Chapter 20 Eighteen issues discussed at the Lushan Conference[1]

(June 29, July 2, 1959) 1. Reading.In view of the fact that many leading comrades, county and communal cadres did not have a good understanding of socialist economic issues last year, and did not understand the laws of economic development, and in view of the fact that there is still a transactionalism in their work, they should study hard.In August, spend a month studying, or implement rotation training for cadres.If the scope is not specified, everyone will not be able to read it.First-level members of the central, provincial, municipal, and prefectural committees, including county party secretaries, must read the Soviet Union's "Textbook of Political Economy" (third edition)[2].Three to six months, or one year.Last year at the Zhengzhou Conference it was proposed to read three books[3]. When asked if they had read it, they said they had read a little, but not much, and some of them had not read it themselves.The idea for county and communal cadres, Shandong and Hebei is to compile three books for them: one is about good people and good deeds, collecting those who dared to uphold the truth during the Great Leap Forward last year, did not follow the wind, made progress in their work, did not lie, Examples that are not exaggerated and seek truth from facts, such as Wang Guofan in Hebei [4], and a production team in Heze, Shandong.One is a book about bad people and bad things, collecting examples of those who tell lies, break the law or make serious mistakes in their work.Find a few in each province, each province compiles each province, and each book does not exceed 25,000 words.The third is the various directive documents of the central government from last year to the present (plus those of the provinces), systematically compiling a book.The three books are about 100,000 words, and I read more than 10,000 words a day, which can be finished in a week.Discuss after reading, not only read, but also take an exam.Members of the county and social party committees can also study political economy.Try to give the county and social party committees a time to think systematically about problems every year.We advocate reading, so that these comrades will not be like ants on a hot pot, falling into transactionalism throughout the year and getting very busy, so that they have time to think about problems.Now these people are ants on a hot pan, they need to be taken out to cool off.I had a year of practice last year, and it would be better to study again.To study the Soviet Union, you must read the "Textbook of Political Economy". The textbook has shortcomings, but it is relatively complete.Disadvantages, such as the peaceful transition mentioned in the first chapter, how can it be possible to seize power through parliament? It is impossible in Tibet, and it must be armed.We don't want to learn from their shortcomings, but last year, some good experiences of the Soviet Union were also lost.

Second, the situation.Is the domestic situation good or bad? The overall situation is good, a bit bad, but not so bad as to "report to the master, big things are not good".Is the policy of the Second Session of the Eighth National Congress [5] correct? I think we must stick to it.In general, as a comrade from Hunan Province put it, there are two sentences: "Have great achievements, and have rich experience." "Have rich experience." Achievements, there are many problems, the future is bright.The basic issues are: (1) comprehensive balance; (2) mass line; (3) unified leadership; (4) attention to quality.The most basic of the four issues is comprehensive balance and the mass line.Pay attention to the quality, rather less, but better, more comprehensive, all kinds of things.In agriculture, there are grains, cotton, oil, hemp, silk, tobacco, tea, sugar, vegetables, fruits, medicines, and sundries.In industry, there must be light industry, heavy industry, and all kinds of them.Last year, the "two little guesses" (small blast furnace and small converter) were not done well, so we concentrated our energy on these "two little ones" and lost everything else.Last year there was a great leap forward and a great harvest, and this year is a great spring famine.Now the situation is improving. I have looked at four provinces, Hebei, Henan, Hunan, and Hubei, which can roughly represent the whole country.This year's summer harvest estimates are generally low, which is a good sign.

Comparing the situation at this time this year with the situation at this time last year, which situation is better? Last year at this time the "communist wind" quickly blew up, but this year it will not blow up, and it is better than last year.Next year's "May Day" can be completely improved.The enthusiasm of people last year was precious, but there was some blindness in the work.Some people say, you are making the Great Leap Forward, why is there a shortage of food? Why can’t you buy hair clips? I can’t explain it clearly now, and neither can the promotionists.If you can speak clearly, say it, if you can't speak clearly, just bite the bullet and resist it, and do it.There will be more things next year, so let’s make it clear.

Last year many things were done on one leg, not on two.We criticized Stalin for walking on one leg, but after we proposed to walk on two legs, we made one instead.The situation of the Great Leap Forward contained certain mistakes and certain negative elements.Although there are some problems now, there are beneficial positive factors.The situation last year was very good, but there was some blindness, only thinking about the good, and not thinking about the difficulties.Now the situation has improved again, the blindness is less, and everyone has come to know each other. 3. Tasks for this year.

