Mr. Ren Zhi:

Reply Letter, Annotations, and Revised Draft
(September 5 and 13, 1952)

I have received your letter from Beidaihe, as well as the letter dated September 4 and the speech manuscript, for which I am very grateful.

The intent of the speech is quite good; however, it seems somewhat too radical. The majority of the bourgeoisie might find it difficult to accept [1].
Therefore, I have made certain revisions. Whether they are appropriate remains for your consideration and decision.
To require the bourgeoisie to embrace the fundamental principles of the working class—such as the abolition of exploitation, the elimination of classes, and the eradication of individualism—and to adopt a Marxist worldview, or, as you put it, “No labor, no life; seek sustenance only through labor and self-reliance”—is tantamount to demanding that the bourgeoisie accept socialism. While this may be feasible for a small number of progressive individuals, it would be inappropriate to make such a demand of the bourgeoisie as a whole, at least not during the First Five-Year Plan period.
At present, as a class, we should merely require them to acknowledge the leadership of the working class—that is, to accept the Common Program—and we should not go beyond that.
For now, we permit the existence of the bourgeoisie on the condition that they engage in enterprises beneficial to the nation and the people and refrain from the “Five Poisons” (I). This constitutes the working-class leadership over the bourgeoisie, as stipulated in the Common Program.
To exceed this limit and insist that the bourgeoisie adopt the ideology of the working class—or, in other words, to forbid them from pursuing profit and allow them to think only along the lines of “no labor, no life,” focusing solely on socialism rather than capitalism—is both impossible and undesirable.
In the first half of this year, some contributors to the journal “Study” in Beijing did advance such views, but we have since instructed them to correct their statements.
As for the minority within the bourgeoisie—those with foresight—I concur with your view that we may propagate socialist ideas to them, thereby arousing their interest in the socialist cause. I believe this is both feasible and beneficial. Under China’s current conditions, such individuals may emerge, particularly in a few years’ time, when the socialist sector has grown stronger and its great contributions to the nation and the people become more evident; at that point, their numbers could gradually increase.
Chuan
Recently, your thinking has been advancing very rapidly. For example, the concept of national sovereignty mentioned in your letter from Beidaihe, as well as the socialist ideas you have raised this time, both reflect this trend. However, at present, it is still premature to act upon them. While such notions might be acceptable among a small group of people, attempting to implement them would be inappropriate. Given your high level of trust in me, I venture to express my humble views as set forth above1 1 1 . I respectfully request your careful consideration and guidance.
If you happen to be free in the coming days, I would be pleased to have a face-to-face meeting with you. With best regards,
Mao Zedong
September 5, 1952
Mao Zedong revised the phrase in the speech manuscript from “Capitalists should fully embrace the ideology of the working class” to “Capitalists should fully accept the leadership of the working class and the state-owned economy.”
He also changed the passage about educating and reforming capitalists using “the ideology of the working class” to one advocating education and reform through “patriotic thought and the principles of the Common Program”; and altered the section on assisting capitalists in “transforming their thinking” to helping them “reform those harmful ideologies—ideas that contradict patriotism and the Common Program, namely the so-called ‘Five Poison’ thoughts.”
After the sentence in the manuscript stating “Among the bourgeois elements, there are both bad and good ones,” Mao Zedong added: “For the vast majority of the bourgeoisie, each person’s mindset contains both negative and positive aspects. We should help them eliminate the negative elements and cultivate the positive ones.”
[l]
In the final paragraph of the speech, Mao Zedong appended the following passage: “Such are our requirements for the majority of the bourgeoisie at this stage. However, under China’s specific conditions, a small minority within the bourgeoisie—those with foresight—may go beyond these demands and embrace the fundamental principles of the working class, namely socialist thought, developing an interest in the socialist cause. They may continue running their factories without immediately changing their status or business activities, while at the same time recognizing the great contributions of the socialist cause to humanity and aspiring to become socialists in the future. Such individuals are indeed possible, and we should welcome them.”
To Vice Premier Huang, please review and return to Comrade Deng Tuo:
(I) Add a sentence at the beginning of the text, so there will be no need to issue a supplementary notice.
［I)
(II) It should be published simultaneously in the People’s Daily and the Guangming Daily tomorrow (the 14th), and broadcast by Xinhua News Agency.
Mao Zedong
September 13, 2:00 PM
Four
1. Private capital has contributed to the construction of New China; we simply must prevent it from veering toward negative directions.
Chuan
2. Capitalists must not pursue only private interests; they should also take into account the interests of the nation and the working class.
3. We should effectively unite, educate, and reform them, starting with the study and implementation of the Common Program.
Mao Zedong’s handwritten letter to Huang Yanpei
(Partial)

--- Notes

On March 15, 1952, Mao Zedong, during a conversation with Huang Yanpei, a leading figure of the China Democratic National Construction Association, offered several opinions on the organization’s work. On September 4, Huang Yanpei wrote to Mao Zedong, requesting that these views be conveyed and elaborated upon in his address to the Beijing Branch Members’ Conference of the China Democratic National Construction Association. He also submitted an outline of the proposed speech, titled “How to Carry Forward the Spirit of Chairman Mao’s Instructions on the Minjian Policy After the Completion of the Three-Anti and Five-Anti Campaigns,” for Mao’s review. The following day, Mao Zedong replied to Huang Yanpei and returned the revised speech manuscript. The first part of this document consists of Mao Zedong’s reply to Huang Yanpei. The second part contains Mao Zedong’s revisions to Huang Yanpei’s speech draft.
On September 7, Huang Yanpei delivered this speech at the Fourth Members’ Conference of the Beijing Branch of the China Democratic National Construction Association. Afterwards, he submitted the speech to the People’s Daily for publication. On September 12, Deng Tuo, the editor-in-chief of the People’s Daily, sent a clean copy of the speech to Mao Zedong for review, accompanying it with a letter stating that Huang Yanpei had “initially cited the Chairman’s instructions without explaining the circumstances, which might make it hard for readers to understand. We have asked the Minjian Association to issue a supplementary notice.” After making some minor textual corrections to the proof, Mao Zedong returned it the next day. The third part of this document comprises Mao Zedong’s annotations written when returning the proof. The fourth part presents the three points of advice Mao Zedong gave to Huang Yanpei on March 15 regarding the work of the China Democratic National Construction Association, as relayed by Huang Yanpei in his speech.


The “Five Poisons” refer to five illegal acts committed by certain capitalists: bribery, tax evasion, embezzlement of state property, shoddy workmanship, and theft of state economic secrets.


The original letter was written vertically from right to left; “as above” means “as stated above.”


While reviewing the proof of Huang Yanpei’s speech, Mao Zedong rewrote the opening line of the manuscript from “Chairman Mao’s instructions to us” to “On March 15 of this year, Chairman Mao and I discussed our work, during which he offered certain instructions,” and in his annotations instructed Deng Tuo not to issue a supplementary notice.