Chapter 137 Seeking opinions on the Seventeen Articles of Agriculture[1]

(December 21, 1955) Shanghai Bureau, Provincial Party Committees and Autonomous Region Party Committees: In November of this year, Comrade Mao Zedong negotiated with 14 provincial party committee secretaries and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region party committee secretaries in Hangzhou and Tianjin respectively. At the meeting attended by the secretary of the party committee, it was determined that it would be included in the plan for 1956 and implemented in earnest.For this purpose, after you receive the call, please summon the secretaries of the local Party committees and some county Party committee secretaries to study in detail: (a) whether all of them can be realized, or some of them cannot be realized, and whether the basis for realizing each item is sufficient; (b) In addition to the seventeenth article, whether there are any additions (as long as it is feasible, they can be added); (c) Are you going to include it in your 1956 plan immediately and start implementing it.Please finish your research on the above points before January 3, 1956, and prepare your opinions.

The seventeen articles read as follows: (1) The progress of agricultural co-operatives. In the second half of 1956, the primary form of communal construction work was basically completed, and 75% of the targets at the provincial, municipal, and autonomous regions (except Xinjiang) were completed as required. It is advisable for the peasant households to join the cooperative, and let the lower part exceed a little, reaching about 80 to 85%. The advanced form of co-operativeization should be basically completed in 1960, and if it can be shortened by one year, it should be basically completed in 1959.For this reason, it is necessary to have one or several large-scale (more than 100 households) high-level cooperatives established in each county or each district under direct control of the county, preferably by the district, in 1956, and then to establish a batch in 1957. These two groups should account for about 25 percent of the peasant households, and they should serve as examples.Is this possible.And from a small society to a large society, what is the scale?Several communes in one township, one commune in one township, one commune in several townships, whether all three are feasible.The total number of cooperatives in the country is 300,000, or 400,000, or 500,000, whichever is appropriate.There were 100,000 communes in the Soviet Union, but in our country it is appropriate to have 300,000 or 400,000 communes.It is better to merge first and then upgrade, it is better to merge and upgrade at the same time, or it is better to upgrade first and then merge.Please study the above points together.

(2) Whether landlords and rich peasants joined the cooperatives in 1956 according to the opinions of Anhui, Shanxi, Heilongjiang and other provinces, that is, the good ones were allowed to join the cooperatives, the good ones were allowed to work in the cooperatives, and the members were not given titles, and the bad ones were allowed to work in the cooperatives. Production is controlled by the commune, and all old coops with strong cadres can do so.There are many advantages to doing this, but there is a disadvantage that it will inevitably force those upper-middle peasants who are still unwilling to join the cooperatives to reluctantly join the cooperatives, and let them join the cooperatives first, and then let the land rich join the cooperatives, so that they can live up to their face.Is this beneficial.Or postpone it for one year, that is, until 1957 before the above-mentioned method can be implemented.Which of the two is more beneficial, please do some research.

(3) The leadership of the co-operatives shall consist of two-thirds of the existing poor peasants and all the new lower-middle peasants who were originally poor peasants, and one third of the old lower-middle peasants and the old and new upper-middle peasants. (4) Conditions for increasing production: (a) implement several basic measures (the content is subject to discussion, and there may be some differences in different regions); (b) promote advanced experience (collect typical examples every year, and print a book for each province). (5) All provinces, prefectures, counties, districts, and townships in 1956 must formulate a comprehensive long-term plan that includes all necessary items, with emphasis on county and township plans. Can be modified.The time period covered by the plan is at least three years, preferably seven years, and can be up to twelve years.This matter must be done as soon as possible, whether you have made arrangements.Because of inexperience, many of them may be very rough, but we must try to make the plans of a few counties and townships closer to reality so as to facilitate popularization.

(6) Comprehensively plan the protection and breeding of cattle, horses, mules, donkeys, pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks, especially young animals.The breeding program is under discussion, please prepare your comments. (7) In combination with river basin planning, a large number of small-scale water conservancy projects will be built to ensure that ordinary floods and droughts will be basically eliminated within seven years. (8) Within seven years, basically eliminate more than a dozen kinds of insect pests and diseases that are not conducive to crops. (9) Within 12 years, the barren land and barren hills will be basically wiped out, and trees will be planted according to the specifications around all houses, villages, roads, waters, and barren hills on barren land, that is, in all possible places, Implement greening.

(10) Within twelve years, 90 percent of the fertilizers in most areas and 100 percent in some areas will be provided by the localities and cooperatives themselves. (11) Within twelve years, the average grain output per mu is required to reach 400 catties in the north of the Yellow River, Qinling Mountains, Bailong River, and Yellow River (within the territory of Qinghai); , Eight hundred catties south of the Bailong River.For the indicators of cotton, oilseeds, soybeans, silk, tea, jute, sugar cane, fruits, etc., please put forward the planned figures for discussion. (12) Within seven years, basically eliminate some of the most serious diseases that endanger people and livestock, such as schistosomiasis, blood filariasis, plague, encephalitis, rinderpest, swine fever, etc.Please study the endemic diseases in each province and district, which ones can be basically eradicated within seven years, which ones can only be eradicated after a prolonged period of time, and which ones cannot be eradicated at present.

(13) Eliminate the four pests, that is, basically eliminate rats (and other pests), sparrows (and other pest birds, but whether crows are suitable for eradication remains to be studied), flies, and mosquitoes within seven years [2]. (14) Within seven years, basically eradicate illiteracy, and each person must know 1,500 to 2,000 characters. Repaired to specification (some of them are roads, some are main roads, some are small roads). (16) Within seven years, establish a cable broadcasting network so that every township and every cooperative can listen to cable broadcasting. (17) Complete the telephone network of townships and large cooperatives within seven years.

Please study the above items with the comrades concerned and complete the preparations before January 3rd.The central government may invite several provincial party committee secretaries to meet for a few days around January 4th to prepare opinions for the meeting on January 10th. central December 21, 1955 Published according to Mao Zedong's manuscript. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] This is a notice drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to the Shanghai Bureau, provincial party committees, and autonomous region party committees.

[2] In March 1960, in Mao Zedong's directive on sanitation work drafted for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the content on eliminating the four pests was changed, replacing sparrows with bedbugs.