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Commentary on the Experience of Jinzhou Factory No. 401 in Resolving the Grain-Riot Incident among Its Workers [1] (January 10, 1961) This experience is worthy of being disseminated, but attention should be paid to resolving certain practical problems that actually exist. The following documents [2] are hereby circulated for study by all comrades [3].

Mao Zedong, January 10. Printed from the manuscript.

Notes [1] This commentary was written on a report submitted on January 9, 1961, by Huang Huoqing, First Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the CPC, and Zhou Yang, Deputy Minister of the Central Propaganda Department, concerning the experience of Jinzhou Factory No. 401 in handling a grain-riot incident among its workers. Mao Zedong also drafted a title for both the commentary and the report: “Is the Jinzhou Experience Worth Promoting?” The report by Huang Huoqing and Zhou Yang stated that from May to July of last year, Jinzhou Factory No. 401 witnessed a disturbance over food supplies. The primary cause of the unrest was psychological tension among the workforce. There were three main factors contributing to this tension: (1) a tight supply of non-staple foods and vegetables in the city; (2) the fact that the vast majority of the factory workers’ family members lived in nearby rural areas, where grain rations were low, directly affecting the workers; and (3) the recruitment during this period of seven or eight hundred itinerant individuals with highly diverse backgrounds. These newcomers spread anxiety among the workers, disrupted factory order, and aroused their unease. In response, in early August, the factory leadership launched a dual-pronged approach: on the one hand, they conducted positive education campaigns aimed at the broad workforce, organizing large-scale discussions, free expression, and vigorous debate; they invited veteran workers to share their personal experiences and draw comparisons between past and present conditions; and they held group meetings to debate with a small number of those who had been particularly vocal in their protests, ultimately arresting three individuals engaged in political sabotage. On the other hand, they strengthened management of the canteen, addressing issues such as embezzlement, waste, and unplanned use of grain, while introducing democratic management practices to ensure that workers received their full ration according to plan and enjoyed relatively good meals. Building upon this ideological education, the factory then proceeded to adjust grain rations, urging employees to conserve food and reducing the portions of those whose allowances had exceeded the standard. The current practical problems are as follows: First, the low rations allocated to workers’ families continue to have a significant impact on the workers themselves; therefore, special efforts must be made to improve support for their dependents. Second, some cadres recently promoted from among the worker ranks experienced an excessive reduction in their grain allowances due to a change in job category, and they should accordingly receive appropriate consideration. Third, insufficient attention has been given to a small number of senior intellectuals. Fourth, there remain more than twenty workers throughout the factory suffering from edema.

[2] Refers to Zhou Yang’s letter of January 9, 1961, to Mao Zedong, together with the enclosed report on Jinzhou Factory No. 401’s experience in resolving the grain-riot incident; to “Several Matters Worthy of Attention in Current School Work,” published in the “Briefing on the Situation” compiled by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee on January 3; and to “Some Good Methods for Maintaining Public Order by Starting with Caring for the People’s Livelihood and Engaging in Patient Education,” featured in the second issue of “Propaganda and Education Updates,” published by the Central Propaganda Department on January 9, 1961.

[3] Refers to the comrades then attending a meeting of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing.