Speech Delivered: In September
1938.
Source of the translation: Joint Publications Research
Service (Arlington , Virginia, USA), China Report: Red Flag No. 4, 16
February 1984.
(JPRS-CRF-84-007), 12 April 1984, pages 6-15.
Transcription/HTML/Markup for marxists.org: February
2024.
Cadre policy means, in common speech, the way to use people. Why should we talk about this subject? It is because when our fellow students go to work in the rear areas occupied by the enemy, they are not merely members of the guerrillas, they are also cadres and leaders. The way to use people is very important in leadership work. There is a saying: "Cadres decide everything."[1] It is in common use in the whole world. It can be used in both foreign countries and China. It can be used by communist parties and by other political parties.
It is a pity that in the struggle of the past 10 years carried out by the CPC, we lost tens of thousands of cadres. If we had failed to establish a base area in the northern parts of Shanxi,[2] we could not even have retained such a small number of cadres. There are more than 1,800 counties throughout China. If each and every county can retain three party members, our party will have greater force to carry out its work.
Now, I would like to talk about cadre policy. I would like to use 12 characters and to explain it under 4 topics: 1) understanding people; 2) being big-minded; 3) using people well; 4) taking good care of people.
First of all, let me talk about the first topic: understanding people.
We should understand people. It is not easy to thoroughly understand people. Strictly speaking, it is very difficult to do so. As far as our CPC is concerned, does every party member understand people well? I believe that we have not yet done enough in this respect. We have recently discovered two defects: 1) We use one eye to judge people. We pay attention only to a single incident in their life, rather than to their life and work as a whole. We cannot judge people in an all-round way. 2) We only know what this person has done today, but know nothing about what he did in the past. We only know whether such a person is capable or not, but neglect his moral character.
Some of our comrades only pay attention to people's weak points, but neglect their strong points. Some other comrades only pay attention to people's strong points, but neglect their weak points. Of these two ways of judging people, which one is predominant? Generally speaking, more comrades pay attention to people's weak points, but neglect their strong points. What is the proof to support this argument? For instance, while assigning cadres to work, if someone speaks of something unpleasant to our ears, we might say that this fellow is arrogant, and that the other fellow is weak and incapable. We might also say that some other fellow has a complicated background and so forth.
Arrogance is, of course, no good. It is a bad thing. However, to judge people in such a way is, very often, lopsided. We should further understand that each and every weak point might also contain a good point. Although a person might be arrogant, he does things with great confidence. Such a person is, more or less, capable. He is arrogant because he is capable. With regard to such a person, we must make use of his strong point and avoid his weak point. If we show him the direction and tell him the right way to do things, and give the fullest play to his role, he can attain success. If we assign not very important work to him, and let him do it boldly and with confidence and give play to his strong points, he can gradually overcome his weak point in the process of his work, because he can accumulate more and more experience. The accumulation of experience cannot be separated from the overcoming of weak points.
To be weak and incapable is, of course, no good. However, a good point might be contained in this weak point: a good point such as that he is cautious and prudent. Since he is not capable enough, he is particularly cautious and prudent. Such a person is not suitable for doing work in a bold and resolute way. However, he can do the work which should be done in a careful and cautious way. For example, he is suitable for doing some confidential work, carrying out investigation, compiling statistics, and so forth. We should not encourage a person to be weak and incapable. But a person with such a disposition has his own strong point. We should make use of his good point, that is, the good point of being careful and cautious.
Let us discuss the problem of complicated background. When we are recruiting new party members, we regard those who have the gift of gab, grow beards, and know about the situation of various parties and factions as having complicated backgrounds. We do not dare admit them into the party. However, such persons are, very often, more experienced in society because they know about many things. If they truly believe in communism, and are willing to join the proletarian ranks to make revolution and to advance with us, should all these be objected to? As far as I am concerned, I have a very complicated background. I first believed in Wu Peifu,[3] and later I believed in nationalism.[4] Not long after that, I believed in the three people's principles.[5] At last, I believe in communism. Through comparison, I realize that communism is the best system. We say that such a person is complicated. However, he truly understands communism through his own experiences. Hence, he is also pure in essence. Youths are pure. But those who are pure include not only youths, but also old people.
Just as I mentioned above, a person's strong point might contain certain weak points as well. Weak points might also contain certain good points. When using a person, we must make use of his good points so that he can give play to his strong points and overcome his weak points. Under heaven there is nobody who has no strong points or merits whatsoever. There is nobody who has no weak points or defects at all. Therefore, we say that there is nobody in the revolutionary ranks that cannot be used.
