We have never practiced socialism before—none of us has. I haven’t, and do you? Over more than a decade, we’ve accumulated both successful and unsuccessful experiences. Only now are we beginning to gain some real insight. Following the Beidaihe Conference and the Tenth Plenary Session of the Central Committee, we made slight adjustments. Then, at the May 1963 Hangzhou Conference, we formulated the First Ten-Point Program. I wrote its preamble, which explains that it is not easy for people to understand things: Where do correct ideas come from? It is no simple matter for objective realities to be reflected in our minds. Matter can be transformed into spirit, and spirit into matter. A young scientist in Nanchang once remarked that while the transformation of matter into spirit is understandable, and most cases of spirit transforming into matter can also be grasped, turning spirit into stone is impossible. For example, there are many types of marble—natural marble and artificial marble. Isn’t artificial marble a kind of stone? Much of the marble used in the Great Hall of the People does not come from the mountains; it is man-made. Why can humans produce marble? Because we have understood its chemical composition. What exactly is marble? It is limestone—calcium carbonate. For thousands of years, ordinary people have known that when limestone is burned, carbon dioxide evaporates, leaving quicklime. When quicklime is mixed with water, it generates heat and turns into slaked lime, or calcium hydroxide. Once this chemical process is comprehended, humans can manufacture lime; thus, spirit can indeed be transformed into stone. Therefore, chemistry is, in essence, a spiritual discipline. Once these principles are written down as ideas, they can then be materialized—for instance, into various fertilizers. Calcium carbide is another form of “stone,” composed of calcium and carbon. By generating high temperatures through electricity to combine carbon and calcium, we obtain calcium carbide.

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Humans gradually evolve from ignorance to wisdom. No matter who we are, our knowledge always progresses from not knowing to knowing, and from limited understanding to greater comprehension. As for someone who possesses complete knowledge, such a person simply does not exist. Marx knew quite a lot, but he was by no means omniscient; as for the rest of us, there is no need even to mention it. Social sciences alone comprise hundreds of disciplines. How could anyone possibly master them all? There are hundreds of different theatrical forms. Can you truly understand every single one? Hebei Province alone boasts seventy distinct opera styles. Are you familiar with all of them? Many of you have probably never even seen some of them. For instance, in Pingju Opera, Bangzi Opera, and Lao Diao Opera, the male lead in “The Chasing of the Fish” is played by a female performer. I have never watched any operas from Inner Mongolia, though I did see “Beating the Golden Branch” in northwestern Shanxi, where a woman performed the role of an old male character.

Moreover, the notion of omniscience makes no sense. To be all-knowing is tantamount to knowing nothing at all, since one would end up being mediocre in every field. Natural sciences alone consist of hundreds of branches—how could anyone possibly master them all? After all, a human life spans only a few decades. Social sciences, too, are highly diversified: philosophy, economics, socialism. Within socialism, there are numerous subfields; political and legal affairs, in turn, encompass public security, the courts, and the procuratorate. And within public security, there are divisions for investigation, interrogation, patrol officers, and fire services. Could even a minister of public security truly master all these areas? In my view, ministers rarely have any specialized training in firefighting. Furthermore, social sciences are divided into the superstructure, the economic base, and the forces of production. The superstructure includes the Party, the military, and the government, as well as education, culture, and the press. It also comprises theater, novels, poetry, painting, sculpture, music, and film—there are countless components! Take a single opera performance: it features roles such as dan (female lead), laosheng (old male role), hualian (painted-face role), xiaosheng (young male role), and chou (clown). The chou role itself is further subdivided into male clowns, female clowns, and literary clowns, while the dan role includes older female characters. Would it be feasible to study and master all these diverse aspects?