《Dream of the Red Chamber》
Critical Report on the Issues of Research [I]—Comments
(October 27, 1954)
Chuan
Lu Dingyi, Deputy Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, stated in his report dated October 27, 1954, addressed to Mao Zedong and the Central Committee, concerning the launch of a critical discussion on the issues of research into “Dream of the Red Chamber,” that the Classical Literature Division of the Writers Association had convened a symposium on these issues on the 24th of this month. Over sixty participants attended, including scholars of classical literature, writers, literary critics, and editors from various newspapers and periodicals. Yu Pingbo also arrived at the meeting in the morning. At the meeting, there was unanimous agreement that the critiques by Li Xifan and Lan Xi titled “A Study of ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’” and “A Brief Discussion of ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’” were of great significance. It was further recognized that eliminating the influence of Hu Shi’s bourgeois idealist viewpoint within the field of classical literature research constituted a serious struggle; through such a struggle, classical literature research would enter a new stage. Many people expressed their intention to contribute articles to the debate, while some classical literature scholars, in their remarks, defended Yu Pingbo’s textual-critical achievements, primarily out of concern that their own future textual research might be disregarded. On this point, we offered appropriate explanations during our speeches. The purpose of this discussion was to draw a clear line between Marxist-Leninist materialism and bourgeois idealism in the study of “Dream of the Red Chamber” and classical literature, and subsequently to apply Marxist viewpoints and methods to conduct a more comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the novel’s ideological content and artistic merit, thereby guiding young people to a correct understanding of “Dream of the Red Chamber.” The report emphasized that, in the course of the discussion and criticism, it was essential to avoid simplistic and overbearing approaches, allowing for the expression of diverse opinions; only through thorough debate could sound views truly gain the acceptance of the majority. As for those classical literature scholars who still lacked correct perspectives, a policy of unity and education should be adopted, so that they might benefit from this discussion and improve their research methods. Moreover, the discussion should not be confined solely to “Dream of the Red Chamber” and to Yu Pingbo as an individual, nor should it be limited to the sphere of classical literature research alone. Rather, it ought to be extended to other disciplines—philosophy, history, pedagogy, linguistics, and others—in order to thoroughly criticize and refute the impact of Hu Shi’s bourgeois idealism.

Liu, Zhou, Chen, Zhu, Deng III have read this; return it to Lu Dingyi for implementation.
Mao Zedong
October 27th
[I]
Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi. Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai. Chen refers to Chen Yun, who at the time served as a Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee. Zhu refers to Zhu De. Deng refers to Deng Xiaoping, who at the time held the post of Secretary-General of the CPC Central Committee.