Comments on the Article “Fan County, Shandong Proposes Transition to Communism by 1960” (November 6, 1958) 1. This document [1] is quite interesting; it is like a poem and seems feasible as well. The time frame appears rather tight—only three years. But that is not a problem: if it cannot be accomplished within three years, we can simply extend the deadline. Do comrades Chen Boda, Zhang Chunqiao, and Li Youjiu [2] find it worthwhile to go and take a look? The journey is not far; one could make a round trip in about a week. What do you think about setting out after the meeting? Mao Zedong, 9:00 a.m. on November 6, printed from the manuscript.

2. To be circulated. The type size and the layout of the text should remain exactly as they were in the original, which is quite appropriate. [3] Printed from Mao Zedong’s manuscript.  refer to the article “Fan County, Shandong Proposes Transition to Communism by 1960,” published in No. 1 of the CCP Central Committee’s Propaganda Department’s periodical “Propaganda and Education Dynamics,” issued on November 4, 1958. The article reports an abstract of a plan presented by Xie Huiyu, First Secretary of the Fan County People’s Commune Party Committee (County Party Committee), at a mass rally of communist construction activists held on October 28, 1958, outlining a two-year program for transitioning Fan County to communism. The main points are as follows:

I. Industry. The report proposes establishing a local industrial network within one year and achieving industrialization and electrification within two years. The plan includes: developing the steel industry through a combination of indigenous and foreign methods, integrating domestic and international resources; concentrating efforts on building up the machinery industry; advancing electrification by constructing eight hydropower stations in 1958 and a large-scale Yellow River water conservancy project with a power station by 1960, which would not only supply electricity for industry but also fully electrify both rural and urban areas, replacing oil lamps with electric lights, and initiating research into and utilization of atomic energy; vigorously promoting the chemical industry; expanding production of daily necessities; and accelerating development of the construction industry. Upon completion of these plans, our commune will be characterized by factories springing up everywhere, with forests of chimneys rising all around, machines roaring incessantly, both large and small equipment operating independently, production processes controlled by the push of a button, blurring the line between work and rest. We will be able to produce steel and textiles, manufacture fertilizers and generators, and even assemble tractors and automobiles; every kind of consumer good will be available, including canned fruits and Fan County wine, ready whenever needed. Electric lights, telephones, and radios will bring great convenience. When will such a day arrive? With two years of hard work, we can make it happen.

II. Agriculture: Achieving Ten Thousand Jin per Mu. The plan calls for cultivating fifteen thousand mu of grain crops by 1960, aiming for an average yield of twenty thousand jin per mu, with the goal of reaching thirty thousand jin, for a total output of 3.9 billion jin; planting fifteen thousand mu of cotton, targeting fifteen thousand jin of seed cotton per mu, striving for twenty-five thousand jin, for a total of 2.25 billion jin; sowing fifteen thousand mu of peanuts, expecting five thousand jin per mu, aiming for eight thousand jin, for a total of 7.5 billion jin; and planting five thousand mu of sugar beets, hoping for three thousand jin per mu, striving for five thousand jin, for a total of 1.5 billion jin. This year, we must complete the construction of an extensive irrigation network. By 1959, all arable land will be brought under systematic cultivation, with gravity-fed, standardized irrigation; by 1960, irrigation will be fully electrified and automated. By then: farming will be done by machines, and irrigation will be powered by electricity; grain yields will be tens of thousands of jin per mu, piling up so high they could rival Mount Tai; cotton blossoms will spread like snowfields, and there will be so many peanuts that no one will have to carry them home; one bountiful harvest will be worth a hundred ordinary seasons, bringing joy to everyone.

III. Forestry, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Diversified Economy. In accordance with the requirement to allocate one-third of the land to crops, one-third to tree planting, and one-third to fallow land, by 1959 greening will be carried out along forest edges, near homes, beside roads, along canals, around reservoirs and ponds, along rivers, embankments, and cemeteries. (Details regarding fisheries, animal husbandry, and other diversified economic activities are omitted from the report summary.)

