Annotations, notices, and
amendments to the two documents on the movement concerning
the “Later Ten Articles”
(October–November 1963)
Comrades Liu, Zhou, Zhu, Deng, Peng, Ruiqing, Boda, Fuzhi, Shangkun, and Jia’an[3]
[1]
Refers to the “Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Questions in Current Rural Work (Draft)” (commonly known as the “First Ten Articles”) and the “Provisions of the CPC Central Committee on Certain Specific Policies in the Rural Socialist Education Movement (Draft)” (commonly known as the “Later Ten Articles”).
[2]
Sections I, II, and IV of this text are three annotations written by Mao Zedong for a notice drafted by the CPC Central Committee regarding the issuance and dissemination of the two documents on the rural socialist education movement. Section III is the notice itself, also drafted by Mao Zedong. Sections V through IX contain Mao’s revisions to the draft of the “Provisions of the CPC Central Committee on Certain Specific Policies in the Rural Socialist Education Movement (Draft)” (commonly known as the “Later Ten Articles”), with the added or revised text printed in Song typeface.
[3]
Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi. Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai. Zhu refers to Zhu De. Deng refers to Deng Xiaoping. Peng refers to Peng Zhen. Ruiqing is Luo Ruiqing, who at that time served as Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, Secretary-General of the Central Military Commission, and Vice Premier of the State Council. Boda is Chen Boda, then an alternate member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Director of the Central Political Research Office, and Mao Zedong’s secretary. Fuzhi is Xie Fuzhi, then Minister of Public Security. Shangkun is Yang Shangkun, then an alternate secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee. Jia Ying is home Ying, then deputy director of the Central Political Research Office of the CPC Central Committee and Mao Zedong’s secretary.
Read it and hold a meeting to discuss it once; if you think it acceptable, implement it as is; if not, deliberate further.
Mao Zedong
October 26
Print thirty copies and distribute them to all comrades for study, so they can prepare their comments for revision.
Mao Zedong
November 2

To all Central Bureaus, and to the Party committees of provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions:
Following the formulation at the Central Work Conference in September of this year of the “Provisions on Certain Specific Policies in the Rural Socialist Education Movement (Draft),” this important document was further discussed in October with leading comrades from the provincial committees of Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, and Guangdong, as well as several prefectural committees and the leadership of the Central-South Bureau. Subsequently, we again consulted with leaders of the East China Bureau and the various provincial committees under its jurisdiction. It was generally agreed that the most effective approach to the rural socialist education movement would be to combine point-specific initiatives with broader, area-wide efforts. Accordingly, we made amendments to the September document, adding a section on this combined strategy (2()), along with several minor revisions[1].
Due to these changes, the notice issued by the Central Committee on May 20, 1963, to all Central Bureaus and provincial, municipal, and regional Party committees, also needs to be adjusted in certain respects. The May 20th notice stipulated that, according to the “draft decision”[2], counties, communes, and production teams that were not yet prepared to launch the socialist education movement should refrain from doing so for the time being. This has now been revised as follows: (1) Both the “draft decision” of May 20th and the “draft provisions” of September are to be distributed to every village-level Party branch nationwide, with county, district, and commune-level Party leaders responsible for reading them aloud clearly and comprehensively to all Party members and farmers. The relevant provincial, municipal, and regional Party committees will oversee their printing and distribution. (2) The original seven attachments[3] will not be reprinted this time; local authorities may choose to publish selected exemplary materials related to successful socialist education campaigns within their own regions. When the “draft decision” and “draft provisions” are read publicly inside and outside the Party, only one or two examples concerning cadres’ participation in collective labor and the “Four Cleansings” need be cited from these exemplary materials. (3) All Party branches in urban factories, government organs, schools, and neighborhoods are to receive two copies each, to be read aloud by designated officials appointed by the municipal or district committees, ensuring that everyone understands Party policy. (4) The People’s Liberation Army, the People’s Armed Police, and the People’s Police are to follow the same procedure. (5) Members of democratic parties are to be convened by the United Front Work Department for meetings where the documents will be read and distributed for their review. (6) The documents are also to be read and explained to landlords, rich peasants, counter-revolutionaries, bad elements, and rightists in both rural and urban areas, in order to facilitate their education and transformation. (7) The results should be regularly summarized, shortcomings corrected, and improvements made.
