Outline of Concluding Remarks at the Nanning Conference\[1\]
(January 21, 1958)

1. Comprehensive planning, multiple inspections, year-end evaluations. Industry, handicrafts, agriculture, sideline production, forestry, fishery, animal husbandry, transportation, commerce, science, culture and education, health, finance (banking), labor (population) (14). I will talk with you at least four times this year. In 1958, from January 3 to 4, the four provinces and one municipality in East China: water, fertilizer, soil, seeds, improvement, pests (disease), mechanization, livestock, sideline, greening, hazards, diseases (12). Province competes with province, county competes with county, commune competes with commune. In December, convene a national Party congress for evaluation, and simultaneously hold an evaluation meeting on eliminating the Four Pests. Distribution: issues of accumulation and consumption. Universally promote experimental fields. The unity of opposites between red and expert, politics and professional work (technology). We must criticize the erroneous tendency of not inquiring into politics. Oppose both empty-headed politicians (red in name but white in reality) and economists who lose their direction. Rectification must be persisted in to the end. The whole Party must muster its energy, shed bureaucratic airs, seek truth from facts, integrate with the people, and eliminate all errors in style, work, and institutions.

9. During the rectification, each unit should, over a few days, conduct a session of airing views and rectification targeting wastefulness, both among cadres and in each household. 10. When to submit plans? (By June?) Provincial, prefectural, county, and commune levels. 11. Launch a great patriotic health campaign centered on eliminating the Four Pests. 12. Why can't trees be planted in summer? 13. Provinces should convene four medium-to-small meetings a year, with dozens of people, over a hundred, or two to three hundred attendees, to inspect work, discover problems, and solve them. 14. The majority of secretaries and committee members must, in turns, leave their offices. They must spend four months a year traveling around, viewing flowers from horseback and dismounting to view them closely. 15. How long will it take for local industry to surpass agriculture? Five years? Ten years? A plan must be made. 16. The theory of continuous revolution: Seize political power — Agrarian revolution (democratic) — Another agrarian revolution (socialist) — Socialist ideological and political revolution — Technological revolution. Starting from 1958, while continuing to complete the ideological and political revolution, the emphasis should be placed on the technological revolution. This, of course, means the unity of economics and politics, technology and politics, year after year. Ideology and politics are the commander, the sovereign; technology is the soldier, the minister. Ideology and politics are also the guarantee for technology. After the elimination of classes, the ideological and political struggle among people, or revolution, will continue, but its nature will change. The internal function of state power will gradually cease to exist. Now it has also basically ceased to exist regarding the working people — persuasion, not coercion. Striking down bureaucratic airs is extremely necessary. Politicians must understand some professional work. In agriculture, this means experimental fields; in industry,

trial-producing products. Both use the comparative method, comparing advanced and backward under the same conditions. Enterprise compares with enterprise, workshop with workshop, individual with individual. Compare in terms of technology, and also compare in terms of politics, to see who provides better leadership. Imbalance — Balance — Another imbalance — Another balance, ad infinitum. This is the law. The superstructure serves the base. Political power and ideology (i.e., thought) serve the economy. Accuracy, clarity, and vividness of documents. Ancient textual criticism: The problems it solves are those of concept and judgment, what the formula is, what is what. For example: Is "huangkao" a distant ancestor, a grandfather, or a father? Are the "Three Sovereigns" those of the Chu State, or Yu, Tang, and Wen, or Zhuanxu, Diku, and Xuanyuan? Is "lan" the orchid of today, or another kind? The above are conceptual problems. For example: "The purity of the ancient Three Sovereigns was indeed the gathering place of all fragrances. The brilliance and steadfastness of Yao and Shun indeed allowed them to follow the path and find the way; Why were Jie and Zhou so reckless and disheveled, only taking shortcuts to stumble?" The above are problems of judgment. Ancient philosophical principles: The problem they solve is one of reasoning. The above two studies both belong to rational cognition. Grasp both ends to lead the middle. A good method. Five years depends on three years, three years depends on the first year. This is a truth, and also a method. Conduct four inspections a year, once per quarter. One to two extraordinary meetings. A good method. Do this at the central, provincial, and prefectural levels. Try this method this year.

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Committees at the central, provincial, and prefectural levels must spend four months a year leaving their offices, traveling around, viewing flowers from horseback and dismounting. This is definitely a good method. Implement it this year. Not a single day less is acceptable. Meeting methods: The unity of materials and viewpoints. Use materials to explain your viewpoints (thoughts, opinions). Separating the two, leaving them unconnected, is a very bad method, and it is not vivid, giving people a headache. Having materials without viewpoints is even worse. Only typical materials are needed; dissecting one, two, or three sparrows is sufficient. A huge pile of materials only shortens people's lives. One should possess rich materials oneself, but at meetings, only typical ones need be presented. The materials needed for a meeting differ from those needed for writing a major work (e.g., Das Kapital). Distinguish "nine fingers from one finger." Distinguish the overall situation from the partial situation. Distinguish the general from the specific. Grasp the mainstream. If you grasp the wrong thing (a tributary), you will certainly stumble. This is a practical problem, and also a logical one. The lesson of "opposing rash advance": it opposed three things,\[2\] throwing some comrades into a position seemingly close to the Rightists.

