Regarding the Printing and Distribution of Peng Yihu’s[1] Letter Reflecting on Rural Work
(May 16, 1955)

Immediately deliver to Comrade Yang Shangkun:
Please immediately print and distribute Comrade Peng Yihu’s letter[2] to all comrades attending the meeting at Yiniantang tomorrow (the 17th).

Mao Zedong
May 16

Comrades from various provinces and municipalities may return by train on the night of the 17th or the morning of the 18th.
The central notice[2] revised by Xiaoping[1] (for national representatives going down to investigate issues) should also be printed and distributed to all comrades tomorrow.
Peng Zhen[3] is to distribute [it][4] to standing committee members, some staff of the standing committee, and CPPCC standing committee members in Beijing.

--- Notes

[1] Peng Yihu, then a standing committee member of the Central Committee of the China Democratic National Construction Association and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
[2] Refers to a letter Peng Yihu sent on April 24, 1955, via Huang Yanpei, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, to the State Council. The letter reflected certain conditions in the rural areas of eastern Hunan Province, where his hometown is located: 1. The grain retention point was too low. When the state monopoly for grain purchase was implemented in 1954, the amount of grain left for the peasants was too small, leaving them underfed, physically weak, and low in productive morale, which affected production. The peasants were unable to raise pigs, and side-line occupations were also dealt a blow. 2. The problem of fixed output quotas. During the land survey and output determination in 1952, the output quotas for flat paddy fields were set too high. Moreover, excessive rainfall in 1954 led to a decrease in actual output, creating a gap between the stipulated output and the actual output. During the state monopoly purchase, insufficient estimation of this point further reduced the grain retained by the peasants. 3. The work style of district and township cadres. Some district and township cadres do not go deep among the masses to understand actual situations when issues arise, and do not accept the correct opinions and demands of the masses. In order to fulfill tasks, they often resort to coercion and commandism in implementation, arousing the antipathy of the masses.


[1] Xiaoping, i.e., Deng Xiaoping, then Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
[2] Refers to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China’s notice of May 16, 1955, regarding the inspection work of People’s Representatives in various localities.
[3] Peng Zhen, then Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.
[4] This instruction was written on the letter printed and distributed by the Confidential Room of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which Huang Yanpei sent to Vice Premier Chen Yun of the State Council, forwarding Peng Yihu’s letter. In his letter, Huang Yanpei also expressed some views on the grain issue at the time, stating: “Based on my synthesis of reports from various quarters, I infer that, after all, those with grain who complain are a minority, while those without grain who complain are the majority, and the former follows the latter. They must be dealt with separately, but under no circumstances can they be left unaddressed.”