All agreed. Your learning progress is better and faster. If you persist for several years, it will
be beneficial. My opinion is that the 274 members of the Central Committee and more than
1,000 senior and middle-level cadres should study books seriously to varying degrees and
understand Marxism thoroughly, so as to resist liars like Wang Ming, Liu Shaoqi, and Chen
Boda. Please find me a copy of "The Place of Man in Nature". The first half of "Evolution and
Ethics" is materialistic, and the second half is idealistic.
December 29, 1970


[1] Yao Wenyuan, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and
member of the Central Organization and Propaganda Group, wrote a report to Mao Zedong
on December 29, 1970, saying: "In addition to studying the classics designated by the
Central Committee, I have also read a little history and natural science in a superficial way. I
want to gradually improve my lack of knowledge." "Huxley's "The Place of Man in Nature",
which fought for Darwinism, is a very interesting book, much better than Yan's translation of
"Evolution and Ethics". Because he devoted all his efforts to prove that the ancestors of
humans were apes, he caused theologians to scream and curse. The method he used was
the comparative method of anatomy. Once he entered the field of human history, his
arguments were insufficient. He could not achieve historical materialism and did not
understand the conscious initiative of humans that distinguished them from other animals
and the historical process of the generation and development of this initiative. He only
answered half of the question of "The Place of Man in Nature". This book has a special
contribution to popularizing Darwinism. If a new progressive theory is to be popularized, it
must be popularized. It is probably impossible to pass such a fierce criticism. On January 6,
1971, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a notice, requiring all
members and alternate members of the Central Committee, and senior and middle-level
cadres in office across the country to "study carefully according to the Chairman's
instructions." Before the draft of this notice was issued, it was sent to Mao Zedong for
review, and Mao Zedong instructed: "Issue it as is."