(June 13, 1959)
Originally some things were good things, but because some targets were set too high, we have been put in a passive position every day. Among the industrial targets and agricultural targets, there is a measure of subjectivism, and a failure to understand objective necessity. I said in Shanghai, does our Party actually have a mass line? Do we have experience in economic work? It seems that the mass line does exist, but at one time it could be said not to exist. For instance, whipping up the “communist wind”—that was not the mass line, was it! Now, once accounts are settled and things are returned, and the team is taken as the basis, this conforms to the masses’ opinions. In the past, one level listened to the next level, one rank listened to the next rank, listening horizontally and vertically just like that, but simply not listening to the common people; the common people’s opinions could hardly be reflected upward. Whether industry or agriculture, we all agreed to the targets. For example, the 20 million tons of steel set at the Wuchang Conference last December—by this January, some comrades, represented by Comrade Chen Yun, raised that 20 million tons would be difficult to fulfill. But at that time it was still hard to change, because it was still January and people still wanted to go all out. At that time we could have made a turn, turned to a somewhat more proactive position, but it was still impossible to turn to the target of 16.5 million tons set at the Shanghai Conference, and even more impossible to turn to the present 13 million tons. People in the world, if they do not bump their heads and have no experience, will never make a turn. How much did agriculture actually increase production? Hebei is the main area of increase, namely 30%. Whether there really is 30%, I still doubt. Assuming there is 30%, the whole country would only have
[I]
This is a speech by Mao Zedong at a meeting attended by a small number of central leaders (compiled based on the transcript).

480 billion catties. This year, simply pay no attention to that target of 1,050 billion catties. Just take last year’s actual output, and this year increase by only 10%, 20%, or 30%. I hear the result of contracting output is 600 billion catties, but I think we should base our daily life on 480 billion catties. Originally it is a life of plenty, but live it as a life of scarcity; arranging things this way is good.
As for dining halls, it is enough to keep them so that one-third, or one-fourth, or one-fifth of the people eat there. As to whether to charge money, one kind of people pay for meals, another kind do not. The old, the weak, and the “five-guarantee” households do not pay; others pay. If no one pays, the result will be that the old and weak eat at home, while the able-bodied go out to earn money. The problem of dining halls is not completely resolved now. I want to go out and talk with the provincial party secretaries. Grain must be distributed to the individuals; if you are willing to eat in the dining hall, you join voluntarily; if unwilling, you may not join. This way we take the initiative.
There is another issue where we lack initiative: propaganda. In the past we made such a big noise; now we must think of a way to turn around. Comrade Qiaomu has an opinion, which he discussed with me; we need to study it further to see how to turn around step by step. The targets were originally so high, now they are blown away, discarded—how to turn around in propaganda? We cannot set up a bodhisattva ourselves and then worship this bodhisattva superstitiously. We must break superstition. What 20 million tons of steel, how many tens of thousands of dan of cotton—simply pay no attention. For a time, our own heads were dizzy. It is inevitable that people’s heads sometimes get a little dizzy; what does it matter? The next day they clear up. (Zhou Enlai: Now people say China’s figures are not credible.) We must make China’s figures credible; if they are not believed now, they will be believed later. In agriculture, we should not report accounts in the future. The Soviet method is not to report accounts; they only report the accounts for state procurement; they do not report the total annual output.
For industry, next year’s targets must on no account be set high. I think roughly follow this year’s targets; a little lower is also fine. Create a saddle-shaped curve. The mistake of ’56 was that the anti-rash advance should not have been made public. As for lowering the targets of ’57, that was completely correct; it would have been bad not to lower them. Because they were lowered in ’57, a leap forward became possible in ’58. Without lowering them in ’57, a leap forward in ’58 would have been impossible, because there was no material foundation. We must store up a bit of strength, and let people ease up a little; do not create that kind of artificial tension, tense like this every day, failing to fulfill tasks every day. Now the workers in Anshan have not eaten meat for several months; their grain is all corn, no wheat. Such conditions must change. They must rest a little, have a little more meat, change the grain from corn to sorghum, and also have some other non-staple foods. In heavy industrial labor, without grain, without meat, how can it work?