Our second defect is that when we try to understand a person, we only know what he has done today, but do not know what he did yesterday, or we only assess what he did in the past, but not the things he is doing now. We only pay attention to his contributions, but neglect his mistakes, or vice versa. We only pay attention to the fact that he is good today, but was bad yesterday, or vice versa. In so doing, we very often cannot make a fundamental assessment of cadres. Where does such a defect manifest itself? It has manifested itself in the fact that we promote and demote cadres without careful consideration. Such a thing also occurs in our Communist Party. When a cadre performs well today, we promote him excessively. When the same cadre does not perform as well tomorrow, we demote him immediately. We know how villagers carry out pile-driving when they are building their houses. They move the timbers up and down. When we are using cadres, we should avoid doing things in the manner of pile-driving. When a cadre performs well today, we promote him to a very high position. When he does not perform as well tomorrow, we demote him immediately. We promote him again the day after tomorrow, but demote him again later. It is not right to deal with people in the manner of pile-driving. When building a house, it is good to carry out pile-driving as much as possible. If we deal with a cadre in such a way, I believe that at most after a third pile-driving, we will completely ruin him, because he will have lost all his confidence and will not dare to work any longer. When we were working in the soviet area[6] in Jiangxi, there Comrade Mao Zetan[7] was working with us. He was a younger brother of Chairman Mao. He once committed a mistake; some people could not tolerate him and thought that he could not be used any longer. Later, the Red Army needed people to work because of expansion and he was sent to a certain district. He not only accomplished the tasks, but also performed his duty outstandingly and achieved great success. When he returned, many thought highly of him. He was transferred to a guerrilla area on the borders of Fujian and Jiangxi. Several months later, some people thought that he expressed remarks which seemed to be in line with right opportunism. Just at that time, a task in expanding the Red Army was assigned to him. Since he could not achieve good results, some people again thought that he could not be used. Nobody wanted such a person and he was rejected everywhere. No place wanted such a comrade and he could not even make a living. Later, when the Red Army retreated from Jiangxi, he laid down his life bravely in the battle and shed the last drop of his blood for the revolution. Therefore, when judging a person, we must not confine our judgment to a short period or a single incident in his life. If we fail to make a basic assessment of a person, we will commit very great mistakes in using people.
This is the topic of understanding people which I wish to talk about today.
Now, let us come to the second topic: being big-minded.
We should be big-minded in using people. Why should we talk about this topic? Times have now changed. Is there any difference between the year 1938 and the year 1928? What is the difference between the situation before and after the Lugouqiao incident?[8] I might say that many people are turning toward the CPC today. Heroes and people of exceptional ability from throughout the country are gathering in Yanan. I still remember that we ran a school in Shanghai in 1932 in order to train worker cadres. The class was conducted for 6 days and there were only six students. Today, there are several thousand students studying in the Anti-Japanese College.[9] There are more than 10,000 students in Yanan alone if the students of Shaanbei Public School,[10] Lu Xun Art Academy,[11] and the party school[12] are included. If we compare 10,000 with 6, how great is the difference? Therefore, I say that over the past 10 years, popular feeling has greatly changed. People, regardless of sex and age, fear no hardship and make light of traveling a thousand li to come to Yanan. The Anti-Japanese College published a notice in Wuhan newspapers that no students would be recruited. However, it was useless to do so, because a continuous stream of students still came. When vehicles were not available, they walked to Yanan. Men and women came to Yanan after traveling several thousand li. Most of them are revolutionary youths. They also include university professors and engineers. A 75-year-old man has also come. Various kinds of people are living in the Xibei Hotel, including people from various parties and factions and reporters. Youths have also organized visiting groups. It is not true that all these people cannot make a living in other places and that they have only come to Yanan for millet. In judging the present situation, it is truly complicated. However, what do we like— being complicated or simple? In the past when we ran a school, there were only six students. It was simple, indeed. Today, there are various kinds of people and the situation is complicated indeed. When we intend to achieve something magnificent, we will encounter a complicated situation. When we lead the whole nation in the future, the situation will be even more complicated. It is very simple when there are only a few people and when we do not intend to promote our cause. However, the revolution will not succeed this way. The Communist Party is a vanguard which is leading the broad masses of the reserves and must identify itself with the broad masses of people. In such a way, it will inevitably encounter complicated situations. The revolution will not succeed if we rely only on comrades of the Anti-Japanese College and Shaanbei Public School, who are carrying out their hard struggle against the enemy. We should unite with more comrades and with the broad masses of people. If we fear complicated situations when making revolution, we will make things more complicated. If we do not fear complicated situations, it will be easier for us to carry out revolution.
