(September 9, 1959)
This document is to be issued immediately to Party organizations at all levels, from the Central Committee down to the branches. It is to be distributed to all comrades attending the military and foreign affairs conferences in Beijing.

I warmly welcome this letter from Comrade Peng Dehuai and consider his stand and viewpoint to be correct and his attitude sincere. If from now on he thoroughly reforms, with no more major vacillations (minor vacillations are unavoidable), then he will "instantly become a Buddha," instantly become a Marxist. I suggest that the whole Party welcome the attitude expressed in this letter by Comrade Peng Dehuai. On the one hand, we must seriously criticize his errors; on the other, we must welcome every step of his progress. Use both these attitudes to help this old comrade with whom we share a historical bond of thirty-one years. Toward all other comrades who have made mistakes, as long as they express willingness to correct them, we should treat them with both these attitudes. We must firmly believe that this policy of ours can move people. And people, under certain conditions, can change, apart from certain isolated exceptions.

[1]
Refers to Peng Dehuai's letter of September 9, 1959, to Mao Zedong. In the letter, he expressed support for the criticism directed at him by the Eighth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the CPC and the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission, and resolved to continue thoroughly reflecting on his own errors. To this end, he requested the Central Committee to consider allowing him to study or to leave Beijing for a people's commune after the conclusion of the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission, so that he could study while participating in some labor, in order to undergo tempering and ideological reform through the collective life of the laboring people.

As for Comrade Dehuai's suggestion regarding the allocation of his work for the coming period, I consider it basically appropriate. Reading books for a few years is excellent. He is getting on in years and should not take part in physical labor; however, spending some time each year in factories and villages to conduct observation, investigation, and research work would be very good. The Central Committee will discuss this matter with Comrade Dehuai and make an appropriate decision.

Mao Zedong
September 9

Immediately send to Comrades Liu, Zhou, Zhu, Lin, and Peng Zhen[1] for reading. Request Comrade Shangkun[2] to handle.

[1]
Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi. Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai. Zhu refers to Zhu De. Lin refers to Lin Biao, then Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council. Peng Zhen, then Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.
[2]
Shangkun, namely Yang Shangkun, then Alternate Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.

On September 10, 1959, Mao Zedong inspected the Miyun Reservoir and listened to reports by Zhang Guangdou and others.