Comments on the Reprint of the Article “On ‘Made of Special Material’” (May 30, 1957) Comrade Qiaomu [1]: This piece [2] seems suitable for republication. Please discuss with the newspaper to determine an appropriate time for its reissue. Mao, May 30th.

Printed from the manuscript. Notes [1] Qiaomu refers to Hu Qiaomu, who at that time served as an alternate member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and as Mao Zedong’s secretary. [2] Refers to the article “On ‘Made of Special Material’—A Discussion with Mr. Zhang Naiqi,” written by Xiaoya and published in the Xinwen Ribao on May 29, 1957. During the Rectification Campaign, Zhang Naiqi published an article titled “Starting from the Ideological Basis of the ‘Wall’ and the ‘Trench’” in the People’s Daily on May 14, 1957. The article stated: “Many people have already pointed out that there exists ‘a wall’ and ‘a trench’ between the Party and non-Party members.” It continued: “The History of the CPSU records Stalin’s oath upon Lenin’s death, which begins with the words: ‘We Communists are men of a special character. We are made of special material.’ Because of the influence of these words, it is possible that many non-Party persons have come to regard Party members with a special kind of eyesight, while certain Party members lacking in self-cultivation have inevitably tended to set themselves apart as being special. In this way, these words naturally became one of the ideological foundations of the ‘wall’ and the ‘trench.’” Xiaoya disagreed with Zhang Naiqi’s views. In his article, he argued that the so-called “special character” and “special material” were not like the old French nobility’s boast about having “noble blood” running through their veins. Rather, Communist Party members, as vanguard fighters of the working class, bear a great historical mission and dedicate themselves to a lofty ideal; they must possess a spirit of fearless self-sacrifice, an unprecedentedly noble revolutionary character, and a wholehearted devotion to serving the people. As for “certain Party members lacking in self-cultivation” who, after reading Stalin’s words, actually began to fancy themselves as “special,” such cases did indeed occur. However, this was a problem inherent to those individuals themselves and should not be used to denigrate Stalin’s remarks as the “ideological foundation” of the “wall” and the “trench.” Based on Mao Zedong’s comments, the People’s Daily reprinted this article on June 8, 1957.