Comrade Wenyuan: I read it once, it is very good. The title may be changed to "Comment on
Two Books by Tao Zhu", and the subtitle is not needed. In addition, some parts seem too
brief and should be expanded. But the article is not short, and it may seem too long if it is
expanded. You can discuss with your writing team comrades about what to do, and they may
give some good suggestions.
Mao Zedong
August 20
Comrade Yao Wenyuan:
I have read it, it is very good. I only changed a few words and added a paragraph. Please
decide whether it is appropriate. It is recommended to publish it in Beijing and broadcast it
the day before, so that it can be published in newspapers across the country on the same
day as Beijing. It should also be sent to Beijing for dissection and discussed at the Central
Cultural Revolution and Central Meeting for three or four days. If there are good opinions,
they will be absorbed.
Mao Zedong
August 28th at 8:00 a.m.
It is also advisable to write a few articles criticizing Liu [3] in the next two or three months.
Do you have time to take on this task? I will discuss this with you tomorrow or the day after
tomorrow.
Comrade Wenyuan: I have read it and have followed it except for some minor revisions.
Mao Zedong
September 5
According to Comrade Chunqiao’s opinion, it is better to delete this paragraph. [4]



Do not use boldface words; use words consistent with the context. [5]
This reactionary organization [6] dares not to appear in public and has been hiding
underground in Beijing for several months. Most of their members and leaders are still
unclear. They only send people out to post leaflets and write slogans in the dead of night.
The masses are investigating and studying these people, and they will soon be able to figure
them out.

[1] Tao Zhu, formerly a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the
CPC Central Committee, Executive Secretary of the Central Secretariat and Minister of the
Central Propaganda Department, and Vice Premier of the State Council. In early 1967, he
was overthrown due to vicious attacks and slanders by the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counterrevolutionary groups. His two collections of works, "Ideals, Sentiments, and Spiritual Life"
(published by China Youth Publishing House in 1962) and "Thoughts, Feelings, and Literary
Talent" (published by Guangdong People's Publishing House in 1964), were also wrongly
criticized for this. At the end of 1969, Tao Zhu was persecuted to death. The Third Plenary
Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee held in December 1978 "reviewed and corrected
the wrong conclusions made in the past about Comrades Peng Dehuai, Tao Zhu, Bo Yibo, and
Yang Shangkun, and affirmed their contributions to the Party and the people."
[2] The original title of "Comment on Tao Zhu's Two Books" was "The Ugly Soul of
Revisionists: Commenting on the Reactionary Nature of "Ideals, Sentiments, and Spiritual
Life" and "Thoughts, Feelings, and Literary Talent". It was written by Yao Wenyuan, a
member of the Cultural Revolution Group of the CPC Central Committee, and his writing
team in Shanghai. The first part of this article was written on Yao Wenyuan's draft submitted
for review on August 17, 1967; the second part was written on Yao Wenyuan's draft
submitted for review on August 26; the third part was written on Yao Wenyuan's draft
submitted for review on September 3; the fourth and fifth parts of this article are two
comments written in Yao Wenyuan's draft submitted for review on September 3; the sixth
part of this article is a paragraph added to Yao Wenyuan's draft submitted for review on
August 26. This article was published in the People's Daily and other newspapers on
September 8, 1967.
[3] That is the sixth chapter of this article.
[4] Mao Zedong was in Shanghai at the time.
[5] Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi.
[6] The following paragraph was originally included in the draft submitted by Yao Wenyuan
on September 3, 1967: "'Working people's intellectuals' is not valid. Intellectuals all belong
to a certain class. According to Chairman Mao's analysis in "Speech at the National



Propaganda Work Conference of the Communist Party of China", we can only judge whether
intellectuals belong to the proletariat or the bourgeoisie, the left, the middle or the right
based on their class standpoint and world outlook. You can curse this scientific analysis as an
'oppressive spirit' or a 'deadly atmosphere', but the objective existence of the opposing
classes cannot be obliterated by your counter-revolutionary jargon." On September 3, Zhang
Chunqiao, deputy head of the Cultural Revolution Group of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China, asked Yang Chengwu, acting chief of the general staff of the
Chinese People's Liberation Army and deputy head of the Cultural Revolution Group of the
whole army (who accompanied Mao Zedong on an inspection in Shanghai at the time) to
report to Mao Zedong: "In Yao Wenyuan's article criticizing Tao, there is a paragraph
criticizing the term 'working people's intellectuals' (page 8), This question involves the
debate between the Premier and Lu Dingyi. Please consider whether to not mention this
question in this article. Mao Zedong deleted this paragraph from Yao Wenyuan's draft for
review and wrote this comment.
[1]" [2]
(August and September 1967)

