(Mao Zedong first asked Li Desheng about his visit to Albania and Romania. Li talked about
the Albanian Party’s attitude and opinions on inviting Nixon to visit China)
Mao Zedong (hereinafter referred to as Mao): They are leftists, and we are rightists. They are
afraid that the withdrawal of the US imperialists from Asia will increase pressure on them, so
they want us to hold the US imperialists back. They [1] have only 200 million people and
cannot afford casualties, so they want to withdraw their troops. Withdrawal of troops will
not necessarily increase pressure on them.
(Then Mao talked about the party’s previous struggles on the line)
Mao: Our principle is that the line determines everything. Having more people and more
guns cannot replace the correct line. If the party's line is correct, everything will be there. If
the line is not correct, even if you have people and guns, you may lose them. The line is a
guideline, and the guideline is clear and detailed. What is the guideline? Do you know how
to fish? The guideline is the rope that goes through the fishing net, and the mesh is the
mesh on the fishing net. You can't finish talking about the mesh in three days. Today I am
talking about the guideline. Our party has a history of 50 years, and there have been 10
major line struggles. The first one was Chen Duxiu. After the "August 7" meeting, he and Liu
Renjing, Peng Shuzhi and other people signed a "Leninist Left Opposition" with 81 people.
They said we were bad people and the Red Army was saboteurs, and then they turned to
Trotsky's faction. Later, it was Qu Qiubai, Li Lisan, Luo Zhanglong, Wang Ming, and Zhang
Guozhu. The Sixth Party Congress was held in Moscow in 1928. Li Lisan was arrogant and did
it for three months. At that time, the Premier had not returned. Li Lisan advocated attacking
big cities and winning one or several provinces first.
I did not agree with what Li Lisan did. Li fell at the Third Plenary Session of the Central
Committee. Wang Ming fell at the Zunyi Conference. Wang Ming's line had the longest
lifespan. They used the power of the Third International to label the Premier a conciliator
and published a pamphlet "Struggle for the Further Bolshevikization of the Communist Party
of China", criticizing Li Lisan for not being "left" enough and not being satisfied until all the
bases were destroyed. In the end, they basically destroyed them all.
From 1931 to 1934, I had no say in the Central Committee. Our party has had fifty years of
experience. Chinese people do not like divisions. In the ten struggles over different lines in
our party, none of them split the party.
(Mao talked about the many times in history when people tried to split the party, but all
failed.)



Mao: Then there was the surprise attack at the Lushan Conference last year, which was as if
it would blow up Lushan and stop the rotation of the earth. They concealed things first, then
launched a surprise attack. The five Standing Committee members concealed three of them.
There was no communication at all. They launched a surprise attack and issued briefings to
fan the flames. There must be a purpose for doing this! This shows how low these people's
style is. I talked to some people about my article and did some investigation and research. I
wrote it on the fifth day. The issue of genius is a theoretical issue. They engage in idealism. I
am not saying that genius is not good. Genius is just a little smarter. Genius does not rely on
one person or a few people. Genius relies on a party. The party is the vanguard of the
proletariat. Genius relies on the mass line and collective wisdom.
I have had a disagreement with Lin Biao. You said that it takes hundreds of years in Europe
and thousands of years in China for a genius to appear. This is not true! Marx and Engels
were contemporaries, and it was less than a hundred years before Lenin and Stalin. How can
you say that it takes hundreds of years for a genius to appear? China had Chen Sheng, Wu
Guang, Hong Xiuquan, and Sun Yat-sen. How can you say that it takes thousands of years for
a genius to appear? What is the "peak"? One sentence is worth ten thousand sentences. You
are exaggerating! One sentence is one sentence. How can it be worth ten thousand
sentences? If there is no president, I will not be the president. I have spoken six times. Even
if I speak one sentence each time, that is 60,000 sentences. They did not listen. Not even a
single sentence counts. It is equal to zero.
Most of our cadres are good. If they make mistakes, they should be criticized. If they do a
good job, they should be praised, but they should not be praised. It is no good to praise
people in their twenties as "super geniuses". People who make mistakes are allowed to
correct their mistakes. But it is easy to issue a statement. It is nothing more than speaking or
writing it on paper. The problem is whether they practice their statement and correct their
mistakes. These people are the most courageous and ended so quickly. Comrade Liu Jianxun
said that it took a day and a half, I said it was three days. Why did the evil wind only blow for
three days and then stop? Why did you withdraw your reason? It shows that they are empty.
I hit stones wherever I can. The material that Chen Boda made in Lushan that deceived many
people was a stone, the report of the Jinan Military Region on the three destructions and
three establishments was also a stone, and the report of the 38th Army was a big stone.
Later, there was Liu Zihou's self-criticism, and the Military Commission held such a long
meeting but did not criticize Chen at all. I added comments, which was also throwing stones.
Mao: (To Li Desheng) If you ask them for the materials they collected in Lushan, they will say
three times in a row: "Why don't you give me your treasure?" See what they say. After
entering the city, I rarely took charge of military work. The people in charge of military work
were Nie Rongzhen at first, then Peng Dehuai, and then Lin Biao. In fact, He Long and Luo
Ruiqing were in charge of it more. Luo Ruiqing, the three chiefs of the general staff, didn't
listen to him much. Later, it was Yang Chengwu and Huang Yongsheng. I think Huang



Yongsheng is not very politically strong. He has a head but no brain. He has the least courage
to self-criticise. He is scared to death. He has to tell others what is in his mind. He feels
comfortable when he tells others what is right and wrong.
Mao: (To Wang Dongxing) He was a little involved and made several self-criticisms at
meetings of more than a thousand people.
Wang Dongxing: I made formal self-criticisms three times.
(Mao was talking about Wang Dongxing's self-criticisms in the General Office of the Central
Committee and the Central Guard Corps)
Mao: There were only 7,000 soldiers, including wives and children, and he did not fall. Speak
your mind, he will not fall. Of course, there are a few people who gloat over the misfortune
and say that Wang Dongxing will not be able to step down this time, but most people still
say that he made a good self-criticism. The five people's self-criticisms at the report meeting
on criticizing Chen and rectifying the style of work admitted that they were wrong in
direction and line in politics and sectarian in organization. But they were hesitant in their
self-criticisms, which made people doubt whether they could change for the better.
The soil is too hard and it is not breathable. Sand must be mixed in. Comrade Li Xiannian
used to be involved in the army's wars. He can join the Military Commission's working group.
In the future, some people will be selected from major military regions to join the work of
the Military Commission's working group. The Beijing Military Region will also transfer some
people from the Fu Army to smash the nest of factionalism. The North China Conference
sent Comrades Li Desheng and Ji Dengkui to the Beijing Military Region, which is called
poaching. My method is to throw stones, mix sand, and poach.
Mao: Does Chen Boda count as a line?
Ji Dengkui: Yes!
Mao: We have to wait and see. Chen Boda is not the only black hand. There are other black
hands. I have never approved of my wife being my secretary or office director. Are you a wife
dictatorship? Lin Biao wanted to call me and write to me, saying that he was stopped by
people around him. If they had reported it, they would not have succeeded! We should
practice Marxism-Leninism, not revisionism; we should unite, not split, not sectarianism or
mountain-topism; we should be open and aboveboard, and don’t intrigue and conspire.
Mao: We should focus on line education, and the policy is still "learning from past mistakes
to avoid future mistakes, and curing the disease to save the patient". Unite and strive for
greater victory.

[1] Referring to the United States.