Some leeway was left, actually exceeding expectations, and the people felt more at ease. If no leeway is left at all and the plan cannot be fulfilled in the future, it will lead to pessimism and disappointment. The second lesson from the Soviet Union’s economic construction is to focus on key points. Where there are key points, there is policy; without key points, there is no policy. We must act according to policy. Each period has its own key points. Fighting a war is the same—there must be key points, a main direction of attack, and a supporting direction of restraint; only in this way can a battle of annihilation be fought. Not only must construction work and warfare have key points, but stage arts, writing essays, and composing poems must also have key points and leave leeway. Stage arts must also leave leeway for the audience; do not perform the entire play to its end. After the play ends, the audience will still reflect, and only then can such a performance be considered successful. Nowadays, some of our plays do not need to be watched—they all follow a formula: hold a mass meeting, hold a struggle meeting, shout a few slogans, and then call it a day. They end without leaving leeway for the masses. So when writing essays, composing poems, or performing plays, one must leave leeway; do not finish everything all at once; let the masses think things over.

3. Advancing in a wave-like manner. In the past, the saddle-shaped pattern was discussed, but actually the criticism was not of the saddle shape itself, but primarily an opposition to rash advance. At that time, some people openly opposed rash advance among the masses and opposed the line of achieving more, faster, better, and more economically. It was correct to slightly reduce capital construction in 1957, because at that time resources were only sufficient to accomplish that much, and only that much could be done. This year’s plan has also been slightly lowered. In terms of speed, it has increased by XX percent. This year we must ensure XX million tons of steel; there is confidence in fulfilling the coal target. As for agricultural indicators, it will take great effort to meet the grain and cotton targets; next year’s figures will be slightly lower. In 1961, there will be another big leap forward. In socialist construction, we must understand how to advance in a wave-like manner. “Heaven adds years to the calendar, people add longevity; spring fills the universe, blessings fill the door.” We cannot have high tides every day. I am not opposed to wave-like progress; I am opposed to rash advance. But openly opposing rash advance among the masses is wrong; it is a method that pours cold water and causes discouragement. Saddle-shaped patterns will still occur in the future; the main point is not to oppose rash advance. In the 99 years from 1860 to 1958 in the United States, there were only seven production upsurges; it was not upsurge year after year, but also wave-like progress—not every year was an upsurge. Our economic construction, according to actual circumstances, can be higher in some periods and lower in others. For example, once steel production reaches 160 million tons, it will not be easy to double it again. Doubling output when the base is small is possible, but when it is already large, doubling becomes difficult

Sixteen Articles on Methods of Work
and also unnecessary. This is advancing in a wave-like manner. Advancing in a wave-like manner is also a method of work. Wherever there is motion, there are waves; in the natural sciences, there are sound waves and electric waves. Wherever there is motion, it advances in a wave-like manner—this is the law of the development of things, an objective existence independent of human will. When we work and draw up plans, we must also take this point into account. Advancing in a wave-like manner is an objective law, an objective principle; we cannot always keep doubling output.

4. Seek truth from facts. I do not agree with openly opposing rash advance among the masses, but we must ensure that plans are realistic and adjust them in line with the situation. When the situation changes and the circumstances shift, people’s thinking must also change accordingly; we must then adjust the plans. Plans are not immutable; they have been changed since the Wuchang Conference. If plans are not adjusted according to circumstances, work becomes passive. Based on practice in the first quarter, it was realized that changes must be made; without changes, difficulties and confusion would result, and tasks could not be accomplished. We must adapt to changes in circumstances and act according to the actual situation. Our minds must not become rigid. When drawing up plans, base them on the available materials and manpower; do not formulate plans subjectively.

