Commentary on the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee’s Report on Implementing the Spirit of the Zhengzhou Conference (March 13, 1959)

Comrade Xiaoping: The Guangdong Provincial Party Committee’s report of March 11 [2] is very good. Please transmit it immediately today by telephone to the party committees of all provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions for their reference. Guangdong has acted with great speed: while holding meetings, they have already conveyed the guiding principles directly to each production team leader, without any delay or hesitation. Hubei issued its guidelines [3] to all production teams as early as March 8; Guangdong followed suit on March 12, which is also quite prompt. All localities should emulate this practice—holding meetings while simultaneously and swiftly disseminating policy directives. Guangdong’s “Three Determinations and Five Delegations” are in line with the spirit of the Zhengzhou Conference. I urge all areas to study this approach and adopt it as appropriate.

Mao Zedong May, Year, 5:00 a.m., Wuchang Printed from the original manuscript.

Notes [1] Refers to the expanded meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held in Zhengzhou from February 27 to March 5, 1959. [2] Refers to the second report submitted by the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee to the Central Committee and to Mao Zedong at 11 p.m. on March 11, 1959, concerning the implementation of the resolutions adopted at the Zhengzhou Conference. The report states that, in order to seize the critical agricultural season, the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee has decided to universally implement the “Three Determinations” and “Five Delegations” in the countryside. The so-called “Three Determinations” are as follows: First, determine the basic accounting unit, taking the original advanced people’s commune as the basis in every case. Some of these communes correspond roughly to today’s production teams (or brigades), while others, which were divided into several production teams after collectivization, may be promptly merged into a single new team to serve as the basic accounting unit. If an existing advanced commune is too small, or if several communes exist within a single natural village, or even if they are not located in the same village but their economic conditions are not significantly different, they may, with the consent of the masses, be consolidated to form a single basic accounting unit. Second, appoint leadership personnel, quickly establishing the organizational and managerial framework for production and strengthening leadership to organize output. Third, set the 1959 production plan and fixed quotas for grain, oil, pigs, and other commodities. These targets should not be set too high to prevent escalating upward pressure at each level; any surplus beyond the assigned quota would remain at the disposal of the production team (or brigade). As for the “Five Delegations,” designed to enable the newly established basic accounting units to commence production immediately, they involve promptly announcing the delegation of powers that must and can be devolved without delay. They primarily include: (1) Delegation of labor resources—conducting a swift review of all workers previously drawn away from production teams and returning them to their original units, thereby stabilizing the workforce of each production team (or brigade). (2) Transfer of means of production to the ownership of the production teams (or brigades), which would then be responsible for their management and use. (3) Transfer of animal husbandry operations to the ownership and management of the production teams (or brigades). Fruit trees and fish ponds could likewise be delegated. (4) Transfer of existing fertilizer plants. (5) Transfer of grain supplies, allowing each team to independently arrange food consumption in its communal canteen. The report concludes by stating that, at 8:30 p.m. on the evening of the 12th of this month, they plan to convene a province-wide conference via wired telephone, attended by cadres at or above the level of production team leaders from all people’s communes, to communicate the aforementioned regulations, reassure the populace, and stimulate production. [3] Refers to the “Resolution (Draft) Concerning the Management System of People’s Communes and Several Specific Policy Issues” adopted by the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee on March 8, 1959. See note [2] on page ___ of this volume.