The lesson of "cutting down one hundred thousand cooperatives." The lesson of responding to anti-Stalinism, completely following Khrushchev's baton. The lesson of responding to Gao Gang and Rao Shushi. The method of "Dengtuzi's Rhapsody on Lust." Quite a few among our comrades adopt this method. The revolution has suffered greatly because of it. The method of exchanging opinions with a few comrades: exchanging repeatedly with individuals, with a dozen or so people, with twenty-some people, through multiple exchanges, thus arriving at relatively correct viewpoints and policies. The method of collective creation is a relatively reliable method. Centered around one person. The method of reading and studying newspapers, documents: there must be differentiation, studying typical cases. Learn the local dialect, learn Mandarin, learn English. How to deal with Rightists among college students: expel %, retain %; or expel none at all, % perform labor under observation. Cities support the countryside. Party congresses should include participation by county Party secretaries. The method of visiting and observing is a good method. The exhibition method. Big-character posters. Bulletins.

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3. Treat cadres with an equal attitude, making people feel that interpersonal relations are truly equal. Make people feel that you have given your heart to them. Learn from Lu Xun. 4. From this year onwards, focus on grasping industry, finance, and trade, four times a year, mainly in July (or August), November, and January (first ten days). If we do not grasp this, the slogan of catching up with Britain in fifteen years may come to nothing. Bring the leading cadres of industrial departments and finance and trade departments to the venues where local work is discussed. They have this request. 5. Generally speaking, do not make people accept a huge pile of materials and viewpoints within a few hours when these materials and viewpoints are things they usually have little contact with. Find several opportunities each year to let those who normally have little contact with their own professional affairs engage with them, providing appropriately necessary raw materials or semi-finished products. Do not suddenly present finished products one morning. There must be some light drizzles. Do not, within a few hours or days, pour down hundreds of millimeters of torrential rain. The "system" of compulsory training must be abolished as much as possible. The method of forced signatures must be minimized as much as possible. To have a common language, one must first have common information and knowledge. 6. Party committees must grasp military affairs. The army must be under the Party's leadership and supervision. Discuss matters carefully with comrades in military work. Grasp this four times a year. During the rectification, suggest the army spend a few days discussing the issue of the serious mistakes made by Zhukov. The Central Military Commission is to issue instructions and related materials on Zhukov's mistakes to learn the lesson from the Soviet Union. 7. Learn the local dialect, learn Mandarin.

28. Cadres at the central and provincial/municipal levels are advised, on a voluntary basis, to learn one foreign language, aiming to reach middle school level within five to ten years. 29. Study a bit of literature. 30. Study a bit of grammar and logic. 31. Study a bit of natural science and technical science. 32. Study a bit of philosophy and political economy. 33. Study a bit of history and law. Consider the issue of serving as professors and teachers. Consider the issue of publishing journals. 34. The unity of cadres and secretaries. One must not rely on secretaries and "second-row councilors" for everything. Doing things oneself is primary, with others' help as secondary. 35. A number of principal leaders at the central and provincial levels may have a study secretary appointed. 36. The issue of my resigning from the post of President of the Republic: Before September this year, hold a round of airing views and debate by soliciting the opinions of cadres at all levels, and then hold debates in factories, cooperatives, schools, and government organs — wherever there are masses — to obtain the consent of the majority. 37. Discuss the issue of Party leadership principles at a three-level (or four-level?) meeting once. "Concentrate major powers, decentralize minor powers; the Party committee decides, all parties implement. Implementation has its decisions too, not departing from principles (the Party is the highest form of class organization, democratic centralism, the unity of individual role and collective leadership — the unity of squad leader and soldiers, resolutions and instructions from superiors). Work inspection, the Party committee is responsible." Is this correct? Comrade Shaoqi's one point.\[3\] 38. Must every matter be inquired about of the First Secretary?

39. The formation process of concepts, judgments, and reasoning, the formation process of thought: It is not easy for the human brain to reflect the objective world. Having correct thinking is necessary, but there must also be a relatively appropriate mode of expression. 40. How to convey this? These are just suggestions; they need development. Formal articles should be formed before the Party congress in April, ready for revision at any time thereafter. 41. The method of attacking one point (or a few points), exaggerating them as much as possible, while disregarding the rest, is incorrect. 42. Prepare to be cursed, and brace oneself to withstand it. Printed based on Mao Zedong's handwritten manuscript.

**Notes**
\[1\] These are three sets of outline notes handwritten by Mao Zedong on January 21, 1958, for concluding remarks at the Nanning Conference. The first set has 13 pages, written on plain paper, marked from (1) to (20). The second set has 4 pages, also on plain paper, unnumbered, among which the first two issues—"Meeting Methods: The Unity of Materials and Viewpoints," and "Distinguishing 'Nine Fingers from One Finger'"—correspond exactly to items 21 and 22 in the recorded text of Mao's concluding speech at the Nanning Conference. The third set has 4 pages, written on lined paper, marked as items (23) to (42). After the Nanning Conference, Mao used these conclusions as a basis, added some content, adjusted the order and structure partially, and wrote the *Sixty Points on Working Methods (Draft)*, which was issued as a Central Committee document. See pp. XX–XX in this volume.
\[2\] In his speech, Mao criticized the 1956 "Opposition to Rash Advance," which had opposed "More, Faster, Better, More Economical," the "Forty-Point Program for Agricultural Development," and the "Promotion Committee."
\[3\] This refers to a point about rules and regulations written by Liu Shaoqi during discussions on working methods, which Mao later incorporated as item 23 in the *Sixty Points on Working Methods (Draft)*. See pp. XX–XX in this volume.