Chapter 63 Notes to the Draft Resolution on Certain Historical Questions[1]

(April 20, 1945) This resolution is not only internal to the leading organs, but also pertains to the whole party, is related to the people of the whole country, and is responsible to the whole party and the whole people.Which policies or which parts of them are correct or incorrect, if they are in line with the facts and reproduce 24 years of history ideologically, will be beneficial to future struggles, and will be beneficial to the party and the people in the future.The standard of right and wrong is naturally Marxism, but the interests of the people are also the standard.The people do not know much about the conditions of the parties, but they know how to judge them according to their policies.The Kuomintang has devoted itself to the national revolution for fifty years, and it has done some good things, but it has done more bad things, so the people don't like it.We've done good things, but we've also made some mistakes.The current resolution addresses these issues, so it concerns the people of the whole country.

There are two questions in this resolution: whether to do it or not? How to do it? Not doing it is afraid of making mistakes.It is necessary to look at the trend, but the resolution still has shortcomings and needs to be revised, so today it is only required to basically pass it.I think the basic idea of ​​the resolution is good, and the petty bourgeois ideology in the party needs to be corrected so that the revolution will not suffer.As for whether the descriptions of various historical issues are completely correct, it is not certain.Now we can only prepare to look at it in 20 or 30 years. If this resolution is too great, then it is very good.How to do it? Should it be submitted to the Seventh National Congress or the Seventh Plenary Session of the Central Committee for discussion and approval? It was originally planned to be submitted to the Seventh National Congress, but later decided to be submitted to the Seventh Plenary Session of the Central Committee.This is a policy issue, not arbitrarily decided, because it can prevent the General Assembly from focusing on historical issues.

Other questions on content: Is the Fourth Plenary Session [2] fundamentally wrong? Now that it is clear, the Fourth Plenary Session is fundamentally wrong.Why didn't the issue of the Communist International be mentioned? I didn't mention it on purpose.The Communist International does not exist now, and we do not shift the responsibility to the Communist International.Generally speaking, the Comintern contributed too much to the Chinese revolution, just as the Jade Emperor often rained, and the occasional no rain is still too much.Without the establishment and assistance of the Communist International, the political party of the Chinese proletariat would not be what it is today.They need us and we need them.

The policy of curing diseases and saving lives has proved to be effective, depending on when and which aspect needs to be emphasized.After December of the previous year, too many diseases were treated, and it was almost impossible to save lives, so last year, more "licorice" was added.The same is true of recent times.In 1940 the line was not allowed to be mentioned[3], in 1941 the line was discussed[4], after which Comrade Wang Ming's problem arose[5].When he was recovering from his illness, we rectified the situation and discussed the party's historical line. Self is also included.Such is the process of development.Up to now, this resolution is better, unifying the two aspects of curing diseases and saving lives.Comrade Wang Ming wrote this letter[7]. Whether there are shortcomings or mistakes in the content can still be studied, but his attitude is good and should be welcomed.The opinions of many other comrades are very good.Mistakes are not a problem of a few people. It is easy to write a few names, but the problem is not with a few of them.If we simply deal with a few people without summarizing historical experience, it will be like the Party continued to make mistakes after Chen Duxiu[8] made mistakes in the past.To Chen Duxiu, it should be recognized that he has contributed to the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people, roughly like Russia's Plekhanov[9].Li Lisan[10] also contributed to the era of the Great Revolution.The party is a political organization, not a family or professional organization. Party members come from all corners of the country because of the same political views.Differences in political opinions will lead to debates, and when arguing, we must distinguish the boundaries.

In the past, many comrades suffered from the fact that China did not have revolutionary leaders like Marx, Engel, Lenin, and Sri Lanka, and so did I. China's backwardness could not produce great men like Lenin.Now I propose a task, which is to strengthen the study of the works of Marx, Eng, Len, and Sze. First of all, I need to strengthen.We must unite all comrades who have made political mistakes in the past and have now corrected them. The whole party must be united like a harmonious family as stated in the resolution.This check is to be cashed.The resolution put many good things on my account. I have no objection, but this does not deny that I have shortcomings and mistakes. It is only because I have considered the interests of the party that I have not written it on it.Confucius was 70 years old and did what he wanted without breaking the rules. I believe that even at the age of 70, I will still exceed the rules.

During the Anti-Japanese War period, two joints were rectification and production, without which the party could not move forward.Twenty-five thousand members of the Communist Party have grown to hundreds of thousands, most of whom are peasants and petty bourgeois. If the party is not rectified, the nature of the party will change. The name of the proletariat is actually a petty bourgeoisie. In fact, Yan’an will not be allowed to go to the fields. Wang Shiwei[11] , "Light Cavalry" [12], and "Northwest Wind" [13] occupied a dominant position, and only after rectification did the leadership of the proletariat be saved.The same is true of the production movement. Without the production movement, the party would retreat and collapse.These are all learned. The straw sandals don’t look good, and they look like they are playing. There is some reason for this.This is how we slowly learn and move forward. Now we have not learned everything, but we have made fewer mistakes.

To prevent the enemy from taking advantage of it, this point must also be said.They set up an "extraordinary committee", and they used our resolutions before they were implemented. They said that the Fourth Plenary Session was correct. Now that a resolution has been made, they will use it even more, and they will even provoke it. We must prepare.Unity-criticism-unity, this is not afraid of provocation.But small broadcasts are different, which need to be collected and analyzed.Many of them are gossips, which are not malicious; many are wrong, but they are not necessarily malicious; as for the malicious, you have to listen, because only by listening can you discover its malice.In short, if there is something, change it, if there is nothing, encourage it, and lead all kinds of gossip to your own responsibilities. This will remove a big burden and prevent you from being too angry.In 1941, some ordinary people in the border areas said that Lei Gong didn’t beat Mao Zedong to death. This aroused my vigilance, analyzed the reason, and found that the grain requisition was too heavy, so I developed a large-scale production movement.Some people at the party school last year said that I was a bureaucrat, which also made me determined to go to the party school to get closer to some people.

