There has been progress in the military now, with rectification underway. I asked whether there is a similar situation as in the Party, government, and civilian sectors—namely, a bit too much of an "official air"? It is nothing more than bureaucratic airs, lethargy, arrogance, and squeamishness. The military probably does not have that delicate, squeamish air, does it? But the other three airs are always present. There are also cases of being overly delicate and fragile: during the hot season in the south, they want to take a break from the heat and cannot conduct exercises; in winter in the north, they cannot conduct exercises because it is too cold. When fighting against rebellious minority elements in western Sichuan, they were momentarily flustered and unable to get a foothold. Therefore, when our army really goes into battle, it may suffer some defeats in the first two or three months. There is a ladylike air, an arrogant air, a lethargic air, and a bureaucratic air. According to some comrades, this is indeed the case—more prevalent at the army level and above, while below the division level, things are more lively. From this, it can be seen that in the Party, government, military, and civilian sectors, the lower levels are now more lively, whereas our Party, government, military, and civilian sectors (the Party refers to the Party Central Committee, the government to the State Council, the military to the Military Commission, and the civilians to the workers, youth, and women’s organizations) have too much of these various airs. After you return, if you cannot sniff them out, then invite someone with a keen nose to see whether they exist and to what extent. I have this intention: at the Nanning Conference, I felt that these airs must be reformed, that we must identify with the common people and present ourselves as ordinary laborers. At the same time, relations within our Party must become more normalized, and the vulgar atmosphere must be swept away.
[1]


This is part of Mao Zedong’s second speech at the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.