Comments and Revisions on the Draft Directive of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Eradicating the Four Pests and Promoting Sanitation [1] (February 7, 1958) 1. Please return this immediately to Comrade Hu Qiaomu [2]. On page six, I have made a minor revision [3]; currently, many primary-level units are already doing just that. On page seven, I have added the phrase “eradicate bedbugs and fleas” [4]. Mao Zedong February 7 Based on the manuscript, as printed. 2. The work of eradicating the four pests and promoting sanitation in each primary-level unit (such as a production team, a workshop section, or a street) should be inspected once a week. Larger units (such as a cooperative, a township, a factory in a city, or a district) should conduct monthly inspections and evaluations. At year’s end, a comprehensive inspection and overall evaluation should be carried out to lay the foundation for achieving the long-term plan.

3. Specific slogans to be put forward to the masses may vary according to local conditions. For example, in areas where schistosomiasis is prevalent, the campaign to eradicate the four pests should include eliminating snails; in regions affected by kala-azar, it should also involve destroying sandflies; and in areas infested with bedbugs and fleas, the campaign should include eradicating these pests as well. As for promoting hygiene, in urban areas this could include discouraging spitting in public places, while in factories the emphasis might be on preventing occupational diseases, and so forth. Printed according to the People’s Daily of February 13, 1958. (Includes Mao Zedong’s revised version.) Notes [1] The CPC Central Committee and the State Council’s “Directive on Eradicating the Four Pests and Promoting Sanitation,” dated February 12, 1958, was published in the People’s Daily on February 13, 1958. [2] Hu Qiaomu, at that time an alternate member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Mao Zedong’s secretary. [3] See Section II of this document; the text typeset in Song typeface represents additions and revisions made by Mao Zedong. [4] See Section III of this document; the text typeset in Song typeface represents material added by Mao Zedong.