Comments on the Draft Instructions Regarding Wage and Supply Systems
(November 22 and December 6, 1958)
Comrade Xiaoping:
Please have this document printed in a fresh copy and distributed to all comrades attending the meeting for their study.
Immediately forwarded to Comrade Xiaoping:
Mao Zedong
November 22
Please inquire of Comrade Wang Renzhong whether there are any differences—either in content or wording—between the version published in the newspaper on December 5 and the one already circulated among the attendees.
If there have been any revisions, please arrange for another printing.
Mao Zedong
10:00 A.M., December 6

[I]
Xiaoping,
referring to Deng Xiaoping,
who at that time served as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee.
[2]
Refers to the Hubei Provincial Committee of the CPC’s draft instructions dated November 21, 1958, concerning the implementation of wage and supply systems in people’s communes.
The draft consisted of seven provisions, the main points of which were:
(1) “Food is free; monthly wages are paid.”
During the period of socialist construction, adopting this mode of distribution essentially still upholds the principle of “each according to his ability, to each according to his work”; it is a relatively appropriate form of distribution that people’s communes should implement at the current stage. (2) When determining wage and supply standards, reference should be made to the 1958 production levels.
It is required that members whose output exceeds 90 kilograms see an increase in their actual income compared with 1957, while other members’ incomes should either remain unchanged or decrease only slightly.
At present, the proportion of the supply component should not be too large, so as to avoid reducing the income of some physically strong members from smaller households.
In the future, as production develops, wages should be appropriately increased, the scope of supplies expanded, and supply standards raised step by step.
Moreover, collective welfare undertakings should be actively promoted to continuously improve the living standards of commune members. (3) At present, it is more suitable for individual people’s communes to adopt a supply system under which food is provided free of charge.
Communes with relatively low incomes may simply implement a grain supply system.
A small number of communes that have experienced reduced yields due to disasters, and thus are unable to provide full grain supplies, may temporarily adopt a half-grain-supply system.
As for clothing, shoes and socks, and other daily necessities, it is preferable not to introduce a supply system at this time. (4) Wage grades should be assessed reasonably.
The primary criteria for assessing wage grades should be work attitude, physical strength, and technical proficiency.
Generally speaking, these three factors are most clearly reflected in the number of work points earned in 1958.
During the grading process, women workers should be assigned grades commensurate with their contributions.
Members who had considerable absences due to illness in 1958 should also be given due consideration.
It is advisable to set around seven wage grades.
Both the assessment of wage grades and the establishment of wage standards must strictly follow the mass line, fully promote democracy, and absolutely prohibit a few individuals from making decisions on behalf of others. (5) Under the current conditions, setting aside 10%–15% of the total wage fund as bonus wages is beneficial for encouraging commune members’ work enthusiasm. (6) Within a single commune, wage standards should be uniform.
However, all people’s communes should pay attention to addressing and resolving the disparities between rich and poor that existed among the original agricultural cooperatives. (7) The implementation of the wage and supply systems should be regarded as an important part of socialist and communist ideological education.
Thorough ideological mobilization and clear policy explanations are necessary, relying on poor peasants and lower-middle peasants, fully promoting democracy, and striving to ensure that the vast majority of people are genuinely satisfied and enthusiastic, thereby achieving the goal of propelling the Great Leap Forward in production.
[3]
Refers to the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee then being held in Wuchang.
[4]
Wang Renzhong,
who at that time served as First Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the CPC.

In 1958, Mao Zedong and Zhu Hanxiong stayed at the Donghu Guest House in Wuchang.
Also in 1958, Mao Zedong and Peng Zhen took a leisurely walk and conversed by East Lake in Wuhan.