Talk with Personages in Charge of
Various Democratic Parties and
Non-Party Democratic Personages
(June 1957)
For several years we have wanted to rectify our style of work, but have been unable to find an opportunity. Now we have found one. Where many people are involved, a movement is necessary to get things going. An atmosphere needs to be created; without the right atmosphere, nothing can be done. An atmosphere of criticism has now been created, and this atmosphere should be maintained. Taking the handling of contradictions among the people as the theme, we should analyze the contradictions in all spheres.

In the past we were blind to the contradictions in industry, agriculture, culture, education, and other fields. Now we should sort out these contradictions and take stock. In the past, it seemed that the mere mention of contradictions was something terrible. But what is so terrible about them? There was nothing so terrible about Chiang Kai-shek’s four-million-strong army or the U.S. troops reaching the Yalu River. We live amidst contradictions every day; contradictions are everywhere, and rival shows are being staged all the time. Yet some people refuse to recognize the two types of contradictions or confuse them. We must recognize them, then analyze them, and find solutions. Now the newspapers are discussing the problem of contradictions every day. Some people worry that the People’s Government might be overthrown, but two or three months have passed and the government has not been overthrown. On the contrary, the more discussion there is, the more the government develops and the more consolidated it becomes. At present the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Education are under fierce attack. The fiercer the attack, the better; it helps sort out the contradictions. If they want to attack, let them seize this opportunity. As long as evidence is found, one can stand firm. Problems that could not be solved for years or even over a decade may be resolved within a few months through debate. People are not proposing to smash your rice bowl, nor are they trying to beat you to death with a single blow; they are demanding improved relations. Sort out the contradictions in all spheres—higher education, general education, literature and art, science, and so on. Public health also deserves to be attacked a bit, attacked more, attacked earnestly, and published in the newspapers to draw everyone’s attention. Otherwise, bureaucracy will never be eliminated. Find solutions, and let both Party and non-Party people work together. In the past, small meetings were ineffective. We need to hold large meetings like the Eleventh Enlarged Session of the Supreme State Conference and the Propaganda Conference, with Party and non-Party people meeting together. When the two elements combine, a chemical reaction occurs, producing something new, and then it becomes effective. All provinces and municipalities should hold such meetings. Publishing them in the newspapers can break the stifling atmosphere. At this point, it is more natural to propose rectification. The overall theme of rectification is to handle contradictions among the people and oppose the three isms.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party’s directive contains a special provision: participation in labor. This is not to advocate that everyone present go and till the fields; sweeping the streets is always possible. It is mainly to demonstrate an attitude, to cut away bureaucracy and subjectivism. Adding the method of participating in labor means, in general, mingling with the workers and peasants and taking part in some labor to some extent. The peasants say, “In the past you carried out land reform together with us; now that you have become officials, you ignore us.” In the past, cooperative directors who did not participate in labor were very unpopular, and the masses were very unhappy. Without labor, one cannot become one with the peasants; the common people will not trust you and will not tell you the truth. Now that district and township cadres participate in production together with the masses, the masses immediately tell them the truth. What the masses say to deputies to the National People’s Congress and members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference is not always the truth. Especially since we are all intellectuals, we are out of tune with the working people. There is a way to be together with them: participate in some labor to some extent. For example, in the south, planting rice seedlings and weeding are not very difficult. Of course, the elderly and the sick may be excused. Our country has one characteristic: a population as large as 600 million and arable land as small as only 1.6 billion mu. Without adopting some special measures, the country probably cannot be managed well.

Rectification will affect those outside the Party. It is stipulated that non-Party members participate voluntarily and are free to withdraw. This has been the method for the past two months—the method of rectification: I attack you, you attack me; speak up if you have opinions. Party and non-Party people are mixed together. This is rectification, and it has been going on for two months.

Contradictions in united front work, such as having a position but no power, remained unresolved for years. In the past they were very difficult to solve; now they may be solved. The main reason they were difficult to solve in the past was that thinking was blocked. In the past...