On the Question of the Primary Contradiction
in the Transitional Period
[1957]

Source: Wansui (n.d. 3), pp. 212–213.

The source provides no date or occasion for this document, although it is placed in the 1957
section of Wansui (n.d. 3), or, more specifically, it is placed among other 1957 documents.
From the information in the document itself, it is clear that this is most likely a speech (but
an informal one, since there are interjections from people in the audience) or a conversation,
and that the occasion must have been after July 1957, since the Qingdao Conference (see
text July 1957[1]) is mentioned.

Should we bring up the matter of the primary contradiction? Is it good to bring
up this matter? (Kang Sheng:1 [I have] talked with comrades XX and Qingshi
[about this matter].)2 People think that the primary contradiction in the transitional
period is the contradiction between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, but they did
bring up a bit of a question, and that is whether [the problem of the primary
contradiction] will affect the rectification and reform, and, second, whether it
would lead to a debate about the few statements regarding “the contradiction
between the advanced social system and backward forces of production” that were
made at the Eighth Congress.3 Right now the primary [issue] is the struggle between
the two lines, that is, the struggle between the two roads, the socialist road and the
capitalist road. We have carried out two revolutions. The first one was an anti-imperialist, antifeudal democratic revolution, in which the bourgeoisie and the
individual economy were not touched; the second one is a socialist revolution of a
proletarian nature. There were two lines, that is, the road of democracy and the road
of feudalism, in the first revolution. [Those two roads] are different from the two
roads [we face] now. Right now this is a socialist revolution of a proletarian nature,
and there is the contradiction between the two roads of capitalism and socialism.
We should have no question about [the contradiction between the two lines of
capitalism and socialism] in theory.

The socialist revolution has already been carried out for a while, since the
general line was declared at the National Conference on Finance and the Economy


in 1953,4 and in the winter [of 1953], the Department of Propaganda of the Central
Committee [of the CPC] wrote a propaganda outline for the general line. It's been only
three and a half years since then to the upsurge of socialist transformation if we exclude
this year, and only four and a half years if we include this year, but we have dealt the
bourgeoisie a severe blow, and we have resolved the problem of the individual
[economy] peasants. Such a situation was reflected at the Eighth Congress, where it
was stated that we have already basically triumphed in socialist transformation, and
that large-scale and mass-based class struggle has basically ended.5 Can we say that
[this statement] is not correct? The system of ownership has been resolved. The people
are contentedly beating drums and gongs [to celebrate the change].6 The Eighth
Congress pointed out that there are still some things not fully resolved in the economic
system [such as the fact that] (the capitalists still take fixed-interests [payments])7 and
in politics (such as the ideological struggle), and we must continue to transform [things].
Some [people in] the democratic parties8—the Rightists, bourgeois intellectuals, and
some well-to-do middle peasants—are discontented with the socialist transformation.
It is not that [the distinctions] were not entirely clearly drawn at the Eighth Congress,
or that the Eighth Congress slackened on their ideological transformation; [it is just
that] they were submissive at that time, but now they want to rebel.
The article at Qingdao ("The Situation in the Summer of 1957") pointed this out
clearly.9 From now on, for strategic purposes, it is still better to adhere to the Qingdao
formulation; it covers the questions that there is a struggle between the two roads both
in the cities and in the countryside, and that class struggle has not died out, and so on.
It is all right that those who attended the conference know about this issue. Don't turn
heaven and earth upside down just because of the words "primary contradiction."10
Those cadres in a factory at Chongqing whom XXX spoke of could not stand
up to the criticism of the workers and had to step down.11 Now new workers have
bureaucratism, subjectivism, while our cadres have bureaucratism, sectarianism, and
subjectivism.12 These are all bourgeois ideologies and can be put on the
bourgeoisie's account. These are all contradictions among the people.13 The
[people who cause] contradictions among the people include two types of people—
one is the people who exploit people, and the other is the people who do not exploit
people.14 The overwhelmingly largest number is [made up of] those who are in the
middle. Things would not be possible without the middle-of-the-roaders, but [even
among them] there is still a contradiction between the advanced and the backward.15 Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming dynasty, and Liu Zongyu of the [period of the]
North and South dynasties were people of this sort.16 The matters of political force
and ideology have not been completely resolved yet. The three "isms" in the Party
also belong to [the areas of] ideology.17
Big contending and big blooming is the best form of revolution. [To carry out]
revolution we need to acquire experience. Let those who want to kick up a terrific row
do it. We found this method [this year] after having gone through so many years of the
revolution without finding it. This year, in cooperation with the Rightists, we invented
this method: big contending and big blooming, and big-character posters.18 The method
of big contending and big blooming was proposed by them, and then we took it over.
During the period in Yanan, there were [the issues of the] reporting with targets and

