Today, let's discuss the Ninth National Congress and the Party rectification.
The first batch of feedback on the Ninth National Congress has arrived. Could you please
summarize it and share it with all localities so that we can continue to solicit their opinions?
We should also continue to collect opinions from all localities on the Party rectification issue.
Opinions from many localities have not yet been reflected because they are still in chaos.
After more than a year of fighting, many bad elements have emerged. Now we need to
create a new Party. Of course, the bad elements cannot be completely eradicated; it is
impossible to do so all at once.
The Party rectification cannot be completed completely before the Ninth National Congress.
After the Ninth National Congress, we will continue to rectify and build the Party based on
the new Party Program and Constitution.
In the past, membership in the Party required either obedience (being a tamed tool) or good
production. Obedience depended on the specifics; being a tamed tool wasn't enough. A
branch secretary's words were final, and nothing was discussed or consulted. No opinions
were sought. When a branch made a decision, it was necessary to consult with party
members. If one review wasn't enough, it would be repeated. Party members were
encouraged to express their opinions, and if one review wasn't enough, it would be
repeated. But in many places, this wasn't the case. It was a dead, stagnant situation.
In the past, it was extremely difficult for young people to join the Communist Youth League,
even more so than joining the Party. The Party and League organizations were controlled by
certain individuals. Veteran Party members controlled the Party branch, and veteran League
members controlled the League branch. The branch secretary was like an emperor. This was
the case with Shashiyu Brigade Party branch secretary [2]. He controlled all Party,
government, and financial power within the brigade, engaged in corruption, and yet both of
his children went to college. Is this only true in Shashiyu? I don't believe it.
Some Party members have become arrogant because of their power. They do not respect
democracy, do not consult with their superiors, and do not seek others' opinions before
encountering problems. They just talk all the time and like to lecture others. General Chen
[3] likes to use his many years of experience, including his experience of opposing me, to
lecture others.
Party members need to be full of vitality. Those who are lifeless and decadent should not
join this party. How can a revolutionary party be lifeless? Some people, in their twenties and



thirties—not young at all—feel very decadent, staying in rest homes everywhere, treating
minor ailments with serious treatment, even those without. During this Cultural Revolution,
the masses surged forward, and their illnesses vanished. Jet flights16 actually cured their
ailments. Hospital visits are rare now; a huge change has taken place. I don't want to listen
to doctors all the time. I haven't checked my blood pressure in years. A few days ago, I had a
fever of 38.5 degrees. The doctor wanted to take a heart scan, but I refused. I took two pills
and it was fine. Of course, some people truly have illnesses, like heart disease, and they
need treatment.
I sent Doctor Li down to work as a labourer, and it was quite interesting. They went to the
Beijing Knitting Factory. When they arrived, I gave them a few instructions: first, conduct
research and study first, and be like the masses' pupils; second, don't express your views
lightly; and third, encourage the workers to unite on the basis of revolutionary principles.
Why would they just go to a place and start talking nonsense? There were two factions in
that factory, fighting fiercely. Initially, both sides accused them of conspiracy, but they held
their ground and continued their research and study. Later, I said a few words, saying that
there was no fundamental conflict of interest within the working class, and I saved them;
otherwise, they would have kicked them out.
Now the two factions have united. One faction at that factory has over 1,200 members,
while the other has over 800. The 800-member faction complained that the 1,200-member
faction was being too defensive. The two factions were vying for position, but the larger
faction adopted a high-handed stance, which ultimately resolved the issue. Six members
from one faction, seven from the other, and two from those without affiliation, a total of 15
people formed the preparatory group for the Revolutionary Committee. Some people also
went to the chemical plant, which was a complex place with many intellectuals, and those
who went were besieged. They put up a slogan, and those we sent made irresponsible
comments and said the wrong thing, and we were arrested by the people.
The Cultural Revolution was a purge of the Party, the League, the government, and the
military—everyone, including the Party, government, military, people, and students, was
purged. Who knew Zhang Ben [4] had a problematic past? This Cultural Revolution created
many problems. Of course, it couldn't be completely eradicated in one go, but it did create
quite a few. I agree with Comrade Kang Sheng's opinion: one is a traitor and a spy, and the
other is someone who displayed very bad behavior during the Cultural Revolution and
refused to repent. They can no longer participate in Party organizational activities. That's
quite lenient.
Our Party needs to absorb new blood. Active elements among workers, poor peasants, and
Red Guards must be recruited into the Party. The old blood contains too much carbon
dioxide, which needs to be eliminated. A person has arteries and veins, circulating blood

