Greet the New High Tide of the Chinese Revolution

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of Greet the New High Tide of the Chinese Revolution has been prepared and revised for digital publication by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism under the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Switzerland on the basis of the following editions:

• Greet the New High Tide of the Chinese Revolution, in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, First English Edition, Vol. 4, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1965.
• Directive of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Current Situation and Tasks, in Mao's Road to Power, First English Edition, Vol. 9, Routledge, New York and London, 2023.

#INTRODUCTION NOTE

This is an inner-Party directive drafted by Comrade Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Yan'an, Shaanxi, China on the 1st of February, 1947. It was first published in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 4, in 1960.

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#GREET THE NEW HIGH TIDE OF THE CHINESE REVOLUTION

#DIRECTIVE OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA

#Mao Zedong

#1st of February, 1947

#★

#1

All circumstances now show that the situation in China is about to enter a new stage of development. This new stage is one in which the countrywide struggle against imperialism and feudalism will develop into a great new people's revolution. We are now on the eve of this revolution. The task of our Party is to struggle for the advent of this high tide and its triumph.

#2

The military situation has now developed in a direction favourable to the people. In seven months of fighting, from last July to this January, we wiped out 56 brigades of Jiang Jieshi's regular forces which invaded the Liberated Areas, a monthly average of eight brigades, not counting the numerous puppet troops and the peace-preservation corps which were wiped out and those of Jiang's regular forces which were routed. Although Jiang Jieshi's offensive continues in southern and western Shandong, in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, along the northern section of the Beijing-Hankou Railway, and in southern Manchuria, it has become much feebler than it was last autumn. The munitions Jiang Jieshi took over from the Japanese invaders and those he got from the United States are nearly exhausted. Jiang Jieshi's army does not have enough troops to dispose and cannot fulfil its conscription quotas; this fact is in serious contradiction with its extended battle lines and the enormous drain on its troop supply. In particular, the morale of Jiang's army is sinking lower every day. During the recent fighting in northern Jiangsu, southern and western Shandong, and western Shanxi, the morale of many of Jiang's forces sank to a very low level. On several fronts, our armies are beginning to seize the initiative, while Jiang Jieshi's armies are beginning to lose it. We can predict that, in the next few months, we may achieve the objective of wiping out a grand total of 100 of Jiang's brigades, including those previously destroyed. Jiang Jieshi has altogether 93 regular infantry and cavalry divisions (corps), composed of 248 brigades (divisions), totaling 1'916'000 troops, not counting the puppet troops, police, local peace-preservation corps, communications police corps, rear services, and technical arms. The forces attacking the Liberated Areas number 78 divisions (corps), composed of 218 brigades (divisions), totaling 1'713'000 troops, or about 90% of Jiang Jieshi's regular troops. Only 15 divisions, with 30 brigades, totaling 203'000 troops, or about 10% of the total, remain in the Nationalist rear areas. Therefore, Jiang Jieshi can no longer send large combat-worthy reinforcements from his rear areas to attack the Liberated Areas. We have already wiped out more than 1/4 of the 218 brigades attacking the Liberated Areas. Although some have been replenished and restored under their original designations after having been wiped out, their combat effectiveness is very low. Some have been wiped out a second time. Some have not been replenished at all. If our armies can wipe out another 40 to 50 brigades in the next few months and bring the grand total up to about 100, there will be an important change in the military situation.

#3

Meanwhile, a great people's movement is unfolding in the Nationalist areas. The riots of the people in Shanghai,¹ which began on the 30th of November of last year as a result of the Nationalist Party's persecution of the street vendors, and the student movement in Beijing, which began last 30th of December as a result of the rape of a Chinese student by US soldiers,² both mark a new upsurge in the struggle of the people in the Jiang Jieshi areas. The student movement which began in Beijing has spread to other big cities all over the country, with hundreds of thousands taking part and on a larger scale than the 9th of December Student Movement against Japanese imperialism.³

#4

The victories of the People's Liberation Army in the Liberated Areas and the development of the people's movement in the Nationalist areas foreshadow that a great new people's revolution against imperialism and feudalism is surely approaching and can be victorious.

#5

The circumstances in which this situation has arisen are that US imperialism and its lackey Jiang Jieshi have replaced Japanese imperialism and its lackey Wang Jingwei and adopted the policies of turning China into a US colony, launching a civil war, and strengthening the fascist dictatorship. Confronted by these reactionary policies of US imperialism and Jiang Jieshi, the Chinese people have no way out except through struggle. The struggle for independence, peace, and democracy still constitutes the fundamental demand of the Chinese people in the present period. As far back as April 1945, our Party's Seventh National Congress foresaw the possibility that US imperialism and Jiang Jieshi would carry out these reactionary policies and formulated a complete and fully correct political line to defeat them.

