Instructions on the Draft Directive on Improving Grain Work
(August 3, 1955)
Immediately send to Comrades Liu, Zhu, Zhou, Chen, Deng, and Xiannian[1] for review, and Shangkun[2] to handle.
Proceed accordingly. A few sentences have been revised or added on pages one, two, three, and four.[3]
All measures and forms have been reviewed; all are to be implemented as proposed.
Mao Zedong
August 3

[1] Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi. Zhu refers to Zhu De. Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai. Chen refers to Chen Yun, then serving as Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council. Deng refers to Deng Xiaoping, then serving as Secretary-General of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council. Xiannian, namely Li Xiannian, then serving as Vice Premier of the State Council and concurrently Director of the Fifth Office.
[2] Shangkun, namely Yang Shangkun, then serving as Deputy Secretary-General of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.
[3] Mao Zedong’s revisions to the draft directive of the CPC Central Committee on establishing systems, controlling purchase and sale, and improving grain work include: On page 1, adding the salutation: "Shanghai Bureau, all provincial, municipal, and autonomous region Party committees"; On page 2, changing the sentence "The Central Committee has examined the work of unified purchase and sale of grain since 1953 and believes that the following conclusion can be drawn, namely: generally fairly good, with quite a few problems" from "generally fairly good, with quite a few problems" to "although there are quite a few problems, on the whole it is good"; On page 3, after the sentence "It is estimated that if the 1955 production plan is fulfilled, grain output will increase by 20 billion jin compared to 1954, while the quantity purchased by the state will decrease by over 6.4 billion jin compared to the actual amount collected in the previous year, thus enabling the peasants to retain more grain for improving their livelihood," adding the six characters "increase livestock feed"; On page 4, changing the sentence "It is necessary to firmly grasp the sales volume from July to December each year, and during this period reduce sales as much as possible, so as to avoid selling too much during the season when ordinary peasants have grain" to "It is necessary to firmly grasp the sales volume from July to December each year, and during this period educate the peasants to eat less, to eat more sparingly, while the state must reduce sales as much as possible, so as to avoid the peasants eating too much during the season when ordinary peasants have grain, or the state selling too much."