Speech at the Zhengzhou Conference
{Four}


Bank satellites, etc.
We must emphasize patriotism, love for the commune, and love for the people. In the past, Hebei province proposed the slogan “Manage the household well and grow cotton,” which we revised to “Be patriotic and get rich by growing more cotton.”


Donglu County collected cotton and summarized three principles: no questions asked about the source,
no looking back at past issues, transactions conducted in cash—whomever sells gets the money; this applies only once and will not be repeated. An additional principle was political leadership, accompanied by gongs and drums.


Each commune should organize a specialized transportation team, improve tools, and transfer some personnel from industrial units. The size of these teams would depend on actual needs. Commercial departments at provincial, prefectural, and county levels should all establish such teams.


There needs to be a balance among all sectors of labor to achieve one goal:
a balanced development across agriculture, industry, transportation, and service industries. Industry itself should be further subdivided into centrally managed, locally managed, and commune-run enterprises, but having everything run by communes is very inconvenient—for example, repair shops and flour mills. Raising pigs collectively within communes is also not ideal; most should be handled by production teams or canteens instead.


Has communism been postponed? It has already been postponed. The Sixth Plenary Session resolution stated that it would take ten to twenty years, yet five conditions remain unfulfilled. Some comrades still want to push forward more quickly. However, I believe the faster we try to rush things, the less likely we are to succeed. Moving more slowly may actually allow us to advance more rapidly. We cannot achieve communism through “free distribution.” There is only so much pork available—if you have it, others don’t. All forms of labor require equivalent exchange.


An accumulation rate of 18% is not low; there should be some flexibility within that range.


In the past, our strategy emphasized top-down control. Now, our approach requires balancing both central and local levels.


Who should oversee specialized teams? Specialized teams are needed at every level. Gradually, those generating significant profits could be nationalized and placed under public ownership. For example, in Donghu Lake, counties with particularly high fishing revenues could pilot public ownership models, perhaps one or two per county. If these pilots fail, they need not be publicized.


Poorer production teams should align themselves with wealthier ones, lifting their standards to match. Commune-run industries and enterprises must be fully established to strengthen the basic communal ownership structure. Housing construction should continue, focusing on being economical, aesthetically pleasing, and practical.


I think we need to encourage commune officials to stand firm and expose the “tide-watching” faction. Let landlords, rich peasants, counter-revolutionaries, bad elements, and the tide-watchers criticize us—they can only accuse us of equalization, redistribution, and excessive tax collection.


Regarding wage payments, there may be situations where wages cannot be paid.


Communal ownership encompasses three-tiered ownership and management, with each tier accounting for its own profits and losses.


Our primary opposition is to egalitarianism and excessive centralization, which essentially constitute “leftist” adventurism. The An Guo document is worth noting. In previous years, grain shortages were mainly instigated by affluent middle peasants, whereas this year’s unrest over grain procurement was primarily led by grassroots cadres. While some argue that poor propaganda work was to blame, I disagree. As long as equalization, redistribution, and heavy tax collection occur, even effective propaganda will lead to similar outcomes. The masses believe everything should be collectivized and communized. Coupled with small communes selling grain while larger ones block accounts, after selling their grain, they end up with neither money nor food. Furthermore, some brigades that increased production faced even higher state procurement quotas, leaving cadres unable to grasp the true situation.


Consequently, grassroots cadres harbor five fears: first, fear of equalization; second, fear of reporting accurate yields and facing additional tasks; third, fear of being penalized during the spring famine when adjustments are made; fourth, fear of suffering personal losses; and fifth, fear of… Thus, they act preemptively to secure grain for themselves. Their determination is strong and widely supported by the masses, leading to widespread concealment and private division of output.


The documents released during the Henan conference can be distributed to various regions. Do not distribute them immediately during the first two or three days to allow confusion to set in. Instead, begin distributing them gradually after four or five days. Some of the content may help address their specific problems.


This meeting serves as a concrete elaboration and supplement to the decisions made at the Sixth Plenary Session.


The spirit of the Shanxi document emphasizes allowing differences between administrative areas while refraining from prematurely eliminating these disparities. Such distinctions should be preserved precisely because they can be overcome through productive development. By permitting these differences now, we pave the way for their eventual elimination. People's communes should boost production and increase accumulation, providing appropriate support to lagging communes. However, if wage standards are uniformly leveled across the board, it will reduce the income of more advanced administrative areas, thereby diminishing overall accumulation. This could also cause backward areas to neglect economic accounting, engaging in practices like taking from the rich to subsidize the poor—a form of inequitable redistribution rather than genuine assistance to the disadvantaged.


Rather, we should maintain these differences temporarily to benefit communal accumulation and encourage both wealthy and impoverished communes to actively participate. The faster communal accumulation grows, the quicker these disparities can be eliminated. The key lies in aligning poorer teams with wealthier ones and increasing collective reserves. When both factors come together, production will accelerate. Nevertheless, due to variations in management quality and production levels among different administrative areas, these differences are bound to persist for a considerable time, and that is perfectly acceptable. After all, inequality among things is natural.


Natural conditions and human effort vary greatly. Even the Earth’s core differs significantly in temperature from its surface. The process of eliminating disparities involves a gradual transition from collective ownership to full public ownership, alongside mechanization and electrification—typically spanning three to six years. The ownership structures of communes and production teams are intertwined, with mutual overlap and interdependence, undergoing a step-by-step transformation. Some production teams may be the first to transition to public ownership.


Next year, we aim for 1 million tons of steel, and 2 million tons the following year, potentially allocating additional resources to mechanize agriculture.


A subsidy of 1 billion yuan has been allocated for agricultural investment.


Wages are determined by the commune and disbursed by the administrative area. The question is what exactly does the commune’s authority encompass—essentially, it manages accounts. This does not mean the commune’s power is weak; rather, it indicates a lack of implementation despite existing authority.


All provinces, prefectures, and counties should draft model charters, and each commune should also develop its own charter. Provinces should select the best two or three examples to submit to me. Each county should focus on developing one charter, while each province concentrates on producing a single unified version. Understanding a commune does not require extensive time—about a week is sufficient. Both practicality and surplus production are important; these are merely key points and critical junctures. Given the sheer number of sparrows involved, this approach is unavoidable, though completely ignoring the issue would also be undesirable.


Concealing and privately dividing production is entirely justified. Self-interest exists, and opposing it would mean going against half a billion farmers and grassroots cadres. Concealment, guarding posts, and nighttime smoke signals are all manifestations of the “communist wind.” Widespread concealment, vigilance, and clandestine activities under cover of darkness represent a form of peaceful resistance. Not everyone wears the hat of self-interest. What is right must be distinguished from what is wrong. Whether it constitutes self-interest or requires opposition depends on prior agreements reached under political guidance. Communist education remains essential. The allocation of resources among poor, middle-income, and wealthy production teams—between the state, the collective, and the individual—should strike a balance among all three. Individuals should prioritize the collective and the state, while the state should likewise prioritize individuals. We ought to criticize self-interest, but first we must acknowledge our own shortcomings, then inspire activists to engage in self-criticism, encouraging broad participation. Ultimately, we should isolate those who stubbornly cling to self-interest without self-reflection and those engaged in corruption. Corruption often occurs in conjunction with broader organizational rectifications, so it is advisable to first stimulate initiative before addressing these issues.


Three letters addressed to Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping during the Zhengzhou Conference
(March 1st and 2nd, 1959)