Letter to Zhou Shizhao
The manuscript of a letter from Mao Zedong to Zhou Shizhao.

On
the Revisions to the Draft of “A Further Discussion on the Historical Experience of the Proletarian Dictatorship” (1)
(December 1956)
Contradictions among the people can and should be resolved through criticism or struggle, starting from the aspiration for unity, so as to achieve new unity under new conditions.
Defending the Marxist-Leninist path opened up by the October Revolution is, at present,
[1]
The article “A Further Discussion on the Historical Experience of the Proletarian Dictatorship” was drafted by the editorial department of the People’s Daily based on discussions at an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. It was published in the December 29, 1956 issue of the People’s Daily. The draft underwent several revisions during its preparation. What is included here are four passages that received substantial edits when Mao Zedong reviewed the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth drafts; the text typeset in Song typeface represents Mao’s rewrites and additions. Furthermore, on page 1 of the sixth draft, next to a passage discussing the antagonism between the imperialist aggressor bloc and the forces of the world’s peoples, Mao wrote a note stating: “The necessity and possibility of peaceful coexistence with imperialist countries and of easing tensions should be addressed in a short paragraph at the end of the entire text.” This content was subsequently added to the final published version at the end of Section IV. On page 9 of the sixth draft, he also deleted the sentence “The rapid development of China’s socialist construction has largely been the result of learning from the Soviet experience,” and wrote beside it: “Whether the principles guiding China’s construction are correct remains to be proven in the future; it is better not to mention this point here.”

Revisions to the Draft of “A Further Discussion on the Historical Experience of the Proletarian Dictatorship”
has particularly significant meaning in the current international situation. The imperialists claim they intend to “change the nature of the communist world,” and what they seek to alter is precisely this revolutionary path. Over the decades, all revisionists have advanced amendments to Marxism-Leninism and propagated right-wing opportunist ideas precisely in order to evade this inevitable road to proletarian liberation.
The task of all communists is to unite the proletariat and the broad masses of the people, resolutely repel the frenzied offensive launched by the imperialists against the socialist camp, and steadfastly advance along the path blazed by the October Revolution.
When we summarize Stalin’s entire thought and activity, we must simultaneously consider both his positive and negative aspects, his achievements and his mistakes. As long as we examine matters comprehensively, if we must speak of “Stalinism,” we can only say that, first and foremost, it is communism—Marxism-Leninism—and this constitutes its principal dimension. Secondly, it contains certain extremely serious errors that run counter to Marxism-Leninism and must be thoroughly corrected. Although there have been times when it was necessary to emphasize these errors in order to rectify them, it is equally important, for the sake of making a proper assessment and avoiding misunderstanding, to place these errors in their proper perspective. In our view, Stalin’s errors rank only second in significance compared with his achievements.
Four
In the history of the Communist Party of China, between 1931 and 1934, dogmatists who denied China’s specific characteristics and mechanically copied certain experiences from the Soviet Union once brought our revolution…