Commentary on the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee’s Document Concerning the Rectification of the Excessive Self-Sufficiency in Rural By-Products (August 1, 1959) This document [1] from the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee is hereby circulated to all comrades. What is the situation in your respective provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions? Is it similar to that in Guangdong? Have you given this matter due attention? Do you consider the measures adopted by the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee to be appropriate? In Guangdong, the approach has been to resolutely reduce the portion allocated for supply and to implement a distribution system primarily based on work points. Do you think this is appropriate? In my view, it is; what is your opinion? This is a major issue, and uniform measures must be taken to change the existing situation. Please return and study how best to put these measures into effect. Mao Zedong August 1 Based on a document of the CPC Central Committee. (With manuscript) Notes [ ] refer to the article “The Guangdong Provincial Party Committee Rectifies the Phenomenon of Excessive Self-Sufficiency in Rural By-Products,” published in No. 60 of “Propaganda and Education Briefs,” compiled and printed by the CPC Central Committee’s Department of Propaganda in July 1959. The article states that the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee recently forwarded a report from the Party Committee of the Panyu Commune entitled “On the Current Situation of Excessive Self-Sufficiency in Rural By-Products and Proposed Solutions.” The report notes that at present it is

noteworthy that many harvested agricultural and sideline products have seen a substantial increase in yield compared with last year; however, the proportion marketed as commodities remains pitifully small. Some items that were previously highly commercialized have now reverted to being consumed entirely within the commune. This phenomenon stems from problems in the rural communes’ distribution system—specifically, the practice of direct allocation of produce, with an excessively large share reserved for communal consumption. It is a key factor contributing to the widespread waste of agricultural and sideline products, the decline in market supply, and the acute shortage of foodstuffs. The Guangdong Provincial Party Committee believes that, in order to alleviate the tight supply of foodstuffs, it is necessary not only to vigorously develop the production of such goods and curb purchasing power but also to address the problem at the distribution stage: namely, to resolutely reduce the supply portion and adopt a distribution system predominantly based on work points. On August 19, 1959, the CPC Central Committee transmitted both the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee’s document on rectifying the excessive self-sufficiency in rural by-products and Mao Zedong’s commentary to the party committees of all provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, with copies also sent to the central ministries and commissions and to the party leadership groups of various state organs. The circular pointed out that party committees at all levels should, in their work related to distribution within the people’s communes and to the procurement of agricultural and sideline products, pay close attention to the following points: First, appropriately limit the self-consumption portion and, to the greatest extent possible, increase the commodity portion in accordance with urban and rural needs. Second, appropriately restrict the supply portion and gradually expand the wage-based component. Third, effectively carry out the procurement of agricultural and sideline products.