Comment on Information Materials
(December 27, 1959)

This document is very good. Comrades read it. Looked it over in the morning, discuss it in the afternoon.

Mao Zedong
27th, six in the morning

Refers to *Information Bulletin* No. 258, compiled and printed by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee on December 22, 1959. This issue of the bulletin carried three materials: "A Small Number of People's Communes and Production Brigades in the Three Northeastern Provinces Have Transitioned to Ownership by the Whole People or Basic Commune Ownership," "The Situation of the Shunjiang People's Commune in Sichuan Province Implementing Basic Commune Ownership and Its Three-Year Plan for Transitioning to Ownership by the Whole People," and "The Liuzhou Prefectural Committee of Guangxi Proposes Developing Commune-Owned Economy from Ten Aspects." The first material states that relevant comrades from the Central Rural Work Department recently went to the three northeastern provinces to understand the situation regarding the transition of people's communes, which is roughly as follows: A small portion of communes and brigades (or administrative districts) have already changed from basic brigade ownership to basic commune ownership, or ownership by the whole people, with the commune-owned economy developing exceptionally rapidly; the transformation in the ownership system for a small portion of people's communes and production brigades has already become an inevitable trend. The second material states that the Shunjiang People's Commune in Neijiang County, Sichuan Province, decided during the spring commune rectification to trial basic commune ownership, which greatly promoted the leap-forward development of the commune's industrial and agricultural production and various other undertakings. The third material states that the Liuzhou Prefectural Committee of Guangxi Province, based on existing experience, proposes that the current direction for developing the ownership system of people's communes is mainly to actively establish commune-run enterprises, increase accumulation, and achieve comprehensive development of agriculture, industry, and sideline occupations. However, while developing the commune-owned economy, it is also necessary to pay close attention to the production of each production brigade and each specialized team.

Return directly to Mao after use.
Ask Comrade Tian Jiaying to find the two resolutions on people's communes from Beidaihe and Wuchang, and bring them this afternoon, as hoped.
Question: Is it possible to achieve commune ownership in five years and state ownership in ten years?

Tian Jiaying, then serving as Mao Zedong's secretary.
Refers to the "Resolution on the Establishment of People's Communes in the Rural Areas" adopted at the Enlarged Meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held in Beidaihe from August 17 to 30, 1958, and the "Resolution on Certain Questions Concerning People's Communes" adopted at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee held in Wuchang from November 28 to December 10, 1958.
The material "A Small Number of People's Communes and Production Brigades in the Three Northeastern Provinces Have Transitioned to Ownership by the Whole People or Basic Commune Ownership" states: "The commune economy in all three northeastern provinces is developing very rapidly," and "it is estimated that the commune-owned economy of most communes can gain dominance within two to three years." Mao Zedong wrote this comment beside this passage.