Speed Up the Socialist Transformation of Handicrafts
(March 5, 1956)

Source: Kau & Leung, The Writings of Mao Zedong 1949-1976, Vol. II
Pages 27-35
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King Norodom Suramarit,
The Kingdom of Cambodia

Your Majesty:

On the occasion of Your Majesty’s coronation, I extend warm congratulations
to Your Majesty and to the Cambodian people on behalf of the Chinese people and
on my own behalf.

May Your Majesty be in good health.

(Signed as Chairman of PRC, dated in Beijing)

Speed Up the Socialist Transformation of Handicrafts
(March 5, 1956)

Source: Xuanji, V, pp. 264~266. Available English Translation: SW, V, pp.
281-283.

According to the source, this document is part of a set of instructions issued by Mao on the
question of transforming handicraft industries after receiving the reports of various departments under the State Council dealing with the matter.

By October 1955, Mao had basically proved his case within the Party regarding
collectivization. This led, in turn, to moves to accelerate the nationalization of
industry, commerce, and handicrafts. On October 29, Mao, Zhou Enlai, and Chen
Yun addressed over 500 members of the executive committee of the All-China
Federation of Industry and Commerce, calling on them to play a role in matching the
collectivist upsurge taking place in the countryside (see text Dec. 27, 1955[1] and
[2], vol. I, ). In December 1955, after a Central Committee conference held to discuss
this issue (November 16-24), Mao made an unpublicized visit to Shanghai to meet
with leading businessmen who reportedly urged him to speed up the process of
transformation of commerce and industry, accomplishing it in perhaps as little as five
years. Mao expressed hesitancy about such a speed-up at that time, saying that he
would have to do further investigation and analysis.

In December 1955, however, 1957 was set as the target for the completion of this
transformation—a date Mao endorsed in his December 6 speech (see text Dec. 6,
1955, vol. 1). But events overtook these goals. In December 1955 and January 1956,
various organizations strove to set the pace for collectivization by trades, and
handicrafts enterprises in Beijing were converted to joint State-private ownership, a
feat commemorated by a rally in Tiananmen Square attended by Mao, Zhou Enlai,
and Liu Shaogi. By the end of January virtually all major industrial cities had
completed the changeover, as none wanted to be left behind. (See texts Jan. 20, 1956,
and Jan. 25, 1956.) But also at the end of January, to prevent further dislocations
from the rapid transformations, Zhou and Chen Yun attempted to slow down the pace


of the movement. Mao, however, seems to have been overtaken by the events; this
document indicates that he was still willing to speed up the transformation of the
handicrafts sector.

1. I feel that the speed of the socialist transformation of handicraft industries
[based on] individual [production] has been a bit slow. Even in January of this year,
at the time of the conference of provincial and municipal [Party] committee
secretaries,” I said that [the transformation] was a little slow. Prior to the end of
1955 only two million people had been organized. In the first two months of this
year alone [this transformation] has expanded by three million people, so it seems
that we can basically complete [the transformation] this year; that’s very good.
Regarding the gross output value of handicraft production, you are assuming an
average annual increase of 10.9 per cent during a period of three five-year plans;
this seems a bit low. The First Five-Year Plan3 set [the goals] low, [and] we suffered
some losses. It is not necessary to alter [the plan] at present, but you must get a grip
on [this problem] in your work.

2. [As to] the range in size of the handicraft cooperatives, in general, about a
hundred people is optimal, [but] some [cooperatives] can have several hundred
people while others can have a few dozen.

3. To organize cooperatives of blacksmiths and carpenters to serve agricultural
production and go down to the countryside to repair agricultural tools is a very
good method; the peasants will definitely welcome [it]. Chinese handicraft industries have been doing this kind of thing for the past several thousand years. After
the cooperatives have been organized and the technical [level of their work] has
been raised, then they will be able to serve the peasants even better.