4. Tasks for next year. Five or four-year tasks.Industry, agriculture, light, heavy, commerce, and transportation used to have two legs, but later lost one leg. Heavy industry squeezed out agriculture and light industry, and squeezed out commerce.It would have been great if we had paid attention to agriculture and light industry at that time.How to deal with these aspects? How to arrange the construction? Is the output of steel this year set to be 13 million tons? If it can exceed it, let it exceed it, and if it cannot exceed it, let it go.In the future, the policy should be determined by the central government, and then handed over to the business department for settlement.How much grain is there? Did it increase by 30% last year? Will it increase by 30% every year in the future? It will take several years to increase by 100 billion catties every year to reach 1 trillion catties.How much will the steel increase next year? An increase of 4 million tons will be 17 million tons.In the following year, another four million tons will be added.The slogan that the quantity of major industrial products will catch up with and surpass that of Britain within 15 years must be persisted.In short, we must do what we can and leave room for the following to surpass.The human mind gradually becomes more realistic, and subjectivism decreases.A stupid thing was done last year, that is, to achieve the target for several years within a year. For example, the target of 1,050 billion catties of grain may not be reached until 1964.

In the past, the arrangement was heavy, light, and agricultural. This order needs to be reversed. Should we now mention agricultural, light, and heavy? The relationship between agriculture, light, and heavy should be studied.In the past, the top ten relationships were engaged in, that is, walking on two legs, how fast, easy and economical is also two legs, but now it can be said that it has not been implemented, or it has not been implemented well.In the past, it was heavy, light, agricultural, commercial, and transportation, but now it is emphasized to do well in agriculture, and the order is changed to agriculture, light, heavy, transportation, and commercial.Putting it this way still gives priority to the development of means of production and does not violate Marxism.We will not relax in heavy industry, and there are means of production in agriculture.If we truly prioritize the development of means of production and arrange light and agricultural, we don’t necessarily have to change it to agricultural, light, and heavy.Heavy industry should serve light industry and agriculture.In the past, Comrade Chen Yun [6] mentioned: first market, then infrastructure, arrange the market first, and then arrange infrastructure.Some comrades disagree.It now appears that Comrade Chen Yun's opinion is correct.The five words of clothing, food, housing, use, and transportation must be properly arranged. This is a question of the stability of the 650 million people.Once arranged, there will be no rebellion.How can we not rebel? It is to make them live comfortably, stop gossiping and scold us.This is conducive to construction, and at the same time the country can accumulate more.It is in favor of establishing the Third Ministry of Machinery Industry to manage agricultural machinery and set up an agricultural machinery design institute.Now no one cares about these things. In such a big country, no one can do it.In the past, during the period of the Agrarian Revolutionary War against the "Left" deviation, I once said, "Cannons are for killing people, people are for eating, and roads are for walking."Now the cannon is gone, and the second and third items are still there. If you forget these, it will be difficult to do things.Now when it comes to being in command, the first should be agriculture, and the second should be industry.

Feed has a separate policy.Now people eat one catty, and animals eat half a catty; after a while, people eat one catty, and animals eat one catty; after another period, people eat one catty, animals eat two catties, and animals gradually eat more than people. Agricultural issues: one is machinery, the other is chemical fertilizers, and the third is feed.For agriculture, light and heavy issues, put the emphasis on the third place for four years, without mentioning slogans or publicity.The industry needs to support agriculture, how much chemical fertilizers and how much steel will be needed to support agriculture next year will be determined at this meeting.Last year, it was said that grain production would increase by 30%, but I still have doubts about whether it will reach 480 billion catties.It is said that there will be no increase this year, but I think it is still possible to increase.After that, it will increase by 100 billion catties every year, reaching 800 billion catties in 1962.

The steel target for next year is 17 million tons, forming a saddle shape.This year it is 13 million tons, more than 4 million tons more than last year.20 million tons in the next year, and 21 million to 23 million tons in the next year, which can catch up with the United Kingdom.25 million tons in 1962, it may be a little less, or it may be a little more, as high as 28 million tons, or as low as 23 million tons.To catch up with the UK, we are talking about the main products. Too much steel is not necessarily good. There are two kinds of enthusiasm: one is the enthusiasm of seeking truth from facts, and the other is blind enthusiasm.Two of the three major disciplines of the Red Army are still in use today: "All actions follow command", that is, unified leadership and opposition to anarchism;Generally speaking, the living standards of the masses have improved, and so has their cultural level.There are two styles of communism: one is to really engage in communism; the other is the majority, where things are handled by him and all power belongs to him, so he calls it "communism" and it is "capitalism" doctrine".Grain looting has occurred in Caoxian County, Shandong Province. This is very good. There is still less looting. If there is too much looting, it can attract our attention.The bureaucracy that destroys the enthusiasm of the people is to be rectified.Our country will not perish, socialism will not perish, and Chiang Kai-shek will not come back.When the United States called, we retreated to Yan'an at most, and we will come back in the future.

6. Propaganda issues.Last year it was a bit exaggerated, and the four major indicators were set high, which made it difficult to publicize this year, and now it is a bit passive.How to take the initiative? During the Shanghai Conference[8], some people proposed to use the opportunity of the National People's Congress to change the indicators, but this was not done later.Looks like a lost opportunity now, but that's okay.Should the indicator be changed? It seems that it is better to change it.But how much to change is still uncertain.Should the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress hold a meeting to change the indicators?Whether the absolute figures of grain will not be released in the future, we can learn from the Soviet Union and not publicize grain indicators.In the future, steel will not count as a small converter, and iron will not count as earth iron.