The issue of supporting agriculture, we just discussed it. This issue had shortcomings in the past. Now we must set up an organ to manage machinery, chemical fertilizer, and water conservancy.
New problems will constantly emerge; we must be prepared at all times. Many problems are unexpected. Who knew the “communist wind” would blow? Totally ignoring the law of value, exchange of equal value—once the communes were set up, the “communist wind” blew out; this was not anticipated. Now settling on 13 million tons of steel, I also did not anticipate. Grain is so tight; last year a great bumper harvest, this year great tension—also not anticipated. We must pay attention to new problems at all times, discover new problems.
The greatest achievement is that since the Beidaihe Conference, party committees at all levels have paid attention to managing the economy (including industry, agriculture, and commerce), even though so many disorders have occurred. For instance, take myself: before the Beidaihe Conference, I could not bring myself to read news about industry in the newspapers; documents within the Party on running industry I was forced to glance at, with little interest. My main attention was devoted to handling social relations, like rectification and anti-rightism, those issues of relations among people belonging to the revolutionary sphere; I did not pay attention to the issue of the relationship between man and nature. Now I am beginning to be able to read industrial documents and newspapers. The Politburo, the Secretariat, and the provincial party secretaries also began paying attention to managing the economy from last September.
The delegation of power was also done by us. At that time it seemed the more power was delegated the better; now a considerable portion has been taken back. Power over personnel, finances, commerce, and industry must all be taken back. Originally we told everyone to mount the horse; as a result, so many people mounted the horse and cannot dismount. Now I think control must extend all the way down to the communes. Now there is anarchism, or semi-anarchism. Wang Heshou talked with me, and Bo Yibo and others also talked with me, saying that in the past I was one-sided, only paying attention to the production equipment capacity of blast furnaces and open-hearth furnaces, (Zhou Enlai: mainly small blast furnaces and small converters.) not calculating the accounts for coal, not calculating the accounts for coke, not calculating the accounts for ore, not calculating refractory materials, not calculating transport either. Once truly calculated, the previously set high targets simply would not work; it could only be 13 million tons of steel and 20 million tons of iron.
The greatest victory is to recognize these problems of failure, this subjectivism, this only paying attention to the equipment of blast furnaces and open-hearth furnaces without paying attention to coal, coke, refractory materials, transport, and so on. Planned and proportional development was talked about for I don’t know how many years, yet no attention was paid. Not comprehensive balance; horizontally and vertically it was all the same—just blast furnaces, open-hearth furnaces, small blast furnaces, small converters. The connections among various industrial departments, the connections between industrial departments and agricultural departments, the connections among heavy industry, light industry, and agriculture—none were taken into account. For example, the coal issue is related to the peasants, yet only industrial coal was dealt with; the coal the peasants needed was not there. In the name of supporting agriculture, the result was that the coal the peasants needed was not there, nor were machinery, chemical fertilizer, or water conservancy. The greatest achievement is that we grasped industry, even though some disorders occurred. This year we grasped it a few months earlier than last year. Last year we only started grasping production in late August; the actual grasping was in September. From September to December, we actually grasped it for only four months. Now it is June 13; this year we can still grasp it for seven months. These seven months must be used to achieve balance. We have never done this set of things before. What we consistently did in the past was revolution; we have never done construction. This does not refer to the three commissions and the various ministries—they are experts—but means that the majority of us have never done construction. The provincial party secretaries have not done it; I have not done it either, because I could not attend to it. Only after the Beidaihe Conference last year did we start doing these things. When I went to Jinggangshan, the very first battle I fought was a defeat; from this I learned good experience, because I suffered a loss. The problem now is not to blame this person or that. Now our situation has already improved; the targets have been made realistic; subjectivism in this regard is no longer very great; it is relatively close to reality. To say these words now, I think, is with greater confidence. Now grain is beginning to come onto the market, vegetables are coming onto the market, and the chickens have grown up. Now we must again grasp pork, grasp non-staple foods, grasp daily-use industrial goods. Comrade Xiannian is going to Shanghai for a meeting on the 16th; when disorders arise, we grasp them. This is how we have always been. When disorders arise, once the Communist Party grasps them, things get better.