(September and December 1955)

* While compiling the book The Socialist Upsurge in China's Countryside, Comrade Mao Zedong wrote 104 editorial notes. Forty-three of them are selected here. In March 1958, at the Enlarged Meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in Chengdu, a portion of these notes was reprinted; for this, Comrade Mao Zedong wrote an explanatory note on March 19, 1958. The full text of this explanatory note is as follows:

"These notes appeared in the book The Socialist Upsurge in China's Countryside and were written in September and December 1955. Some of them have not yet lost their significance. It was said in one of them: '1955 was the year in which the decisive battle between socialism and capitalism was basically won.' That statement is inappropriate. It should read: '1955 was the year in which basic victory was won on the front of ownership in the relations of production; on the other fronts of the relations of production and on certain fronts of the superstructure – that is, on the ideological and political fronts – basic victory was either not yet won or not completely won, and further efforts were still required.' We did not foresee that in 1956 such great storms would arise internationally, nor did we foresee the 'anti-rash advance' incident domestically in 1956, which dampened the masses' enthusiasm. Both events had a considerable impact on the wild attacks of the Rightists. A lesson is thus drawn: Neither the socialist revolution nor socialist construction will be plain sailing; we must be prepared to cope with the many major difficulties that may arise, both internationally and domestically. On the whole, the situation is favourable, both internationally and domestically – this can be affirmed – but many major difficulties will certainly arise, and we must be prepared to deal with them."

I

This is an excellent article and deserves to be recommended to readers as the first in this book. As described at the beginning of the article, there are still not a few people in various places who, not understanding the matter themselves and fearing to be questioned, "make a detour to avoid the co-operatives." The practice known as "resolute contraction," which involves issuing orders for the dissolution of large numbers of co-operatives, is also a manifestation of "making a detour to avoid the co-operatives." The difference is that instead of passively evading the issue, they simply take the direct step of "cutting down" (as they themselves call it) I don't know how many co-operatives, adopting an extremely active attitude. With knives in their hands, one slash and they avoid troublesome problems. They claim that running co-operatives involves difficulties of one kind or another, difficulties so great, allegedly, as to be almost beyond imagination. There are innumerable instances throughout the country that refute this claim. The experience of Zunhua County in Hebei Province is just one of those instances. In 1952, no one there knew how to run co-operatives. Their method was to learn. Their slogan was, "The Party secretary takes a hand, and the whole Party runs co-operatives." The result was "from not understanding to understanding," "from a minority knowing how to a majority knowing how," and "from co-operatives run by district cadres to co-operatives run by the masses." In the 10th District of Zunhua County, Hebei Province, with its 11 townships and 4,343 households, over a total period of three years from 1952 to 1954, co-operation on the semi-socialist plane was basically achieved, with households in the co-operatives accounting for 85 per cent of all the district's households. Comparing 1954 with 1952, the output of various undertakings in the district – agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry – had increased as follows: grain, by 76 per cent; forests, by 56.4 per cent; fruit trees, by 62.87 per cent; and sheep, by 463.1 per cent.

We now have reason to pose this question to people: Why can this done be done in this place, but not in others? If you say it cannot, what are your reasons? I see only one reason, which is a fear of trouble, or to be blunt, what is called Right opportunism. And so it means "making a detour to avoid the co-operatives," the Party secretary not taking a hand, the whole Party not running them, from not understanding to not understanding, from a minority to a minority, from district cadres to district cadres. Or else, it means holding a knife in hand and slashing at any co-operative that spells trouble. With just this reason, nothing whatever can be accomplished. We have put forward the slogans "active leadership, steady advance," and "over-all planning, stronger leadership," and we endorse the completely correct slogan of the comrades in Zunhua County: "The Party secretary takes a hand, and the whole Party runs co-operatives." In Zunhua County, is it not a case of "active leadership, steady advance"? Is it not a case of "over-all planning, stronger leadership"? Of course it is. Is there any danger in this? Is it "rash advance"? The danger lies in "making a detour to avoid the co-operatives," and the comrades in Zunhua County have overcome this. The danger also lies in using the pretext of "rash advance" to "cut down" co-operatives en masse; this does not exist in Zunhua County. How does the statement that "the speed of co-operative development has outstripped the level of the masses' political consciousness and the cadres' leadership ability" square with the situation in Zunhua County? There, the masses are demanding co-operation, and the cadres have proceeded from not understanding to understanding. Everyone has eyes. Who can discern any danger in Zunhua County? Can it be called a danger that within three years, as the result of carrying out co-operation step by step, grain output has increased by 76 per cent, forests by 56.4 per cent, fruit trees by 62.87 per cent, and sheep by 463.1 per cent? Can this be called "rash advance"? Can it be called "outstripping the level of the masses' political consciousness and the cadres' leadership ability"?

In the co-operative movement in Zunhua County, there was the Wang Guofan Co-operative, formed by 23 poor-peasant households possessing only three-quarters of a donkey, which people called the "Pauper's Co-op." Through their own efforts, within three years they "acquired from the mountain" a large quantity of means of production, moving some visitors to tears. This is, as I see it, the image of our entire country. Can it be that 600 million paupers, through their own efforts over several decades, cannot transform themselves into a socialist country, both rich and powerful? The wealth of society is created by the workers, peasants, and working intellectuals. So long as these people take their destiny into their own hands and follow a Marxist-Leninist line, and instead of evading problems approach them with a positive attitude, any human difficulty can always be resolved in the end.

Finally, we should express our thanks to the unnamed author of this article. With boundless enthusiasm and a lively style, he has given a detailed account of the process of co-operation in a district, and this will be of no small help to the cause of co-operation throughout the country. We hope that in every province, special district, and county there will be one or more articles of this kind.

(Introductory note to "The Party Secretary Takes a Hand and the Whole Party Runs Co-operatives")

II

For many people in China, 1955 can be said to be the year when superstitions were shattered. In the first half of 1955, quite a number of people still obstinately clung to their beliefs on certain matters. When the second half came, they could no longer hold on to them and had to believe in new things. For example, they thought that the "three-year co-operation" proposed by the masses was no more than an illusion; that co-operation could be speeded up somewhat in the north but not in the south; that co-operatives could not be set up in backward townships; that they could not be set up in mountain districts; that they could not be set up in areas of minority nationalities and areas inhabited by many nationalities; that they could not be set up in disaster-stricken areas; that it was easy to set up co-operatives but difficult to consolidate them; that the peasants were too poor to raise funds; that the peasants were illiterate and no accountants could be found; that the more co-operatives were set up, the more trouble there would be; that the speed of co-operative development had outstripped the level of the masses' political consciousness and the cadres' experience; that because of the Party's policies of planned purchase and supply of grain and of co-operation, the peasants' enthusiasm for production was declining; that on the question of co-operation unless the Communist Party stepped down from the horse quickly, there was a danger of undermining the Worker-Peasant Alliance; and that co-operation would leave too much surplus labour with no outlet. And so on and so forth; many more examples could be cited. In short, all these were superstitions. After they were criticized at the Sixth (Enlarged) Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in October 1955, they were all smashed. Now a high tide of socialist transformation has emerged in the rural areas throughout the country, and the masses are jubilant. This is a profound lesson for all Communists: the masses have such an immense socialist enthusiasm hidden in them, yet how was it that only a few months ago many leading bodies were not conscious of it at all, or were so little conscious of it? Why were the minds of the leaders so out of tune with those of the broad masses? Having learned this lesson, how should we deal with similar matters and problems in the future? There is only one reply: never be divorced from the masses, and be adept in discerning their enthusiasm in its essence.

