Several Issues to Be Kept in Mind Regarding Land Reform Work [1] (January 1951) In carrying out land reform, the primary focus should be on whether the masses have truly been mobilized so that they can, with assistance from cadres sent from above, overthrow the landlord class and distribute the land themselves. As long as the work proceeds in this direction, it is considered sound. Certain deviations—such as encroaching upon the middle peasants, damaging industry and commerce, misclassifying social strata, completely eliminating the rich peasants, driving all landlords out of their homes without exception, and arresting too many people—should be promptly guided and corrected by both the provincial and regional party committees. It would be unrealistic to expect absolutely no mistakes; however, if the provincial and regional levels maintain firm control and consistently rectify any deviations, enabling the peasant masses to happily reduce rents, return pledges, purge bandits, oppose local tyrants, and receive land distribution, while the peasant associations, township governments, and militia are firmly in the hands of those whose backbone consists of poor and hired farmers, then the situation will be very satisfactory. A number of democratic figures in Beijing have visited various provinces for inspection, which has been beneficial rather than harmful. It was we who invited them to go, not their own initiative. Upon their arrival, whatever is correct should be acknowledged as such, and whatever is incorrect should be frankly explained to them. They will not impede the land reform process. Printed from Mao Zedong’s manuscript. Note [1]: This passage pertains to land reform work and appears in a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong to forward the Central Committee of the CPC’s Central-South Bureau’s instructions to the Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee on mobilizing the masses to effectively implement land reform.

This telegram was intended for circulation among the secretaries of all central bureaus. The draft also touched upon the suppression of counter-revolutionaries; however, the extant version remains unfinished, and all comments concerning land reform, along with other remarks, have been crossed out in ink for reasons unknown.