4. [In the reports] you said that during the high tide of the transformation of
handicraft industry, the repair and service trades concentrated on production, and
[consequently] too many [service] stations were closed down, and [now] the masses
are dissatisfied. What a mess! What should we do now? ‘‘In the general situation
in the world, those things which have long been divided will surely be reunited,
and those things which have long been united will surely be divided again.’”4

5. In terms of labor productivity, the [rate of the] most efficient semimechanized and mechanized production is over thirty times the rate of productivity
of the least efficient handicraft production. In terms of average annual per capita
output values, it is 20,000 to 30,000 rmb in modernized state-run enterprises, 5,000
rmb in semimechanized and mechanized cooperatives, 2,000 rmb in large-scale
[handicraft] cooperatives with over one hundred members, 1,500 rmb in smallscale [handicraft] cooperatives, and 800 to 900 rmb in individual handicraft
industries. It becomes clear from comparing these labor productivity rates that
handicraft industries must develop in the direction of semimechanization and
mechanization and that labor productivity must be raised.

6. Each of the various handicraft trades does good things. This includes the
manufacturing of things to eat, wear, and use. In addition, there are arts-and-crafts
products such as cloisonné and the [blown-glass] grapes [made by] the ‘‘five
maidens of the Chang family [known for its glass] grapes.’’6 Furthermore, there is


roast duck [which] can be [considered a] technological export.’ There are some
service trades [that involve] going from street to street and from village to
village making repairs, [like] Old Woman Wang who repaired urns.8 These
people have been to many places; their knowledge and experience are broad.
The Dongxiaoshi in Beijing [Municipality alone] has more than six thousand
types of products.?

[I want to] alert you to the fact that there are many good things in the handicraft
industry that shouldn't be thrown away. A knife or a pair of scissors made by
Pockmarked Wang or Zhang Xiaoquan!? should not be thrown away even ten
thousand years from now. Those good things of our people that have been shunted
aside must definitely be revived and, moreover, must be made even better.

7. Improving the standards of arts-and-crafts products and protecting the techniques of the old artists among the people are good things that [we must] do quickly,
[even] more quickly [than we are doing now]. You [can] establish organizations
yourselves, set up academies, and convene meetings [to achieve this goal]. Yang
Shihui!! is an ivory carver. In fact he is a brilliant artist. He can make a sculpture
of me [from memory] after simply sitting together with me at a table to eat and
looking at me. As for me, I could look at someone for days and, I’m afraid, still not
be able to make a sketch [of that person] at all.

8. [When] the state allocates matériel to the cooperatives, prices should be
assigned reasonably. We can’t assign prices according to [established] state allocation prices. Cooperatives and state-run enterprises are different, and there are
differences between the system of socialist collective ownership and the system of
socialist ownership by the whole people.!2 During the beginning period of the
cooperatives, they do not have a large economic base and it is necessary for the
State to help. It is very good for the state to allocate to the cooperatives, at low
prices, old machinery that has been traded in and the machinery and factory
buildings that have become surplus after the merger of the factories under the
[system of] joint state-private enterprises. ‘‘If you want to get something, you must
give something first.’’!3 When the economic base of the cooperatives becomes
larger, then the state will collect more taxes and the price of raw materials will be
further increased. At that time, while the cooperatives may formally appear to be
[under a system of] collective ownership, in fact they will have come under a system
of ownership by the whole people.

The state should assist the cooperatives with semimechanization and mechanization, and the cooperatives themselves should work hard to develop semimechanization and mechanization. The greater the speed of mechanization, the
shorter will be the lifespan of your handicraft cooperatives. The more your
“‘domains’’ shrink, the easier it will be to achieve our cause. You should work hard
to mechanize more quickly [and] pass on a bit more to the state!

9. The value of handicraft production makes up one-fourth of the gross value
of national industrial output. Why is [the matter of] supplies, production, and sales
[in this sector] not incorporated into the state plan? [Since] handicrafts are so
significant, they should be incorporated into the state plan.

10. In some places the Party committees are busy [with other things], and their

ee


handicrafts-related [work] is not even listed [among their priorities]; this is not
good. Why are there cadres who aren’t quite willing to handle handicrafts-related work? I, for one, would like to get involved in such matters. It is very
important!

11. From among the more than sixty thousand handicraft cooperative organizations, you should choose some outstanding examples and compile a reference
work on [such] typical examples. It should contain [examples] from every area,
from every occupation, from every trade; good ones, bad ones, large ones, small
ones, centralized ones, scattered ones, semimechanized ones, and mechanized
ones—all of these should be included. You [should] publish [this as] a volume like
The Upsurge of Socialism in China’ s Countryside.'4

Notes

1. Information for this note is extracted from R. MacFarquhar (1974), pp. 19-25.

2. See text Jan. 20, 1956.

3. See text Feb. 10, 1953, vol. I, note 2.

4. This is the first sentence in the classical novel Sanguo yanyi (Romance of the Three
Kingdoms). ,

5. Now a world renowned art object, cloisonné, also known by the names fa lang and,
as cited here in the Chinese text, jingtai lan (jingtai blue) in China, is a popular porcelain
technique of the Beijing region, used in the production of flower vases, utensils, decorative
pots and urns, and especially in snuff bottles. It was developed in the mid-fifteenth century
and became popular during the reign of the Jingtai Emperor of the Ming dynasty (r.
1450-1456), hence the name jingtai blue.

