Comments [1], Notice [2], and Revisions to the “Ten Articles” [3] on the Issuance and Propaganda of Two Documents Concerning the Socialist Education Campaign in the Countryside (October–November 1963)  I. To Comrades Liu, Zhou, Zhu, Deng, Peng, Ruiqing, Boda, Fuzhi, Shangkun, and Jia Ying: Please review these documents and hold a meeting to discuss them.
If you deem it appropriate, proceed accordingly; if not, further consultation will be necessary.
Mao Zedong October 26 II.
Print thirty copies and distribute them to all comrades for study, so that they may prepare their comments for revision.
Mao Zedong November 2 Based on the manuscript.

--- Notes

III.
To the Central Bureaus and the Party Committees of all provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions: Following the formulation at the Central Work Conference in September of this year of the “Provisional Regulations on Certain Specific Policies in the Socialist Education Campaign in the Countryside” [4], we held separate meetings during October with leading comrades from the provincial committees of Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, and Guangdong, as well as with several prefectural committees and the leadership of the Central-South Bureau.
Subsequently, we again conferred with the leaders of the East China Bureau and the various provincial committees in that region.
It was generally agreed that the most effective approach to the socialist education campaign in the countryside would be to combine point-specific efforts with broader, area-wide initiatives.
Accordingly, we amended the September document to include a section emphasizing this combined strategy [5], along with several other minor revisions [6]. In light of these changes, the notice issued by the Central Committee on May 20, 1963, to the Central Bureaus and the Party Committees of all provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, likewise requires modification in certain respects.
The May 20 notice stipulated that the Central Committee’s “Draft Decision” [7], concerning counties, communes, and production brigades not yet prepared to launch the socialist education campaign, should remain temporarily unimplemented.
This is now revised as follows: (1) Both the “Draft Decision” of May 20 and the “Draft Regulations” of September are to be distributed, two copies each, to every rural party branch nationwide.
Leading cadres of the county, district, and commune party committees shall be responsible for reading these documents aloud to all party members and all peasants, explaining them clearly and comprehensively.
The printing and distribution of these documents shall be undertaken by the provincial, municipal, and regional party committees.
The original seven appendices to the “Draft Decision” [8] will not be reprinted; instead, local authorities may select and publish exemplary materials from within their own regions that illustrate successful practices in carrying out the socialist education campaign.
When reading the “Draft Decision” and the “Draft Regulations” publicly, inside and outside the Party, only one or two such exemplary cases—those involving cadres participating in collective production labor and implementing the “Four Cleansings”—need be cited. (2) All party branches in urban factories, government organs, schools, and neighborhoods are to receive two copies, which designated officials from the municipal and district committees shall read aloud to everyone, ensuring that they fully understand the Party’s policies. (3) The People’s Liberation Army, the People’s Armed Police Force, and the People’s Police are to follow the same procedure. (4) Members of the democratic parties are to be convened by the United Front Work Department for briefings and discussions, and copies of the documents will be provided for their review. (5) The landlords, rich peasants, counter-revolutionaries, bad elements, and rightists in both rural and urban areas are also to be informed of and have explained to them these two documents, so as to facilitate their education and transformation. (6) The results achieved should be regularly summarized, shortcomings corrected, and successes reinforced. (7) In short, the aim is to make these matters widely known throughout the country, thereby launching a great propaganda campaign.
In this way, all Party and non-Party cadres, all soldiers, and all the people will advance significantly; moreover, the majority of landlords, rich peasants, counter-revolutionaries, bad elements, and rightists will be educated and transformed. (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.
Issued by the Central Committee on November 14, 1963, based on a document of the CPC Central Committee. (Includes Mao Zedong’s handwritten draft.)
IV.
Reviewed.
Returned to Shangkun for immediate action.
Mao Zedong Early morning of November 16 Based on the manuscript.
V. Leaders Must Set an Example: Wash Their Hands and Take a Bath.
Cadres at the provincial, prefectural, and county levels—especially the principal leaders—must first “wash their hands and take a bath,” that is, rectify their class stance and improve their ideological style, before they can effectively lead the socialist education campaign.
Otherwise, success will be impossible.
If some leading cadres themselves are tainted, the masses will lack respect for them, and attempting to impose the “Four Cleansings” from above will inevitably fail.
Therefore, cadres at all three levels—provincial, prefectural, and county—should first participate in the “Five-Anti” Campaign.
VI.
The task of the work teams is primarily to serve as “advisers” to the grassroots cadres, offering suggestions, guidance, and assistance, and to help them develop the ability to analyze problems and determine appropriate policies and methods.
They must not, however, assume responsibility in place of the grassroots.
VII.
It is essential to combine point-specific and area-wide approaches, vigorously advancing the socialist education work across the board.
Point-specific efforts should be carried out meticulously over a longer period, roughly three months.
By contrast, the initial phase of area-wide work—aimed at curbing unhealthy tendencies, mobilizing the masses, establishing preliminary good relations between cadres and the people, and delivering a preliminary blow to class enemies—can be accomplished in about twenty days.
The rationale for this combination lies in the fact that this socialist education campaign is being rolled out step by step, first at specific points and then gradually expanded to cover wider areas.
For the foreseeable future, the vast majority of communes and production brigades will not be included in the campaign simultaneously.
Moreover, as the point-specific activities gain momentum, they will inevitably create significant ripples throughout the broader countryside.
Should we slacken our efforts on the larger scale, serious losses could result.
VIII.
The central departments responsible for rural work should, drawing on experience from various localities, draft a charter for organizations of poor and lower-middle peasants in the first half of 1964.
IX.