16 Referring to the “jet plane position” some people were forced into during mass criticism sessions.



through the heart, and breathing through the lungs, exhaling carbon dioxide and inhaling
fresh oxygen. This is the process of expelling the old and inhaling the new. A Party also needs
to expel the old and inhale the new. Without eliminating waste, it will lack vitality.
Regarding how to rectify the Party, please draft a few measures. This is also for consultation
purposes. These can be distributed in November, and a directive will be issued in December.
Restore organizational life, not the old ways. Some Party members were not active in the
Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, and upon hearing about the resumption of
organizational life, they became arrogant again. I think these people need to reflect on
themselves. Why are they not active in the revolution under the dictatorship of the
proletariat, in the revolutionary movement of the broad masses of the people? What's their
reason? Simply to be docile tools.
We don't want people like this; there are too many of them. But they need to reflect on
themselves. Some people don't want to be Party members, so forget it.
The acceptance of new members must be subject to public discussion.
The Party Program needs to be revised. I'm reading the history of the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union. They founded the party several times. We shouldn't write a long program
like the Soviet Communist Party's. From political economy to the duality of commodities to
surplus value, it's incredibly long and tedious. Our Party Program shouldn't be too long. If it's
too long, few people will read it. If the Party Program is a book, what will the workers and
peasants think? It's just nonsense, and once it's dispersed, it's gone. Our Party Program is
the general program at the beginning of the Party Constitution.
Organizational discipline is still necessary, but we're talking about conscious discipline. Blind
obedience and being a docile tool won't do.
Organizational discipline requires certain conditions. First, it must be conscious. Second, it
must be connected to the masses. Third, it must be guided by a correct political line. Being a
docile tool for Chen Duxiu or Qu Qiubai is not acceptable. When we opposed Chen Duxiu at
the August 7th Conference, we didn't act as his docile tool.
Organizational discipline is conditional and relative. Unconditional discipline is unacceptable.
Lenin outlined these three prerequisites in "Left-Wing Childishness." If you are revolutionary
and your political line is correct, people will naturally obey you. After a victory, soldiers are
happy and don't gossip about their leaders. After a defeat, gossip abounds. The People's
Liberation Army has the best discipline. When they captured Jinzhou, they didn't touch any
of the apples. This discipline is built on the foundation of serving the revolution. Of course,
there are individual PLA soldiers who violate discipline; it's not an absolute rule.
The newspapers are all reporting positive things now. Reporting on internal affairs is so
difficult, I don't believe it. I just don't believe everything is black.



Liu and Deng collaborated with each other. The resolutions of the Eighth Congress were
passed without going through the presidium or asking for my opinion. As soon as they were
passed, I opposed them. In 1963, they created the Ten Points [5], and just three months
later, they held another meeting to come up with the Ten Points, [6], without asking for my
opinion, and I didn't even attend. Deng Xiaoping wants to criticize it, and he asked the
Military Commission to prepare an article. My opinion is that we should distinguish him from
Liu Shaoqi and figure out how to separate Liu and Deng.
Two things:
Regarding the Ninth National Congress, we need to consolidate the first batch of materials
and disseminate them.
Regarding Party rectification, we need to discuss what kind of Party we should rectify, how
one should divide into two with the veteran Party members, how we should recruit new
members, and how we should restore organizational life without returning to the old ways.
We need to come up with some solutions.
We also need to discuss the issue of abolishing ranks.

[1] This is a conversation between Mao Zedong and the Central Cultural Revolution Group.
[2] Zhang Guishun (1914-1999), Party Secretary of Shashiyu Brigade, was a native of Zunhua,
Hebei. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1941 and served as Party Secretary of
Shashiyu Village for nearly 20 years.
[3] General Chen refers to Chen Yi. On June 22, 1929, the Front Committee of the Red Fourth
Army convened its Seventh Party Congress, chaired by Chen Yi, then acting Secretary of the
Front Committee. The congress resolved the then-current debate over whether to abolish
the Military Commission. Mao Zedong explicitly opposed abolishing the Military
Commission. At the meeting, Chen Yi stripped Mao of his military command authority. Later,
realizing his mistake through practical experience, Chen Yi reported his work to the Party
Central Committee. In October of that year, he wrote three letters requesting Mao Zedong's
return as Secretary of the Front Committee.
[4] Zhang Ben, formerly the director of the Revolutionary Committee of the Science and
Technology Commission of the People's Republic of China. Qi Xianghong of the State Science
and Technology Commission published an article titled "A Desperate Struggle with the
Kuomintang Reactionaries: Thoroughly Settling the Heinous Crimes of the Traitor, Spy, and
Current Counter-Revolutionary Zhang Ben" in the combined fourth and fifth issues of 1968 in
the journal Scientific Research Criticism. The article enumerated Zhang Ben's counterrevolutionary crimes.



[5] The ten points refer to the first ten. On May 20, 1963, Mao Zedong presided over the
drafting of the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on
Several Issues Concerning Current Rural Work (Draft)."
[6] On September 20, 1963, Liu Shaoqi presided over the drafting of the "Regulations on
Certain Specific Policies in the Rural Socialist Education Movement (Draft)."