Comrade Ren Zhong [1]: I have read this document and find it very good. Please send it to
Comrade Shaoqi, and ask him to decide whether it can be distributed to the provincial,
municipal, and district party committees for consideration [2]. Regarding agricultural
mechanization, each province, municipality, and district should formulate a five-, seven-, or
ten-year plan based on self-reliance, starting with a small number of pilot projects and
gradually expanding them. Within twenty-five years, agricultural mechanization should be
essentially achieved. As for the period beyond twenty-five years, there's no end in sight, and
the formulation will be different. It will probably be something like: "Build on the foundation
of the past twenty-five years and make another twenty-five-year plan." For now, we should
focus on the fifteen years starting this year. Ten years have already passed, and we haven't
done a very good job in those ten years.

[1] Renzhong, also known as Wang Renzhong, was the First Secretary of the Hubei Provincial
Committee of the Communist Party of China at the time.
[2] This refers to the proposal issued by the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Communist
Party of China on February 5, 1966, regarding the gradual realization of agricultural
mechanization. It stated that the realization of agricultural mechanization would lead to a
revolutionary leap in agricultural production, resolving the contradiction of agriculture
lagging behind industry. The rapid development of agriculture, in turn, would lay a solid
foundation for socialist industrialization. It was crucial for consolidating the worker-peasant
alliance, strengthening and developing the socialist front, and preparing for war, building,
and maintaining defense. Therefore, it was not only an economic issue but also a political
one. In our province, achieving agricultural mechanization must follow the path of the
Jinxing Brigade in Xiaogan County, also known as the Dazhai path. This meant carrying out
the "Four Cleanups" campaign while simultaneously pursuing self-reliance, diligence, thrift,
and entrepreneurship, using locally produced agricultural machinery to achieve agricultural
mechanization. We must carry forward the Dazhai spirit and correctly balance the
relationship between accumulation and consumption. Under the principle of ensuring
increased production and member incomes, we will gradually achieve mechanization
through collective mechanization, supplemented by state assistance, using methods such as
"using machinery to support machinery," installment purchases, and state assistance and
interest-free loans. The key to success lies in comprehensive planning and strengthened



leadership. This year, we must successfully conduct pilot projects in seventeen communes
and formulate a comprehensive plan. This plan is not merely a set of targets; it is an action
program for organizing a revolutionary leap forward. Starting this year, we will strive to
achieve agricultural mechanization throughout the province within five, seven, or ten years
(approximately twenty years from the first Five-Year Plan).
[3] On February 23, 1966, Liu Shaoqi wrote to Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, General
Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, saying, "I agree that this document from the Hubei
Provincial Committee be sent to the provincial, municipal, and district Party committees for
study, along with the Chairman's comments. Furthermore, the Central Committee may add a
comment." On April 10, 1966, the Central Committee forwarded the Hubei Provincial
Committee's document, Mao Zedong's comments, and Liu Shaoqi's letter, adding a comment
approved by Mao Zedong. The Central Committee's commentary noted: "Comrade Mao
Zedong long ago pointed out the path for the development of my country's agriculture: to
gradually achieve mechanization and electrification on the basis of collectivization. He
recently proposed that each province, municipality, and autonomous region formulate a
five-, seven-, or ten-year agricultural mechanization plan based on self-reliance, striving to
achieve basic agricultural mechanization within fifteen years, starting this year. This is a
crucial strategic task. This task is closely linked to his strategic thinking of preparing for war,
preparing for famine, and serving the people. The first is preparing for war. The people and
the army must first have food and clothing before they can fight. Otherwise, even guns and
artillery are useless. The second is preparing for famine. In years of famine, localities lack
reserves of grain, cotton, and oil, and relying on aid from other provinces is not a long-term
solution. The difficulties are even greater in the event of war. Localized famines are often
unavoidable in any province, and they are even more inevitable when several provinces are
combined." Third, national accumulation should not be excessive. Consider the fact that
some people still lack food and clothing; secondly, dispersed reserves should be provided for
all people to prepare for war and famine; and thirdly, local funds should be accumulated for
expanded reproduction. Therefore, agricultural mechanization must be closely linked to
Comrade Mao Zedong's strategic thinking of preparing for war and famine for the benefit of
the people. Only in this way can we mobilize the masses to strive for the relatively rapid yet
steady implementation of agricultural mechanization. The Central Committee believes that
Comrade Mao Zedong's directive is extremely timely and important. We must seize this work
without delay. The Central Committee believes that the specific steps for implementing
agricultural mechanization should be the direct responsibility of the Central Bureaus and the
provincial, municipal, and autonomous regional Party committees, with the necessary
initiative at the provincial level being particularly important. Following the Hubei on-site
meeting, local Party committees should, based on their specific circumstances, draft
preliminary five-, seven-, and ten-year agricultural mechanization plans. These plans should
include measures such as phased implementation, prioritizing priorities, moving from
specific areas to specific areas, from low-level initiatives to high-level initiatives, and



implementing both domestic and foreign approaches. These plans should also be integrated
with the unified national plan. These draft plans will be deliberated upon and then
submitted to the Central Working Conference to be held in August or September of this year
for discussion.