Forwarded Comment on the State Finance and Economic Committee’s Circular Regarding the Ministry of Communications Party Group’s Self-Criticism on the Issue of Uniting Democratic Personages
Serious ministries, such as the Ministry of the Interior, should be instructed to follow the method of the Ministry of Communications Party Group and write a self-critical statement.
Mao Zedong
November 17

Letter to Li Jiehou
(November 18, 1951)
Brother Jiehou:
Your letter of October 15 has been received. Regarding the aftermath for the family of Tang Zaozhen[1] (your relative), discussions have already been satisfactorily concluded with the authorities of the Normal University to provide care. This is my reply. Wishing you
good health!
Mao Zedong
November 18
[1]
Tang Zaozhen
(1898-1951), from Yunyuan Village, Yanglin Township, Shaoshan City, Hunan Province, a mathematician. He was a classmate of Mao Zedong at the Xiangxiang County Dongshan Higher Primary School in Hunan. He previously served as a professor at Beijing Women’s Higher Normal School, Guangzhou Sun Yat-sen University, Hunan University, Beijing Normal University, and other institutions, and as an alternate director of the Central Committee of the Jiusan Society and director of its Beijing branch, among other positions. He passed away from illness on October 9, 1951. During the funeral period, Mao Zedong sent his secretary Tian Jiaying to Beijing Normal University to offer condolences.

Critique and Letters on Rectifying the Formulation that "The Semi-Working Class is Also a Leading Class" [I]
(November 18, December 15, December 23, 1951)
Sent to Comrades Liu Shaoqi, Hu Qiaomu, and An Ziwen[2] for review. Comrade An Ziwen is requested to provide opinions and handling methods.
Mao Zedong
November 18
[1]
Mao Zedong’s critique of November 18, 1951, was written on a summary of a letter sent to Mao Zedong on October 27 by Yin Yigang and Luo Yunlu, cadres from the Hebei Provincial Party School. The letter raised opinions on the "Central Committee's Explanation on the Leading Role of the Working Class and the Semi-Working Class" published in issue No. 118 of "North China Construction," hoping for a reply and directive from Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong's critique of December 23 was written on Liu Shaoqi's reply letter of December 19 to Mao Zedong's letter of December 15.
[2]
Hu Qiaomu, then Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee and secretary to Mao Zedong and the Central Political Bureau. An Ziwen, then Deputy Director of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Comrade Shaoqi:
How was your tour? I assume you have arrived in Hangzhou.
According to comrades An Ziwen, Hu Qiaomu, and others, there are still many people, like those in the letter from Yin Yigang and others at the Hebei Party School, who express disagreement with the formulation that the semi-working class is also a leading class [1]. This issue has been raised during Party consolidation in many places, and such a proposal is justified. That formulation in the draft resolution on Party consolidation must now be rectified. We are now in a passive position on this matter, and only by rectifying it can we regain the initiative. I am now sending you one telegram, one report by An Ziwen [2], and the letter from Yin Yigang and others at the Hebei Party School.
[1]
The statement that the working class is the leading class of China’s New Democratic revolution and Socialist revolution has always been clear in our Party’s documents. The formulation that the semi-working class is also a leading class only appeared in a few documents around the time of the founding of New China. In February 1948, when revising the "Draft Central Committee Decision on the Differentiation of Social Classes in the Land Reform and Their Treatment," Mao Zedong used this formulation, stating that "the proletariat and semi-proletariat (poor peasants) are the leading class of the People's Democratic Revolution and the New Democratic state power, with the proletariat being the primary leading class." The "Resolution on the Rectification of Grassroots Party Organizations" drafted based on Liu Shaoqi's report at the First National Organization Work Conference convened by the CPC Central Committee around March-April 1951 also mentioned, "The Chinese revolution in the past was led by the urban working class and the rural semi-working class, and in the future will need the leadership of the working class even more." In July 1951, the "Central Committee's Explanation on the Leading Role of the Working Class and the Semi-Working Class" revised this sentence to read, "The Chinese revolution in the past was led by the urban and rural working class and semi-working class." Later, Yin Yigang and others from the Hebei Provincial Party School wrote letters expressing disagreement with the formulation that the semi-working class is also a leading class. Mao Zedong forwarded the letter to An Ziwen, asking him to propose a handling opinion. An Ziwen proposed that the formulation about the semi-working class also being a leading class should be revised. Mao Zedong agreed to rectify this formulation and wrote this letter to seek Liu Shaoqi's opinion. Liu Shaoqi quickly replied agreeing. In December 1951, the CPC Central Committee officially issued the "Directive on Rectifying the Issue of the Leading Class of the Chinese Revolution," pointing out: "Regarding the leadership issue of the Chinese revolution, both in the past and in the future, it should only be stated as being led by the working class (through its vanguard, the Communist Party of China), and the semi-working class should no longer be included."
[2] Refers to An Ziwen's November 1951 report to Mao Zedong on revising the formulation that the semi-working class is also a leading class.