5. Be good at observing the situation. Keep our minds from becoming rigid; pay attention to observing the situation, observing developments, and understanding circumstances. We should advocate taking a sniff at the political situation and a sniff at the economic situation. What is referred to as the political situation means observing the thinking of various classes and observing changes in their standpoints. Secretaries must observe, and committee members must also observe. Committee members must not only do well in the work they are assigned to manage but also do well in collective work. At the Beidaihe Conference, the targets were set high. Later, when I traveled through Hebei and Shandong, I felt that they were not feasible. The Sixth Plenary Session of the Central Committee decided to lower the steel target to XX million tons; the Shanghai Conference further reduced it, adjusting it step by step to reality.

6. Be decisive at the opportune moment. Only by correctly observing the situation can one be decisive at the opportune moment. We must grasp changes in the situation in order to modify our plans. Some comrades do not have a thorough grasp of either the upper levels or the lower levels; in some cases, decisions are made, but they are not appropriate. Indecision and hesitation are wrong; when a decision is needed, one must be resolute. Opportunity knocks but once; time lost is gone forever. The issue of the communes is very obvious—specifically, at how many levels management should be organized was not clearly understood last year. After going through a process, this question was raised on January 27th.

We must thank the Internal Reference. The Internal Reference has been of great help to me, publishing materials reflecting the situation in the countryside. Later, after reading the report by Comrade XXX, and after going to Tianjin to meet with Comrade XXX, going to Shandong to meet with Comrade XXX, and visiting the Lü Hongbin Cooperative, the following problems were discovered: one carrying pole, one steelyard, and a cap for those who disagreed; one key, one notice, one staircase. It was at this point that the issue of ownership by the production team was noticed. This conference has clearly resolved this problem. Some comrades are three parts afraid of the higher-ups and seven parts afraid of the lower levels. Because they have gauged what the higher-ups think—knowing that for any mistakes or shortcomings, the higher authorities always adhere to the principle of unity—criticism—unity, being well-intentioned toward others and applying the policy of curing the illness to save the patient. What they fear are the masses. If you ask them to convene a large conference of cadres at the fifth and sixth levels, with tens of thousands of masses attending, they become frightened and cannot withstand the scrutiny. In the future, we must apply a pincer attack from both above and below on the middle levels. Many things said by county and prefectural party committees cannot be trusted; they are all fine words and do not let you know the actual circumstances. In industry, we must also pay attention to this problem. Often the words of intermediate-level cadres cannot be trusted; to get trustworthy information, one must combine top-level and bottom-level input to reach correct conclusions. When convening cadre conferences at the fifth and sixth levels, where grassroots cadres form the majority, such conferences can then be truly successful. We must be good at analyzing the situation, seizing the opportune moment, and being decisive, making up our minds resolutely; only in this way can we formulate correct policies and guidelines. For some unhealthy tendencies within the party, we must also be decisive at the opportune moment.

7. Maintain communication with others. Upward and downward, left and right, with neighbors all around, at all levels, there must be communication. The central authorities and localities should consult and communicate. Party committee members should consult and communicate with each other and with the secretary. In the past, we communicated somewhat too little; we must find ways to communicate. Now the method of writing letters has been adopted—writing a letter once a month is one way to maintain communication. Communication is beneficial; without it, how can we understand the situation? How can we guide work? In doing work and holding meetings, there must not be a complete lack of atmosphere or exchange. Before discussions, there should be prior deliberation. Some meetings do not even have a set topic. I have talked about this issue a hundred times—lack of communication is bad. Do not isolate problems; do not leave people in the dark. Deciding issues requires thorough deliberation.

8. Remove blockades. Normally, they do not report the situation to the center; only at meetings do they bring a pile of materials. They do not sprinkle fine rain ordinarily but come with a downpour when the time arrives. They simply do not give you information about the situation—no reports, no requests for instructions, ensuring you have no way of knowing. Usually not a scrap of paper nor a single word is given to you; then at the meeting, they present a pile of materials, demanding that you make decisions and resolve to act. We must remove blockades; do not blockade the center. We must severely criticize comrades who block information, making them lose sleep for several nights, after which things will improve. Dulles blockaded us, and within the Communist Party there are also those who blockade information. Do not blockade the Political Bureau; do not treat Central Committee members and the Chairman as mere walk-on extras. Do not blockade provincial party secretaries either. Reports should have viewpoints; for each issue, several alternative plans should be proposed, and you should clearly present the basic situation, differing opinions, and what the core problem is. Work conditions must be truthfully reported upward; no blockades.

