(May and June 1955)

Comrade Zhou Yang:[1]

The note is not good; I have rewritten one.[2] Please ask you and Comrade Lu Dingyi[3] to see whether it is usable. If you think it is usable, please have it copied separately for printing, and return the original draft to me. I look forward to it!

Mao Zedong
May 11

It can be published in Renmin Ribao, and then reprinted in Wenyi Bao. The note should use larger type.
If you disagree, you may ask Dingyi to come to my place for a discussion tonight after 11 o’clock, or tomorrow afternoon.

[1] Zhou Yang, then Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.
[2] Refers to the editor’s note written by Mao Zedong for the publication in Renmin Ribao of Hu Feng’s “My Self-Criticism” and Shu Wu’s “Some Materials on the Hu Feng Anti-Party Clique.”
[3] Lu Dingyi, then Director of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee.

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Comrades Dingyi and Zhou Yang:

I have not yet read the editorial.[1] I have revised a little and added several paragraphs to the annotations for the “Third Batch of Materials.” Please consult together, the two of you, or invite a few other comrades, such as Chen Boda, Hu Qiaomu, Deng Tuo, Lin Mohan,[2] to see whether it is appropriate. I think we should take this opportunity to put a little more writing into it.

Mao Zedong
June 6

Please have another proof copy made and sent to me for another look.
After the proof copy is made (preferably this afternoon), apart from sending it to those you deem necessary, please send one copy each to Liu, Zhou, Xiaoping, Peng Zhen, Peng Dehuai, Elder Dong, Zhang Wentian, Kang Sheng[3] (Comrades Zhu, Lin, Chen Yun[4] are not at home), and ask them to give their opinions. Also.

[1] Refers to the draft editorial for Renmin Ribao, “We Must Draw Lessons from the Hu Feng Incident,” later published in Renmin Ribao on June 10, 1955.
[2] Chen Boda and Hu Qiaomu, both then Deputy Directors of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee. Deng Tuo, then Editor-in-Chief of Renmin Ribao. Lin Mohan, then Director of the Literature and Art Section of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee.
[3] Liu, refers to Liu Shaoqi. Zhou, refers to Zhou Enlai. Xiaoping, i.e., Deng Xiaoping, then member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary-General of the Central Committee. Peng Zhen, then member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and alternate secretary of the Central Secretariat. Peng Dehuai, then member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Elder Dong, i.e., Dong Biwu, then member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Zhang Wentian, then member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Kang Sheng, then member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
[4] Zhu, refers to Zhu De. Lin, probably refers to Lin Boqu, then member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Chen Yun, then member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the Central Secretariat.

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Comrades Dingyi, Zhou Yang, Deng Tuo:

Both the editorial and the “materials” have been somewhat revised and supplemented; please deliberate and decide. Please make another proof copy accordingly and send it to all comrades of the Political Bureau for review. Regarding the writing of articles, please be careful not to use overly exaggerated modifiers, which instead diminish the force. Attention must be paid to the logical boundaries of various terms and the coherence of the entire article (also a matter of logic). Superfluous words should be eliminated as much as possible.

Please be sure, Dingyi, to send me the brief biographical notes of the Hu Feng elements before 4 o’clock this afternoon. I look forward to it!

Mao Zedong
June 8, 8 a.m.

Please give this letter and the two proof copies to Comrade Qiaomu for a reading.

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IV

Comrades Dingyi, Zhou Yang, Deng Tuo:

I have written a preface[1] and two notes,[2] and in addition made some textual revisions. Please review them, then make proof copies and hand them over to those comrades who attended the last meeting for review and revision, and then send them to press.

Mao Zedong
June 12, 2 a.m.

[1] Refers to the preface written by Mao Zedong for the book Materials on the Hu Feng Counter-Revolutionary Clique.
[2] Refers to two notes added by Mao Zedong to “The Second Batch of Materials on the Hu Feng Counter-Revolutionary Clique” included in the book Materials on the Hu Feng Counter-Revolutionary Clique.

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V

Comrade Shangkun[1] to forward to Comrades Dingyi, Zhou Yang, Deng Tuo:

This item has again been somewhat revised. Please look it over once more; if there are no errors, it can be sent to press, and paper molds made and sent to all localities for printing accordingly.

When this book is published, the “Preface” may be published in Renmin Ribao (titled “Preface to ‘Materials on the Hu Feng Counter-Revolutionary Clique’”)[2] in order to draw people’s attention. The others should not be published in the newspapers.

Mao Zedong
June 16, 2 a.m.

[1] Shangkun, i.e., Yang Shangkun, then Deputy Secretary-General of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Office of the Central Committee.
[2] This preface was later published in Renmin Ribao on June 20, 1955.