#6

These reactionary policies of US imperialism and Jiang Jieshi have forced all strata of the Chinese people to unite for their own salvation. These strata include the workers, peasants, urban small bourgeoisie, national bourgeoisie, enlightened gentry, other patriotic elements, the minority nationalities, and the overseas Chinese. This is a very broad united front of the whole nation. In comparison with the united front in the period of the War of Resistance Against Japan, it is not only as broad in scope, but has even deeper foundations. All Party comrades must strive to consolidate and develop this united front. In the Liberated Areas, the policy of the «three-in-one» combination⁴ is to remain unchanged, on the condition that the policy of land to the tillers is carried out resolutely and unhesitatingly. In addition to Communists, we should continue to draw the broad ranks of progressives outside the Party and the Centrist elements (such as the enlightened gentry) into the bodies of political power and into social undertakings. In the Liberated Areas, all citizens, irrespective of class, gender, or belief, have the right to elect and stand for election, except traitors and those reactionaries who have opposed the interests of the people and incurred their bitter hatred. After the system of land to the tillers has been thoroughly carried out, the right to private property of the people in the Liberated Areas will continue to be guaranteed.

#7

Because the Jiang Jieshi government has pursued reactionary financial and economic policies for a long time and because Jiang Jieshi's bureaucrat-comprador capital⁵ has become linked with US imperialist capital through the notorious and treasonable Sino-US Treaty of Commerce,⁶ malignant inflation has swiftly developed; the industry and commerce of China's national bourgeoisie are daily going bankrupt; the livelihood of the working masses, government employees, and teachers is deteriorating every day; large numbers of middle-class elements are losing their savings and becoming penniless; and therefore, strikes of workers and students and other struggles are constantly occurring. An economic crisis more serious than China has ever faced before is threatening all strata of the people. In order to carry on the civil war, Jiang Jieshi has restored the extremely vicious system of conscription and grain levies of the period of the War of Resistance; this makes life impossible for the vast rural population, particularly the poverty-stricken peasants; as a result, peasant revolts have already started and will continue to spread. Hence, the reactionary Jiang Jieshi ruling clique will become more and more discredited in the eyes of the broad masses of the people and be confronted with serious political and military crises. On the one hand, this situation is daily pushing forward the people's anti-imperialist, anti-feudal movement in the areas under Jiang Jieshi's control; on the other hand, it is further demoralizing Jiang's troops and increasing the possibility of victory by the People's Liberation Army.

#8

The illegal and divisive «National Assembly», which was convened by Jiang Jieshi in order to isolate our Party and other democratic forces, and the bogus «Constitution» fabricated by that body, enjoy no prestige at all among the people. Instead of isolating our Party and other democratic forces, they have isolated the reactionary Jiang Jieshi ruling clique itself. Our Party and other democratic forces adopted the policy of refusing to participate in the bogus National Assembly; this was perfectly correct. The reactionary Jiang Jieshi ruling clique has brought over to its side the Youth Party⁷ and the Democratic Socialist Party,⁸ two small political parties which never had the slightest prestige in Chinese society, as well as certain so-called «public figures»,⁹ and it can be predicted that some of the Centrists may also go over to the side of reaction. The reason is that the democratic forces in China are getting stronger and stronger while the reactionary forces are becoming more and more isolated, and therefore, the line between the enemy and ourselves has to be so sharply drawn. All elements which hide in the democratic front and deceive the people will eventually be revealed in their true colours and be cast aside by the people; and the people's anti-imperialist and anti-feudal ranks will grow even stronger, because they have drawn a clear line of demarcation between themselves and these hidden reactionaries.

#9

The development of the international situation is extremely favourable for the Chinese people's struggle. The growing might of the Council Union and the successes of its foreign policy, the growing radicalization of the peoples of the world and their ever-developing struggles against reactionary forces both at home and abroad — these two great factors have forced US imperialism and its lackeys in various countries (including Jiang Jieshi, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Yoshida Shigeru, and Manuel Roxas) into ever greater isolation and will continue to do so. If one adds the factor of an inevitable economic crisis in the United States, then US imperialism and its lackeys will be forced into an even worse predicament. The power of US imperialism and its lackey Jiang Jieshi is only temporary; their offensives can be smashed. The myth that the offensives of the reactionaries cannot be smashed should have no place in our ranks. The Central Committee has pointed this out time and again, and the development of the international and domestic situation has increasingly borne out the correctness of this judgement.

#10

In order to gain a respite in which to replenish his troops and launch a fresh offensive, to obtain new loans and munitions from the United States, and to allay the indignation of the people, Jiang Jieshi is perpetrating a new hoax by demanding the resumption of so-called peace negotiations with our Party.¹⁰ Our Party's policy is not to refuse negotiations and in this way expose his deception. However, the condition is that Jiang Jieshi must, first, abolish the bogus «Constitution» and restore the line of relying on the Political Consultative Conference, and, second, withdraw his troops from the Liberated Areas to their positions of the 13th of January of last year. We must not refrain from our insistence on these two preconditions, or we shall be deceived by Jiang Jieshi and the US imperialists. This warning should not be ungrounded. The ceasefire agreement and political resolution made in January of last year should have been observed by our two political parties, and Jiang Jieshi should not be allowed to violate them. But since Jiang Jieshi has violated these agreements, provoked a civil war, and fabricated the bogus «Constitution», he must show his sincerity for the negotiations by accepting the two conditions put forward by us. Otherwise, he is being deceptive. All Party comrades must strive to expose the deception by Jiang Jieshi and US imperialism and to persuade those who fail to see through this point.

#11

In order to smash Jiang Jieshi's offensive thoroughly and recover our lost territories, we must wipe out another 40 to 50 of his brigades in the next few months; this is the key that will decide everything. To achieve this objective, we must put into full effect the Central Committee's directive of the 1st of October last year, A Three Months' Summary, and the Military Commission's directive of the 16th of September last year, Concentrate a Superior Force to Destroy the Enemy Forces One by One. Here, we are once again emphasizing a few points for the attention of the comrades in all areas:

• The Military Problem. In the past seven months of bitter fighting, our army has proved that it can certainly smash Jiang Jieshi's offensive and win final victory. Our army has improved in both equipment and tactics. From now on, the central task in building our armed forces is to make every effort to step up the building of our artillery and engineer corps. All military areas, big and small, and all field armies should solve the concrete problems involved in strengthening the artillery and engineer corps and, first of all, the two problems of training cadres and manufacturing ammunition.
• The Land Problem. In about 2/3 of the territory in each Liberated Area, the Central Committee's directive of the 4th of May, 1946, has been put into effect, the land problem has been solved, and the policy of land to the tillers has been carried out; this is a great victory. There remains around 1/3 of the territory, however, where further efforts must be made to mobilize the masses fully and put the policy of land to the tillers into effect. In places where the policy of land to the tillers has been carried out, there are still shortcomings insofar as the solution was not thorough — mainly because the masses were not fully mobilized, so that the confiscation and the distribution of land were not thorough and the masses became dissatisfied. In such places, we must check carefully and must «even up»¹¹ to ensure that the peasants with little or no land obtain some and the evil gentry and local tyrants are punished. In the entire process of carrying out the policy of land to the tillers, we must unite firmly with the middle peasants, and it is absolutely impermissible to encroach on the interests of the middle peasants (including the well-to-do middle peasants); if cases occur where the interests of the middle peasants are encroached upon, there must be compensation and apology. Moreover, during and after the land reform, appropriate consideration in accordance with the will of the masses should be given to ordinary rich peasants and middle and small landlords, and it should be given in accordance with the «4th of May Directive». To sum up, in the land reform movement in the rural areas, we must unite with the more than 90% of the masses who support the reform and isolate the small number of feudal reactionaries who oppose it, so that we can speedily realize the policy of land to the tillers.
• The Production Problem. All places must plan on a long-term basis, work hard at production, practise economy, and correctly solve the financial problem on the basis of production and economy. The first principle here is to develop production and ensure supply. For this reason, we must oppose the wrong view which lays one-sided emphasis on finance and commerce and neglects agricultural and industrial production. The second principle is to give consideration to both the army and the people, to both public and private interests. Therefore, we must oppose the wrong view which takes only one side into account and neglects the other. The third principle is unified leadership and decentralized management. Therefore, except where conditions call for centralized management, we must oppose the wrong view which favours centralizing everything, regardless of circumstances, and which dares not give full rein to decentralized management.

The above three problems of the military, the land, and production are at the core for us in the war of self-defence in the Liberated Areas. The Central Committee hopes that comrades everywhere, under the slogan of «everything for the war of self-defence», will effectively solve these problems and strive for a great victory this year. Victory in the Liberated Areas is the prerequisite for the advent of a great new high tide against feudalism and imperialism and the victory over them.

#12

Our Party and the Chinese people have every assurance of final victory; there is not the slightest doubt about it. But that does not mean there are no difficulties before us. China's anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle is protracted in nature; Chinese and foreign reactionaries will continue to oppose the Chinese people with all their strength; fascist rule in the areas under Jiang Jieshi's control will be intensified; certain parts of the Liberated Areas will temporarily become enemy-occupied areas or guerrilla zones; some of the revolutionary forces may suffer temporary losses; and there will be losses of human and material resources in a protracted war. The comrades throughout the Party must take all this fully into account and be prepared to overcome all difficulties with an indomitable will and in a planned way. The reactionary forces and we both have difficulties. But the difficulties of the reactionary forces are insurmountable, because they are forces on the verge of death and have no future. Our difficulties can be overcome, because we are new and rising forces and have a bright future.