To the Shanghai Bureau, the committees of all cooperative zones, the provincial, municipal, and autonomous regional party committees, and the central-level ministries and commissions as well as the leading party groups: Bureaucracy, that pernicious practice inherited from the old society, will spring up again with the first warm breeze if it is not swept away once a year.


In late March 1960, the Central Committee circulated to you an issue of the Briefing on the Shandong Six-Level Cadre Conference [2]. You are requested to pay close attention to the many serious problems within the people’s communes and, without fail, to take advantage of the six-level cadre conferences convened by the provincial party committees and the subsequent four-level cadre conferences held by the county party committees during March and April to carry out a thorough rectification of those unacceptable and extremely grave conditions. Another round of rectification should be undertaken in the second half of the year.


You have undoubtedly already seen this document [3].


As noted therein, it is now time to use the six- and four-level cadre conferences to openly highlight the gravity of the “Three Antis” campaign and to set forth the tasks of combating corruption, waste, and bureaucracy.


With regard to the “Three Antis,” the Central Committee will issue, in early April, an instruction [4] specifying the scope of the campaign and the procedures for dealing with various categories of offenders; this will be forwarded to you shortly. However, do not wait for that document; instead, immediately call for a rectification drive at the ongoing or soon-to-be-held six- and four-level conferences, and conduct typical investigations to gain a clear understanding of the situation.


What the Central Committee wishes to emphasize to you at present is the serious persistence of bureaucratic practices.


We have here some materials from Licheng County, Shandong Province.


On March 14 of this year, the Licheng County Party Committee reported to the Shandong Provincial Party Committee that there were both positive and negative aspects to the situation. The former—the overall favorable state of affairs—was dominant. As for the latter, they pointed to a particularly acute manifestation: the “Five Excesses and Five Deficiencies.” Namely, too many meetings and too little contact with the masses; too many documents and reports yet too little summarization of experience; cadres spending far too much time holed up in offices and far too little conducting earnest investigations and studies; an overload of routine administrative work coupled with insufficient study; and frequent general exhortations but inadequate detailed organizational work.


This document is now being circulated for your review. It describes just how excessive the number of meetings and official papers has become. According to the report, from January 1 to March 10—over a period of seventy days—the county party committee and its various departments held a total of 184 meetings attended by secretaries of the commune party committees and heads of relevant units, conducted 56 teleconferences, and issued 1,074 official documents and 599 forms and reports.


Comrades, such a state of affairs cannot continue. When things reach an extreme, they reverse course. We must create the conditions to enable this bureaucracy to overcome the “Five Excesses and Five Deficiencies.”


Turning to the other side of the picture, the Shandong Provincial Party Committee has adopted a countermeasure [5] and has extended Licheng’s approach throughout the entire province.


Comrades, does this bureaucratic malaise exist only in Licheng County, or solely within Shandong Province? Most likely not. It is quite probable that it is widespread. I urge each of you to conduct a survey of one county or one city (in large cities, select a single district) so that you may ascertain the true nature of the problem. The methods employed in Licheng to address the “Five Excesses and Five Deficiencies” can serve as a model.


The roots of this bureaucracy lie not only at the county level but also at the provincial and central levels. Please pay particular attention to addressing these issues at the provincial (municipal or autonomous region) level. As for the central authorities, we will likewise take appropriate measures.


It appears that we shall need to discuss the “Five Excesses and Five Deficiencies” at least twice a year, if not more frequently.


Several years ago, the Central Committee had already issued instructions on this very matter [6]; thereafter, however, it ceased to follow up—especially concerning the two most prominent excesses: the proliferation of meetings and of official documents and reports. Moreover, given that even we ourselves are not immune to bureaucratic tendencies, we cannot simply lay the blame on others.


This article and its accompanying notes should be published in the Party journal.


Printed by order of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on March 30, 1960, based on a Central Committee document.


Notes [1] This is an internal directive drafted by Mao Zedong on behalf of the CPC Central Committee.  [2] See note [1] on page 164 of this volume.  [3] Refers to the CPC Central Committee’s endorsement on March 23, 1960, of a briefing from the Shandong Six-Level Cadre Conference, included in this book under the title “Resolutely Stop Repeated Violations Such as the ‘Communist Wind’ Campaign.” See pages 163–164 of this volume.  [4] On May 15, 1960, the CPC Central Committee issued the “Instructions on Launching the ‘Three Antis’ Campaign in Rural Areas.”  [5] The specific measures proposed in the Licheng County Party Committee’s report to address the “Five Excesses and Five Deficiencies” are as follows: First, all leading cadres of the county party committee, the commune party committees, and the various departments are to leave their offices and convene directly in the fields together with brigade and production team leaders, thereby gaining practical experience, setting examples, and providing guidance and impetus for comprehensive implementation. Second, cadres are to practice “three togetherness” and “five responsibilities”—that is, eating, living, and working alongside the commune members—while assuming full responsibility for five key areas: ideological mobilization within their respective units, fulfillment of production targets, technological innovation, organization of commune members’ daily lives, and management of commune operations—and ensuring that all these tasks are carried out effectively. Third, adopting a combined approach of “lines,” “blocks,” and “areas” under unified leadership of the party committee, cadres responsible for different sectors are required to obey central directives and perform their core duties while simultaneously undertaking their assigned specialized tasks, accumulating experience, and promoting best practices nationwide. Fourth, streamlining meetings and reducing the volume of documents and reports, resolving issues on-site as they arise.  [6] Refers to the CPC Central Committee’s “Instructions on Resolving the ‘Five Excesses’ Problem in District and Township Work,” issued on March 19, 1953, which is included in this book under the title “Solving the ‘Five Excesses’ Problem in District and Township Work.” See pages 271–274 of Volume VI of this book.