(Introductory note to "So-called Backward Villages Are Not All Backward")

III

Those who do not believe that in different localities, considered one by one, elementary co-operation can be achieved within three years (the slogan of three-year co-operation was raised by the masses themselves and criticized by the opportunists) and those who do not believe that the areas liberated later can achieve co-operation at the same time as the earlier liberated areas, please have a look at this township of Kunshan County in Jiangsu Province! Here co-operation was not achieved in three years, but in two. This is not an earlier liberated area, but a genuine area liberated later. This area liberated later has left many earlier liberated areas behind. What can be done about it? Can it possibly be pulled back? Of course not; the opportunists can do nothing but admit defeat. A very great socialist enthusiasm is hidden among the masses. Those people who, even in a revolutionary period, can only walk by following the usual rules are completely blind to this enthusiasm. They are blind men in whose presence there is only darkness. Sometimes they even go so far as to confound right and wrong and turn things upside down. Have we not met with enough people of this kind? Those who can only walk by following the usual rules are constantly underestimating the people's enthusiasm. When something new emerges, they are invariably against it and are the first to raise objections. Then they admit defeat and carry out a little self-criticism. When the next new thing appears, they go through the same process of these two attitudes. With the appearance of each new thing that follows, they handle it in the same way. Such people are always passive and always come to a halt at a critical juncture; they always require a sharp push in the back before they are willing to move a step forward. In what year will it be before such people themselves can find a way to walk, and walk in a proper way? There is a way to cure this illness: spend some time going among the masses to discover what they are thinking about and doing, and from this pick out advanced experience and spread it. This is a specific cure for the stubborn illness of Right opportunism, and I urge people to give it a trial.

(Introductory note to "This Township Was Co-operativized in Two Years")

IV

This is a fine article. Reading it, one realizes that the Uighur peasants also have a high degree of enthusiasm for taking the road of co-operation. The cadres they need for achieving semi-socialist co-operation have also been trained. Some say that co-operation cannot be carried out among the minority nationalities. This is incorrect. We have seen the Mongolians, Huis, Uighurs, Miaos, Zhuangs, and some other nationalities already running not a few co-operatives, or co-operatives jointly run by people from several nationalities, and with very good results. This refutes the erroneous views of those who take a contemptuous attitude toward the minority nationalities.

(Introductory note to "Township and Village Cadres Are Capable of Leading the Establishment of Co-operatives")

V

This is an excellent piece that can convince many people. The Party organization in this locality never wavered on the question of cooperativization. It firmly supported the poor peasants' demand to establish cooperatives, won victory in the competition with the well-to-do middle peasants, expanded small cooperatives into larger ones, and increased production year after year. In less than three years, it achieved total village cooperativization. The well-to-do middle peasants had said: "The paupers want to start cooperatives? I've never seen chicken feathers fly up to the sky." Yet, unexpectedly, chicken feathers did fly up to the sky. This is the struggle between the two roads of socialism and capitalism. In China, the rich peasant economy is very weak (during the land reform period, their semi-feudal landholdings were expropriated; most old rich peasants no longer employed laborers, and their social reputation was very poor). However, the strength of the well-to-do and relatively well-off middle peasants is quite considerable; they account for 20 to 30 percent of the rural population. An important aspect of the struggle between the two roads in rural China manifests itself through peaceful competition between the poor peasants and lower-middle peasants on one side and the well-to-do middle peasants on the other. In two or three years, we will see who increases production: the individually farming, well-to-do middle peasants, or the cooperatives formed by the poor and lower-middle peasants? At the start, only cooperatives formed by a portion of the poor and lower-middle peasants competed with the individually farming, well-to-do middle peasants, while the majority of poor and lower-middle peasants stood by watching—this is the two sides contending for the masses. Behind the well-to-do middle peasants stood the landlords and rich peasants, who sometimes openly and sometimes secretly supported the well-to-do middle peasants. On the side of the cooperatives stood the Communist Party, whose members should resolutely support the cooperatives, just as the Communists of Nancuizhuang Village in Anyang County did. It is unfortunate, however, that not every rural Party branch is like this. Under such circumstances, confusion has arisen. First was the issue of public opinion over whether chicken feathers could fly up to the sky. This, of course, is a very serious question. For thousands of years, who has ever seen chicken feathers fly up to the sky? This seemed to be a universal truth. If the Party does not criticize this idea, many poor and lower-middle peasants will feel bewildered. Next, in terms of cadres, and further, in material support such as loans, if cooperatives lack support from the Party and the state, they will encounter great difficulties. The reason the well-to-do middle peasants dared to propagate the age-old truth that chicken feathers cannot fly up to the sky was that the cooperatives had not yet increased production, the poor co-ops had not yet become rich co-ops, and isolated individual co-ops had not yet grown into tens of thousands of co-ops. It was because the Party had not yet, on a nationwide scale, vigorously publicized the benefits of cooperativization. Nor had it explicitly pointed out that this ancient "truth" that "chicken feathers cannot fly up to the sky" is no longer a truth in the socialist era. The poor want to turn their lives around. The old system is destined to perish, and the new system is coming into being. Chicken feathers are indeed going to fly up to the sky. In the Soviet Union, they have already done so. In China, they are doing so right now. Across the whole world, they will all do so. We cannot entirely blame our many local Party organizations for failing to give firm support to the poor peasants, for the higher levels have not yet dealt a fatal blow to opportunist thinking, worked out a comprehensive plan for cooperativization, or strengthened leadership over this movement nationwide. In 1955, we carried out these tasks, and in a matter of months, the situation changed completely. The vast masses who had been standing by on the sidelines came over to the side of cooperativization in waves. The well-to-do middle peasants, too, changed their tune. Some asked to join co-ops, and others prepared to join. Even the most stubborn dared no longer to discuss whether chicken feathers could fly up to the sky. The landlords and rich peasants lost all their swagger. This was also related to the people's government's punishment of a batch of counterrevolutionaries who had sabotaged public order and cooperativization. In short, in the latter half of 1955, a fundamental change in the balance of class forces took place in our country: socialism rose significantly, while capitalism declined sharply. With another year of effort in 1956, the foundation for socialist transformation during the transition period can be essentially laid.

(Note to the article "Who Says Chicken Feathers Cannot Fly Up to the Sky?")

