Commentary on an Investigation into the Grain Shortage Among Peasants in Heshun and Xiyang Counties, Shanxi Province (July 8, 1955)

Comrade Xiaoping [1]: Does the account on page five of this document regarding the grain shortage in these two Shanxi counties [2] accurately reflect the situation? Please instruct the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee to dispatch a team to conduct an on-site investigation and report the findings to the Central Committee. Mao Zedong July 8

Based on the manuscript copy. Notes [1] Xiaoping refers to Deng Xiaoping, who at that time served as Secretary-General of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council. [2]

The “People’s Daily Information” compiled and printed by the Editorial Department of the People’s Daily on July 6, 1955, included an item titled “Readers Report a Severe Grain Shortage Among Peasants in Heshun and Xiyang Counties, Shanxi Province,” which stated: According to letters received in mid-June from readers, the grain shortage in Heshun and Xiyang counties of Shanxi Province is extremely serious. Many peasants have abandoned production and are leaving in groups to seek refuge with relatives elsewhere or to beg; in some areas there have even been instances of parents selling their children and of divorces. As the food problem remains unresolved, peasant discontent is widespread. Reactionary landlords, rich peasants, and hidden counterrevolutionary elements are taking advantage of the situation to stir up trouble, and various rumors are constantly circulating. In their letters, the readers urge the Party and the government to promptly send cadres to the area to ascertain the facts and resolve the peasants’ food shortages.