**Comments and Revisions on the Draft Minutes of the Shanghai Conference**

**IV**
In a few areas, the production teams or production brigades formed by merging several former advanced cooperatives serve as the basic accounting units. This practice is permissible if the masses genuinely agree; if the masses disagree, it must be changed, and under no circumstances should it be forced. In short, matters must be handled according to the wishes of the masses.

**V**
Regardless of the specific circumstances, it is extremely dangerous for higher levels to arbitrarily impose so-called technical measures for increasing production, such as forcibly stipulating planting density.

**Introducing the Experience of Macheng [I]**
(April 2 and 3, 1959)

These several documents [2] are all worth reading. In particular, *The Situation of the Ten-Thousand-Person Conference in Macheng County* is worth reading; the method is very good. What should be returned at the county and commune levels was promptly returned to the production teams, leaving them clean and unburdened. Then, by resolving the contradictions between the teams and the commune members, the communes can develop greatly.

Mao Zedong
April 2, 1959

This document [1] is extremely good; every county and commune should do the same. Only by settling accounts can unity be achieved; only by settling accounts can cadres be helped to extricate themselves from the sea of embezzlement and waste, leaving them clean and unburdened; only by settling accounts can cadres be taught how to manage and operate; only by settling accounts can the 500 million peasants be taught to manage their own communes themselves, to supervise cadres at all levels of the communes so that they are only permitted to do good deeds and not permitted to do bad deeds, thereby realizing supervision by the masses and realizing genuine democratic centralism.

Mao Zedong
April 3, 1959

**Notes**

--- Notes

[1] Refers to the second report on the situation of the ten-thousand-person conference in Macheng County, submitted to Wang Renzhong and the Hubei Provincial Party Committee on March 30, 1959, by Wang Yanchun, Jiang Yi (Secretary of the CPC Huanggang Prefectural Committee), and Wu Dejian (Secretary of the CPC Macheng County Committee). The report stated that over the past two days, new developments had occurred in the conference situation. To mobilize the masses and settle the accounts of the production teams, the county party committee decided: 1. The county party committee would hold separate mobilization meetings to demonstrate its determination to settle accounts clearly. 2. Separate small group meetings would be held for deliberation and preparation. 3. Policies would be explained, and individual talks would be conducted to address the concerns of production team cadres and production squad cadres. 4. Meetings would be combined with launching pilot projects to mobilize the masses. 5. A broadcast conference was held, clearly announcing that the 1958 income, apart from the agricultural tax turned over to the state and a certain percentage turned over to the commune, would all belong to the production teams. Each production team was required to settle its accounts for the previous year clearly, and commune members were simultaneously mobilized to participate in the account settlement. During the account settlement process, it was discovered that many production team cadres had serious problems with embezzlement and misappropriation. The county party committee demanded that cadres with problems confess at the meeting, admit their mistakes, and carry out the detailed account settlement after returning, thoroughly settling the accounts through convening congresses of commune member representatives or general commune member meetings.