6

The Right opportunist elements within the Party, who exist almost universally in many places and obstruct the vast mass of poor peasants and lower-middle peasants from taking the road of cooperativization, echo the capitalist forces in society. This article portrays such a situation exactly. With great indignation, the author denounces the opportunists and sides with the poor peasants. Although some people carry the title of Communist, they show little interest in the socialist work that now needs to be done. Not only do they fail to support the enthusiastic masses, but they pour cold water on their heads. In China, the year 1955 was a year of decisive battle between socialism and capitalism. This decisive battle first manifested itself through the three meetings convened by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in May, July, and October. In the first half of 1955, the atmosphere was foul and murky, the skies overcast. Yet in the latter half of 1955, everything changed entirely into a different climate: tens of millions of peasant households swung into action, responding to the call of the Party Central Committee and undertaking cooperativization. By the time the editor writes these lines, over sixty million peasant households nationwide had already joined cooperatives. This is the towering rage of a mighty sea, washing away every kind of demon and monster. The faces of various figures in society are now distinguished with stark clarity. The same is true within the Party. Once that year passed, a firm grip on victory for socialism was secured. Of course, many battles still lie ahead, and we must fight with effort.

(Note to the article "The Evil Wind of Opportunism Has Collapsed, the Upright Spirit of Socialism Is Rising")

7

This is also an article of great interest. Though opportunists who want to stem the tide can be found almost everywhere, the tide can never be blocked. Socialism advances victoriously everywhere, leaving all stumbling blocks behind. Society thus marches forward every day, and people's thinking is being remolded, especially so at a time of revolutionary upsurge.

(Note to the article "The Great Activeness of Workers' Family Dependents in the Cooperativization Movement")

8

This is a affecting account, and readers are advised to go over it carefully. In particular, I ask those comrades who refuse to believe that the broad peasant masses are active in taking the socialist road, and those comrades who are ready at the slightest provocation to wield a knife and "slash" the cooperatives, to read it through carefully. Now, in rural areas throughout the country, socialist elements are growing day by day and hour by hour; the broad peasant masses are demanding to organize cooperatives; and among the masses large numbers of bright, capable, fair-minded, and active leaders have emerged. All this is extremely heartening. The biggest flaw is that in many places the Party's leadership has not proactively caught up. Our current task is to make local Party committees at all levels adopt a Marxist-Leninist initiative on this issue, take the entire task of agricultural cooperativization into their own hands, and lead this movement with a positive, joyous, welcoming, and fully committed attitude. We must not repeat the story of Lord Sheh who was so fond of dragons—he talked about dragons for many years, but when a real dragon came to him, he became terrified.

(Note to the article "A Cooperative Established by the Masses on Their Own Initiative Contrary to the Leadership's Intent")

9

The line of this locality is correct. This township already has five agricultural producers' cooperatives, seven mutual-aid joint groups, three year-round mutual-aid teams, and fourteen temporary mutual-aid teams, covering 98.4 percent of the households that should be organized. Before December 1954, the Party branch of this township had not yet placed the focus of its leadership work on mutual aid and cooperation; Party members feared the difficulties of leading mutual-aid teams. Instead of relying on the principle of "the secretary takes hands-on action and the entire Party runs cooperatives," the branch relied on work teams (probably assigned there by higher levels). Many rural Party branches in the country are still in such a weak and helpless state on the question of agricultural cooperativization. Not only branches but perhaps also some higher Party committees are like this. This is the crux of the matter. Whether the socialist transformation of our country's agriculture can keep pace with the progress of national industrialization, whether the cooperativization movement can develop healthily with few defects and ensure increased production—all this depends on whether the leadership focus of local Party committees at all levels can be swiftly and correctly shifted to this area. Work teams must be sent, but it must be made clear that they go to assist the local Party organizations there, not to replace them, so that the local organizations no longer use their own hands and brains but rely exclusively on the work teams. This township in Guizhou, since changing its work attitude in December 1954, has achieved great results in just over five months. They did not rely on the work team; instead, they took action themselves, and Party members no longer feared difficulties. This kind of transformation depends primarily on the secretaries of Party committees at all levels—the secretaries of provincial and autonomous region Party committees, prefectural and autonomous prefectural Party committees, county and autonomous county Party committees, district Party committees, and branch Party committees. They should take up the entire task of agricultural cooperativization. Afraid of trouble, afraid of difficulties, failing to take hands-on action themselves in the face of such a great task and merely delegating it to rural work departments or work teams—such an attitude will not only make the task impossible to complete but will also cause numerous disorders.

(Note to the article "How Chongxin Township in Fenggang County Developed the Mutual-Aid and Cooperativization Movement Under the Leadership of the Party Branch")

10

The author of this article says that ever since the county convened a joint meeting of cooperative directors, this cooperative, on the basis of temporary work contracts, adopted a seasonal work contract system. This shows that county-level leadership is very important. We hope that the county-level leading bodies of our country's over two thousand counties will closely monitor the development of the cooperativization movement in their entire county, identify problems, study ways to solve them, promptly convene meetings of all cooperative directors in the county or of key cooperative directors, make decisions, and rapidly push them forward. Do not wait until problems pile up and many disorders break out before trying to deal with them. The leadership must always walk ahead of the movement, not lag behind it. Within the scope of a county, the Party county committee should play the main leadership role.

(Note to the article "Seasonal Work Contracts")

11

This material is very persuasive. The question of enabling a locality to soundly achieve cooperativization is a question of the Party's policies and working methods. If our Party's policies on handling cooperativization are correct, and if the working methods we adopt when mobilizing the masses to join cooperatives are not commandist or simplistic, but involve reasoning with the masses, making analyses, and relying fully on the masses' voluntary choice, then it is by no means difficult to complete cooperativization and achieve increased production. Dongchuankou Village in Xingtai County, Hebei Province, is an old liberated area. Its seventy households had all joined mutual-aid teams by 1952. It had a strong Party branch and a leader like Wang Zhiqi, trusted by the masses—all necessary conditions were ripe. So, that village, in 1952, took only a bit over a month to set up a cooperative and complete semi-socialist cooperativization. What should be done in places where conditions are not as complete as in this village? It is a question of preparing conditions, which can take several months, a year, or somewhat longer, and that will suffice. Conditions can be built up even as the work proceeds. Running some small cooperatives is precisely the way to prepare the conditions for cooperativization of an entire village, a whole township, or a whole district. This Dongchuankou material also emphasizes how the Party branch carried out propaganda and education work among the masses and how it relied on the masses' voluntary initiative to establish the cooperative. Among its points, the so-called "reverse propaganda"[1] is especially worthy of note. Regarding questions of labor organization and labor management, the material describes the entire process of twists and turns, culminating in the great achievement of year-on-year production increases. The facts prove that this cooperative is sound. All cooperatives must use whether they increase production and the degree of that increase as the primary criterion for testing their soundness.

(Note to the article "Achieving Total Village Cooperativization in Just Over a Month")

12

This material points out a truth: any cooperative, no matter how chaotic the situation, can be straightened out. Because all those who join cooperatives are laboring peasants, and no matter how great the disagreements among their various strata, things can always be cleared up through discussion. For a certain period, some cooperatives are indeed chaotic, for the single reason that they lack the Party’s leadership; the Party has not clearly explained its policies and methods to the masses. "We know running a co-op is a good thing. But once we set it up, the county committee, the district committee, and the branch all leave us to fend for ourselves. Most likely they think our hamlet is too poor, the food and lodging here aren't good enough, which is why they won't come to our co-op." This so-called chaos—there is no other reason for it; that reason is it. Without Party leadership, there will certainly be chaos. Once leadership is provided, the chaos will stop immediately. This material also raises the question of whether cooperatives can be established in backward villages. The answer is affirmative. The cooperative described by this article's author lies precisely in one backward village. About 5 percent of our country's villages are backward; we should go and establish cooperatives in all of them, and in the very struggle to build the co-ops, eliminate the backward conditions there.

