Write a brief biography of various scientists and inventors from the past three hundred years. Note their ages, origins, resumes, and so on, and see whether they were mostly people without much formal learning, each pursuing their work in their respective fields.

The scientist Hua Luogeng was a middle school student.

Tsiolkovsky, who enabled the Soviet Union to launch artificial satellites, was an obscure middle school teacher, mainly teaching mathematics. Building satellites was his side job, which gradually became his main profession.

Of course, America has its inventions too, but the inventor was not Dulles. What kind of person was it? I don’t know.

For a person to invent something, they don’t necessarily need much learning, nor do they have to be old; as long as their direction is right. In one’s twenties and thirties, one dares to dream; with too much learning, one becomes incapable.

The whole world had no solution for termites. A young student in Guangdong, who had only attended middle school, came up with a method.

In ancient China, Bian He of Chu (the Bian He of “He’s Jade Disc”) found a piece of uncut jade on Mount Chu and presented it to King Li. He had his left foot cut off; he presented it again to King Wu and had his right foot cut off. When King Wen ascended the throne, Bian He for the third time brought the uncut jade to the foot of Mount Jing. After a jade craftsman cut it open, the jade was recognized. This was the jade disc of “Returning the Jade Intact to Zhao.”

Watt was a worker.

Franklin was a little newspaper boy.

Experimental farming requires a three-in-one combination—leaders, technicians, and veteran peasants (veteran workers). Only an outsider can lead an insider.

In short, these materials of mine are meant to prove this point: the lowly are the most intelligent, the noble are the most foolish. These materials must be used to strip the capital of those arrogant, high-level intellectuals who put on airs. There must be less slave mentality, more self-respect as masters, to encourage workers, peasants, veteran cadres, and ordinary intellectuals to have self-respect and rise up to create on their own.

I once asked some people: Are we in heaven? Do we count as immortals? Are we foreigners? Everyone answered in the negative—so they are superstitious.

Two speeches: one on smashing superstition, the second on the international and domestic situation, and the third on disasters.

The international situation, generally speaking, is entirely bright. But there may also be war.

The domestic situation is a question of our relationship with the five hundred million peasants. The peasants are our allies. If we fail to grasp agriculture, there is no politics; if we do not pay attention to the question of the five hundred million peasants, we will make mistakes. With these allies, we shall triumph. Lenin also strongly emphasized the worker-peasant democratic dictatorship, to raise the semi-proletarian consciousness of the peasants and carry out continuous revolution. Some people thought it would take eighty years to develop capitalism, waiting until there were more workers and the peasants became conscious, then socialism could be established. But practice has proven that from the democratic revolution to the socialist revolution, an interval of several decades is not needed. The February Revolution in the Soviet Union proved Lenin correct. China is even more different, having decades of experience in the democratic revolution. After liberation, the peasants were in high spirits; the rural semi-proletariat numbers three hundred and fifty million. Quite a number of people within the Chinese Communist Party fail to understand the importance of the peasant question and stumble precisely on this issue. Disbelief in achieving more, faster, better, and more economically begins with disbelief in the Forty Articles. They do not believe agricultural development can be fairly rapid.

Why speak of the “Ten Major Relationships”? The “Ten Major Relationships” constitute a basic viewpoint—that is, comparing ourselves with the Soviet Union. We must see whether, apart from the Soviet methods, we can find other ways to develop faster and better than the Soviet Union and the various European countries. China’s road to industrialization involves developing large, medium, and small industries simultaneously. We do not explicitly say we are comparing ourselves with the Soviet Union, but in fact we are comparing ourselves to our teacher. We have two biological parents: one is the society of the Kuomintang, and the other is the October Revolution. We learned the mass line and class struggle from Lenin. We shall thoroughly eliminate the bourgeoisie (including their ideology), but we will not confiscate them as people; we do not destroy the people themselves. Stalin did not practice the mass line; he held the viewpoint of granting favors, and his class struggle went too far.

The domestic situation chiefly concerns the peasant question: water, fertilizer, soil, seeds, close planting, and deep plowing. The method of Changge County is a model.

I advocate that heavy industry, metallurgy, machinery, chemistry, coal, and foreign trade all must be addressed. It is better to delay the closing of the meeting a little.

Of the twenty-six provinces, municipalities, and regions, thirteen have had problems. The political-legal system and the literary and artistic system are in great disorder; it is a nationwide phenomenon.

Two types: one is the rightist elements, the other is right-leaning opportunism. Those who have committed line errors are allowed to make revolution. As for Pan X, Gu Dacun, and Feng Baiju, it is better not to deal with them at this conference. Proposing disciplinary measures is just; not dealing with them is also acceptable.

Several documents are to be printed. Wang Ming’s conversation with Kuusinen, a letter from a Party branch secretary in Tianjin and the Party secretary of Nanjing University to the Chairman.

The Party branch secretary in Tianjin is very good and did not buckle under. Because in the past we did not inform so many people, whether to let people speak out or not—at that time, it was hard to keep up. Tsinghua University had one Party branch that went rotten.

