Introducing the Experience of Henan

This document[1] is good. Distribute it immediately to the Party committees of all provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, and forward it to all prefectural and county Party committees for reference.

Mao Zedong
March 24, 1959

[1] Refers to the report forwarded by the Henan Provincial Party Committee from the Luoyang Prefectural Party Committee, sent at 21:00 on March 18, 1959, to all municipal and county Party committees and reported to the Central Committee and Mao Zedong. The report stated that regarding the issue of the basic accounting unit of the communes, the vast majority of production team leaders and the masses in all counties advocated taking the higher-level cooperative as the basic accounting unit. However, the county Party committees, communes, and a considerable number of management zone cadres insisted on maintaining the large brigade (management zone) as the main unit. In fact, some county Party committee cadres understood the sentiments of the masses. The reason they dared not change the policies and measures was mainly fear of committing the error of Right opportunism, compounded by the provincial Party committee’s earlier stipulation to “take the large brigade as the basis.” Consequently, they adopted an attitude of implementing the policy on one hand while dragging their feet on the other. After the Chairman’s directive on this issue was conveyed on the morning of the 17th, the policy of taking the higher-level cooperative as the basis was settled, and the meetings proceeded very smoothly. When approving and forwarding this report, the Henan Provincial Party Committee stated: The Luoyang Prefectural Party Committee’s briefing on the discussion of the commune system issue is very good. Please convey it once to the commune and large brigade cadres, and make them pay attention to following the mass line. All issues must follow the mass line; listen to the opinions of the majority, especially the opinions of grassroots cadres and the masses. When the opinions of the majority are gathered and correct judgments are made, the boundaries of the issues will become clear.