Comments and Revisions on the Draft Editorial of "Hongqi" Magazine "On the Struggle of Proletarian Revolutionaries to Seize Power"”
(January 30, 1967)

Comrade Lin Biao[2]:
I have read this document, I think it is very good, and have made some revisions. Please take a look and return it to Comrade Chen Boda.
Mao Zedong
January 30
If there are any revisions, please tell Boda. P.S.

Published based on the handwritten manuscript.

One must use Mao Zedong Thought as a weapon to overcome erroneous tendencies in one's own mind and in one's own organizations, such as departmentalism, small-group mentality, decentralism, non-organizational viewpoint, ultra-democratization, liberalism, subjectivism, individualism, and so on. All these ideas and actions that violate Chairman Mao's teachings and hinder the great alliance of proletarian revolutionaries are manifestations of the bourgeois world outlook and are reflections of the sharp class struggle of the present time within the revolutionary ranks. These problems are contradictions among the people and should be resolved according to the policy of "learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the sickness to save the patient" and the formula of "unity—criticism—unity," which Chairman Mao has consistently advocated, by conducting more self-criticism and not attacking each other.

Three
It is wrong to think that all those in power are not to be trusted. To oppose everything, exclude everything, and overthrow everything, without distinguishing between black and white, is contrary to the class viewpoint of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought.

Four
Cadres who have made mistakes should be treated correctly; they cannot all be overthrown. As long as they are not anti-Party and anti-socialist elements who persist in their errors and refuse to correct them after repeated education, they must be allowed to correct their mistakes and be encouraged to atone for their crimes by meritorious service.[3] "Learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the sickness to save the patient" is a traditional policy of the Party. Only in this way can those who have made mistakes be sincerely convinced, and can the proletarian revolutionaries win the wholehearted support of the majority, thus placing themselves in an invincible position; otherwise, it is very dangerous.

Five
Cadres at all levels must undergo the test of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and should make new contributions to the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. They cannot rest on their past achievements and think they are terrific, looking down on the newly emerged revolutionary young fighters. They see only their own past merits but not the great revolutionary orientation of today. As for the new revolutionary young fighters, they see only some of their shortcomings and mistakes but not that their revolutionary great orientation is correct. Such a view is completely wrong and must be corrected.

Six
In the current stage of the decisive battle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie and its handful of agents within the Party, landlords, rich peasants, and bourgeois rightists, bad elements, counter-revolutionary revisionists, and U.S.-Chiang special agents who cling to their reactionary stand have all come out into the open. This bunch of monsters and demons spreads rumors to mislead the masses, deceives and ropes in some people who do not know the truth, forms counter-revolutionary organizations, and frantically carries out counter-revolutionary activities. For example, the so-called "Chinese Worker-Peasant Red Flag Army," the so-called "Rehabilitated and Demobilized Soldiers' Army," the "United Action Committee," and some other organizations organized by revisionists, which are called "revolutionary factions" in name but are in fact conservative factions, are such reactionary organizations. The majority of the masses in these organizations are deceived and should be won over and educated. However, the handful of ringleaders of these reactionary organizations have painstakingly bombarded the proletarian revolutionary headquarters, seized power from the proletarian revolutionaries, attacked revolutionary mass organizations, secretly harmed revolutionary masses, bribed workers and staff, stopped production, interrupted transportation, and sabotaged and looted state property. They are fishing in troubled waters, vainly attempting to change the political climate. Some of these reactionary organizations carry out counter-revolutionary activities under the command of stubborn capitalist-roaders in power. Such reactionary organizations are built on sand; once they are seen through by the masses, they will immediately collapse and fall apart, and the handful of ringleaders will be dragged out by the masses.

Seven

Chairman Mao calls on the People's Liberation Army to actively support and assist the genuine proletarian revolutionaries and resolutely oppose the rightists.[4] The great People's Liberation Army, created by Chairman Mao himself, is enthusiastically responding to Chairman Mao's call. The People's Liberation Army is making new and great contributions to the cause of socialism in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. This is the glorious task of the People's Liberation Army.

Published based on the third issue of "Hongqi" magazine, 1967. (With revisions by Mao Zedong)

Notes

[1] Part one of this piece is a comment on the draft editorial sent for review on January 29, 1967, by Chen Boda, who was a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, head of the Central Cultural Revolution Group, and editor-in-chief of "Hongqi" magazine. On the draft submitted for review, Chen Boda wrote: "Comrades Wang Li and Guan Feng have prepared an editorial for Hongqi magazine: 'On the Struggle of Proletarian Revolutionaries to Seize Power.' Please review!" Wang Li and Guan Feng were both members of the CPC Central Cultural Revolution Group and deputy editors-in-chief of "Hongqi" magazine at the time. Parts two to seven of this piece are Mao Zedong's revisions to the draft editorial, in which the text printed in Song typeface are his additions and rewritings. This editorial was published in the third issue of "Hongqi" magazine on February 3, 1967, and was reprinted in advance by "People's Daily" on January 31, 1967.

[2] Lin Biao was re-elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee at the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee and was soon after referred to as Vice Chairman of the Central Committee.
[3] The sentence "As long as they are not anti-Party and anti-socialist elements who persist in their errors and refuse to correct them after repeated education, they must be allowed to correct their mistakes and be encouraged to atone for their crimes by meritorious service" was printed in bold as a quote from Mao Zedong in the editorial "Cadres Must Be Treated Correctly" in the fourth issue of "Hongqi" magazine, published on March 1, 1967.
[4] This sentence was printed in bold when it was published in the "Hongqi" magazine editorial.