Also, print the notes from *The Socialist Upsurge in China’s Countryside*, which stated that the problem of ownership had been basically resolved. But in the mutual relations, that is, on the political and ideological fronts, it has not been resolved. To estimate that the socialist revolution had basically achieved victory was somewhat overly optimistic; it was not anticipated that such a great revolution would still have to be carried out. As for the Chinese bourgeoisie, it was estimated there would be struggles, and a long-term struggle would be needed to eradicate the deep influence of the bourgeoisie and its intellectuals. A separate socialist revolution on the political and ideological fronts is unavoidable; after the basic resolution of the ownership problem, one more such revolution must be launched. In this current revolution, we did not foresee that it would be resolved in just a few months, nor did we anticipate that the rectification campaign would be brought forward. The rectification at that time was forced by circumstances. Struggle against the bourgeoisie is inevitable, but the “opposition to rash advance” also prompted the rightists’ offensive. I was conscious of using the rightists’ strength to carry out the rectification. Let them speak out first, then find a way to handle it, and struggle for a few rounds. The Qingdao Conference material was printed as a document. A student from East China Normal University was very resolute, raising the question: What if the Communist Party were to fall? What then?

The above discusses the peasant question. The urban population is 15 percent, and the rural population is 85 percent. Some comrades have been active in the countryside for several decades, yet peasant sentiments have not moved them; they do not understand the peasants’ hearts. If one does not understand the masses, one cannot see good things. Pan X and the like—can you say they never worked in the countryside? They simply remain impervious.

There are twelve million workers, and with their families, only a few tens of millions. In any case, they are not as numerous as the peasants. The well-to-do peasants who do not follow us number several tens of millions. After the Great Leap Forward, those opposing socialism may reach 50 percent, of whom the resolute ones account for 20 percent.

What opinions are there on the election? If one’s head does not grow horns, it’s not good; having too many is also not good. Two horns on an ox are just right, but four are too many. Electing a list of alternate members will balance things out; having a few more alternates is no problem.

Workers, peasants, and soldiers—the peasants number several hundred million. The Trotskyites always cursed me as a “peasantist.” The imperialists also say that I am engaging in peasant revolution. If the Chinese working class does not hold on to the peasants, it cannot sit steadily. Did Lenin also emphasize the peasant question? Was he also a “peasantist”? When I spoke with European comrades, I asked: What about your situation? In the European situation, apart from agricultural workers, there are self-cultivating peasants (many of whom own their own agricultural machinery), who are strongly resistant to socialism. When I talked with South American and Indian comrades, we also talked about winning over the peasants. Ask them to study a single village, clarify the class relationships, and dissect a sparrow. Backwardness has its advantages.

During the Great Leap Forward, don’t press too tight. The students at the red-and-expert schools are all dozing off in class; how can that work? During the second counter-encirclement campaign in the Central Soviet Area, we fought five battles in two weeks and slept very little, but that was just a short-term push. We must be careful not to press too tight.

How should the cooperative regions be organized? Whether it is a case of the negation of negation.

After the general meeting, rest for one day, then hold two more days of meetings, with one representative from each province and several from the central authorities attending—that will suffice.

We will convene the meeting again on August 5th; we have two full months to focus on industry, commerce, culture and education, and the military. Now we must prepare and arrange agricultural production for the autumn.

For the elimination of the four pests, a nationwide mass mobilization; even five-year-old children are brought into action.

For those provinces where problems have emerged within the Party, they must write a speech. If there is time, deliver it; if not, distribute it in print. The speeches from this conference will be compiled into a book series, which is in fact a self-assessment, filled with a wealth of fine experience.

The commercial work in Xinhui County, Guangdong, has been done very well; we can hold an on-site meeting there.

Learn deep plowing from Changge County. If it cannot be done in one year, it can be done over three, four, or five years—always possible—and yields will double.

Eight hundred million people? Even one billion is nothing to fear. An American journalist said that in a hundred years, China’s population will account for half of the world. By then, with culture high, everyone will be a college student, and birth control will come naturally. China’s geographical features are good: the great sea to the east, great mountains to the west.

China has its own language. Take the terms “communism” and “imperialism”: In the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain, and other countries, their pronunciations are basically similar, but ours are completely different from the foreign pronunciations. Ever since the First Emperor of Qin, we have never taken foreigners seriously. In the past, foreign lands were considered barbarian states. By the late Qing period, foreigners came striking in, and we were struck with fear, all turned into slaves, feeling that we were no good. Previously arrogant, now too humble—here comes the negation of negation.

Next year, eleven million tons of steel—the world will be shaken. If within five years we can reach forty million tons, we may catch up with Britain in seven years, and add another eight years to catch up with the United States.

The central authorities should take charge four times a year—one Party congress. The provinces should take charge six times—two major inspections and four minor ones.

Seeing peasants concealing production figures makes me happy. If you have more, I have more; when the peasants have it, it is equivalent to us having it.

Forestry administration should be delegated downward, with local responsibility.

Bamboo must be developed on a large scale. The north does not grow bamboo; I don’t know since when that began.