9. An individual sometimes surpasses the majority, because truth often lies with that one person. Most of the time, the majority surpasses the minority, but sometimes the minority surpasses the majority. That is to say, sometimes truth does not lie with the majority but with a minority or an individual. Do not assume that because a large meeting is held and the majority approve, it is therefore correct and represents truth. Not necessarily. Often truth is in the hands of the few. For example, Marxism was held by him (Marx) alone. You have read the History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; at one meeting, everyone raised their hand except Lenin. Lenin not raising his hand was truth; all the others were wrong. Lenin said one must have the spirit of going against the tide. Party committees at all levels must consider opinions from many sides. Listen not only to the opinions of the majority but also to those of the minority and individuals. Within the party, we must create an atmosphere where people dare to speak and shortcomings are to be improved. Criticizing shortcomings often involves some pain, but after criticism and improvement, things become better. Some comrades do not speak their true thoughts; they are too steeped in the Doctrine of the Mean. There are basically six fears that prevent speaking up: fear of warning, fear of demotion, fear of losing face, fear of expulsion from the party, fear of execution, and fear of divorce. As for execution, Yue Fei became famous only after being executed. The person who speaks should not be held guilty; according to the Party Constitution, one may reserve one’s own opinions. In the past, the imperial court had the system of court beatings, which killed an unknown number of people, yet many still died at court. Some comrades are overly worried about personal disadvantage;

[a]
This calls for promoting the communist style of daring to think and speak. Wang Xifeng was willing to risk her life to dare to pull the emperor off his horse. Of course, this is painful. But when erroneous opinions are raised, they can also serve as a lesson. Leading cadres should carefully consider the opinions of a very small minority, pay attention to analyzing these opinions, not immediately reject them, and examine whether there is truth in them.

[a: Note in the original manuscript.]

10. View problems historically. Changes in plans must go through a historical process. At the Beidaihe, (First) Zhengzhou, Wuchang, and Shanghai Conferences, wasn't the original plan revised? The Shanghai Conference was relatively steady, suited to reality, and its targets may be surpassed. Whether grain and cotton targets can be surpassed will require tremendous effort. For grain, if coarse grains and sweet potatoes are included, the target may be met. The four major indicators publicly announced will not be changed for now. Last year, some launched "satellites" proved beneficial; others fell without being launched successfully. Why was no correction made last year? Making corrections would have discouraged the masses. But last year's Great Leap Forward was genuine. An annual increase of ten percent is a leap forward, twenty percent is a great leap forward, and thirty percent is an exceptionally great leap forward. Understanding develops gradually through the course of things; it was not until late January this year that we came to understand the issue of ownership in the people's communes. The ownership issue was not even raised at the Wuchang Conference. It was at the (Second) Zhengzhou Conference that this issue was brought up.

11. Documents that others cannot understand are forbidden from being issued. Some documents put forth by industrial departments are incomprehensible to others; when the authors are asked, they themselves do not understand them either. When writing articles and reports, one cannot use methods based on simple arithmetic—i.e., metaphysical methods—but must always include facts and analysis, and be true to reality. I suspect whether comrades doing economic work truly understand economics, and whether some economists truly understand economics. If they truly did, it would certainly manifest in their ideology.

What they themselves do not yet understand naturally produces writings that others cannot comprehend. Why are articles written that others cannot understand? It is because they have not delved deeply, have not grasped the materials, and have not clearly communicated every issue. The Xinhua News Agency's communiqué on the rebellion in Tibet [a] provided a clear sequence of events and their consequences.

