Directive to All Central Bureaus, Sub-Bureaus, Military Regions, and Front Committees[1]

(August 23, 1948)

Regarding the need for all Central Bureaus, Sub-Bureaus, Military Regions, and Front Committees to overcome the empiricism, guerrilla-ism, lack of discipline, and anarchic conditions within themselves and among their subordinates, it remains absolutely necessary, following the methods adopted by the Northeast Bureau, to conduct serious reviews at one or several meetings of each Central Bureau, Sub-Bureau, Military Region, and Front Committee, to practice self-criticism, and to prescribe measures for overcoming these problems. The fact that several comprehensive reports have been made does not mean that there is no need to review this issue of major importance, which has long existed within the Party, primarily within the higher leading organs, has remained unresolved, and has only recently begun to be seriously addressed.

If you have any criticisms regarding the content or methods of the Central Committee’s leadership work, please also raise them.

[1] This is the main content of a directive drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, concerning the requirement for various localities to improve their work of submitting comprehensive reports to the Central Committee.