6. “This refers to the five women of Master Chang’s family in Beijing famous for the
glass grapes they blew.’ (SW, V, p. 283.) Employing special techniques and chemicals,
these workers create a purplish product with white frosting that vividly resembles the
characteristics of real grapes.

7, Mao is referring to the special technique of raising ducks for roasting, peculiar to the
Beijing area, that provides the duck with a special succulence and flavor. The Quanzhude
Restaurant in the district of Beijing Municipality, which was outside the front gates of the
old city, was nationally famous for this technique.

8. Mao is referring to a popular skit in traditional opera based on the story of an elderly
woman who repaired ums as an itinerant craftsperson in northern China. In her traveling she
also collected all manner of local gossip and used this information to her own ends.

9. This refers to an important area of the city of Beijing, located in the Longxugou area
of Banbidian, in the Congwen district of Beijing Municipality, where many small arts and
crafts peddlers vend their wares. It is known as Dongxiaoshi (Market of the Eastern Dawn)
because of the custom by which commerce in this area begins at dawn each day. It was
formally constituted as a center for such small vendors’ commerce during the period of
socialist transformation of private industrial and handicraft enterprises in 1955—56.

10. Wang is the name of a famous store in Beijing; whereas Zhang is an equally famous
cutlery producer in Hangzhou. Wang’s products are renowned for their keenness, while
Zhang’s are famous for their precision, lightness of weight, and maneuverability.

11. Born in 1913, Yang began as an apprentice in decorative carpentry and architecture.
Later he switched to ivory carving and became a renowned artist in this field. His most
famous product was a carving in which Mao was depicted as enjoying the scenery of
Wanshoushan in Beijing. In 1956, Yang was the chief of the technical division of the Beijing
Ivory Carving Producers’ Cooperative and a member of the Beijing committee of the
CPPCC.


JANUARY — MARCH 1956 / 3]

12. These refer to two transitional forms of ownership of the means of production.
Ownership by the collective indicates that the means of production are owned by a unit of
the working people rather than by the working people as a whole, and that the products are
used primarily to meet the needs of that collective and only secondarily of society as a whole.
The collective also maintains the primary right to dispose of its products. Hence members
of the collective derive their income from collective production, and their income varies with
the level of this production.

Ownership by the whole people, on the other hand, indicates that the means of production
are owned by the working people as a whole. The products are used primarily to satisfy the
needs of the working people, not of the subunit. Hence, members’ incomes are paid directly
by the state (as the agent of the whole people) and do not vary with the level of production.

Neither of these ownership forms is intrinsically bound up with any particular form of
management within the enterprise itself. Rather, it is these various internal relations of
production that have a major effect on determining the success of these various ownership
forms as transitional forms from capitalist production to communist production.

13. This saying is derived from Chapter 36 of the Daoist classic Lao Zi (a.k.a. Daode
jing, or Classic of the Way and Its Power).

14. See text Sept. 25, 1955; Dec. 27, 1955(1) and (2), in volume I.

Instructions on Report on Schistosomiasis-Prevention Conference
(March 7, 1956)

Source: Wansui (n.d. 3), p. 216.

This is a set of instructions that Mao issued in response to the “Report on the Preparation
for the Convening of the Second [National] Conference on the Prevention and C uring of
Schistosomiasis.” We have no information from the source as to by whom, or where, the
report was made. On the subject of schistosomiasis and Mao’ s writing on the topic, see text
July 1, 1958, and text Nov. 25, 1958(2), note 17.

In addition to the six provinces of the lower Yangtze River, you should also
invite representatives from other provinces where schistosomiasis has been discovered, such as Sichuan, Guangdong, and Fujian, to attend [the conference]. Please
discuss and arrange this with Comrade Ke Qingshi.!

