Commentary on an Article
(May 30, 1957)
Comrade Qiao Mu:
This article may be reprinted. Please discuss with the newspaper to determine the appropriate time for its republication.
Mao
May 30th
[1] Refers to the article “On ‘Made of Special Material’—A Discussion with Mr. Zhang Naiqi,” written by Xiao Ya and published in the Xinwen Ribao on May 29, 1957. During the Rectification Campaign, Zhang Naiqi had published an article titled “Starting from the Ideological Basis of the ‘Wall’ and the ‘Trench’” in the People’s Daily on May 14, 1957. In that article, he stated: “Many people have already pointed out that there exists ‘a wall’ or ‘a trench’ between Party members and non-Party members. The History of the CPSU records Stalin’s oath delivered at Lenin’s funeral, which begins with these words: ‘We Communists are persons of a special character. We are made of special material.’ Because of the influence of this statement, quite a number of non-Party comrades have come to regard Party members with a special kind of eyes, while certain Party members lacking in self-cultivation have inevitably tended to consider themselves as being set apart. Thus, this very sentence has naturally become one of the ideological foundations of the ‘wall’ and the ‘trench.’” Xiao Ya disagreed with these views put forward by Zhang Naiqi. In his article, he argued that the notions of “a distinct character” and “special material” were not akin to the boastful claim once made by the French aristocracy that they possessed “noble blood.” Rather, Communist Party members, as vanguard fighters of the working class, bear great historical tasks and dedicate themselves to a lofty ideal. They must therefore possess a fearless, self-sacrificing spirit, an unprecedentedly noble revolutionary character, and a wholehearted commitment to serving the people. As for “certain Party members lacking in self-cultivation” who, upon reading Stalin’s words, became conceited and regarded themselves as “special,” such cases do indeed occur; however, this is a matter of their own shortcomings and should not be used to denigrate Stalin’s remarks as constituting the “ideological basis” of the “wall” and the “trench.” Based on Mao Zedong’s commentary, the People’s Daily reprinted this article on June 8, 1957.


On May 30, 1957, Mao Zedong met with Edgar Faure, former Prime Minister of France, and his wife.