A Critique of "Opinions of Several Comrades in East China on Certain Problems Currently Needing Solution in the Rural People's Communes"
(March 17, 1961)

This document is very well written. Print and distribute it to all comrades for study. When discussing issues related to the commune regulations, please give serious consideration to these opinions.

Mao Zedong
March 17

Published based on the manuscript.

Notes

--- Notes

〔1〕 Refers to Ke Qingshi, First Secretary of the East China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and concurrently First Secretary and Mayor of the Shanghai Municipal Committee; Zeng Xisheng, Second Secretary of the East China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and concurrently First Secretary of the Anhui Provincial Committee; Tan Qilong, Secretary of the Secretariat of the East China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and concurrently Secretary of the Secretariat of the Shandong Provincial Committee and Governor; Jiang Weiqing, Secretary of the Secretariat of the East China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and concurrently First Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee; Jiang Hua, Secretary of the Secretariat of the East China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and concurrently First Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee; Lin Hujia, Secretary of the Secretariat of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee; Yang Shangkui, Secretary of the Secretariat of the East China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and concurrently First Secretary of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee; Liu Junxiu, Secretary of the Secretariat of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee; Ye Fei, Secretary of the Secretariat of the East China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and concurrently First Secretary of the Fujian Provincial Committee; and Wei Wenbo, Alternate Secretary of the Secretariat of the East China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and concurrently Secretary of the Secretariat of the Shanghai Municipal Committee.
〔2〕 Refers to the document from the South Three Regions Conference, "Opinions of Several Comrades in East China on Certain Problems Currently Needing Solution in the Rural People's Communes," the content of which is as follows: (1) The issue of organizational scale. Adjustments to the scale of communes and brigades should be based on conditions such as production and income levels, geographical circumstances, original foundations, and the voluntary will of the masses, to be decided through full discussion by the masses, ensuring benefits to production and convenience for the masses. After adjustments, stabilize for a period, and like the ownership system, keep unchanged for at least seven years to facilitate the development of productive forces. Production teams should not be too large, generally around twenty households; production brigades should generally maintain the scale of the original advanced cooperatives; the scale of communes should be equivalent to the original townships. (2) The issue of management systems. Communes should concentrate efforts on agricultural production; work related to commerce, culture and education, health, finance, and industry should, in some cases, be placed under the management of departments at or above the county level. In dealing with production brigades and production teams, communes should primarily focus on policies, guidelines, plans, the supply of means of production, and other issues that production teams cannot resolve. Arrangements for farm work and technical measures should mainly be decided by production brigades and teams; communes must not issue arbitrary commands. The three major democratic principles—political, economic, and related to production and livelihood—must be promoted. (3) The issue of relations between the Party, government, and communes. Party leadership should primarily focus on the central tasks of a given period and regular comprehensive arrangements, implementing the following leadership method: "Major powers are concentrated, minor powers are dispersed; the Party committee decides, and all parties carry out. Execution involves decisions, without departing from principles. The Party committee bears responsibility for work inspections." The most fundamental method is understanding the situation (investigation and research), mastering policies, and setting examples (model demonstrations). (4) The issue of cadres. Cadres at the three levels of commune, brigade, and team must be properly selected, managed, and educated. Democratic elections should be implemented for cadres at all three levels. Cadres must be well managed through leadership assessments and mass supervision, and they must be educated to implement the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention. (5) The issue of operational management. A series of good operational management methods from the advanced cooperative period should be restored. The opinions of the masses are: 1. The authority over production management should be returned to production brigades and teams; higher levels must not issue arbitrary commands. 2. Good leaders should be selected. During the advanced cooperative period, some cadres had experience in operational management but were later dismissed; now commune members demand that these individuals serve as cadres again. The report also lists several other issues currently needing resolution in rural work: First, grain procurement quotas must be fixed; without fixing the "three quotas," people's minds remain unsettled. Second, the state cannot fully cover the supply of rural means of production; planned material exchanges between counties, communes, and brigades should be organized. Third, further reduce urban populations and the rural non-agricultural population to secure more labor for agricultural production. Fourth, the management of commune-owned economies should establish certain systems of mass supervision, and a portion should be placed under county management.