Annotations and Revisions to the Transcript of Lin Biao’s Remarks During His Meeting with Zeng Siyu and Liu Feng [I]
(September 13, 1967; October 11, 1967)

[I]
In his remarks on August 9, 1967, during a meeting with Zeng Siyu, Commander of the Wuhan Military Region of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, and Liu Feng, its Political Commissar, Lin Biao, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, stated that the situation in the “Great Cultural Revolution” was excellent and that magnificent and brilliant victories had already been achieved. He noted that the launching of the “Great Cultural Revolution” relied on two conditions: first, Mao Zedong Thought and Chairman Mao’s lofty prestige; second, the strength of the People’s Liberation Army. With these two conditions, bad things could potentially be turned into good things. Among comrades in various regions, some have made mistakes, and those who can be saved should still be saved. For those who have not yet collapsed, no one wishes for their downfall. To avoid collapse, there are three methods: first, closely follow Chairman Mao and the Party Central Committee; second, firmly grasp the situation at the grassroots level—conduct investigations and studies on the leftists, rightists, and various mass organizations, and listen to opinions from both sides; third, now that the battle lines between the leftists and rightists are clearly drawn, you must never use whether or not they stormed the military region as the criterion for distinguishing leftists from rightists, but rather base the distinction on whether they support the “Great Cultural Revolution” and whether they support Chairman Mao. To carry out the “Great Cultural Revolution” well, we must rely on the People’s Liberation Army, which was founded by Chairman Mao. To avoid making mistakes, it is necessary to frequently seek instructions from the Chairman and the Central Committee. On the other hand, it is essential to strengthen ideological and political work within the troops, uphold politics in command, study Chairman Mao’s works, use Mao Zedong Thought to guide everything, and advance and progress in the socialist direction charted by Chairman Mao, rather than developing and retreating in the capitalist direction. Mao Zedong made two sets of annotations (namely, Parts I and II of this document) and revisions to the transcript of Lin Biao’s remarks. The text he added is printed in Song typeface in Part III of this document; the text he deleted includes, in addition to several names criticized by name, the sentence “This is a great development of Marxism,” which originally followed Lin Biao’s statement that “Chairman Mao said at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee that the principal contradiction within the country is the contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, which is of extremely great significance to the socialist revolution.” Additionally, there were some other textual revisions.

I have reviewed it and made several revisions. Whether they are appropriate, please consider and decide. This speech is well delivered and should be distributed.
Mao Zedong
September 13

Comrade Lin Biao:
This document has been held up for a long time. Today, upon reading it a second time, I have made a few more minor revisions. Please consider and decide. Please pass it on to Comrades Enlai, Boda, and Kang Sheng [1] for their review. Draft a header in the name of the Central Committee, and it can then be distributed.
Mao Zedong
October 11

[1] Enlai, i.e., Zhou Enlai. Boda, i.e., Chen Boda, who was then a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Central Cultural Revolution Group. Kang Sheng, who was then a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and an advisor to the Central Cultural Revolution Group.
[2] On October 19, 1967, the CPC Central Committee forwarded Lin Biao’s remarks, stating: “Comrade Lin Biao’s remarks of August 9, 1967, are very important. These remarks, wielding the weapon of great Mao Zedong Thought, provide an extremely incisive analysis of the current Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution movement and offer important directives on the leadership of the Great Cultural Revolution in the future.”

Annotations and Revisions to the Transcript of Lin Biao’s Remarks During His Meeting with Zeng Siyu and Liu Feng
Past revolutions were also launched in haste.
The Northern Expedition, the Nanchang Uprising, the Autumn Harvest Uprising, the establishment of various base areas, the agrarian revolution, the attacks on local tyrants, the attacks on Chiang Kai-shek, and the attacks on Japan—all were launched in haste.