OCTOBER – DECEMBER 1957 / 811

the light cavalry, so this method was not promoted.19 [The policy of] letting a hundred
flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend is [intended] for the areas of
art and scholarship.20 As for the area of politics, there the Rightists proposed big
contending and big blooming. We took that over, and that is very good.

It is, without question, correct [to say] that the primary contradiction in the
transitional period is the contradiction between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
The second thing, however, is that the newspapers must not publicize the [matter
of the] primary contradiction for a few months in order not to cause new confusion,
or make trouble, that would [adversely] affect the rectification and reform. News-papers must only publicize [the matter of] the struggle between two roads.

When we say “among the people” we mean several types of people—[there are]
the proletariat, the petty bourgeoisie, and the bourgeoisie. There are also several
types of people in the Party. In fact, the contradictions among the people include
class contradictions. When we speak of contradictions between ourselves and the
enemy we are speaking of antagonistic class contradictions.21 The bourgeois
intellectuals are [part of] the people, but they have an antagonistic side. Right now,
the primary contradiction is not the contradiction between [ourselves] and the
landlords, but the contradiction among three parts of the people. Among, and
within, these three parts of the people, there are some hidden antagonistic class
contradictions, such as [with] Zhang Bojun and his like.22 We have exposed them
this year. We cannot finish peeling off [every layer] this year if we [simply] use
the policy of peeling bamboo shoots.23 The primary contradiction now is not with
the landlords. Seven thousand people have been arrested in Hunan and there is no
opposition from the people, but things might be different if Zhang Bojun were arrested.
Today the contradiction between ourselves and the enemy is secondary. The main
targets of the socialist revolution are the bourgeoisie, the bourgeois intellectuals, and
the petty bourgeoisie. The number of the bourgeoisie plus their family members is
several tens of millions, and the number of the petty bourgeoisie is several hundred
million. For these people, the primary issue is to be remolded. There is a large number
of middle-of-the-roaders among the bourgeoisie and the petty bourgeoisie. With regard
to these people, we cannot say that [the contradiction between them and us] is an
antagonistic contradiction, as it is an antagonistic contradiction with someone like
Zhang Bojun. Ninety per cent [of the contradictions] are contradictions among the
people, [but] contradictions among the people include class contradictions. (XX: The
contradictions between ourselves and the enemy include [contradictions with] landlords, rich peasants, counterrevolutionaries, bad elements, and the Rightists.)24 There
are also some contradictions among the workers and the peasants; the contradictions
among the workers and the peasants count as contradictions between the two roads.

How many Rightists are there? At most 150,000. [Since] there are not that
many, we can’t say that the primary contradiction [lies with them]. [I] estimate that
even [within that figure] some can be [distinguished from the rest and] split off.
[Such a split] will be good for us. It will be especially [good for us if] those who
are of learning [are the ones to be split off from the Rightists]. The basic contradiction in the transitional period is the contradiction between the two roads,
between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.