These seven attachments consist of: One, two reports from the Hunan and Hebei provincial committees: (1) A report dated February 8, 1963, from the Hunan Provincial Committee of the CPC on the progress of the socialist education movement; (2) A report dated February 17, 1963, from the Hebei Provincial Committee of the CPC on implementing the resolutions of the Eighth Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee in the countryside and carrying out the rectification campaign in communes and production teams. Two, two reports from Northeast China and Henan: (1) A report dated April 10, 1963, by Song Renqiong on two issues related to socialist education in the countryside; (2) A report dated April 15, 1963, from the Henan Provincial Committee of the CPC on the current state of the socialist education movement in the province. Three, two additional reports from the Hunan Provincial Committee: (1) A second report dated April 16, 1963, from the Hunan Provincial Committee on the progress of the socialist education movement in the countryside; (2) A report dated April 22, 1963, from the same committee on establishing the superiority of poor peasants and forming representative groups of poor and lower-middle peasants. Four, four exemplary cases: (1) The practice of holding tri-level cadre meetings in Qishi County, Henan; (2) The method and effects of a four-level cadre meeting in Wulijie District, Wuchang County, Hubei; (3) A tri-level cadre meeting in Juling Store Area, Linying County, Henan; (4) The socialist education movement at the Huaminglou Commune in Ningxiang County, Hunan. Five, two materials from Hebei Province: (1) A report dated April 4, 1963, from the Baoding Prefectural Committee of the CPC to the provincial committee regarding the launch of socialist education and the implementation of the “Four Cleansings”; (2) A report dated March 31, 1963, forwarded by the Hebei Provincial Committee from the Xingtai Prefectural Committee, detailing the establishment of a sound committee of poor and lower-middle peasants and future recommendations, together with typical examples of activities conducted by such committees in three production teams under Baoding’s jurisdiction. Six, a remarkable example from Xiyang County, Shanxi Province, where cadres at all levels—county, commune, production team, and work team—participated collectively in labor. Seven, seven pieces of material from Zhejiang Province highlighting cadres’ participation in labor.
Build upon our achievements. (7) In short, we must ensure that these measures become widely known throughout the country, launching a grand publicity campaign. Only then will all Party and non-Party cadres, all soldiers, and all the people make significant progress; and the majority of landlords, rich peasants, counter-revolutionaries, bad elements, and rightists will also receive education and undergo transformation. (8) This notice is to be read aloud within the Party at all levels, down to the primary-level branches. (9) It is not to be disseminated outside the Party.
The Central Committee
November 14, 1963
Four
Already reviewed. Return to Shangkun for action.
Mao Zedong
Early morning of November 16
Five
Leaders must take the lead and set a good example. Cadres at the provincial, prefectural, and county levels—especially senior leaders—must first “wash their hands and bathe,” correcting their class stance and improving their ideological style, before they can effectively guide the socialist education movement. Otherwise, success is impossible. If leading cadres themselves are tainted, the masses will lose respect for them, making it extremely difficult to carry out the “Four Cleansings” below. Therefore, cadres at all three levels—provincial, prefectural, and county—should first participate in the “Five-Anti” Campaign.
/\
The task of the working teams is primarily to serve as “advisors” to grassroots cadres, providing guidance and assistance to help them skillfully analyze problems, formulate policies and methods, rather than taking over and doing the work for them.
Seven
It is essential to combine point-specific efforts with area-wide initiatives. We should actively promote socialist education across the board. Point-specific work requires meticulous attention and a longer duration—about three months—while area-wide efforts, aimed at curbing unhealthy trends, mobilizing the masses, initially improving relations between cadres and the people, and briefly countering class enemies, can be completed in roughly twenty days. The reason for this combination lies in the fact that this socialist education movement is being rolled out gradually, phase by phase, from specific points to wider areas. For the foreseeable future, most communes and production teams will not be systematically involved in the campaign. Moreover, the very act of initiating point-specific activities will inevitably cause significant upheaval across the broader landscape. If we slacken our efforts on the larger scale, serious losses could result.
Eight
The central department responsible for rural affairs should, based on experiences gathered from various localities, draft regulations governing organizations of poor and lower-middle peasants during the first half of 1964.
Nine
In this campaign, apart from those currently committing violent acts—such as assault, murder, robbery, arson, or poisoning—who have already aroused intense public outrage and must therefore be immediately arrested and prosecuted, we will generally adopt a policy of “not executing anyone, and not arresting the vast majority (more than ninety-five percent).” Even among the small number of destructive elements who do require arrest, they should first be subjected to struggle within the masses, allowing the people to expose the enemy and educate themselves. Only after thorough examination and approval will they be legally apprehended later in the campaign. Arrests must strictly adhere to two criteria: first, the crime must be grave, with solid evidence and no sign of repentance; second, the majority of the populace must demand their arrest. By following these guidelines, we can avoid making mistakes in matters of arrest. The rationale behind our general policy of “not executing anyone, and not arresting the vast majority (over ninety-five percent)” is that, based on our experience, exercising dictatorship, oversight, struggle, and education over these individuals through the broad masses is more in line with the interests of the people and socialism than simply capturing and executing them. First, the vast majority of them can indeed be transformed into good citizens through proper methods employed by enlightened masses. Second, they are part of society’s productive forces. Third, it is beneficial to win over their children. As for individual provinces or prefectures, there will always be a small number of particularly heinous and incorrigible elements whom the majority of the population demands be arrested, and some may even warrant capital punishment—this is entirely necessary. Executions, however, must strictly follow past regulations and be approved by the central authorities.