Comrade Wenyuan: I read it once, it is very good. The title may be changed to "Comment on
Two Books by Tao Zhu", and the subtitle is not needed. In addition, some parts seem too
brief and should be expanded. But the article is not short, and it may seem too long if it is
expanded. You can discuss with your writing team comrades about what to do, and they may
give some good suggestions.
Mao Zedong
August 20
Comrade Yao Wenyuan:
I have read it, it is very good. I only changed a few words and added a paragraph. Please
decide whether it is appropriate. It is recommended to publish it in Beijing and broadcast it
the day before, so that it can be published in newspapers across the country on the same
day as Beijing. It should also be sent to Beijing for dissection and discussed at the Central
Cultural Revolution and Central Meeting for three or four days. If there are good opinions,
they will be absorbed.
Mao Zedong
August 28th at 8:00 a.m.



It is also advisable to write a few articles criticizing Liu [3] in the next two or three months.
Do you have time to take on this task? I will discuss this with you tomorrow or the day after
tomorrow.
Comrade Wenyuan: I have read it and have followed it except for some minor revisions.
Mao Zedong
September 5
According to Comrade Chunqiao’s opinion, it is better to delete this paragraph. [4]
Do not use boldface words; use words consistent with the context. [5]
This reactionary organization [6] dares not to appear in public and has been hiding
underground in Beijing for several months. Most of their members and leaders are still
unclear. They only send people out to post leaflets and write slogans in the dead of night.
The masses are investigating and studying these people, and they will soon be able to figure
them out.

[1] Tao Zhu, formerly a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the
CPC Central Committee, Executive Secretary of the Central Secretariat and Minister of the
Central Propaganda Department, and Vice Premier of the State Council. In early 1967, he
was overthrown due to vicious attacks and slanders by the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counterrevolutionary groups. His two collections of works, "Ideals, Sentiments, and Spiritual Life"
(published by China Youth Publishing House in 1962) and "Thoughts, Feelings, and Literary
Talent" (published by Guangdong People's Publishing House in 1964), were also wrongly
criticized for this. At the end of 1969, Tao Zhu was persecuted to death. The Third Plenary
Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee held in December 1978 "reviewed and corrected
the wrong conclusions made in the past about Comrades Peng Dehuai, Tao Zhu, Bo Yibo, and
Yang Shangkun, and affirmed their contributions to the Party and the people."
[2] The original title of "Comment on Tao Zhu's Two Books" was "The Ugly Soul of
Revisionists: Commenting on the Reactionary Nature of "Ideals, Sentiments, and Spiritual
Life" and "Thoughts, Feelings, and Literary Talent". It was written by Yao Wenyuan, a
member of the Cultural Revolution Group of the CPC Central Committee, and his writing
team in Shanghai. The first part of this article was written on Yao Wenyuan's draft submitted
for review on August 17, 1967; the second part was written on Yao Wenyuan's draft



submitted for review on August 26; the third part was written on Yao Wenyuan's draft
submitted for review on September 3; the fourth and fifth parts of this article are two
comments written in Yao Wenyuan's draft submitted for review on September 3; the sixth
part of this article is a paragraph added to Yao Wenyuan's draft submitted for review on
August 26. This article was published in the People's Daily and other newspapers on
September 8, 1967.
[3] That is the sixth chapter of this article.
[4] Mao Zedong was in Shanghai at the time.
[5] Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi.
[6] The following paragraph was originally included in the draft submitted by Yao Wenyuan
on September 3, 1967: "'Working people's intellectuals' is not valid. Intellectuals all belong
to a certain class. According to Chairman Mao's analysis in "Speech at the National
Propaganda Work Conference of the Communist Party of China", we can only judge whether
intellectuals belong to the proletariat or the bourgeoisie, the left, the middle or the right
based on their class standpoint and world outlook. You can curse this scientific analysis as an
'oppressive spirit' or a 'deadly atmosphere', but the objective existence of the opposing
classes cannot be obliterated by your counter-revolutionary jargon." On September 3, Zhang
Chunqiao, deputy head of the Cultural Revolution Group of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China, asked Yang Chengwu, acting chief of the general staff of the
Chinese People's Liberation Army and deputy head of the Cultural Revolution Group of the
whole army (who accompanied Mao Zedong on an inspection in Shanghai at the time) to
report to Mao Zedong: "In Yao Wenyuan's article criticizing Tao, there is a paragraph
criticizing the term 'working people's intellectuals' (page 8), This question involves the
debate between the Premier and Lu Dingyi. Please consider whether to not mention this
question in this article. Mao Zedong deleted this paragraph from Yao Wenyuan's draft for
review and wrote this comment.