Comrade Shang Kun:
Comments on the Issue of Meat Supply [1]
(March 4 and April 6, 1957)
This document contains a note regarding a serious waste in the meat supply for leading officials of the Central Committee. Please conduct an inspection based on this and take appropriate action.
I
The first part of this document consists of Chairman Mao Zedong’s comments written after he read the report “The Waste in the Meat Supply to Leading Central Officials Is Extremely Serious,” which was published in Issue No. 2139 of Xinhua News Agency’s Internal Reference on February 27, 1957. The report stated that, according to a correspondent of the Ta Kung Pao newspaper, the Beijing Food Company maintained very high standards in supplying meat to central leaders. It had to expend considerable effort and carry out strict selection processes to meet these standards, resulting in substantial waste. Following Mao’s instructions, Xinhua dispatched reporters to investigate the matter. Their findings were subsequently published in Issue No. 2170 of the Internal Reference on April 4, 1957, under the title “An Investigation into the Serious Waste in the Meat Supply to Central Leaders.” According to this investigation, while some of the points raised by the Ta Kung Pao correspondent were indeed true, they were not entirely comprehensive and contained certain exaggerations. In reality, for several years the meat supply to central leaders had been governed by the same standards as those applied to special-category customers—namely, foreign embassies, luxury hotels, foreign guests, experts, and top-tier hospitals—and there were no additional special requirements or regulations. Each day, the city allocated 60 pigs for special supplies, accounting for 5 percent of the total daily supply; of these, only about three were destined for a small group of roughly 160 central leaders, representing less than 0.05 percent of the city’s overall special supply. As for the stringent standards, they were necessary because any failure in quality or hygiene in such supplies could easily lead to adverse political repercussions. After reviewing this investigation, Mao wrote a second set of comments, which constitute the second part of this document.

Comments on the Issue of Meat Supply for Central Leaders
Please determine responsibility and impose appropriate sanctions. I look forward to being informed of the situation!
Comrade Shang Kun (1):
Mao Zedong
March 4
With 160 households receiving three pigs per day, and each pig weighing approximately 150 jin, that amounts to a total of 450 jin. Each household thus receives just under three jin of meat daily, which is still excessive. One or one-and-a-half jin would suffice; we could reduce the amount by half. Please study whether this is feasible. I believe it is, and it should be implemented immediately to demonstrate shared hardship and common cause. Currently, a great deal of oil and meat is wasted in the process of delivering supplies to users—no less than one-third is lost. Please handle this matter appropriately.
Mao Zedong
April 6
[1]
Shang Kun refers to Yang Shangkun, who at the time served as an alternate member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.