and the Central Committee’s draft notice on piloting this draft decision
(April 1957)


Comrade Peng Zhen [I]:
It would be advantageous to issue this document as soon as possible.
[1]


Peng Zhen, who at the time served as a Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.
Mao Zedong
April 9
[2]


Refers to the CPC Central Committee’s April 1957 draft decision on the Rectification Campaign. The main content is as follows:


The Central Committee has decided to launch a rectification campaign throughout the Party, focusing on combating subjectivism, bureaucratism, and sectarianism.
Preparatory work was to be carried out in 1957, with trials conducted within an appropriate scope;
the full-scale campaign was to begin in 1958,
and it was expected to be completed over a period of roughly two to three years. This draft decision was originally titled “Decision (Draft) of the Third Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Conducting a Rectification Campaign Throughout the Party,” and was intended to be adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the Eighth CC and then promulgated. Upon reviewing it, Mao Zedong changed the title to “Decision (Draft) on the Rectification Campaign,” made several revisions to the text, and drafted a central notice regarding the pilot implementation of this draft decision. However, neither the draft decision nor the notice was ultimately issued.


On April 27, 1957,
the CPC Central Committee
formally released the “Instructions on the Rectification Campaign,” thereby initiating the Party-wide rectification movement.
[3]


“Use” refers to Zhou Enlai.


To all Party committees and Party groups at various levels:
We are now transmitting to you the draft decision on the Rectification Campaign; please proceed immediately with a trial run, accumulate experience, and report back to us so that we may revise it before its adoption at a plenary session of the Central Committee and subsequent official implementation. During the trial phase, you must make thorough arrangements and, taking local conditions into account, issue directives at the provincial and municipal levels. Furthermore, while conducting the trial, you should closely monitor the situation and promptly correct any shortcomings that arise. Distribution of the document should be limited to those who can read it; for those who cannot, oral explanations should be provided instead. As for rectification work in rural areas, separate procedures will be formulated by the provincial and municipal authorities.
The Central Committee
April 10, 1957 Ill Day
Chuan
This is a placeholder date symbol written by Mao Zedong when drafting the notice, originally intended to be filled in with the date on which the Central Political Bureau had approved the notice. However, the notice was never actually issued.