The Eighth Congress spoke of the contradiction between the advanced social
system and the backward forces of production. That was [in reference to] a matter
of the forces of production, not to a matter of the relationship among human beings.
The problem of the relations of production among human beings has already been
[basically] resolved, but has not been completely resolved (see page 4 of the
document of the Eighth Congress).25 [As for the question that is] proposed—whether
or not the socialist system is conducive to the development of the forces of production,
our answer [to this question is that it] is generally conducive. Stalin thinks that [the
socialist system] is completely conducive to [the development of the forces of production]; there are problems with that. In the future, a number of years from now, when
the forces of production have been developed, there will [still] be some contradictions
between the system of collective ownership and the development of the [forces of]
production. Right now the relations of production are conducive [to the development
of the forces of production]. How do we know they are conducive? [The basic fact is
that] the cooperatives have [promoted the] development of production! When we
compare our system with India, India increased steel production by three million tons
in its first five-year plan,26 and we increased ours by four million tons. Can you say our
system is not good? Our relations of production are basically conducive to the
development of the forces of production, but there are still some shortcomings. Several
decades from now, when the forces of production have developed, the law of value
will become useless, and there will be no need for currency.27

The statement (regarding the advanced social system and the backward forces
of production) made at the Eighth Congress is harmless; it will not hinder us from
rectification, production, opposing the Rightists, and improving our work. This
statement is well-intentioned; its idea is to encourage us to develop production and
enrich our material foundation. [This statement] does not talk about the contradiction among the people; it is [merely] to compare what we will be in the future with
foreign countries. (Kang Sheng: When we wrote up that statement, we gave thought
to whether we should write it or not at all. After thinking it over repeatedly, [we did
write it up, and] we used a sentence from Lenin.) There is faulty wording in this
sentence, but it is harmless. In reality it did not produce bad effects. We do not have to
change it now, but in the future, at the proper moment, we shall discuss it a bit. We
were going to change it at the time, but [the document] had already been released.

Notes

1. Kang Sheng (1899–1975) was an alternate member of the Political Bureau of the
Central Committee of the CPC at the time of this speech. A veteran member of the
Communist Party who had joined the Communist Youth League as a secondary-school
student in Shanghai in 1920 and the CPC as a full member in 1924, Kang had been involved
primarily in intelligence and security work in the Party in the late 1920s and 1930s. He was
trained in the Soviet Union from 1933 to 1937. He returned to China in 1937 and worked
in the Organization Department, and later in the Social Affairs Department of the CPC in
Yanan, the latter of which he headed until 1946. At the Seventh Congress of the CPC in
Yanan in 1945, Kang was one of fifteen members of the Presidium of the congress. He was
elected to the Central Committee of the CPC, as well as to membership in the General
Secretariat and the Political Bureau. In 1949, he became a member of the Central People’s
Government Council, the highest executive arm of the Chinese government until 1954. At