While the conference [most certainly should take the] discussion of schistosomiasis as its primary responsibility, the discussion of other most serious diseases,
such as the hookworm disease, would also be proper. [At] this conference [the time
and place] of the next conference should be set: another conference [should be]
held in the latter half of the year. That would be two conferences every year and
that should be enough.

Note

1. See text Dec. 26, 1953, vol. I, source note; see also text Jan. 27, 1957(1), note 13.


Telegram to Poland on Bierut’s Death
(March 13, 1956)

Source: RMRB (Mar. 14, 1956), 1. Other Chinese Text: XHBYK, 8 (Apr. 21, 1956),
175. Available English Translations: NCNA, Daily News Release (Mar. 14, 1956),
Il; FBIS, Daily Report (Mar. 14, 1956), AAA4.

Boleslaw Bierut was head of the Polish Workers’ Party from 1949 to 1956. He replaced
Wladyslaw Gomulka as general secretary of the Party in 1949 and adhered to a pro-Moscow
line during his tenure as head of the Party. On his death he was replaced by Edward Ocheb.
After the Poznan riots of June 1956, and at the October plenum of the Central Committee
of the Polish Workers’ Party, Gomulka resumed leadership.

Comrade Aleksander Zawadzki, Chairman of the Council of State of the People’s
Republic of Poland, ,

Comrade Jozef Cyrankiewicz, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People’s
Republic of Poland,

Comrade Stanislaw Skrzeszewski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s
Republic of Poland:

On learning the stunning news of the untimely death of Comrade Boleslaw
Bierut, on behalf of the Chinese people and the government of the People’s
Republic of China we express, with great sadness, our deepest sorrow to you and,
through you, to the Polish people and the government of the People’s Republic of
Poland.

Comrade Boleslaw Bierut was a revered and beloved leader of the Polish people
and was also an outstanding fighter in the cause of world peace, democracy, and
socialism. His death is a tremendous loss for the people of Poland and for the camp
of world peace, democracy, and socialism headed by the Soviet Union.

We are confident that the glorious achievements of Comrade Boleslaw Bierut
during his lifetime will forever inspire us in our efforts to further strengthen and
develop the unbreakable and eternal friendship between the Chinese and Polish
peoples. The Chinese people will forever struggle together with the Polish people
to safeguard world peace and to consolidate the camp of world peace, democracy,
and socialism headed by the Soviet Union.

(Co-signed as Chairman of PRC with Liu Shaoqi as Chairman of Standing
Committee of NPC and Zhou Enlai as Premier of State Council and Foreign
Minister, dated in Beijing)


Telegram to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
(March 21, 1956)

Source: RMRB (Mar. 23, 1956), 1. Other Chinese Text: XHBYK, 8 (Apr. 21, 1956),
177. Available English Translation: NCNA, Daily News Release (Mar. 23, 1956), 1.

Mr. Iskander Mirza,
President,
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Your Excellency:

On the occasion of the founding of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Your
Excellency’s assumption of the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on
behalf of the Chinese people and on my own behalf, express warm congratulations
to Your Excellency and to the people of Pakistan.

May we achieve further progress in the friendly relations between China and
Pakistan.

(Signed as Chairman of PRC, dated in Beijing)

Directives Regarding Supply and Marketing Cooperatives
(April 2, 1956)

Source: Wansui (n.d. 3), pp. 91-94.

According to the source, on April 2, 1956, Zhang XX (most likely Zhang Qilong),' Deng XX
(most likely Deng Shenxi),* and Deng X (most likely Deng Fei p briefed Mao on the work of
the supply and marketing cooperatives.* LiuXX (most likely Liu Shaogi), Peng X (most likely
Peng Zhen), Li Xiannian, and Ma XX were reportedly present.” The document represents
excerpts of the conversation, almost entirely made up of the words that Mao spoke, with a
number of interjections by others, and with the conversation’s subject context given in
parentheses.

(When discussing the subject of the money put up by members of the cooperatives
as shares)

Mao: Isn’t there a need to return the money put up by the members of the
cooperatives? If these cooperatives are to be transformed into state-run commercial
[enterprises], then I think [the money] has to be returned!

34 { MAO ZEDONG

(When discussing the setting up of an office for the [technical] specialists at the
All-China Federation headquarters )§

Mao: Do you still have specialists [working with the federation]?

Zhang XX: We have three specialists from the Soviet Union.