7. Comprehensive balance.One of the important lessons of the Great Leap Forward, the main shortcoming is that it did not achieve balance.We talked about walking on two legs and raising them simultaneously, but in fact we didn’t take care of both.In the entire economy, balance is a fundamental issue. Only with an overall balance can there be a mass line. There are three kinds of balance: the balance of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline and fishery within agriculture; the balance of various departments and links within industry; the balance between industry and agriculture.The proportional relationship of the entire national economy is a comprehensive balance based on these foundations.

8. The issue of the mass line.Is there a mass line? How many? 9. Industrial management issues.Special emphasis should be placed on quality issues. Can they be resolved within a short period of time? We should strive to resolve them within one or two years. 10. Institutional issues. The "four powers" [9] have been devolved a little more, and a little faster, causing chaos and a little semi-anarchism.It is necessary to emphasize the issues of unified leadership and centralization of power.Decentralized powers must be properly withdrawn and returned to the central, provincial and municipal levels.Decentralization should be properly controlled.Opposing anarchism does not mean that it is completely anarchist, but that it is somewhat semi-anarchist.It can be said that it is not good to die, and it is not good to live.Now it seems that it is impossible to live. 11. Cooperative relationship.The regional cooperation has disrupted the original cooperative relationship, making the big ones and crowding out the small ones.To develop a system, factories must develop comprehensively, and communes must be industrialized. 12. Public canteens.We must actively do it well.According to the ration of people, the food is distributed to the households, voluntary participation, and the surplus belongs to oneself.Food basically costs money.Under these principles, if the cafeteria is run well, it should not be destroyed in one blow, and if it is ruined, it is better to keep 20%. There are two ways to run canteens across the country: one is actively maintained in Henan, and the other is voluntary in Hubei.The ones in Hubei were basically disbanded, and some still went back temporarily.Hubei plans to increase from less to more, starting from 30% to 50%, and reaching 80% in the future.The canteen should be small, with various forms, and the supply part should be less, with three to seven or four to six, which can be flexible.Canteens and supply systems are two different things. Thirteen, learn to live.Including rural areas and cities, we must leave some room for living a rich life as a poor one, increasing production and saving money.In Hubei, the days of poverty have been replaced by the days of wealth. Farmers criticized some cadres for not being able to produce and living.Live rich as if you were poor.Some places may not produce much more than other places, but as long as the arrangements are good, life will be easy.No matter how much the production increases this year, it is estimated that the production will increase a little, and we will live according to last year's standard of 480 billion catties or less.The slogan is: live a rich life like a poor one. Fourteen, three policy.Production, purchase, and sales are fixed, and the masses demand restoration. It seems right and wrong.The policy will remain unchanged for three years, but the amount will be determined at this meeting.Forty-six of the increase in production, levied four to stay six, reduced according to disasters.Private plots are not taxed. 15. Restoring the rural primary market. 16. Make the production team a semi-accounting unit.The comrades in Sichuan Province said that it is better to have production and distribution in one accounting unit, but now the reform will affect production, what should we do? 17. The leadership role of grassroots party organizations in rural areas.The activities of the grassroots party have been weakened, and the party does not care about the party, but only the administration. 18. The issue of solidarity.To unify our thinking, the estimation of last year is: there were great achievements, there were many problems, and the future is bright.The disadvantage is only one, two, or three fingers.Many problems can only be seen after a long period of time.There has been a certain blindness in the positivity of the past period.Looking at the problem in this way, we can muster enthusiasm. Published based on the transcript of the conversation kept by the Central Archives. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] This is based on Mao Zedong’s talk with the chairman of the cooperation area on the boat on his way to Lushan to attend the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on June 29, 1959, and the enlarged meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Lushan Central Committee on July 2. Organized from the speech above. [2] Refers to the second volume of the revised third edition of "Textbook of Political Economy" compiled by the Institute of Economics, Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union (People's Publishing House, 1959 edition). [3] During the Zhengzhou Conference in November 1958, Mao Zedong wrote to members of the party committees at the central, provincial, municipal, autonomous region, prefectural, and county levels, suggesting that they read Stalin's "Socialist Economic Problems in the Soviet Union" and "Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin." Communist Society", and at the same time suggested that the Soviet Union's "Textbook of Political Economy" could also be read. [4] Wang Guofan, born in 1919, was born in Zunhua, Hebei.At that time, he was the director of the Management Committee of Jianming People's Commune in Zunhua County, Hebei Province. [5] The Second Session of the Eighth National Congress, the Second Session of the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, was held in Beijing from May 5 to 23, 1958. [6] Chen Yun (1905-1995), a native of Qingpu, Jiangsu (now part of Shanghai).At that time, he was vice chairman of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council. [7] One level and two tunes, see note [1] on page 33 of this volume. [8] Refers to the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held in Shanghai from March 25 to April 1, 1959. [9] The four rights refer to human rights, financial rights, commercial rights, and industrial rights.