Comment on Two Reports from the Hunan Provincial Committee [I] [2]
(May 8, 1963)
Both reports are good. Comrades are requested to study them and refer to them.
Mao Zedong
May 8, 1963
[1]
This refers to two reports from the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee to the Central Committee, Mao Zedong, and the Central-South Bureau: one is the second report on the situation of the rural socialist education movement dated April 16, 1963; the other is a report on the issue of establishing the advantage of the poor peasants and setting up representative groups of poor and lower-middle peasants dated April 22, 1963. The former report states that since a report was made on February 8, through this period of the socialist education movement, the political enthusiasm and labor enthusiasm of the broad masses in the countryside, especially the poor and lower-middle peasants, have been greatly heightened. Everywhere a new atmosphere has emerged, with commune members cherishing the collective, showing concern for the collective, turning out for work more, and accumulating more fertilizer, and production in most areas has improved considerably. In order to promote this new upsurge and organize a more comprehensive, deeper, and more solid high tide in agricultural production, we have taken advantage of the situation to deepen socialist education a step further. Through revising production plans, we have conducted education on the general line and re-education on class struggle among the broad cadres and masses, greatly boosted revolutionary drive, unified thinking and understanding, concentrated efforts on developing the collective economy, and striven for a great agricultural harvest this year. It is estimated that by the end of April or early May, all prefectures can shift fully to managing operations. However, during this period of organizing the production upsurge, in the work of revising plans and improving operation and management, the issue of the struggle between the two roads has still been prominently exposed. This is manifested not only in dividing fields for individual farming, hiring labor, lending money at interest, and various “black winds,” but also in the orientation of operations, production plans, labor force management, income distribution, and many other aspects. Therefore, education on the struggle between the two roads must continue in the future. Without vigorously promoting education on the general line, and without channeling the revolutionary drive of cadres and the masses into developing the collective economy, it will still be impossible to generate a production upsurge, and the political enthusiasm and labor enthusiasm of the masses will gradually ebb. In terms of specific methods, we have fully applied the experience from the preceding stage of the movement, likewise starting with educating cadres, proceeding from top to bottom, from inside the Party to outside the Party, conducting training, lifting the lid, and freeing minds level by level. In most areas, cadre training has been combined with carrying out pilot projects; at each level of cadre meetings, a pilot project in one production brigade was conducted, with training at every level and pilot projects at every level. Through these pilots, we have both helped resolve ideological issues and learned the methods for organizing a production upsurge. The latter report says that we recently dispatched work teams to Lingling Prefecture to conduct an investigation. (1) During the socialist education movement, they clearly put forward the slogan of relying on the poor and lower-middle peasants. On the basis of relying on the poor and lower-middle peasants, they firmly united with the other middle peasants and won a tremendous victory in combating the “black winds.” (2) The most fundamental reason for the vacillation in recent years over relying on the poor peasants is an insufficient understanding of the protracted and complex nature of class struggle, a lack of regular investigation and analysis of the rural class situation, and a lack of clarity about the thought of relying on the poor peasants to consolidate the collective economy and develop agricultural production. (3) In its work of establishing the advantage of the poor peasants, the Lingling area has gained four main items of experience: First, educate cadres to re-understand the poor peasants. Second, give full play to the master spirit of the poor peasants politically. Third, establish the advantage of the poor peasants organizationally. Fourth, help the poor peasants stand on their own feet economically. (4) Representative groups of poor and lower-middle peasants have been universally established in the Lingling area. These emerged as the times required during the socialist education movement and are a demand of the broad mass of poor and lower-middle peasants. Representative groups of poor and lower-middle peasants are core organizations of poor and lower-middle peasants under the leadership of the Party branch; they are the force relied upon and the assistants of the Party in the countryside, and bridges linking the Party with the poor and lower-middle peasants as well as the broad commune members. Their main tasks are: first, to take the lead in implementing the Party’s policies, offer ideas in work, and support and supervise cadres; second, to link up and mobilize poor and lower-middle peasants, represent their interests, and reflect their opinions and demands; third, to frequently conduct class education among poor and lower-middle peasant commune members, especially the younger generation; fourth, to realize unity between poor peasants and middle peasants according to Party policy; fifth, to supervise and reform the four categories of elements, and wage struggles against all evildoers and evil deeds. (5) This spring, the provincial committee introduced the experience of the Lingling Prefecture to all areas of the province, requesting each county to do a good job in piloting the establishment of representative groups of poor and lower-middle peasants, gradually expanding them from points to the whole area. Over the past few months, more than half of the production teams in the province have established representative groups of poor and lower-middle peasants. According to surveys at key points, 60 to 70 percent of the representative groups are able to play their role.
[2]
Mao Zedong’s comment on May 8, 1963 on the two reports from the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, together with the two reports, was issued as Annex 3 of Central Committee Document No. Zhongfa [63] 347 (i.e., the “First Ten Articles”).
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Complete Works of Mao Zedong, Volume 45
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Reference Photographs
1963, Mao Zedong and Tao Zhu in Hangzhou.
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Complete Works of Mao Zedong, Volume 45
May 1963, Mao Zedong at Dingjiashan, Liuzhuang, Hangzhou.
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