute equality in land distribution. This mindset is reactionary, backward, and regressive. We must criticize it. The target of land reform is solely the feudal exploitation system of landlords and traditional rich peasants. We must not infringe upon the rights of emerging capitalist landowners, nor interfere with the commercial activities of landlords and rich peasants. Special care should be taken to protect middle peasants, independent laborers, freelancers, and modern rich peasants who experience little or no feudal exploitation. The ultimate goal of land reform is to eradicate the feudal exploitation system—that is, to dismantle the class structure of feudal landlords—not to abolish land itself. Therefore, landlords should be allocated the same amount of land as peasants and encouraged to engage in productive labor, integrating into the national economy. Apart from punishing, through legal channels, those counter-revolutionary and thuggish elements who are deeply hated by the masses and have been proven guilty of serious crimes, we must adopt a lenient policy toward everyone else and prohibit indiscriminate killings. The elimination of feudal exploitation must be carried out step by step—in other words, with a strategic approach. Farmers must determine the timing and intensity of their struggle based on local conditions, the level of awareness and organization among the masses, and should not attempt to eradicate all feudal exploitation overnight. The overall scope of land reform, according to the actual situation of feudal exploitation in rural China, generally should not exceed eight percent of households and ten percent of individuals. In old and semi-old liberated areas, this proportion should be even lower. Deviating from reality,
Focus ~jJ should focus ~
“and expanding the scope of repression indiscriminately is dangerous. In new liberated areas, we must also divide by region and stage. Dividing by region means
. We should concentrate our efforts on areas where consolidation is possible, carrying out appropriate land reform tailored to local conditions; while in areas that are temporarily occupied but not yet firmly secured, we should refrain from extensive land reform work,
instead focusing on measures that benefit the masses under current circumstances, awaiting further developments. Staging means that in areas recently captured by the People’s Liberation Army, we should adopt a policy of neutrality toward rich peasants and small landlords,

Narrow the scope of repression to target only the Kuomintang’s reactionary armed forces and dangerous criminals, concentrating all our strength on completing this task as the first phase of work in the new liberated areas. Subsequently, based on the increased awareness and organizational capacity of the masses, we can gradually move toward completely abolishing the feudal system. In new liberated areas, both wealth redistribution and land distribution must occur only when conditions are relatively stable and the majority of the population has been thoroughly mobilized; otherwise, such efforts will be futile, unsustainable, and ultimately harmful. In new liberated areas, we must draw on the experience of the Anti-Japanese War—namely, to differentiate between landlords and rich peasants, to categorize landlords into large, medium, and small, and to distinguish between malicious and non-malicious elements among landlords and rich peasants—while adhering to the general principle of equal land distribution and abolition of feudalism,

deciding and implementing different treatment for these various groups in a differentiated manner, rather than applying a uniform approach. When we do this, people will feel that our work is entirely reasonable. Developing agriculture is the direct purpose of land reform. Only by eliminating feudalism can we achieve agricultural development.Speech at the Jin-Sui Cadre Conference, page 129
Once feudalism has been abolished and land reform completed, the Party and the democratic government must immediately undertake the task of restoring and developing agriculture, redirecting all available resources in rural areas toward this goal. We should organize cooperative efforts, improve agricultural techniques, enhance seed quality, and develop irrigation systems to make increased production possible. The majority of the Party’s energy in rural areas should be devoted to restoring and developing agricultureS and industrial production in towns. To rapidly restore and develop agricultureS and industrial production in towns, during the struggle to abolish feudalism, we must make every effort to preserve all available production and living resources, resolutely opposing anyone who attempts to destroy or waste these resources, and practicing frugality to prevent extravagance. To promote agricultural development, we should encourage farmers, on a voluntary basis, to gradually organize various production and consumption cooperatives based on private ownership, as permitted by their current economic conditions. Abolishing feudalism and developing agriculture lays the foundation for developing industry and transforming China from an agricultural country into an industrial one—this is the ultimate goal of the New Democratic Revolution. Comrades, as you know, our Party has defined the overall line and policies of the Chinese Revolution, as well as specific work lines and policies for various tasks. However, many comrades tend to remember only the specific work lines and policies of the Party, forgetting the overarching line and policies. If we truly forget the Party’s overarching line and policies, we will become blind, incomplete, and confused revolutionaries. When we implement specific work lines and policies, we will lose our direction, waver back and forth, and ultimately fail in our mission. Let me reiterate:—(proletarian-led()) the people oppose imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism—I, the New Democratic Revolution of China, am the overarching line and policies of the Communist Party of China in the current historical stage. Relying on poor peasants, uniting middle peasants, systematically and selectively eliminating feudal exploitation, and developing agriculture1—this is the overarching line and policies of the Communist Party of China during the New Democratic Revolution, specifically in the context of land reform.

Speech at the Jin-Sui Cadre Conference, New Democracy Press, Hong Kong, 1948.6 Collection of Important Documents of the Communist Party of China Since 1947, New Democracy Press, Hong Kong, 1949.2 Reference Materials on the History of the Communist Party of China, Volume 5, Speech at the Jin-Sui Cadre Conference, page 141