(Editor's Note to "How a Disorganized Co-op Was Straightened Out")

13

This is a widespread, serious problem. Party committees at all levels and comrades sent to the countryside to guide co-operative work must pay full attention to this issue. The leading bodies of co-operatives must establish the predominance of the current poor peasants and new lower-middle peasants within those bodies, with the old lower-middle peasants and both the new and old sections of upper-middle peasants serving as auxiliary forces — only then can we, in accordance with Party policy, achieve unity between poor and middle peasants, consolidate co-operatives, develop production, and correctly accomplish the socialist transformation of the entire countryside. Without this condition, poor and middle peasants cannot be united, co-operatives cannot be consolidated, production cannot be developed, and the socialist transformation of the entire countryside cannot be realized. Many comrades do not understand this principle. They believe that establishing the predominance of poor peasants was necessary during the land reform period because at that time the poor peasants, who made up 50, 60, or even 70 percent of the rural population, had not yet risen to become middle peasants, and the middle peasants were vacillating toward land reform, so it was indeed necessary to establish the predominance of poor peasants. Now, in the period of socialist transformation of agriculture, most of the former poor peasants have already become new middle peasants, and the old middle peasants possess more means of production; without the participation of old middle peasants, the problem of a shortage of means of production in co-operatives cannot be solved. Therefore, these comrades believe that now we should not raise the slogan of relying on poor peasants or establishing the predominance of poor peasants, thinking that such slogans would hinder co-operation. We consider this view erroneous. If the working class and the Communist Party wish to use the socialist spirit and socialist system to thoroughly transform the system of small-peasant private ownership of the means of production across the entire countryside, they can accomplish this relatively smoothly only by relying on the broad masses of poor peasants, who were once semi-proletarians; otherwise, it will be very difficult. This is because the rural semi-proletarians are people who are less stubbornly attached to the system of small-peasant private ownership of the means of production and are more amenable to socialist transformation. Most of them have now become new middle peasants, but compared with old middle peasants, apart from a section of newly well-to-do middle peasants, the majority have relatively higher political consciousness, and the hardships of their past life are still easy for them to recall. Furthermore, among the old middle peasants, the lower-middle peasants are closer in economic status and political attitude to the lower-middle peasants among the new middle peasants, and differ from the upper-middle peasants among both the new and old middle peasants, that is, the well-to-do and relatively well-to-do middle peasants. Therefore, in the process of co-operation, we must pay attention to: (1) poor peasants who are still in a difficult position now, (2) lower-middle peasants among the new middle peasants, (3) lower-middle peasants among the old middle peasants — these three groups, who are more amenable to socialist transformation — guide them to join co-operatives first, in batches and by stages, and select from among them a number of people with relatively high consciousness and strong organizational ability, train them, and form them into the leading backbone of the co-operatives, paying special attention to selecting such backbone elements from among the current poor peasants and new lower-middle peasants. This is not a matter of carrying out another classification of class statuses in the countryside; rather, it is a guideline that Party branches in the villages and comrades sent to the countryside to guide work should grasp in the process of co-operation, and this guideline should be openly communicated to the peasant masses. We are not saying that well-to-do middle peasants cannot join co-operatives; rather, we say that we should wait until the socialist consciousness of the well-to-do middle peasants has been raised, when they express willingness to join, and are willing to accept the leadership of the poor peasants (including current poor peasants and all new lower-middle peasants who were originally poor peasants), and then admit them; do not coerce them into joining when they are unwilling, just to get at their draft animals and farm implements. Those who have already joined and wish to stay can remain as before. If they request to withdraw, persuade them; those willing to stay can also stay in the co-operative. Co-operatives can be organized even with fewer means of production, as many co-operatives organized by poor peasants and lower-middle peasants have already proven. We are also not saying that not a single well-to-do middle peasant can serve as a co-operative cadre. Those individual well-to-do middle peasants who have a high level of socialist consciousness, are fair and capable, and are admired by the majority of the co-operative, may also serve as cadres. However, co-operatives must establish the predominance of the poor peasants (once again, including the current poor peasants and all new lower-middle peasants who were originally poor peasants, who constitute the majority, or the overwhelming majority, of the rural population). In terms of organizational composition, they should account for about two-thirds, while middle peasants (including old lower-middle peasants and both the new and old sections of upper-middle peasants) should account for, and indeed can only account for, about one-third. In terms of the guiding principles of co-operatives, a policy of mutual benefit between poor and middle peasants must be implemented, and no one's interests should be harmed. To achieve this, the predominance of poor peasants must also be established. In co-operatives where middle peasants hold predominance, poor peasants will always be pushed aside and their interests harmed. The experience of Gaoshan Township, Changsha County, Hunan Province, amply demonstrates to us: the necessity and possibility of establishing predominance of poor peasants and thereby solidly uniting the middle peasants, and what the dangers would be if this were not done. The author of this article fully understands the Party's line. The approach is also correct: first accomplish the urgent task of increasing production, then establish the predominant leadership of the poor peasants. As a result, the poor peasants hold their heads high, and the middle peasants are wholly convinced. The author also tells us an important thing: when faced with a co-operative in a state of chaos, is it better to dissolve it or to straighten it out so that it moves from chaos to health? Is it possible to straighten out and consolidate such a co-operative? The author persuasively tells us that we should not dissolve such "third-rate co-operatives"; rather, we should carry out the work of straightening them out. Through this work, third-rate co-operatives can absolutely be turned into first-rate ones. Such experience is already quite abundant all over the country, not just in Gaoshan Township, Changsha County alone.

(Editor's Note to "How the Wutang Agricultural Production Co-operative in Gaoshan Township, Changsha County, Transformed from Middle Peasant Predominance to Poor Peasant Predominance")

14

The problem discussed here has universal significance. Middle peasants must be united; failure to unite middle peasants is a mistake. But in the countryside, on whom should the working class and the Communist Party rely to unite the middle peasants and achieve the socialist transformation of the entire countryside? Of course, only on the poor peasants. This was true in the past, when we struggled against the landlords and carried out land reform, and it remains true now, when we struggle against the rich peasants and other capitalist elements to carry out the socialist transformation of agriculture. During both revolutionary periods, the middle peasants were vacillating in the initial stages. Only when they saw the overall situation clearly and realized that the revolution was about to triumph would the middle peasants join the revolutionary side. The poor peasants must work on the middle peasants, unite them to their side, and let the revolution expand day by day until final victory is achieved. In the management committees of today's agricultural production co-operatives, as in the peasant associations of the past, old lower-middle peasants and a portion of new and old upper-middle peasants with relatively high consciousness and good representativeness must be drawn in to participate. However, their numbers should not be too large; about one-third is appropriate. The number of committee members who are poor peasants (including current poor peasants and new lower-middle peasants who were originally poor peasants) should account for about two-thirds. The main leading cadres of the co-operative, aside from old lower-middle peasants and those few new and old upper-middle peasants who are highly conscious, truly fair, and capable, should generally be poor peasants (once again, including current poor peasants and all new lower-middle peasants who were originally poor peasants). We should not regard the situation in Fu'an County, Fujian Province, where co-operatives led by poor peasants and co-operatives led by middle peasants exhibit differing attitudes toward the socialist cause, as an isolated phenomenon; it has universal significance.

