--- Notes

Central Instructions Forwarding Deng Zihui’s Investigative Report on the Pilot Program Concerning Basic Accounting Units in Rural People’s Communes [1] (November 23, 1961)  I. To all Central Bureaus, and to the Party committees of provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions: Comrade Deng Zihui’s report is very good; it is hereby circulated for your reference. As pilot projects are currently being widely carried out across the country, this document may be forwarded to party committees at the prefectural, county, and commune levels for their consideration. Thorough investigation and study, coupled with concrete analysis of specific problems rather than abstract, subjective reasoning, constitute the very essence of Marxism. It is recommended that, before December 20, the first secretaries of each provincial party committee, accompanied by several working groups, adopt Comrade Deng Zihui’s approach, go down to the countryside, and conduct about ten days of investigative research.  The Central Committee, November 23, 1961. Printed according to the Selected Works on Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping, and Chen Yun’s Methods of Thinking and Working. (Based on Mao Zedong’s handwritten draft.)


II. After Premier, Xiaoping, Peng Zhen, and Zhenlin [2] had reviewed it, Shangkun [3] transmitted it by telegram. Additional copies were also distributed to the leading Party groups of various central ministries and commissions. Mao Zedong had it printed on the 23rd, based on his handwritten draft. Notes [ ] refer to the investigative report submitted on November 9, 1961, by Deng Zihui, Minister of the CPC Central Committee’s Department of Rural Work and Vice Premier of the State Council, to Mao Zedong, with copies sent to the East China Bureau and the Fujian Provincial Party Committee, concerning the pilot program for basic accounting units in rural people’s communes. The report states: On October 24, I departed Beijing for the south and arrived in Longyan, Fujian, on the evening of the 28th. During stops in Zhengzhou and Nanchang, I heard briefings from the rural work departments of the Henan and Jiangxi provincial party committees on the progress of the pilot program for basic accounting units. Upon reaching Longyan, I dispatched working groups to conduct trials in several production teams. The following are the problems encountered during the pilot phase and the corresponding measures taken:  1. With the devolution of authority to the basic accounting units, cadres at all levels and the general public have expressed unanimous support, believing that this move will help overcome egalitarianism and bureaucracy, implement democratic and thrifty management of the communes, stimulate the enthusiasm of commune members, and promote the development of agricultural and sideline production. However, a small number of team-level cadres feel that their powers have been curtailed and harbor resistant attitudes; among some team members as well, there is a tendency to advocate maintaining the status quo without further change.  2. Following the institutional decentralization, the size of the teams has generally been adjusted. Except for those originally very small (containing only thirty to forty households), which were not further subdivided, most teams under the communes have increased in number compared with before. Nevertheless, many people still harbor a preference for smaller units, and some even seek to divide the teams into ever smaller groups so that they can eventually revert to individual farming. In response, we have established several guiding principles for future team demarcation: First, existing teams shall remain largely unchanged, with only minor adjustments permitted. Second, for areas that are too large and require division, one village shall correspond to one team in small villages, while larger villages may be divided into several teams; however, the ideal size for each team should be around thirty households. Third, communes shall be authorized to approve all team divisions, and no independent actions to split teams shall be allowed prior to such approval, in order to prevent confusion.  3. Land reallocation after team reorganization: Land assigned to each team at the time of collectivization, which had remained unchanged since the primary cooperative stage, may now be left largely intact, subject to only minor adjustments. By contrast, land that has already been redistributed among teams based on labor contributions since collectivization will need to be readjusted. Similarly, livestock should be allocated appropriately in proportion to the amount of land held—“cattle follow the fields”—while medium- and large-scale farm implements such as plows and harrows shall be transferred along with the cattle. Newer types of agricultural machinery, however, will continue to be owned by the commune.  4. Regarding the “three contributions”—the accumulation fund, the public welfare fund, and management fees—the situation varies from team to team, and the amounts to be remitted accordingly differ.  5. Following the institutional decentralization, there is an acute shortage of accountants at the team level. It is therefore imperative to swiftly establish and strengthen the system of accounting instructors within the people’s communes and to organize accounting training courses. As for past debts and other liabilities, these will generally remain the responsibility of the commune until after the team reorganization and the winter plowing are completed, when they will be settled separately. This principle is summarized as “a fresh start for new accounts, old accounts dealt with later.”  6. After the institutional decentralization, the commune will primarily assume responsibility for the following four areas of work: First, state administrative functions, including the allocation of grain purchase quotas, provision of relief and subsidies, and primary education. Second, Party and political work. Third, inter-village cooperative activities, such as water conservancy projects, forest fire prevention, the proper operation of supply and marketing cooperatives, and the management of public welfare funds and the Five Guarantees recipients. Fourth, the effective management of commune-owned enterprises.  7. Concerning grain distribution, there was unanimous agreement on Hebei Province’s approach of combining a basic ration with a labor-based ration, which was regarded as crucial for improving commune members’ attendance rates at work.  8. Regarding forestry issues, wooded mountains should not be assigned to individual teams, to prevent excessive logging driven by a lack of trust in communal ownership rights. By contrast, barren hills should be fully allocated to the teams, with official certificates and boundary markers issued to confirm ownership. Barren hills located near villages may be apportioned to individual commune members as private plots. [2] Xiaoping refers to Deng Xiaoping, who at that time served as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council. Peng Zhen was then a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a secretary of its Secretariat. Zhenlin refers to Tan Zhenlin, who at the time was a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, a secretary of its Secretariat, and a Vice Premier of the State Council. [ ] Shangkun refers to Yang Shangkun, who at that time was an alternate member of the CPC Central Committee’s Secretariat and Director of the Central Office.