(May 17, 1955)
(During the report from Guangxi Province)
17,000 co-ops reduced by one or two hundred, a small matter. Develop 5,000 co-ops, too few, isn’t it!
(During the report from Hunan Province)
No wonder Hunan does not cry out. (Referring to grain work)
Develop 4,000, so few, not even a doubling!
(During the report from Jiangxi Province)
Develop 8,000, in 34 percent of the townships. Develop another 14,000.
(During the report from Hubei Province)
We cannot do without周转 grain; not including it in the plan, good! Do not buy excessive grain, do not count周转 grain.
(During the report from Zhejiang Province)
Now 55,000, already withdrawn 7,000, withdraw another 3,000, still remaining 45,000. Blank townships must still develop. Can the other provinces double?
(During the report from Jiangsu Province)
In backward townships, 5 percent are counterrevolutionaries, 10 percent are bad elements and degenerates; these are the counterrevolutionary allied forces. County, district, and township three-level cadres must investigate. Middle peasants must not be allowed to dominate; middle peasants can be educated; if they want to act according to the Party’s policies, that is also permissible.
32,000 not to be developed?! Must compare with Zhejiang.

(During the report from Anhui Province)
Underdeveloped provinces must utilize the experience of developed provinces. Jiangsu must catch up; Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, and Guangxi must boldly develop. The majority of cooperatives must undergo large-scale development; 90 percent are relatively good, 10 percent withdrawn.
(During the report from Shandong Province)
Do dead people really save grain? Hunan says several tens died, only one died. Separate phenomenon from essence. A typhoon gust, the sky darkens, it is terrible. Upon investigation, it is false. Ninety percent of the cooperatives are good and have withstood many winds. A few more points:
1. Prove 3 percent to 5 percent; the flexible range is to be further studied, not decided. 88 billion, 1.1 billion key reductions. Hunan, Anhui, Shandong must add a little. Submit to the grain conference, set up for those needing grain.
2. Layered responsibility has advantages, but can form countless independent kingdoms. Over 200,000 must be unified and graded. Under unified planning, each province bears responsibility.
3.周转 grain, fine grain, coarse grain handled as before. Do not engage in malpractice in grain; supply is too broad. Claiming shortages everywhere is a false shortage.
4. Cooperatives voluntary and mutually beneficial; if voluntary, must be decided. Once recognized, act accordingly, guarantee 90 percent reliability.
5. Xi, Fa, Gonghe have disputes; Party committee unifies, legal and swift, do it well.
The cases of Rao, Pan, Yang; shielding three counterrevolutionaries. Used the great renegade Hu Jinghe. Can be conveyed down to the 14th grade.
The Hu Feng case will be notified separately; that document number is unclear.

On Investigating Tan Shiying’s Historical Circumstances
Letter to the Xiangxiang County Party Committee and Reply Letter to Tan Shiying
(May 17 – June 8, 1955)
Comrades of the Xiangxiang County Party Committee, and to be forwarded to the Second District Party Committee and Shidong Township Party Branch:
Tan Shiying of Shidong Township, over forty years ago, had a schoolmate relationship with me at the Dongshan School in Xiangxiang. After liberation, he sent several letters, and I also replied several times. Because he claimed hardship, I recently sent him a little money. Recently, due to an eye disease, he went to Hankou to seek treatment from Comrade Tan Zheng,[1] but Tan was not there, so he came to Beijing to find me. He is now entering the hospital for eye treatment and will return to his township in two or three weeks. I instructed him to properly heed the discipline and education of the district and township Party and government cadres. According to him, his two sons were executed by firing squad during the suppression of counterrevolutionaries three years ago; one was a battalion commander, the other a platoon commander; it is said they were executed because they had blood debts. He himself was also deprived of citizenship rights and placed under surveillance for one year; the surveillance has now been lifted, but he still cannot join the Peasants’ Association. His wife and his other two sons have citizenship rights and have joined the Peasants’ Association. He says his class status is poor peasant. He also says he taught school for several decades and only served as a section clerk in the Kuomintang’s Shaoyang County Government for five months twenty-seven years ago, and did no evil deeds, etc. I am completely unclear about this person’s history. Please investigate and inform me.
Wishing you smooth work.
Mao Zedong
May 17, 1955

Brother Shiying:
Your letter of June 4 and the poem you composed have been received; thank you very much! I approve of your returning to your township within the next few days.
The CPC Xiangxiang County Committee has sent a letter (the township Party branch also sent a letter) to me, providing some explanation regarding your family’s situation. It states: Your two sons were indeed guilty, because they committed crimes again after several lenient releases, and moreover committed serious crimes. Therefore, it was proper for the government and the people to handle them according to law. As for you, you only have some shortcomings brought from the old society and some impropriety in your attitude toward your two sons; hence, you were given one year of surveillance, which has now been lifted. The county committee’s letter considers that you have no other criminal acts. I believe the county committee’s assessment of you is fair.
You should view problems in light of the fundamental changes between the old and new societies, and gradually transform your thinking and mood. In this way, you can take a broader view, correct some shortcomings, and urge the whole family to work hard in production. The most important thing is to obey government decrees and listen to what the cadres say. Thus, after a few years, people’s attitude toward you will become better.
If you deem it necessary, this letter may be shown to the responsible comrades of the county, district, and township.
Wishing you peace.
Mao Zedong
June 8, 1955

--- Notes

[1] Tan Zheng, formerly First Deputy Secretary of the Central-South Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Third Political Commissar of the Central-South Military Region of the People’s Liberation Army, had by this time been transferred to serve as Deputy Minister of National Defense and Deputy Director of the General Political Department of the People’s Liberation Army.