Commentary on the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee’s Report Concerning Rural Labor (October 17, 1960) Comrade Fuchun [1]: This document [2] is very good. After you have read it, please forward it to Comrade Chen Boda [3] for his review, and ask him to convene a small group to examine and study it, drafting a telegram on behalf of the Central Committee [4] to circulate this document to all Central Bureaus, the party committees of provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, as well as to the various ministries and commissions of the central government and the leading party groups under them (since it involves industry, commerce, transportation, education, and other sectors), so that they may deliberate upon it, vigorously implement it, and expeditiously carry out the necessary measures. Mao Zedong October 17

Furthermore, please instruct the Secretariat to compile statistics showing how many laborers each province, municipality, and autonomous region has reallocated to the agricultural front—both individually and in total—and to indicate which areas have achieved significant results and which have made less progress. I look forward to being informed accordingly!

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Printed from the manuscript. Notes [1] Fuchun refers to Li Fuchun, who at that time served as a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, a secretary of the Secretariat, and a vice premier of the State Council. [2]


Refers to the report submitted by the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee to the Central Committee and to Mao Zedong on October 12, 1960, concerning the issue of rural labor. The report reads as follows: (1) During the peak farming seasons of April and May this year, the number of laborers engaged in fieldwork throughout the province declined sharply to only 2.4 million, representing 48 percent of the province’s total rural workforce; moreover, women outnumbered men, and the elderly far exceeded the able-bodied youth. Not only was the quantity reduced, but the quality of the labor force also deteriorated. (2) The main areas accounting for excessive labor consumption during the busy farming season include: the infrastructure construction front; forestry, animal husbandry, sideline production, and fisheries; various welfare programs; industrial and other enterprises at both the county and commune levels; and the rapid increase in the number of school-age youth withdrawn from production. (3) We must resolutely free up every possible laborer from all sectors to reinforce the agricultural production front. First and foremost, it is essential to achieve unified thinking throughout the Party and among the entire population, clearly recognizing that agriculture constitutes the foundation of the national economy and that grain is the foundation of that foundation. (4) On the basis of this unified understanding, we have adopted the following measures: (1) In order to ensure sufficient labor for steel production, industrial enterprises are required to improve work organization and production management, streamline administrative structures, reduce non-productive personnel, and strengthen the production front; curtail infrastructure projects to prioritize production; draw a portion of labor from urban people’s communes to supplement heavy industry; and henceforth, no labor shall be drawn from rural areas for the next three to five years. (2) It is imperative to guarantee that more than 80 percent of the labor force participates in fieldwork during the peak farming season. (3) We will resolutely reduce the amount of labor absorbed by county and commune organs and administrative districts, redirecting it to field production. (4) Rural infrastructure projects such as water conservancy should primarily be carried out during the off-season. (5) County and commune industries are to release a portion of their workforce to return to agricultural production. (6) The pace of development of secondary and higher educational institutions should be appropriately controlled. Starting this year, half of rural primary school graduates will proceed to further studies, while the other half will return to rural production. (7) All full-time and part-time cultural and artistic troupes, sports teams, and similar organizations at the county and commune levels are to be disbanded, with all members returning to participate in agricultural production. (8) The entire province is to mobilize 300,000 urban residents to join the agricultural production front. (5) As of late September, a total of 1.1 million laborers had been redirected to rural areas, bringing the number of workers engaged in field production to 3.7 million, or 74 percent of the total rural labor force. (6) To prevent various departments from again siphoning off labor from agriculture in the future, it is crucial to strictly adhere to the labor allocation plan and to prohibit unauthorized recruitment and arbitrary deployment of workers. (7) In order to stabilize the re-deployed rural labor force, as well as rural youth and middle-aged workers, on the agricultural front, the most important task is to run the people’s communes more effectively. Specifically, the following steps should be taken: 1. Uphold the three-level ownership system of the people’s commune, with the brigade (administrative district) as its basic unit. (2) Firmly implement the Party’s policy on distribution. (3) Strengthen the management and operation of the people’s communes, particularly labor management.


[3] Chen Boda, who at that time was an alternate member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, deputy head of the Central Rural Work Department, and Mao Zedong’s secretary.


[4] On October 27, 1960, the CPC Central Committee issued instructions forwarding the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee’s report on rural labor, stating: “The issue of rural labor is currently one of the major obstacles to developing agricultural production and a critical factor affecting the sustained advance of the entire national economy. It must therefore receive the serious attention of all Party members.” “Human beings need to eat every day. Whether we are developing industry, transportation, education, undertaking infrastructure projects, or pursuing any other endeavor, none of these activities can be separated from grain. Every Communist Party member must never forget this simple yet incontrovertible truth.” “The Central Committee calls upon the leading bodies of party committees at all levels and of all departments to carefully study the Shanxi report, draw on Shanxi’s experience, conduct comprehensive analyses from all angles, and strictly comply with all previous directives issued by the Central Committee regarding labor conservation. Based on your specific local conditions, you are to take every effective measure to release all available labor resources, reinforce the agricultural production front, and swiftly reverse the current severe shortage of labor in agriculture.”