IV. Plan for Building Communist Paradises. 1. Based on the overall industrial and agricultural layout of the commune and principles conducive to production and environmental beautification, the county’s nine hundred and ninety-three natural villages will be merged over three years into twenty-five new communist-style paradises. Each new paradise will include a maternity hospital, a theater, a cinema, a kindergarten, a nursing home, a sanatorium, a vacation center, a park, a nursery, a health clinic, a library, an exhibition hall, a cultural center, a barbershop, a youth dining hall, a senior citizens’ dining hall, a grand auditorium, a conference hall, a restaurant, a dance hall, a bathhouse, a fishpond, a supply station, a broadcasting station, a stadium, a power plant, a municipal waterworks, and a livestock farm—comprising eight hospitals, two clinics, four halls, three rooms, two ponds, three stations, and four facilities. 2. According to the plan for these communist paradises, Fan County will construct eight major avenues, running “three east-west and five north-south,” each thirty meters wide, connecting all twenty-five new paradises throughout the commune. Straight, well-maintained management roads, twelve meters wide, will also be built across the fields; in addition to paving the central roadway, fruit trees and flowers will be planted along both sides. The ultimate goal is to create truly robust new paradises, surrounded by buildings on all sides, featuring universities and factories, parks fragrant with blooming flowers, bright, shiny asphalt roads, orderly lines of cars, cinemas and theaters where people can enjoy performances after work, heated interiors in winter and cooling fans in summer—transforming everyday life into something entirely new, ushering in everlasting happiness.

V. Culture, Science, Health, and Welfare. 1. Education: Universal primary education will be achieved by 1959, ensuring that all school-age children are enrolled. Two to six universities, one teachers’ college, eighty to one hundred secondary schools will be built within two years, thereby universalizing secondary education. 2. Science: A commune-level meteorological observatory and ten branch stations will be established in 1959, along with eleven regular Red-and-Expert universities, one academy of sciences with ten branches, one agricultural university, and one party school, one youth league school, and one medical school. All institutes, departments, stations, and schools are to acquire a comprehensive set of scientific research instruments for agriculture and industry and establish their own experimental fields for agricultural and industrial research. 3. Health: In addition to implementing state-funded medical care this year, twenty-five additional hospitals and maternity wards, each with ten beds, and one communal hospital and one maternity ward with one hundred beds will be expanded by 1959. Furthermore, by 1960, existing hospitals and departments will be further expanded, and four more commune sanatoriums will be constructed. 4. Welfare: Building on the twenty-two theaters, libraries, and bathhouses already constructed in 1958, another twenty-five theaters, bathhouses, cinemas, stadiums, parks, libraries, and clubs will be added in 1959. 5. Post and Telecommunications: By 1959, all production teams, canteens, and factories will be equipped with telephones, and every household will have a loudspeaker; by 1960, each production brigade will install a central telephone exchange, and telephones will be installed in nurseries, maternity wards, hospitals, and libraries. The ultimate aim is to achieve a “three-in-one” system whereby people engage in production, study, and recreation simultaneously; to travel by electric vehicles, enjoying fragrant flowers along the way; to have electric lighting both indoors and outdoors, to be able to call at any time when needed, and to receive scheduled broadcasts via loudspeakers; and to listen to radio programs before and after meals, freely tuning in to fine performances from Beijing or Shanghai.

VI. Abundant Food and Clothing. By 1960, the communist principle of “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” will be fundamentally implemented. By then, everyone will reside in a new paradise, where food, drink, clothing, and other necessities will be provided free of charge; chicken, duck, fish, and meat will be delicious, allowing one to enjoy four full plates at every meal; fresh fruit will be available daily, and there will be an endless variety of clothes to choose from. Everyone will say that heaven is wonderful, but no heaven compares to our new paradise.

Mao Zedong’s comments and this plan were later circulated at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee. [2] “Red Flag” magazine editor-in-chief. Chen Boda, who at the time served as Director of the CPC Central Committee’s Political Research Office and was an editor. Zhang Chunqiao, who at the time was Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee. Li Youjiu, who at the time was a permanent editor of “Red Flag” magazine. [ ] These comments were written in response to the report published in “Propaganda and Education Dynamics” summarizing the key points of the report delivered by Xie Huiyu, First Secretary of the Fan County Party Committee of the CPC. “As in the original text” means that the document was typeset exactly as the “Plan for Fan County’s Two-Year Transition to Communism” appended to the “Propaganda and Education Dynamics” report (see note [1] in this text).