Published based on the transcript of the speech kept by the Central Archives. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] This is Mao Zedong's speech at the Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. [2] Fourth Plenary Session, see Note [12] on page 76 of this volume. [3] At the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held on December 4, 1940, Mao Zedong pointed out in a speech that the "Left" errors in the late ten-year civil war caused more losses to the revolution than the Li San line. The Red Army lost nine-tenths, and the base areas lost more than nine-tenths.The resolution of the Zunyi Conference only said that it was a military mistake, not that it was an error in line, but in fact it was an error in line. Therefore, the resolution of the Zunyi Conference must be revised somewhat.During the discussion at the meeting, some comrades disagreed that the mistakes made in the latter part of the ten-year civil war were mistakes in line.Therefore, in Mao Zedong's instructions on the current situation and policies drafted for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (the policy part of which is compiled into the second volume of "Mao Zedong Selected Works", entitled "On Policy"), he only said that in the late period of the Agrarian Revolution "A lot of leftist policies", this kind of leftist policy is "the mistake of 'Left' opportunism", and it is not mentioned that it is a wrong line.

[4] From September 10 to October 22, 1941, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held an enlarged meeting (commonly known as the September meeting) to review the line of the party in history, especially in the late ten-year civil war.Mao Zedong made a report on "Against Subjectivism and Sectarianism" at the meeting, pointing out that the manifestation of subjectivism in the later period of the Soviet movement was more serious, its form was more complete, its rule lasted longer, and its results were more tragic.The Party's line for more than three years from 1932 to 1935 has not yet been summed up, and it is now time to prepare for a summary at the Seventh National Congress of the Party.The Zunyi meeting actually changed a political line.After discussions at the meeting, a consensus was reached on the issue that the mistakes made in the latter part of the ten-year civil war were wrong lines.In the draft conclusion drafted by Mao Zedong for the meeting, he pointed out: "During the period from the September 18th Incident to the Zunyi Conference, the central leadership line was wrong. The Zunyi Conference and afterward, the central leadership line was correct."

[5] At the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held from September 10 to October 22, 1941, it was unanimously agreed that the mistakes made in the latter part of the ten-year civil war were wrong lines, but whether the line of the Fourth Plenary Session was wrong, The understanding is inconsistent.Chen Shaoyu (Wang Ming) did not criticize himself at the meeting.In his conversation with the comrades in charge of the Central Committee on October 7 and in his speech at the meeting of the Central Secretariat on October 8, he still refused to admit his mistakes. route.Since what Chen Shaoyu raised was a major political issue, Mao Zedong said at the meeting of the secretariat on October 8 that he would discuss the issues he raised.From October 12th, Chen Shaoyu said he was sick and did not attend the meeting, and the discussion could not proceed.

[6] Code "Historical Records · Xiang Yu Ben Ji" Xiang Zhuang is Xiang Yu's general, Pei Gong is Liu Bang.In 206 BC, after Liu Bang captured Xianyang, the capital of Qin, he sent troops to guard Hangu Pass.Soon, Xiang Yu led his army to attack and stationed in Hongmen (now east of Lintong, Shaanxi), preparing to destroy Liu Bang.After mediation by Xiang Yu's uncle, Xiang Bo, Liu Bang went to Hongmen to meet Xiang Yu.At the banquet, Fan Zeng, a counselor of Xiang Yu, named Xiang Zhuang Wujian in the name of "enhancing the fun", and wanted to take the opportunity to assassinate Liu Bang.Xiang Bo also drew his sword and danced, often covering Liu Bang with his body.At this time, Zhang Liang, Liu Bang's counselor, went to the military gate and told Liu Bang to join Fan Kuai: "Xiang Zhuang draws his sword and dances today, and his intention is always in Pei Gong." So Fan Kui broke in with his sword and shield, and Liu Bang took the opportunity to escape. [7] Refers to the letter Wang Ming wrote to Ren Bishi on April 20, 1945 and forwarded to Mao Zedong and comrades at the expanded Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee.In his letter, he expressed his approval of the "Resolution on Certain Historical Issues" and reviewed his own mistakes during the Agrarian Revolutionary War. [8] Chen Duxiu, see note [8] on page 101 of this volume. [9] Plekhanov (1856-1918), a Russian Marxist propagandist in the early stage.In 1883, he created the first Marxist group in Russia, the "Labor Emancipation Society".He translated and introduced many works of Marx and Engels, and played a major role in the spread of Marxism in Russia.After the Second Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1903, he gradually turned to the Mensheviks and later became one of the leaders of the Second International's opportunism. [10] Li Lisan, see note [9] on page 101 of this volume. [11] Wang Shiwei (1906-1947), a native of Huangchuan, Henan.Once worked as a researcher at Yan'an Academia Sinica, he wrote a series of essays entitled "Literature and Art" in the supplement of "Liberation Daily" on March 13 and 23, 1942. [12] "Qingqi Team" is a poster organized by the Youth Committee of the CPC Central Committee during the Yan'an rectification movement. [13] "Northwest Wind" is a wall newspaper organized by the Northwest Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China during the Yan'an rectification movement.