Mao: Is there no limit to the time [when we must have] specialists [with us]? I
think perhaps we can dispense with hiring them, can’t we?

(When discussing the fact that there are a total of 1.43 million workers engaged in
the supply and marketing cooperatives)

Mao: You have so many people?

Li Xiannian: If we add to that [the people who have been pulled into the category
by] the reforming of the private commercial {enterprises], there would be over 3
million people.

Mao: You have so many people; no other department can match you!

(When discussing the fact that the number of administrative personnel [in the
supply and marketing cooperatives’ system] represents 25.5 per cent of the total
number of workers)

Mao: [It seems to me that] the ratio, of having administrative personnel make
up 25 per cent, is a bit too much. Wouldn’t that affect cost?

Zhang XX: Lately we are preparing to transfer some of the administrative
personnel to the operational departments.

Li Xiannian: The cooperatives do not have a federal company, but there are a
bit too many administrators.

(When discussing the phenomenon that the retail amount of agricultural means of
production has been increasing gradually through the years)

Mao: There has been an increase in the means of production. This is to take
care of you.’ We will still add more to the means of production; that would only
be reasonable, because we want to promote production, and we must run the
cooperatives diligently and frugally. When we have put down a good foundation in production, in two years, we would be able to sell more means of
production. At the moment we are overwhelmed by the atmosphere of promoting production. In the days ahead, though, there will be a future for the means
of consumption. There are, to be sure, difficulties, but for now, let’s get more
means of production!

(When discussing the financial situation)

Mao: Just the cooperatives by themselves have earned two billion rmb.9 That’s
why some other people have designs on you! Is the rate of profit of 4.84 per cent
high?

Li Xiannian: Not really too high. The rate of profit for commerce is 8.12
percent.!° That’s because the Ministry of Commerce is primarily engaged in
promoting wholesale, and [the rate of profit] ought to be higher. The cooperatives,
[on the other hand,] are primarily engaged in retail.


(When discussing the number of days it takes for the circulating funds to come
round cycle)

Mao: With you [the funds] take seventy-some days to make the cycle once, so,
in a year, they can be circulated five times. This is faster than the situation with the
Ministry of Commerce. In the Ministry of Commerce, a bit more than two cycles
are made [each year]. So you are faster, and they are slower [than you are].

Li Xiannian: The cooperatives are primarily engaged in retail, so they have to
be a bit faster; the Ministry of Commerce is primarily engaged in wholesale, and
that makes it a bit slower.

(When discussing the fact that the ratio [of enterprises that] operate on [the
merchandising of] piecemeal small commodities is increasing [among the supply
and marketing cooperatives])

Mao: Why weren’t [these enterprises] operated before? Is it that [now] there is
profit to be made [and therefore their number has increased]?

Li Xiannian: In the past—and this was a major problem with the Ministry of
Commerce—there was not enough attention paid to small commodities.

Zhang XX: In the past, these commodities’ [trade] was run by the private
merchants; if we were to [take over] its operations [then], we would have crowded
them out and forced their collapse, but without having arranged [any settlement]
for them. |

Peng X: Once the piece-work wage appeared on the scene, things changed. The
amount of small commodities increased. There is already a phenomenon of
[people] forcibly dragging customers to buy things.

Mao: That’s what’s so strange about people in this world; as soon as we
implemented the piece-work wage, things began to increase [in number}.

(When discussing the situation in which it is hard to market means of production)

Li Xiannan: The agricultural producers’ cooperatives!! really know how to stick
it to us.!2 For instance, the peasants of X xian in Shandong [province]!? saw that
we had transported a large batch of granular fertilizer [to Shandong], but they
insisted on not buying [from us].

Mao: There is no seasonal discrepancy price in prepurchasing; that is something
that needs to be changed. The agricultural cooperatives know how to count, and
they’d wait till they are in need before they would buy.

(When discussing expanding the operations of direct transportation)

Mao: Direct-access transportation [of the goods] means to purchase incoming
merchandise according to the administrative regional distinctions. In the past, the
merchants did not follow any administrative regional distinction. Those who are
in the vicinity of Shashi could have taken in merchandise through Hankou; you
didn’t have to take it in at Changsha.!4 Similarly, for the people in the area of Jiangxi
[province] adjacent to Zhejiang [province], they could take in merchandise in
Zhejiang.