Notes Written for the Publication of “The Biography of Zhang Lu” [1] (December 7 and 10, 1958)  I. The Biography of Zhang Lu in Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms: The mass medical movement described here bears some resemblance to the free medical care provided in our people’s communes; however, at that time it was conducted in the name of the gods, which was perhaps unavoidable under the circumstances. It is particularly interesting that meals were offered free of charge at roadside inns—this may be regarded as an early precedent for the communal dining halls established in our people’s communes. Some sixteen centuries have passed, yet the patterns of production, consumption, and the general mood among poor and lower-middle peasants remain broadly similar: they are still, in essence, “poor and blank.” The key difference lies in the vastly advanced productive forces of today. Since the founding of the People’s Republic, the people have taken control of their own destiny under the leadership of the Communist Party. Nevertheless, the fundamental condition of being “poor and blank” has remained remarkably consistent throughout history. For these reasons, the biography of Zhang Lu is well worth reading.  Zhang Lu’s grandfather, the founder of the sect, Zhang Ling—also known as Zhang Daoling—is the ancestor of that thoroughly reactionary Celestial Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain in Jiangxi whose exploits are depicted in the opening chapter of Outlaws of the Marsh. During the Three Kingdoms period, Daoism was a nationwide, popular movement. In the north, the most extensive revolutionary mass movement was led by the Heavenly General Zhang Jiao and his two brothers, whose slogan was: “The Blue Heaven shall perish; the Yellow Heaven must arise.” By “Blue Heaven” was meant the Han dynasty ruling class, while “Yellow Heaven” represented the peasant class. Yu Ji also organized a large-scale mass movement in Eastern Wu, which constituted another school of Daoism at the time. Zhang Daoling and Zhang Lu, on the other hand, belonged to the Liang–Yi school. Historical records indicate that this school followed essentially the same line as its northern counterpart. Subsequently,

numerous peasant revolutionary struggles of varying scales have occurred across successive dynasties. Of course, their character differed fundamentally from modern Marxist revolutionary movements. Yet there was one common thread: the vast majority of extremely impoverished peasants harbored dreams of equality and freedom, of escaping poverty and attaining adequate food and clothing. On one hand, such movements exhibited features akin to those of radical bourgeois democrats; on the other, they bore the stamp of primitive socialism, as manifested in mutual aid relationships. A third dimension was their feudal character, reflected in smallholders’ private land ownership and the feudal superstructure—from Heavenly General Zhang Jiao to Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan. Examples include the Manichaean movement of the Song dynasty, Yang Mo and Zhong Xiang; the Ming Sect at the end of the Yuan dynasty; the Red Army; Xu Hongru and Tang Saier in the Ming dynasty; Li Zicheng; the White Lotus Society in the Qing dynasty; the God Worshipping Society (Taiping Heavenly Kingdom); and the Boxer Rebellion—the most prominent of all. I have not conducted a systematic study of Chinese history, but rather hold only scattered impressions. My analysis of the nature of these movements may contain errors. Nonetheless, it is certain that even the most destitute masses, rather than their leaders—Zhang Jiao, Zhang Lu, Huang Chao, Fang La, Liu Futong, Han Lin’er, Li Zicheng, Zhu Yuanzhang, Hong Xiuquan, and others—were imbued with an unconscious element of primitive socialism. The current people’s commune movement thus has historical roots in our country. The Chinese national bourgeoisie never succeeded in capitalistizing the upper and middle strata among the peasantry; however, the reactionary alliance of imperialism and feudalism, over several decades, transformed the majority of peasants into a semi-proletarian revolutionary force—that is, it forged for the proletariat its greatest, most reliable, and most resolute ally. Mao Zedong, December 7, 1958, in Wuchang, published from a mimeographed copy preserved in the Central Archives.  II. The Biography of Zhang Lu (Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wei, Volume 9, with Pei Songzhi’s annotations): Over more than a thousand years, from the late Han dynasty to the present, China has undergone transformations so profound as to seem like a world apart. Nevertheless, certain parallels persist—for instance, the state of utter poverty and lack of resources among poor and lower-middle peasants. In the north during the late Han period, the Yellow Turban Rebellion, known as the Way of Peaceful Longevity, reached enormous proportions. In the south, there was a mass movement led by Yu Ji, also adhering to Daoist principles. Meanwhile, in the west—centered on Hanzhong and encompassing southern Shaanxi and northern Sichuan—arose the Five Bushel Rice Sect. Historical accounts describe this sect as “largely similar” to the Way of Peaceful Longevity, effectively constituting a single movement following a common path. It is further recorded that figures such as Zhang Ling (also called Zhang Daoling, whose legacy endured for over a millennium, ultimately evolving into the fiercely anti-people Celestial Master cult of Dragon Tiger Mountain in Jiangxi, serving the landlord class—a cult vividly portrayed in the first chapter of Outlaws of the Marsh, “Feng the Grand Marshal Goes Astray Among Demons,” a passage so dramatic it leaves one exhilarated; comrades, you have surely read it?), along with Zhang Xiu and Zhang Lu, three generations of the same family, practiced the Five Bushel Doctrine and propagated the Five Bushel Rice Sect. This doctrine held that “both Han and non-Han peoples found it pleasing,” indicating its widespread popularity among the populace. Its methods included requiring believers to contribute five bushels of rice in exchange for divine healing; establishing charitable shelters along major roads where food was provided free of charge (perhaps with the aim of attracting displaced persons from the Guanzhong region); undertaking road repairs (with offenders of minor infractions assigned to such labor); employing persuasion as the primary means (“offenders would first undergo three rounds of admonishment before punishment was imposed”); and “appointing no permanent officials, instead governing through ritual priests.” These priests “each commanded their own bands, with the most powerful serving as chief ritual priest” (a system resembling the integration of administration and military affairs, yet grounded in a small-peasant economy). Such measures constituted the economic and political platform of the Five Bushel Rice Sect. From the great uprising led by Chen She in Daze Township near Xuzhou at the end of the Qin dynasty, down to the Boxer Rebellion at the close of the Qing dynasty, large-scale peasant revolutionary movements in China scarcely ceased for two millennia. Likewise,

as everywhere else, the history of China is, above all, a history of class struggle. Mao Zedong, December 10, 1958, in Wuchang, published from a handwritten manuscript. Note [1]: These are two notes penned by Mao Zedong during the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee, intended for the publication of “The Biography of Zhang Lu.” In the printed version of the first note, the author crossed out the original text in ink and rewrote it. It was the latter note that was actually printed at the head of “The Biography of Zhang Lu.”