In this campaign, apart from those notorious criminals—such as perpetrators of violent reprisals, murder, robbery, arson, and poisoning—who arouse intense public outrage and must be arrested and prosecuted immediately, the standard policy toward the four types of disruptive elements will be “not to execute anyone, and not to arrest the vast majority (over 95 percent).” Even among the small number of such elements whose destructive activities warrant arrest, priority should be given to subjecting them to struggle sessions within the mass ranks, so as to expose the enemy and educate the masses.
Formal arrest should occur only in the later stages of the campaign, after careful review and approval, in accordance with the law.
Arrests must strictly adhere to two criteria: first, the offense must be grave, the evidence conclusive, and the individual show no remorse; second, a clear majority of the masses must demand the arrest.
By following these guidelines, we can avoid making mistakes in the matter of arrests.
The reason we adopt the general policy of “not executing anyone, and not arresting the vast majority” regarding the four types of disruptive elements is that, based on our experience, relying on the broad masses to exercise dictatorship over them—to supervise, struggle against, and educate them—is far more consistent with the interests of the people and with socialism than simply arresting and executing them.
First, the vast majority of these individuals can, through proper methods employed by an enlightened populace, be transformed into good citizens.
Second, they constitute a part of society’s productive forces.
Third, it is beneficial to win over their children.
Of course, within the scope of a single province or administrative region, there will always be a small number of particularly heinous and incorrigible elements whom the majority of the masses demand be arrested, and perhaps even a few who should be sentenced to death—such measures are entirely justified.
Executions, however, must be carried out strictly in accordance with past regulations and with the prior approval of the Central Committee.
Published according to a document of the CPC Central Committee. (Includes Mao Zedong’s revisions.)
Notes [1] Refers to the “Draft Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Current Issues in Rural Work” (commonly known as the “First Ten Articles”) and the “Draft Regulations of the CPC Central Committee on Certain Specific Policies in the Socialist Education Campaign in the Countryside” (commonly known as the “Last Ten Articles”). [2] Sections (1), (2), and (4) of this text consist of three sets of comments written by Mao Zedong for a notice drafted by the CPC Central Committee regarding the issuance and publicity of the two aforementioned documents. [3] Section (3) is the notice itself, drafted by Mao Zedong for the CPC Central Committee on the issuance and publicity of the two documents.
The notice was initially drafted on October 25, 1963, subsequently revised by Mao Zedong and other relevant comrades, and finalized on November 16.
The date recorded on the notice is November 14, 1963, reflecting its issuance under Document No. 7 of the Central Committee to the entire Party, down to the primary-level branches. [4] Sections (5) through (9) represent Mao Zedong’s revisions to the draft of the “Regulations on Certain Specific Policies in the Socialist Education Campaign in the Countryside” (the “Last Ten Articles”), with the added and modified text printed in Song typeface.
In addition, he made several other textual amendments.
[5] Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi.
Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai.
Zhu refers to Zhu De.
Deng refers to Deng Xiaoping, who at the time served as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council.
Peng refers to Peng Zhen, then a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Secretariat.
Ruiqing denotes Luo Ruiqing, who held the posts of Secretary of the Secretariat, Secretary-General of the Central Military Commission, and Vice Premier of the State Council.
Boda stands for Chen Boda, a candidate member of the Political Bureau, Director of the Central Research Office, and personal secretary to Mao Zedong.
Fuzhi represents Xie Fuzhi, Minister of Public Security.
Shangkun is Yang Shangkun, a candidate member of the Secretariat and Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.
Jia Ying denotes Tian JiaYing, Deputy Director of the Central Research Office and personal secretary to Mao Zedong. [6] The original title of this document was “On Certain Specific Policy Issues in the Socialist Education Campaign in the Countryside (Draft).” On November 14, 1963, it was renamed to its current title. [7] Namely, section (7) of this text. [8] Primarily referring to sections (5), (6), (8), and (9) of this text. [9] Refers to the “Draft Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Current Issues in Rural Work” (commonly known as the “First Ten Articles”). [10] These seven appendices comprise: 1. Two reports from the Hunan and Hebei provincial committees: (1) A February 8, 1963 report by the Hunan Provincial Committee on the status of the socialist education campaign; (2) A February 17, 1963 report by the Hebei Provincial Committee on implementing the resolutions of the Eighth Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee and conducting the rectification and reorganization campaign in the countryside. 2. Two reports from Northeast China and Henan: (1) A April 10, 1963 report by Song Renqiong on two issues concerning socialist education in the countryside; (2) A April 15, 1963 report by the Henan Provincial Committee on the current state of the socialist education campaign in the countryside. 3. Two additional reports from the Hunan Provincial Committee: (1) A April 16, 1963 report detailing the progress of the socialist education campaign in the countryside; (2) A April 22, 1963 report addressing the establishment of a representative group for poor and lower-middle peasants and highlighting the advantages of the poor peasant class. 4. Four exemplary documents: (a) The practice of holding tri-level cadre meetings in Yanshi County, Henan; (b) The format and effects of a four-level cadre meeting in Wulijie District, Wuchang County, Hubei; (c) A tri-level cadre meeting in Julingdian District, Linying County, Henan; (d) The socialist education campaign underway at Huaminglou Commune, Ningxiang County, Hunan. 5. Two materials from Hebei Province: (1) A April 4, 1963 report by the Baoding Prefectural Committee to the provincial committee regarding the implementation of socialist education and the “Four Cleansings”; (2) A March 31, 1963 report forwarded by the Hebei Provincial Committee, transmitting the Baoding Prefectural Committee’s report on establishing a sound committee of poor and lower-middle peasants and outlining future plans, together with typical case studies of the activities of three such committees in Baoding. 6. An outstanding example of all cadres at the county, commune, brigade, and production team levels in Xiyang County, Shanxi Province, participating in collective labor. 7. Seven favorable accounts from Zhejiang Province concerning cadres’ participation in labor.