Comments on the Report Concerning Current Agricultural Production and the People’s Communes by Deng Zihui [1] and the Feedback Thereon [2] (August 26 and 29, 1962) 1. To be circulated to all comrades [3]. Mao Zedong, August 26 2. It appears that the advocacy of individual farming still finds some resonance among our military cadres, though it does not constitute a majority; the overwhelming majority of comrades uphold socialism and oppose capitalism. Mao Zedong, August 29 Printed from the manuscript.

Notes [1] Deng Zihui was then Minister of the CPC Central Committee’s Department for Rural Work and Vice Premier of the State Council. [2] Refers to feedback submitted by Xiao Hua, Deputy Director of the General Political Department of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, to Mao Zedong on August 20, 1962, regarding Deng Zihui’s report on current agricultural production and the people’s communes. The feedback stated that on the mornings of May 31 and June 1, Deng Zihui delivered a report on these topics in the General Logistics Department auditorium. Over three thousand officers at or above the rank of major attended. Following the report, some expressed opinions and raised questions: First, they felt the presentation “carried too much force” and “was emotionally charged.” Certain cadres were particularly dissatisfied with his remark that “in the past, people like me would not have dared to speak,” believing such language had an adverse impact. Second, many deemed it inappropriate that the report suggested individual farming also possessed certain advantages. Third, they contended that the analysis of the rural situation contained flaws, giving the impression that rural problems were mounting. Fourth, certain points in the report differed somewhat from the central leadership’s official line—for example, the claim that farmers’ private plots, small-scale reclamation, and land borrowing would be allowed to total no more than twenty percent of the country’s cultivated area, which was inconsistent with the provisions of the “Sixty Articles.” At the same time, others regarded the report as incisive in certain respects, effectively resolving key issues, and even admired it. This was mainly due to: first, their keen interest in its critique of privileged attitudes and arbitrary commandism among cadres; second, the detailed and innovative discussion of the management and operation of the people’s communes; and third, their appreciation of Deng Zihui’s forthright manner, viewing it as “distinctive,” “marked by liberated and bold thinking.” Moreover, some noted Deng Zihui’s effective working style: he “frequently went into the field to conduct investigations, amassed copious materials, and possessed a more concrete understanding of conditions than most cadres.” [3] Refers to the comrades then in Beijing attending the preparatory meeting for the Tenth Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee.