On Certain Problems of the Communist Party of China

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of On Certain Problems of the Communist Party of China 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:

• Methods of Work of Party Committees, in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, First English Edition, Vol. 4, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1965.
• Conclusions at the Second Plenum of the Seventh Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, in Mao's Road to Power, First English Edition, Vol. 10, Routledge, New York and London, 2023.

#INTRODUCTION NOTE

This is the concluding speech delivered by Comrade Mao Zedong at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Xibaipo, Pingshan, Hebei, China on the 13th of March, 1949. Sections 1, 7, 8, and 10 have never been published.

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#ON CERTAIN PROBLEMS OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA

#CONCLUDING SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE SECOND PLENARY SESSION OF THE SEVENTH CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA

#Mao Zedong

#13th of March, 1949

#★

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#2. METHODS OF WORK OF PARTY COMMITTEES

#2.1. THE SECRETARY OF A PARTY COMMITTEE MUST BE GOOD AT BEING A «SQUAD COMMANDER»

A Party committee has 10 to 20 members; it is like a squad in the army, and the secretary is like the «squad commander». It is indeed not easy to lead this squad well. Each bureau or sub-bureau of the Central Committee now leads a vast area and shoulders very heavy responsibilities. To lead means not only to decide general and specific policies, but also to devise correct methods of work. Even with correct general and specific policies, troubles may still arise if methods of work are neglected. To fulfil its task of exercising leadership, a Party committee must rely on its «squad members» and enable them to play their parts to the full. To be a good «squad commander», the secretary should study hard and investigate thoroughly. A secretary or deputy secretary will find it difficult to direct their «squad» well if they do not take care to do propaganda and organizational work among their own «squad members», are not good at handling their relations with committee members, or do not study how to run meetings successfully. If the «squad members» do not march in step, they can never expect to lead tens of millions of people in fighting and construction. Of course, the relation between the secretary and the committee members is one in which the minority must obey the majority, so it is different from the relation between a squad commander and their fighters. Here, we speak only by way of analogy.

#2.2. PLACE PROBLEMS ON THE TABLE

This should be done, not only by the «squad commander», but by the committee members, too. Do not talk behind people's backs. Whenever problems arise, call a meeting, place the problems on the table for discussion, take some decisions, and the problems will be solved. If problems exist and are not placed on the table, they will remain unsolved for a long time and even drag on for years. The «squad commander» and the committee members should show understanding in their relations with each other. Nothing is more important than mutual understanding, support, and friendship between the secretary and the committee members, between the Central Committee and its bureaus, and between the bureaus and the area Party committees. In the past, this point received little attention, but since the Seventh Party Congress, much progress has been made in this respect and the ties of friendship and unity have been greatly strengthened. We should continue to pay constant attention to this point in the future.

#2.3. «EXCHANGE INFORMATION»

This means that members of a Party committee should keep each other informed and exchange views on matters that have come to their attention. This is of great importance in achieving a common language. Some fail to do so and, like the people described by Laozi, «do not visit each other all their lives, though the crowing of their roosters and the barking of their dogs are within hearing of each other».¹ The result is that they lack a common language. In the past, some of our high-ranking cadres did not have a common language, even on fundamental theoretical problems of Marxism-Leninism, because they had not studied enough. There is more of a common language in the Party today, but the problem has not yet been fully solved. For instance, in the land reform there is still some difference in the understanding of what is meant by «middle peasants» and «rich peasants».

#2.4. ASK YOUR SUBORDINATES ABOUT MATTERS YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND OR DON'T KNOW, AND DO NOT LIGHTLY EXPRESS YOUR APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL

Some documents, after having been drafted, are withheld from circulation for a time, because certain questions in them need to be clarified and it is necessary to consult the lower levels first. We should never pretend to know what we don't know, we should «not feel ashamed to ask and learn from people below»,² and we should listen carefully to the views of the cadres at the lower levels. Be a pupil before you become a teacher; learn from the cadres at the lower levels before you issue orders. In handling problems, this should be the practice of all bureaus of the Central Committee and Party committees of the fronts, except in military emergencies or when the facts of the matter are already clear. To do this will not lower one's prestige, but can only raise it. Since our decisions incorporate the correct views of the cadres at the lower levels, the latter will naturally support them. What the cadres at the lower levels say may or may not be correct; we must analyse it. We must heed the correct views and act upon them. The reason why the leadership of the Central Committee is correct is chiefly that it synthesizes the material, reports, and correct views coming from different localities. It would be difficult for the Central Committee to issue correct orders if the localities did not provide material and put forward opinions. Listen also to the mistaken views from below; it is wrong not to listen to them at all. Such views, however, are not to be acted upon but to be criticized.

#2.5. LEARN TO «PLAY THE PIANO»

In playing the piano, all ten fingers are in motion; it won't do to move some fingers only and not others. But if all ten fingers press down at once, there is no melody. To produce good music, the ten fingers should move rhythmically and in coordination. A Party committee should keep a firm grasp on its central task and at the same time, around the central task, it should unfold the work in other fields. At present, we have to take care of many fields; we must look after the work in all the areas, armed units, and departments, and not give all our attention to a few problems, to the exclusion of others. Wherever there is a problem, we must put our finger on it, and this is a method we must master. Some play the piano well and some badly, and there is a great difference in the melodies they produce. Members of Party committees must learn to «play the piano» well.

#2.6. «GRASP FIRMLY»

The Party committee must not merely «grasp», but must «grasp firmly», its main tasks. One can get a grip on something only when it is grasped firmly, without the slightest slackening. Not to grasp firmly is not to grasp at all. Naturally, one cannot get a grip on something with an open hand. When the hand is clenched as if grasping something, but is not clenched tightly, there is still no grip. Some of our comrades do grasp the main tasks, but their grasp is not firm, and so they cannot make a success of their work. It will not do to have no grasp at all, nor will it do if the grasp is not firm.

#2.7. «HAVE A HEAD FOR FIGURES»

That is to say, we must attend to the quantitative aspect of a situation or problem and make a basic quantitative analysis. Every quality manifests itself in a certain quantity, and without quantity, there can be no quality. To this day, many of our comrades still do not understand that they must attend to the quantitative aspect of things — the basic statistics, the main percentages, and the quantitative limits that determine the qualities of things. They have no «figures» in their heads, and, as a result, cannot help making mistakes. For instance, in carrying out the land reform, it is essential to have such figures as the percentages of landlords, rich peasants, middle peasants, and poor peasants among the population and the amount of land owned by each group, because only on this basis can we formulate correct policies. Whom to call a rich peasant, whom an upper-middle peasant, and how much income derived from exploitation makes a person a rich peasant as distinct from an upper-middle peasant — in all these cases, too, the quantitative limits must be ascertained. In all mass movements, we must make a basic investigation and analysis of the number of active supporters, opponents, and neutrals and must not decide problems subjectively and without basis.

#2.8. «NOTICE TO REASSURE THE PUBLIC»

Notice of meetings should be given beforehand; this is like issuing a «Notice to Reassure the Public», so that everybody will know what is going to be discussed and what problems are to be solved and can make timely preparations. In some places, meetings of cadres are called without first preparing reports and draft resolutions, and only when people have arrived for the meeting are makeshifts improvised; this is just like the saying, «Troops and horses have arrived, but food and fodder are not ready», and that is no good. Don't call a meeting in a hurry if the preparations are not completed.

#2.9. «FEWER AND BETTER TROOPS AND SIMPLER ADMINISTRATION»

Talks, speeches, articles, and resolutions should all be concise and to the point. Meetings also should not go on too long.

#2.10. PAY ATTENTION TO UNITING AND WORKING WITH COMRADES WHO DIFFER WITH YOU

This should be borne in mind both in the localities and in the army. It also applies to relations with people outside the Party. We have come together from every corner of the country and should be good at uniting in our work, not only with comrades who hold the same views as we, but also with those who hold different views. There are some among us who have made very serious mistakes; we should not be prejudiced against them, but should be ready to work with them.

#2.11. GUARD AGAINST ARROGANCE

For anyone in a leading post, this is a matter of principle and an important condition for maintaining unity. Even those who have made no serious mistakes and have achieved very great success in their work should not be arrogant. Celebration of the birthdays of Party leaders is forbidden. Naming places, streets, and enterprises after Party leaders is likewise forbidden. We must keep to our style of plain living and hard work and put a stop to flattery and exaggerated praise.

#2.12. DRAW TO LINES OF DISTINCTION

Draw two lines of distinction. First, between revolution and counter-revolution, between Yan'an and Xi'an.³ Some do not understand that they must draw this line of distinction. For example, when they combat bureaucracy, they speak of Yan'an as though «nothing is right» there, and fail to make a comparison and distinguish between the bureaucracy in Yan'an and the bureaucracy in Xi'an. This is fundamentally wrong. Secondly, within the revolutionary ranks, it is necessary to make a clear distinction between right and wrong, between achievements and shortcomings, and to make clear which of the two is primary and which secondary. For instance, do the achievements amount to 30% or to 70% of the whole? It will not do either to understate or to overstate. We must have a fundamental evaluation of a person's work and establish whether their achievements amount to 30% and their mistakes to 70%, or the other way around. If their achievements amount to 70% of the whole, then their work should in the main be approved. It would be entirely wrong to describe work in which the achievements are primary as work in which the mistakes are primary. In our approach to problems, we must not forget to draw these two lines of distinction, between revolution and counter-revolution and between achievements and shortcomings. We shall be able to handle things well if we bear these two distinctions in mind; otherwise, we shall confuse the nature of the problems. To draw these distinctions well, careful study and analysis are of course necessary. Our attitude towards every person and every matter should be one of analysis and study.

#★ ★ ★

The members of the Political Bureau and I personally feel that only by using the above methods can Party committees do their work well. In addition to conducting Party congresses well, it is most important for the Party committees at all levels to perform their work of leadership well. We must make efforts to study and perfect the methods of work so as to raise further the Party committees' level of leadership.

#3. THE INTEGRATION OF THE UNIVERSAL TRUTH OF MARXISM WITH THE CONCRETE PRACTICE OF THE CHINESE REVOLUTION

The integration of the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution — this is how it should be phrased. Such a formulation is better. We should not adopt the formulation of Comrade Wang Ming, who said that Mao Zedong's Thought «is the concrete application and further development of Marxism-Leninism in the colonial and semi-colonial countries». This kind of formulation is not appropriate, because there is a touch of dividing «markets» about it. The scope of colonial and semi-colonial countries in the world is broad. As soon as we divide them, it seems to mean that Stalin is only in charge of industrially developed places, and that colonial and semi-colonial countries will be under our charge Does this not divide up the «markets» of Marxism? Moreover, if we say that the colonial and semi-colonial countries are under our charge, but there is some country that says that it will not buy our goods, but will instead go directly to Moscow to buy goods, what can be done? In addition, if it is a truth, it will have a somewhat universal character and cannot but transcend a definite scope. To take Japan as an example, according to Wang Ming's formulation, Japan should now be considered to belong to our sphere, but it should be under Stalin's charge when the US imperialists retreat in the future. Is that not a joke? Of course, we should not busy ourselves with thinking so broadly. We should first take care of things in China itself. If we have some experience that can be applied in other countries, it is natural that someone may use it. We should therefore not make such a formulation. Leninism as defined by Stalin was born during the struggle with the opportunism of the Second International and of Zinoviev. At that time, Russia was influenced by Marx and Lenin, and also by the opportunism of the Second International and of Zinoviev; this is why it had to be formulated in that way. Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin have high prestige in China, so no such problem occurred here.

Why can we not equate Chinese Communists with Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin? We should widely propagate Marxism. At the same time, we will not and should not oppose the propagation of Chinese things. But it is the theories of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin that we lack. The theoretical level of our Party is low. Although we have translated many books, we have not in fact widely disseminated the works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin. Consequently, we should now do a very good job of propagating to all in China and to the whole world the doctrines of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin on materialism, on the Party and the State, on political economy, and so on. But we should not equate Mao with Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin. We say that this set of ideas of ours is one country's experience. Such a formulation is very good, it is somewhat better. If we equate Mao with the others, it seems that we possess everything, that we are the hosts who have invited Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin to be our guests. But we invite them, not as guests, but as teachers; we are the students. We cannot misbehave over scientific matters. We cannot compare the size of our countries; we cannot say that, because Bulgaria is small and the Council Union has only 200'000'000 people, we should therefore take the lead, because our country is large and has a population of more than 400'000'000. Quantity does not equal quality here. If we insist on comparing, then what do we make of the fact that there has not yet been a revolution in Marx's home country?

People have said that it is due to Stalin's modesty that Stalin's Thought is not called an «-ism» but a thought. I do not think so. This cannot be explained away as modesty; rather, it is because the Council Union already has Leninism, and Stalin's Thought is in accord with this «-ism» and carries it out in the form of actual policies. Otherwise, there would be both Leninism and Stalinism, which would make two «-isms». In the same way, if we were to produce another «-ism» from the ideology, line, policies, and so on of the Chinese revolution, there would then be several «-isms» in the world. This would not be beneficial to the revolution. It is better for us to be a branch of Marxism-Leninism.

With regard to the 12 books that cadres must read,⁴ in the past, our reading was not limited to a particular scope, so we translated and published many books. Now we know from our more than 20 years of experience that we must read these 12 books, and we have stipulated that we should read them all once or twice every three years. In order to disseminate Marxism and to improve our level of understanding of Marxism, we need unity of understanding. But to this day, many of our high-ranking cadres do not have unity of understanding on this question. If, in the next three years, 30'000 people finish reading these 12 books, and 3'000 of them understand what they have read, that would be very good.

#4. REGARDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NOVEMBER REVOLUTION AND THE CHINESE REVOLUTION

As regards the relationship between the November Revolution and the Chinese revolution, the November Revolution was the greatest victory of humanity in the era of proletarian revolutions; the second greatest victory was the defeat of German, Italian, and Japanese imperialism during the Second World War; and the Chinese revolution is the third greatest victory. The historical chronology also follows this sequence. It is inconceivable that there could have been a victorious Chinese revolution without the previous victories of the November Revolution and the Anti-Fascist struggle during the Second World War. If there had been no November Revolution, the victory of the Chinese revolution would have been impossible. During the era of imperialism, revolution cannot be victorious in any country without international assistance. Even as the Council Union was carrying out its Third Five-Year Plan, Stalin still discussed the problem in this way, because, while the Council Union had been victorious domestically, it had not yet eradicated the problem of foreign interference. This is still the case today. Judging from the situation, we must be victorious and socialism must be victorious. Such is the overall trend and probability. But we must wait for the final victory before it can really be considered a victory, and it is the same as far as the Chinese revolution is concerned. Moreover, to achieve consolidation after the victory, the support of the international proletariat will be indispensable. To believe that victory is possible without the support of the international proletariat is incorrect and does not accord with Marxism-Leninism. We cannot imagine that our Chinese revolution can be victorious without the Council Union or without the labour movements of Europe and North America attracting the strength of the US imperialists in the West. I say that the air in the East is thin, but the atmospheric pressure in the West is high. We should smash imperialism in the East in the area where it is weak. It is the same as regards consolidation after the victory of the Chinese revolution. The imperialists want to eliminate us. Without the proletariat of every country, and especially without the aid of the Council Union, consolidation is impossible. Naturally, if others help us, we should always be prepared to help others. That is internationalism. The relationship between China and the Council Union is a close fraternal relationship. We should stand on the same line with them. We are friends, and as soon as there is an opportunity, we will publicly issue declarations clarifying this. We should now also explain this point to those who are not members of the Party and carry out propaganda on this topic.

We should propagate the great significance of the victory of the Chinese revolution; we should conduct extensive propaganda among the people of the whole country and among all those in the entire Party. But, at the same time, we should not be arrogant. The road to building a New China will be a long one, and the course of a revolutionary war is very short. It is still only the beginning of things.

#5. «COMPLETE OUR EFFORTS IN ONE CAMPAIGN»

«Complete our efforts in one campaign»; I say this when I speak of a bloody revolution. That is to say, this will be the only bloody revolution. Later, when the new-democratic revolution becomes the socialist revolution, we will not need to shed blood; possibly, we will be able to resolve things peacefully. But this is only a possibility. Whether or not we shed blood will be based on how hard we work. If the State, especially the People's Liberation Army and our Party, becomes corrupt, and the proletariat is not able to grasp the reins of power in this State, then we will still have a problem on our hands. We cannot say, as Comrade Wang Ming did, that we will «complete our political and economic efforts in one campaign». That is wrong.

#6. HOW CAN WE HELP COMRADE WANG MING CORRECT HIS MISTAKES?

How can we help Comrade Wang Ming correct his mistakes? Many comrades have said that Comrade Wang Ming's speech was very bad. The second half of his speech yesterday showed some progress. The problem is that he has lost his initiative and is now passive. This is because he did not carry out a self-criticism. He has not been willing to admit either his mistakes or the fundamental elements of his mistakes. His «initiative» is still stalled at the Fourth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee in January 1931 and the December Meeting in 1937. But those are incorrect; they have already been criticized. His line was completely wrong. It had both «Left-wing» and Right-wing elements. I am afraid it was inevitable that such an erroneous line should be born in China; it is a reflection of social phenomena within the Party.

As for whether Wang Ming is personally ambitious, he himself does not admit that he is, and I feel it is not absolutely necessary to insist that he recognize this. But he has admitted to individualism, which is to regard one's own self-interest as primary and not the interests of the people. Actually, for an individual to become an «-ism» is well worth seeing. He feels that it is not good to admit to being personally ambitious, but actually, during the Agrarian Revolutionary War and the War of Resistance Against Japan, he was the commander-in-chief when we twice took the wrong line. Even though he did not have the title of general secretary or commander-in-chief and was only called some kind of committee member, that does not matter. Essentially, he attempted to transform the Party in his own image. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, this manifested itself in a small-bourgeois form; during the War of Resistance Against Japan, it appeared in a bourgeois form. This sort of phenomenon has also appeared in other countries of the world. This is not the problem of an individual. It is rather that some people in society have this sort of thinking, and Wang Ming is their representative within the Party. To put it somewhat more completely, we can say that the incorrect lines taken during the Agrarian Revolutionary War were those of Wang Ming and Bo Gu; if we speak a little more simply, we can still call them the Wang Ming line. The commander-in-chief of the incorrect lines during the War of Resistance was Wang Ming; he alone raised his gun and assumed responsibility. The commander-in-chief of the Li Lisan line was Li Lisan and not Xiang Zhongfa, even though Xiang Zhongfa was the General Secretary. This is the real situation.

During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, Wang Ming's line was «Left-wing»; during the War of Resistance, it was Right-wing, but there were differences in its cast of characters. Wang Jiaxiang and Zhang Wentian saw the light during the Zunyi Meeting. After the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee, Bo Gu and others also gained consciousness. After the Rectification Movement and our study of the struggle between two lines, these comrades became more enlightened, but Wang Ming still was not. During the Seventh National Congress, Wang Ming wrote a declaration, but after two months, he said he had been forced to write it, and he tried to avoid recognizing it as his. From that time until this speech of his, he still has not awakened. During the second half of his speech yesterday, he said a few honest words, and we welcome this improvement. We will see what he does in the future.

In the past, there have been some people in the Party who have wanted to change the Party according to their own taste, but they have never attained this goal. It would be bad if they did. This problem is essentially a reflection of class struggle in the Party. The Rectification Movement sharpened our comrades' sense of smell and shrank the market for dogmatism. Some people have said it was a secret conspiracy to replace someone. Actually, it was not a secret conspiracy, but an open conspiracy to replace someone. Wang Ming has attacked the «Left wing», the «Centre», and the «Right wing». He attacked the «Left wing» (the Li Lisan line); he attacked the «Centre» (Zhou Enlai's and Qu Qiubai's «line of reconciliation»⁵); and he attacked the «Right wing». He attacked pretty much all of the old comrades. Many said that he wanted to seize control over the Party, the army, and the government, and this was indeed the case, beginning with the Fourth, not the Fifth, Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee, all the way until Wang Ming went to the Communist International, then returned from the Council Union, and until the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee. During the Sixth Plenary Session, a drop of alcohol made the micro-organisms shrink. There were two imperial envoys, one of whom was Wang Ming. After he returned in November 1937, he transmitted the so-called «line of the Communist International». The other was Wang Jiaxiang, who also transmitted the line of the Communist International when he returned in the summer of 1938. But what he transmitted was different from Wang Ming's «line of the Communist International». Wang Jiaxiang brought back with him Communist International documents that became the drop of alcohol that dripped and made the micro-organisms shrink. After going through the Rectification Movement, the micro-organisms shrank even further, and blind faith was done away with. But there are still micro-organisms in Wang Ming's head; the poison is not yet gone.

I agree that we should ask Wang Ming to write something. Bo Gu and Zhang Wentian both wrote things in the past. The things they wrote do not constitute final solutions. Later, they will have complete freedom, and they will be able to repudiate them entirely, or revise them in part. This is not like the situation in the past when people were forced to sign their names to documents that became ironclad evidence. Should we impose time restrictions? The way I see it, I am afraid it would not be appropriate to have no time limits, as in the past. I think we can limit them to one month, but before doing this, we should ask Wang Ming what he thinks. [Wang Ming says: «One month is fine.»] The time it will take him to move to Beijing is not included in this month. In the future, we will continue to uphold the principles of «learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones» and «curing the sickness to save the patient», and hand out tasks to all those in the Party who have made mistakes. Not only should we welcome them when they actively seek us out to talk, but we must also seek them out to talk and work with them. There are many comrades in the Party who understand that we must work with Fu Zuoyi and with the democratic figures, but as soon as someone puts on the label of «Party member», then no one works with them; this is not good. We must also work with comrades who have made mistakes.

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#9. THE SYSTEMS OF THE PEOPLE'S CONGRESSES AND THE PARTY CONGRESSES

We do not use the parliamentary system of the bourgeois republics, but rather the council system of the proletarian republics. The congresses are councils. Naturally, in terms of content, our councils differ from those of the dictatorship of the proletariat in the Council Union. Ours are councils of people's deputies based on the worker-peasant alliance, and we do not use the foreign word sovjet [council], but rather call them people's congresses. The council was created by the Russians, with Lenin developing some aspects of it. In China, the people think that the parliamentary system of the capitalist republics stinks, so we do not use it. Instead, we use the government system of a socialist State.

The system of Party congresses is coordinated with the system of people's congresses. This Plenary Session of the Central Committee is essentially a congress of Party deputies. The form of this kind of Plenary Session of the Central Committee is, however, better suited to discussing problems than that of a large-scale congress attended by 1'000 or 2'000 people.

[...]