Letter to Tian Jiaying [1] on Organizing Three Investigation Teams (January 20, 1961)  Comrade Tian Jiaying:   (1) Please distribute one copy each of this article [2] to Chen Boda and Hu Qiaomu [3], with a note indicating that I have asked them to revise it—both in terms of wording and content.   (2) I have already informed Chen and Hu that, like you, each is to lead an investigation team, making a total of three teams. Each team will consist of six members plus the team leader, for a total of seven persons. The team leaders will be Chen, Hu, and Tian. These teams are to be formed over the next three days—today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. All members must be of a high level; those of a lower caliber should not be included. Each person is to be given a copy of “Investigation Work” (from the spring of 1930) for discussion.   (3) You are to go to Zhejiang, Hu to Hunan, and Chen to Guangdong, all to conduct investigations in rural areas. The six team members in each group are to be divided into two subgroups, with one person serving as subgroup leader and two as members. Chen, Hu, and Tian will act as chief leaders. One subgroup (of three persons) is to investigate the worst-performing production brigade, while the other subgroup is to investigate the best-performing one. Intermediate brigades are to be excluded. The duration of this phase will be ten to fifteen days. Afterward, all three teams are to proceed to Guangdong, where they will join me and report to me. Following this, they are to move on to Guangzhou City to carry out industrial investigations, which are expected to take another month, bringing the total time spent to two months. Everyone is to spend the Spring Festival in Guangdong.

Mao Zedong  4:00 p.m., January 20    This letter is to be shown to the twenty-one members of the three teams and discussed at length—this is extremely important!!!  Mao Zedong, additionally noted.

Printed according to the Selected Letters of Mao Zedong (with manuscript).

Notes  [1] Tian Jiaying was then Deputy Director of the Central Political Research Office of the CPC Central Committee and Mao Zedong’s secretary.  [2] This refers to an article on investigative research written by Mao Zedong in May 1930. In 1964 it was included in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong (Type A) under the title “Oppose Bookishness.” It was also published in the 1986 edition of Selected Works of Mao Zedong and in the second edition of the Selected Works of Mao Zedong in 1991.  [3] Chen Boda was then an alternate member of the CPC Central Politburo, Director of the Central Political Research Office, and Mao Zedong’s secretary. Hu Qiaomu was then an alternate member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Mao Zedong’s secretary. ４2