(Editor's Note to "Lessons from the Emergence of 'Middle Peasant Co-ops' and 'Poor Peasant Co-ops' in Fu'an County")

15

This material is useful and deserves widespread attention. It depicts the dynamics of various strata in the countryside. Poor peasants are most enthusiastic about co-operation. Many middle peasants want to "wait and see"; they prefer "a bit more freedom outside," and mainly want to see whether the co-operatives' handling of their means of production, when pooled, will cause them no loss. They can go either way. Many well-to-do middle peasants harbor strong resistance to co-operation; among them, those with the worst attitude are selling off means of production, withdrawing funds, organizing fake co-operatives, and a few even collude with landlords and rich peasants to do harm. We hope that comrades engaged in rural work everywhere will pay attention to observing and analyzing the dynamics of each stratum in their own areas, so as to adopt policies suited to the actual situation. This material mentions the mistaken tendency of co-operatives to neglect mutual-aid teams and puts forward the idea of overall consideration and proper arrangement, which is correct. The "mutual-aid and co-operation network" approach is good — that is, to give due consideration to both co-operatives and teams, with co-operatives genuinely helping mutual-aid teams and individual farming households solve the pressing difficulties in their current production. The poor peasant fund must be distributed quickly. Poor peasants who have not yet joined co-operatives should be told that whenever they join the co-operative, they will be entitled to this fund.

(Editor's Note to "New Circumstances and New Problems")

16

The policies of this co-operative are correct. All co-operatives should act in this way. In their resolutions or directives on co-operation, the provinces should point out that all co-operatives have the responsibility to help members who are widowers, widows, orphans, or childless, or who lack labor power (they should be admitted to co-operatives), as well as members who have labor power but face extreme difficulties in their daily lives, to resolve their difficulties. At present, many co-operatives lack the socialist spirit of helping households in difficulty and even fundamentally exclude poor peasants — this is entirely wrong. The government has already set up a poor peasant fund, which can help poor peasants solve difficulties with draft animals and farm implements, but it still cannot address the difficulties of some poor peasant households lacking labor power, nor can it fully resolve the difficulties some households face in lacking means of subsistence during the lean season. This can only be solved by relying on the strength of the broad masses in the co-operative.

(Editor's Note to "How the Party Branch of Qingfeng Township, Xiangtan County, Helped Poor Peasant Members Overcome Difficulties")

17

This is a very interesting story. The birth of a new thing like socialism can only be realized through a serious struggle against old things. For a period of time, one section of society stubbornly insists on walking their old path. In another period, these same people can change their attitude and express approval for new things. In the first half of 1955, the majority of well-to-do middle peasants were still opposed to co-operation; in the second half, a portion changed their attitude and expressed willingness to join co-operatives — though some of them joined with the aim of seizing leadership in the co-operatives. Another section showed extreme vacillation, saying they wanted to join, but inwardly still reluctant. A third section stubbornly persisted in "wait and see." On this issue, rural Party organizations need to be patient and wait for this stratum. To establish the predominance of poor peasants and new lower-middle peasants in leadership, it may even be beneficial for certain well-to-do middle peasants to join co-operatives a bit later.

(Editor's Note to "They Resolutely Chose the Path of Co-operation")

18

Political work is the lifeline of all economic work. This is especially true during periods of fundamental transformation of the social economic system. From the very beginning, the agricultural co-operation movement has been a severe ideological and political struggle. No co-operative can be established without going through such a struggle. A brand-new social system must be built on the foundation of the old system, and it must clear away that foundation. Remnants of old ideas reflecting the old system always linger in people's minds for a long time and are reluctant to retreat easily. After a co-operative is established, it must undergo many more struggles before it can consolidate itself. Once consolidated, if there is any slackening of effort, it may collapse again. The Sanlousi Co-operative in Xieyu County, Shanxi Province, nearly collapsed after being consolidated, precisely because of slackened efforts. Only when the Party organization there criticized its own mistakes, re-engaged in education for the members to oppose capitalism and strengthen socialism, and resumed political work, was the crisis overcome and the co-operative set back on the path of continued development. Combating the spontaneous tendencies of selfish capitalism and promoting the socialist spirit that takes the principle of combining collective interests with individual interests as the standard for all speech and action — this is the ideological and political guarantee for gradually transitioning the scattered small-peasant economy into a large-scale co-operative economy. This work is arduous and must be carried out concretely and meticulously, based on the life experience of the peasants; crude attitudes and simplistic methods cannot be adopted. It must be carried out in conjunction with economic work and cannot be done in isolation. We have already accumulated quite rich experience in this kind of work nationwide. Almost every piece in this book exhibits this characteristic.

(Editor's Note to "A Serious Lesson")

19

The viewpoint of this article is correct. Co-operatives must emphasize doing political work well. The basic task of political work is to continuously imbue the peasant masses with socialist ideas and criticize capitalist tendencies.

(Editor's Note to "Political Work in the Zhangguozhuang Co-operative")

20

This situation deserves attention. The capitalist tendency among the well-to-do peasants is serious. So long as we relax our political work among the peasants even slightly during the co-operative movement, or for a long period thereafter, the capitalist tendency will run rampant.

(Introductory note to the article “A Resolute Struggle Must Be Waged Against the Capitalist Tendency”)

21

This is a fine account of experience in consolidating a co-operative, and it merits recommendation. The birth of a new social system is always accompanied by a great deal of noise; that is, by proclaiming the superiority of the new system and criticizing the backwardness of the old. Such earth-shaking work as the socialist transformation of our more than five hundred million peasants cannot possibly occur under calm and peaceful circumstances. It requires that we Communists patiently carry out lively, easily understandable propaganda and educational work among the broad masses of peasants, who still bear the burdens of the old system. This kind of work is being done at present all over the country, and many comrades doing rural work have shown themselves skilled at propaganda. The method of “four comparisons and five accounts” described in this article is an excellent way of explaining to the peasants which of two systems, the old or the new, is good and which is bad, so clear that people grasp it as soon as they hear it. This method is highly convincing. Unlike some comrades, unskilled in propaganda, who merely bring up in simplistic terms so-called “either taking the Communist Party’s road or taking Chiang Kai-shek’s road,” attempting to browbeat their audience into submission with large labels but without any compelling substance in hand, this method uses the local peasants’ own experiences to make a detailed analysis for them. That gives it great persuasive power.