OCTOBER – DECEMBER 1957 / 813

the regional level. Kang represented Shandong Province and was a member first of the East
China Military and Administrative Committee and, in 1952, the East China Administrative
Committee. In view of all this, Kang’s election as an alternate (but not full) member of the
Political Bureau at the Eighth Congress of the CPC in 1956 appears to be a demotion of
sorts. Kang eventually would return to prominence, however, as secretary of the General
Secretariat of the CPC in 1962, and in 1966 as a member of the “Five-Men Group” of the Central
Cultural Revolution Group. Kang continued to play a major role in promoting Maoist policies
during the Cultural Revolution period, especially after the purging of Peng Zhen. Kang died on
December 16, 1975, in Beijing. For more biographical information, see D. Klein and A. Clark,
eds. (1971), I, pp. 424–428, and Zhonggong renmin lu, appendix, pp. 86–87.
2. We cannot tell to whom XX refers here. Comrade Qingshi is Ke Qingshi. See text
Dec. 26, 1953, vol. I, source note, and text Jan. 27, 1957(1), note 13.
3. See text Nov. 15, 1956, note 1, and text Oct. 7, 1957, notes 16 and 38.
4. See text June 15, 1953, vol. I, note 1, and text Mar. 31, 1955, vol. I, note 8.
5. See text Feb. 27, 1957, source note; text Mar. 17, 1957(2), source note, and text Mar.
20, 1957, source note and note 7.
6. See text April 1957(2), note 59, and text Oct. 13, 1957, note 9.
7. See text July 9, 1953, vol. I, source note; text Nov. 17, 1955, vol. I, note 4; text Jan.
20, 1956, note 13; text Dec. 8, 1956; and text Feb. 27, 1957, note 39.
8. See text Sept. 11, 1949, vol. I, note 1.
9. See text July 1957(1).
10. Mao is referring here to the debate over what the primary contradiction is in the
current stage of the socialist revolution. See text Oct. 7, 1957, notes 16 and 38.
11. We have not been able to ascertain who XXX is, or to identify the incident at the
Chongqing factory.
12. See text Mar. 17, 1957(2), note 77.
13. See text Nov. 15, 1956, Version 2, note 33, and text Feb. 27, 1957, note 3.
14. The Chinese text here reads: yi zhong shi boxue ren de renmin, yi zhong shi bu
boxue ren de renmin, which makes for the rather unusual translation here. Our conjecture
is that the original probably should have read: yi zhong shi boxue renmin de ren, yi zhong
shi bu boxue renmin de ren.
15. See text Nov. 15, 1956, note 1.
16. Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398) was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty
(1368–1644). He came from an extremely poor family and in his late teens was a Buddhist
monk-acolyte for lack of an alternative livelihood. In 1352 he joined the rebel armies who
had risen against the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty and he rose through the ranks, first of an army
led by Guo Zixing, and subsequently of a larger force that fought in the name of Han Liner.
For years he fought against rival rebel armies led by the redoubtable Chen Youliang and
Zhang Shicheng, whom he was able to eliminate in 1363 and 1366. In the autumn of 1368,
Zhu declared himself emperor, established the Ming dynasty, and routed the Yuan forces
that fled north. Through another decade and a half of fighting thereafter, Zhu Yuanzhang
was able to bring about the unification of China under the Ming regime. He ruled as
Emperor Taizu from 1368 to 1398.
On the other historical figure mentioned here, we believe that a mistake has been made. Mao
appears to be thinking of Liu Yu, not Liu Zongyu. Liu Yu (363–422) was the founder of the Song
dynasty of the North and South dynasties period (not the Song dynasty of 960–1279). From a
poor family, Liu entered military service and took part in a number of campaigns against rebel
insurrectionary forces at the end of the Jin dynasty. In 420 he dethroned the Jin emperor and
established his own dynasty, ruling as Emperor Wudi from 420 to 422. Our interpretation of
Mao’s somewhat ambiguous statement is that both Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Yu, having come
from the ranks of the common people, became emperors and rulers, and therefore can be
categorized as “the people who exploit people,” according to Mao’s description earlier in
this paragraph.
17. The reference is, we believe, to the three “isms,” or three work styles in the CPC that


were targets of the rectification campaign in 1957, namely, bureaucratism, sectarianism, and
subjectivism. See note 12.
18. See text Oct. 9, 1957(1), note 4.
19. The Chinese here is garbled. It reads: Zai Yanan shi you shi de bao he qing qi dui.
We are not certain of the meaning of you shi de bao, or of qing qidui (light cavalry). The
“Yanan period” refers specifically, we believe, to the rectification campaign in Yanan. See
text June 30, 1953, vol. I, note 9, and text Aug. 12, 1953(1), vol. I, note 24.
20. See text Autumn 1956, note 3.
21. See text Feb. 27, 1957, note 3.
22. See text July 1, 1957, note 3.
23. See text July 17, 1957, note 24.
24. These five “types” of people, abbreviated as di, fu, fan, huai, you, are collectively
known as the “five bad elements.”
25. See text Aug. 30, 1956, note 1.
26. In 1950, India set up a planning commission headed by Prime Minister Nehru
himself. The First Five-Year Plan was prepared in 1951, even before the first general election
was held. It covered the period 1952–1956.
27. On the law of value, see text Jan. 27, 1957(1), note 87, and text Oct. 7, 1957, notes 26
and 40.