Issued
[Comments on the Circular Issuing
“Provisions of the CPC Central Committee on Certain Specific Policies in the Rural Socialist Education Campaign (Revised Draft)”
[1]]
(August 27, 1964)


Comrade Xiaoping:
Please circulate this document to the secretaries of the major administrative regions and to a few comrades who attended the meeting, together with those from the Central Committee who were present; the sooner, the better. Ask them to study it carefully and submit their views for further revision.
Mao Zedong
August 27
[1]
After the CPC Central Committee formulated the “Provisions on Certain Specific Policies in the Rural Socialist Education Campaign (Draft)” in September 1963, in accordance with the instructions of Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi to fully mobilize the masses and carry the socialist education campaign through to completion, and drawing on new experiences gained over the preceding year, the Central Committee made numerous important revisions and additions to the original draft, thereby producing the “Provisions on Certain Specific Policies in the Rural Socialist Education Campaign (Revised Draft).” Following consultation and subsequent amendments, the CPC Central Committee issued this revised draft to the entire Party on September 18, 1964, under Document No. Zhongfa [64] 600. In the notice accompanying the circulation of the revised draft, the Central Committee highlighted several key lessons learned from the past year’s rural socialist education campaign:


(1) It is imperative, as Comrade Mao Zedong has instructed, to carry the socialist education campaign through to its conclusion.
The six criteria proposed by Comrade Mao Zedong shall serve as the primary standard for judging whether the socialist education campaign is being conducted effectively or not. (2) Leading cadres must personally station themselves in a single production brigade, seeing through all phases of the campaign from beginning to end, and such on-the-ground work should be undertaken twice. (3) Mobilizing the masses must be given top priority. Whether or not the masses—especially the poor and lower-middle peasants—are fully mobilized constitutes the fundamental dividing line between a thorough and an incomplete implementation of the socialist education campaign. (4) To resolve the problems confronting the masses, it is essential first to address the issues within the ranks of the cadres.
Uniting more than 95 percent of the masses is the foundation for uniting more than 95 percent of the cadres. (5) The entire campaign is to be led by work teams. With respect to primary-level organizations and grassroots cadres, after establishing deep roots among the people and conducting thorough investigations and studies, a realistic and pragmatic approach should be adopted: depending on individual circumstances, those who can be relied upon should be supported, while those who cannot should not be. (6) In areas where the democratic revolution remains incomplete, supplementary measures must be earnestly implemented. Landlords and rich peasants who were overlooked during the land reform should be identified; any excess housing and furniture they possess should be confiscated and distributed to impoverished and lower-middle peasants in need, or alternatively placed under collective ownership for communal use. (7) The overall socialist education campaign generally comprises two stages. The first stage focuses primarily on resolving the “Four Cleansings” and engaging in struggle against hostile elements, while the second stage centers on organizational development. Preparations for the second stage should begin during the first, with emphasis on uniting active party members, cadres, and leading figures among the masses to work together and cultivating a new contingent of core personnel throughout the course of the campaign. The notice urged the entire Party to study the revised draft thoroughly and implement it conscientiously. In localities where the socialist education campaign is scheduled to take place this autumn, the revised draft, together with the Central Committee’s draft decision (namely, the First Ten Points), is to be extensively read out and explained to rural cadres and peasant masses. All work teams are required to conduct their operations in strict accordance with the provisions set forth in these documents.
[2]
This comment was written on the August 17 revision of the “Provisions of the CPC Central Committee on Certain Specific Policies in the Rural Socialist Education Campaign (Revised Draft),” which Liu Shaoqi submitted for review on August 19, 1964. In his report to Mao Zedong and the Central Committee accompanying the submission, Liu Shaoqi stated: “The Second Ten Points have undergone several important revisions by Comrade Tian Jiaying and comrades from the Central-South Bureau and the Guangdong Provincial Committee, and I have reviewed them. I believe they may now be circulated to the various central bureaus, provincial, prefectural, and county committees for their comments, with finalization planned for the October plenary session. I am having Comrade Tian Jiaying bring them along; please have the Chairman and the Central Committee examine them. I will also take copies to several other provinces and central bureaus to solicit their opinions.”
[3]
Xiaoping refers to Deng Xiaoping, who at that time served as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee.
[4]
Refers to the conference of secretaries of the major administrative regions then being held in Beijing.