(Introductory note to the article “A Good Experience in Consolidating a Co-operative”)

22

The problem of counterrevolutionary sabotage of the co-operative movement is a widespread one; it is not confined to the Fifth District of Duyun County, Guizhou Province. However, we have rarely seen this problem reflected in similar publications from other provinces. In the process of co-operativization, all comrades engaged in rural work must pay full attention to the problem of waging struggle against counterrevolutionary acts of sabotage. They should follow the example of the district in Duyun County and set up security organizations within the co-operatives with Party and Youth League members as the backbone. Under the leadership and supervision of the county committee, after the district Party committee has studied the situation, conducted proper propaganda and explanation both inside and outside the Party, and heightened the masses’ vigilance against counterrevolutionary acts of sabotage, it is entirely necessary to examine, purge, and deal with counterrevolutionaries and other undesirable elements who have infiltrated the leading bodies of co-operatives. However, those purged must be genuine counterrevolutionaries and genuine bad elements; we must not label good people or those with only certain shortcomings as bad. Dispositions must be handled especially appropriately and must be subject to approval by the county authorities.

(Introductory note to the article “We Must Wage a Resolute Struggle Against Counterrevolutionary Destructive Activities”)

23

Mobilizing the broad masses of women to participate in productive activity is of immense significance for building a great socialist society. Equal pay for equal work between men and women must be realized in production. Genuine equality between men and women can only be realized throughout the course of the socialist transformation of society as a whole.

(Introductory note to the article “Women Have Joined the Labour Front”)

24

This is a good piece and can serve as a reference for all localities. Youth constitutes one part of the total social force—the most active and vital part. They are the most willing to learn and the least prone to conservative thinking, especially so in the socialist era. I hope that Party organizations in all localities, in coordination with Youth League organizations, will pay attention to studying how to give special play to the strength of young people, and not treat them in a general manner, obliterating their distinctive characteristics. Of course, young people must learn from the elderly and from adults; they must do their utmost to obtain the agreement of the elderly and adults before undertaking all kinds of beneficial activities. Among the elderly and adults there is rather more conservative thinking, and they often suppress the progressive activities of young people, becoming convinced only after the young people have produced results. This article provides a good description of this situation. Naturally, one should not compromise with conservative thinking. Very well then, let us try and see; once results are achieved, they will agree.

(Introductory note to the article “The Youth Shock Brigade of the Ninth Agricultural Producers’ Co-operative of Xinping Township, Zhongshan County”)

25

This is also a good article, which can serve as a reference for all localities. The part about organizing secondary school graduates and senior primary school graduates to join in the work of co-operativization deserves particular attention. All such intellectuals who can go and work in the countryside should go there gladly. The countryside is a vast world where much can be accomplished.

(Introductory note to the article “The Experience of Planning for Co-operativization in a Township”)

26

Here again we have a Chen Xuemeng. In China there are not just thousands upon thousands of such heroic figures—what a pity that our writers have not yet gone looking for them, and that those going to the countryside to guide co-operativization work observe much but write little.

(Introductory note to the article “Chen Xuemeng, a Leader in Co-operativization”)

27

This article is very well written and deserves to be recommended to every county, district, and township committee of the Party and the Youth League; all co-operatives should act in this way. The author understands the Party’s line, and his words are entirely to the point. The style is also good, making it easy to understand at first glance, without any trace of stereotyped Party writing. Allow me here to draw the reader’s attention to the fact that many of our comrades are overly fond of stereotyped Party writing when composing articles—flat, lacking vivid imagery, giving readers a headache. They pay little attention to grammar or rhetoric, favoring a style that is half classical, half vernacular, sometimes filled with verbiage, sometimes deliberately terse and archaic, as if they were determined to make the reader suffer. Among the more than one hundred seventy articles collected in this volume, quite a few are marked with a strong flavor of stereotyped Party writing. Only after several revisions have they been made somewhat more readable. Even so, a small number of pieces remain rather obscure and difficult to comprehend. They were selected and included only because their content is important. When might we have fewer of these headache-inducing pieces of stereotyped Party writing? This requires that our comrades editing newspapers and periodicals pay attention to this matter, demand that authors produce vivid and coherent articles, and personally help the authors revise their manuscripts.

(Introductory note to the article “Political Work in a Co-operative”)

28

The co-operative introduced here is the so-called “Poor Peasants’ Co-op” led by Wang Guofan. Diligent and frugal management should be the policy for all agricultural producers’ co-operatives nationwide—indeed, it should be the policy for all economic undertakings. Run factories diligently and frugally, run shops diligently and frugally, run all state-owned enterprises and co-operative undertakings diligently and frugally, run all other enterprises diligently and frugally—in all matters, the principle of diligence and frugality should be implemented. This is the principle of economy, and economy is one of the fundamental principles of socialist economics. China is a large country, but it is still very poor today. It will take several decades to make China prosperous. Even several decades from now, the principle of diligence and frugality will still need to be upheld, but it is during these coming decades, during these current five-year plan periods, that we must particularly advocate diligence and frugality and pay special attention to economizing. Nowadays, many co-operatives exhibit an undesirable style of neglecting economy; this must be rapidly corrected. Every province and every county can find some examples of diligent and frugal management of co-operatives. These examples should be propagated so everyone follows suit. Co-operatives that are diligent and frugal, that achieve the highest yields, and that do well in every respect should be rewarded; those that are wasteful, achieve very low yields, and do poorly in every respect should be criticized.

(Introductory note to the article “Running a Co-operative with Diligence and Frugality”)

29

This is a seven-year long-range plan for a township of over one thousand households organized into one large co-operative (which they call a collective farm, i.e., a co-operative). It can serve as a reference for all localities. Why is such a long-term plan necessary? One need only look at its content to understand. Humankind has developed over several hundred thousand years, yet here in China, only now have we obtained the conditions to develop our economy and culture in a planned way. Since obtaining these conditions, the face of our country will change from year to year. Each five-year period will bring a relatively large change; accumulated over several five-year periods, an even greater change will occur.

(Introductory note to the article “Long-Range Plan for the Red Star Collective Farm”)

30

This is a good article, worth reading by everyone, and can serve as a reference for co-operatives everywhere in making their long-range plans. The author is quite right in saying: “The entire process of drafting a production plan is a process of struggle between advanced thought and conservative thought.” Conservative thinking is almost everywhere making mischief nowadays. To overcome this conservative thinking and push the productive forces and production a large step forward, every locality and every co-operative must draw up its own long-term plan.

(Introductory note to the article “A Three-Year Production Plan for a Co-operative”)

31

This township has drawn up a two-year plan covering co-operativization, measures to increase production, water conservancy, consolidation of the Party and the Youth League, culture and education, and other tasks. Townships all over the country should do the same. Some say planning is difficult; why was this township able to do it? In 1956, every county, district, and township in the country should draw up a comprehensive plan, with items somewhat more numerous than those in this plan—such as sideline occupations, commerce, finance, afforestation, health, etc. Even if it is somewhat rough and not entirely in line with reality, it is still better than having no plan at all. As soon as a province has one or two counties, one or two districts, one or two townships that have produced fairly respectable plans, these can be rapidly disseminated so that other counties, districts, and townships emulate them. Difficulty in doing it is spoken of, but really, it is not that difficult.