[a: This communiqué was drafted under Mao Zedong's personal direction.]

Sixteen Working Methods

Articles are meant for others to read, and every issue must be clearly addressed. If an issue cannot be explained, do not force it. Writing something forcibly will not convince others. Why would one force it? Because they lack a genuine understanding of the subject. Some articles are unconvincing, which shows you do not understand the business itself, do not recognize it, and do not grasp the psychology of the masses. Han Yu, a famous writer of the Tang Dynasty, was renowned for his prose. He was from Xiuwu in Henan. He advocated using a master’s ideas, not a master’s words. He advised against following old conventions and called for a unique style. Do not fear praise or blame. Pan Zongci wrote parallel prose, which is hard to read and deliberately made incomprehensible. We can learn from American news reports. In the news reports of American news agencies, whenever a congressman’s name is mentioned, they always annotate that he is a congressman from a certain U.S. state. They make this annotation every time, doing so for many years and countless repetitions, precisely out of concern that people in other countries might not understand. Our news reports, however, do not care whether others understand or not; we know, but others do not, yet we provide no annotations or explanations. Some people write articles without using colloquial language. Lu Xun’s writing was colloquial. In *The True Story of Ah Q*, Ah Q says, "The son beats the father." This is colloquial; as soon as it’s spoken, people understand. I have said this no fewer than ten thousand times—from today onward, this must change. When we write articles, they are for the people of the whole nation to read, for the 13 million Party members to read. They should be understandable at a glance; if incomprehensible, they should be sent back. This time, several materials from the industrial sector were all sent back.

12. Power must be concentrated. Power is concentrated in the Standing Committee and the Secretariat. Henceforth, on minor issues, it is acceptable for the Politburo and the Standing Committee to sign off. But on major national issues, they absolutely must undergo discussion by the Central Committee Plenum. All kinds of plans from various economic departments must first be discussed by the Central Committee Plenum to determine the guiding principles, and only then can the plans be formulated. One cannot act first and plan later (thus creating) a fait accompli, only to then send it up for signature. Once power is in hand, orders can be given. With authority in hand, commands can be issued. One must be brave in taking responsibility. One must obey leadership.

13. Liberate thinking. Do not fear ghosts. Do not be coy and fidgety. Have backbone and substance. Among some comrades, the atmosphere is unhealthy—there is a wolf in front and a white tiger behind. Their thinking is unliberated; they fear being persecuted. Cadres must have the courage to uphold the truth, and not be inferior even to figures from the feudal era. Do not fear being given tight shoes to wear, or losing votes. Even if one is beheaded, it is all right—you did it for the country, to uphold the truth, to uphold your own correct opinions.

14. On criticism. We are all good comrades, and criticism of comrades is also for doing the work well, to find good working methods. We hope comrades dare to raise all sorts of differing opinions. If you have shortcomings and I do not criticize you, and I have shortcomings and you do not criticize me, creating such an atmosphere of liberalism is not good. Some comrades report only the good news and not the bad, failing to relay the true situation upward. When people originally have difficulties, you report that they have none; when people have differing opinions, it is not good. Since we neither strike at nor retaliate against anyone, why not dare criticize boldly, why not raise opinions to others? Seeing something clearly incorrect and yet neither criticizing nor struggling against it—this is a vulgar style. We have no enmity from past generations, nor any grudge to be inherited by future ones; without conflict, there can be no acquaintance. If a person is not hated by anyone, that is unimaginable. Criticism and self-criticism are weapons used by the Party to educate the people.

15. Collective leadership. The Central Committee now has a core in its meetings; all localities should achieve the same.

16. Contact with various departments, especially with the industrial departments, must be strengthened. Close ties must be maintained with the three commissions (the Planning Commission, the Economic Commission, and the Construction Commission) and the two ministries (the Ministry of Metallurgy and the First Ministry of Machine Building).

There may be missing words here.