(Introductory note to the article “Comprehensive Planning in Yitao Township”)

32

This piece is very useful and can serve as a reference for all counties. Every county should formulate an appropriate water conservancy plan within its own comprehensive plan. Building water conservancy works is a major matter ensuring increased agricultural output. Small-scale water conservancy projects can be undertaken by every county, district, township, and co-operative; it is extremely necessary to set a plan for phased implementation over a certain number of years, guaranteeing water during droughts and drainage during floods, barring only exceptionally irresistible natural calamities of severe drought or flood. This is entirely achievable. On the foundation of co-operativization, the masses possess great strength. The chronic problems of ordinary flood and drought, insoluble for thousands of years, may be solved within a few years.

(Introductory note to the article “We Should Ensure That Every Person Has One Mu of Irrigated Land”)

33

Pig raising is a major issue related to fertilizer, meat, and export earning of foreign exchange. All co-operatives must include pig raising in their plans, and naturally, provinces, special districts, counties, and districts should all have their own plans as well. Pig feed is easy to solve: certain grasses, certain tree leaves, the vines and leaves of sweet potatoes, and sweet potatoes themselves are all feed. Concentrated feed is not necessarily required, especially not large amounts of it. In addition to collective raising by the co-operatives, every farming household should be encouraged to raise from one to several pigs, achieving this goal in stages over a few years. People of certain minority nationalities that forbid pig raising, and certain individual families unwilling to raise pigs due to religious customs, are of course not subject to this. A system of incentives is needed for developing pig raising; the experience of Shanghua Co-operative in Zhejiang Province can serve as a reference for other localities.

(Introductory note to the article “Large Numbers of Pigs Are Raised Here”)

34

Before co-operativization, the problem of surplus labor existed in many places throughout the country. After co-operativization, many co-operatives began to feel a shortage of labor, making it necessary to mobilize the broad masses of women, who had not previously participated in field labor, to join the labor front. This is a major development that has caught many by surprise. Previously, people generally assumed that labor would certainly be surplus after co-operativization. There was a surplus already, what would happen with another surplus! In many places, the practice of co-operativization has dispelled these anxieties: labor is not surplus, but insufficient. In some places, a temporary sense of surplus labor arose after co-operativization because the scale of production had not yet been expanded, diversified operations had not been introduced, and cultivation had not yet been made more meticulous. For many places, once the scale of production is larger, the sectors of operation are more numerous, the scope of labor expands into the breadth and depth of nature, and the work is done more meticulously, then a shortage of labor will be felt. This situation is only just beginning now; it will develop year by year in the future. The same will hold true after agricultural mechanization. In the future, there will appear all sorts of undertakings previously undreamed of by anyone, yielding output from agriculture several times, a dozen times, or even several dozen times higher than current levels. The development of industry, transportation, and exchange will be beyond anything previous generations could have imagined. The same applies to science, culture, education, health, and other endeavors. Chinese women are a great human resource. This resource must be tapped in the struggle to build a great socialist country. To mobilize women for labor, the principle of equal pay for equal work between men and women must be implemented. The experience of Jiande County in Zhejiang Province can be adopted by all co-operatives.

(Introductory note to the article “Mobilizing Women for Production Solves the Difficulty of a Labor Shortage”)

35

This is also a question of a universal nature. Judging from the situation of these two co-operatives, under the present conditions of production there is already a surplus of almost one-third of the labour power. The work which used to need three people in the past can now be done by two people after co-operation, which demonstrates the superiority of socialism. Where can this surplus of one-third or more of the labour power find an outlet? Mainly in the rural areas themselves. Socialism has not only liberated the labourers and the means of production from the old society, but has also freed the vast realm of nature which the old society could not exploit. The masses of the people have unlimited creative power. They can organize themselves and march forward to all places and departments where they can give full play to their energy; they can march forward to broaden and deepen production, and create more and more welfare undertakings for themselves. No mention has been made here of the mechanization of agriculture. After mechanization, there will be an even greater saving of labour. Will there be an outlet then? According to the experience of some tractor-farming stations, there is still an outlet, because the scope of production has become larger, the departments have multiplied, and the work has become more detailed, so there is no fear of having strength and nowhere to use it.

(Introductory note to the article “An Outlet Found for Surplus Labour Power”)

36

The situation in this county also tells us that surplus labour power in the villages can find an outlet there. The number of workdays per man and per woman in a year can be increased by improving the method of management and extending the scope of production. It is not as stated in the article that a man can put in only over one hundred workdays and a woman only several tens of workdays. Rather, a man can put in over two hundred workdays and a woman over one hundred or more. This figure has already been reached by some co-operatives in other places. Side-occupations must have reliable markets and must not be developed blindly. This is correct. As far as the whole country is concerned, a very large proportion of rural side-occupations serves the rural areas, but a not inconsiderable proportion must serve the cities and export trade, and in the future this proportion may be extended. The problem is that the state must have a unified plan and eliminate blindness step by step.

(Introductory note to the article “The Problem of an Outlet for Surplus Labour Power Solved in Xiangyin County”)

37

This is a very good article which all localities can follow. “There are no accountants”; this is one of the pretexts of those who oppose the rapid development of co-operation. Co-operation throughout the country will require millions of accountants. Where can we find them? Actually there are people — large numbers of primary and junior middle school graduates can be mobilized to do this work. The problem is to train them quickly and to raise their cultural and technical level in the course of work. A good way of raising their cultural and technical level is to organize mutual-aid accounting networks composed of the accountants of the agricultural producers', supply and marketing, and credit co-operatives in each district. The mutual-aid accounting network in the Third District of Zhangwu County has not only helped the accountants to raise their cultural and technical level, but has also done a great deal of economic and political work. The Party organizations at the county and district levels should all pay attention to giving leadership to this work.

(Introductory note to the article “An Experience in Organizing a Mutual-aid Accounting Network by the Accountants of the Agricultural Producers', Supply and Marketing, and Credit Co-operatives”)

38

This experience should be popularized everywhere. Lenin said, “In a country where the bulk of the population is illiterate, it is impossible to build a communist society.”[2] In our country there are still a great many illiterates at present, and yet the building of socialism cannot wait until illiteracy is wiped out. This creates a sharp contradiction. At present in our country not only many children of school age cannot go to school, but also great numbers of adolescents and young people beyond school age cannot go to school, let alone the adults. This serious problem must be solved in the course of agricultural co-operation, and it is only in the course of co-operation that it can be solved. After the peasants have organized their co-operatives, they urgently demand to learn to read and write because of their economic needs. Once the peasants have organized their co-operatives and have the strength of the collective, their situation is completely changed, and they can organize themselves to learn to read and write. As a first step, in order to meet the needs of keeping work records, they should learn the names of people, places, farm implements and farm tasks in the village or township, as well as some essential words and phrases, about two to three hundred characters in all. As a second step, they should go on to learn more characters and words. Two kinds of textbooks should be compiled. The first kind should be compiled, with the help of the local intellectuals, by the comrades who are directing the co-operative work, according to the needs of the co-operatives in each locality. Each locality should compile its own textbook; a uniform textbook should not be used. And this kind of textbook need not be examined and approved. For the second kind, too, the comrades who are directing the co-operative work should help the local intellectuals to compile a textbook of some several hundred characters only, based on things and words within a relatively small area (for example, a county or a special district), plus some things and words of a provincial (or municipal or autonomous regional) and a national character. Similarly, for this kind of textbook there need not be any uniformity; they should be examined and approved quickly by the educational organs at the county, special district or provincial (or municipal or autonomous regional) level. After these two steps, the educational organs of the provinces (or municipalities or autonomous regions) should then compile, as a third step, a textbook of everyday use. Later on there should still be textbooks for continued advancement. The central educational and cultural organs should give this matter proper guidance. The Youth League branch in Gaojialiu Gully Village, Ju’nan County, Shandong Province, has done creative work in this respect. Seeing this situation, we feel elated. Teachers are available — they are the local primary school graduates. Progress can be made rapidly. In two and a half months more than a hundred young and able-bodied people learned over two hundred characters and were able to keep their own work records; some of them have become bookkeepers in co-operatives. The name “work-record literacy class” is a very good one too. This kind of literacy class should be set up everywhere, following this example. Youth League organizations at all levels should take leadership in this work, and all Party and government organs should give their support.

(Introductory note to the article “The Experience of the Youth League Branch in Gaojialiu Gully Village, Junan County, in Running Work-Record Literacy Classes”)

39

This refers to the Gold Star Agricultural, Forestry and Livestock Producers' Co-operative under the leadership of Li Shunda. After three years of existence, this co-op has become a big co-op of 283 peasant households. It is located in a poor place in the Taihang Mountains, but thanks to the efforts of the masses, the locality has begun to change its features in these three years. The utilization rate of labour power has risen by 110.6 per cent as compared with the period of individual farming before the War of Resistance Against Japan, and by 74 per cent as compared with the period of the mutual-aid team before the co-op was set up. The public accumulation funds of the co-op have increased from 120 yuan in the first year to more than 11,000 yuan at present. In 1955, every member received 884 catties of grain on the average, an increase of 77 per cent over the pre-war figure, and a 25.1 per cent increase over the period before the co-op was set up. This co-op has worked out a five-year plan, and after three years of implementation, the total value of its production has reached 100.6 per cent of that set in the five-year plan. The experience of this co-op tells us: if places with comparatively poor natural conditions can bring about big increases in production, why can't places with better natural conditions bring about even bigger increases?

(Introductory note to the article “Running Co-operatives Diligently and Thriftily to Develop Mountain Areas”)

40

This is a very well-run co-operative from which we can draw much useful experience. Qufu County is the birthplace of Confucius. The old man ran schools there for many years and trained a number of talented students — something he is very well known for. However, he paid little attention to the economic life of the people. When his student Fan Chi asked him how to go about farming, Confucius not only brushed the question aside but also called Fan Chi a “common fellow”[3] behind his back. Now the people in his birthplace have set up a socialist co-operative. After more than two thousand years, the people, who had always been so poor, have begun to change the features of their economic and cultural life within three years of co-operation. This proves that today’s socialism is indeed unprecedented. Socialism is vastly superior to the Confucian “classics”. Those who are interested in visiting the Temple of Confucius and the Confucian Woods, I suggest, might as well drop in to see this co-operative on their way.

(Introductory note to the article “An Agricultural Producers’ Co-operative That Has Increased Its Output by 67 Per Cent in Three Years”)

41

This article is very well written and merits attention. The semi-socialist co-operatives we have now are mostly small, each consisting of twenty to thirty households, because this makes them easy to run and enables the cadres and the masses to gain experience quickly. However, a small co-op has a small membership, small acreage and small funds; it cannot undertake large-scale operations or use machinery. As such a small co-op still restricts the development of the productive forces, it should not remain small for too long, and merger should be carried out gradually. In some places, one township can form one co-op; in a few places several townships can form one co-op; of course, in many places there will be several co-ops in one township. It is possible to run big co-ops in mountainous as well as in flat areas. One township in the area of the Foziling Reservoir in Anhui Province is all hilly and scores of li long and wide; yet there a large co-op undertaking a combination of farming, forestry and livestock breeding has been established. Of course, such merger should proceed step by step, should have suitable cadres, and should win the consent of the masses.

(Introductory note to the article “The Superiority of Big Co-operatives”)

42

The experience of the Red Flag Co-operative on Hainan Island also proves that it is most advantageous to run large and higher-stage co-operatives. This large co-op is only one year old and is already preparing the changeover to a higher-stage co-op. Of course, this does not mean that all co-operatives should follow suit; they still have to see whether their conditions are ripe and make their own decisions as to when the merger and upgrading should take place. But generally three years will be about enough. What is important is to set an example for the peasants to see. When they see that running large co-ops and higher-stage co-ops is more advantageous than running small co-ops and lower-stage co-ops, they will demand merger and upgrading.

(Introductory note to the article “The Red Flag Agricultural Producers' Co-operative in the First District of Qiongshan County Consolidates Itself in the Struggle Against Natural Calamities and Capitalist Ideology”)

43

For those co-operatives where conditions are already ripe, we should consider the switch-over from the primary to the higher stage so that the productive forces and production can be further expanded. Since the primary-stage co-operatives still retain semi-private ownership, the time comes when this semi-private ownership hampers the development of the productive forces and people demand its change, so that the co-operatives will become economic bodies for collective management, with full public ownership of the means of production. Once the productive forces are further emancipated, production will expand more rapidly. The changeover may be faster in some places and a bit slower in others. Primary-stage co-ops which have been in existence for about three years will basically possess the necessary conditions. The Party organizations in all provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions should study this matter and make arrangements accordingly. During 1956 and 1957 some higher-stage co-ops should be set up, with the consent of the masses, for the purpose of gaining experience. The co-ops we have now are generally small, and when they are transformed into higher-stage co-ops they should merge, with the consent of the masses, into large co-ops. If one or a few such co-ops can be set up in every district in these two years and if their superiority over the primary-stage co-ops can be demonstrated to the masses, then favourable conditions will have been created for the work of merger and upgrading in the years to come. This work should be co-ordinated with the comprehensive plans for developing production. When people see that large co-ops, higher-stage co-ops, are more advantageous than small and primary-stage co-ops, and that their long-term plans will bring them levels of material and cultural life much higher than at present, they will consent to the merger and upgrading. The upgrading will be quicker in the suburban areas of the cities. The experience of this co-operative in Peking can serve as a reference for co-operatives in similar circumstances in other places.

(Introductory note to the article “A Co-operative That Has Moved Up from the Primary Stage to the Higher Stage”)

(From Volume V of the *Selected Works of Mao Tsetung*, People's Publishing House, April 1977, first edition, pp. 225-259)

Notes

[1] “Upside-down propaganda” here refers to the practice, when the masses have been generally aroused and are eagerly applying to join the co-operatives, of publicly explaining to them not only the advantages and favourable conditions of organizing co-operatives, but also the various difficulties and unfavourable circumstances they may encounter, so that they can give full consideration to all aspects and join the co-operatives on a voluntary basis.

[2] See V. I. Lenin, “The Tasks of the Youth Leagues”.

[3] See *The Analects*, "Zilu".

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