Mr. Sun Yat-sen was a great person. He led the revolution of 1911[13] and the Wuchang uprising. More than 10 provinces throughout the country responded to his call within several days. What were the factors contributing to Mr Sun Yat-sen's success? One of the reasons was that he was big-minded. He wanted all people, including members of the Hongqiang Society,[14] the Gelao Society,[15] and the three regions and the nine schools of thought,[16] regardless of factions and parties and class origin. Therefore, he was able to accomplish something magnificent. We should be good at using people. As long as a person has a single skill, we should use him. Only thus can we accomplish our great cause. Can we say that Communist Party members alone are persons of exceptional ability? This is not the case. There are a lot of talented persons in society and many of them are not Communist Party members. Therefore, we should be big-minded and good at using various kinds of talented personnel. Our revolution will not succeed if we do things all by ourselves.
After graduation, you comrades will go to the areas occupied by the enemy and work in areas behind enemy lines. In those areas, we should even be more big-minded in using people. In those areas, there are a lot of talented personnel who left big cities in order to hide in villages and mountains. If our comrades can do well in representing the interests of the nation and laboring people and in organizing guerrilla forces, those people who are taking refuge will surely come out and support you. Those scholars, artists, scientists, politicians, and economists, who pretend to be peasants, will reveal their true identities and join you. They are very useful, talented personnel. There were only a few party members and a cadre of the 8th Route Army in a certain locality in Shandong. When they called on people to resist Japan, several thousand people answered their call immediately. Now, there are more than 10,000 people who have joined them.
Now, I would like to talk about the third topic: using people well.
What methods should be adopted in order to use people well? I cannot give you any unusual suggestion. However, as long as people under your leader- ship are working happily and actively, they can certainly do their work well. This principle is suitable for all kinds of work. When you are assigned to do civilian work, military work, or party work in future, you should ensure that everyone working under you has a strong sense of responsibility and works hard and happily. In such a way, all the work can be carried out satisfactorily. If incidents such as being unable to work contentedly and asking for transfers occur among people working under you very often, these are the very things that you should fear most. If a comrade is assigned to suitable work and can give play to his role, he will never ask for a transfer. Once he asks for a transfer, that means he is not able to work contentedly. If such incidents occur frequently, the basic reason for this is that the leadership is poor. What methods should a leader adopt so that cadres under him can work happily and contentedly? The fundamental way is: The higher levels should trust the lower levels and the lower levels should in turn trust the higher levels. The higher levels and the lower levels should trust one another. As for a leader, he should ensure that his subordinates dare to speak and dare to act. A number of cadres at lower levels try not to say what is on their minds. Outwardly, they seem to be obedient enough. At a meeting, when the leader asks them: "Do you agree?" They say: "I do agree!" When the leader says: "Those who agree hold up their hands!" They will also hold up their hands.
However, the actual problem will not yet have been solved. Therefore, a leader should ensure that his subordinates dare to speak and dare to act. Do not blame them even if they make mistakes. If people at lower levels dare to speak and dare to act, they will certainly become active.
What are the defects of fearing to speak? For example, if a person holds different views, but does not dare to express them, he will not be able to effectively implement the resolutions, even if they have been adopted. Therefore, we would rather conduct a debate than seek unanimous approval in a mechanical way.
What methods should we adopt so that people dare to speak? The following points merit our attention:
1. Leaders should adopt a friendly attitude. In a leading organ, if people do not dare to speak in front of the leader, how can the organ do its work well? If people like to be friends with the leader and like to talk with him, this leader will certainly be able to unite with more people. If a leader puts on airs and his face is as fearsome as that of the king of hell, nobody will want to make friends with him. When people speak 10 sentences in front of him, they will later forget 8 sentences which they uttered. In fact, why should a leader pretend to be so fierce and stern? Comrades here might ask me: Whether or not a leader has done his work well should be judged politically. Why should we pay attention to cadres' faces? However, many people pay attention to this matter. Even Communist Party members have such a habit. Therefore, leaders should pay attention to this matter.
In the meantime, we should avoid conducting meetings in a rigid and inflexible way. When a meeting is being held, we should do our best to encourage participants to express their ideas freely and to take part in heated discussion. If we rigidly and mechanically order them to speak one after another, some people might not express their views because they do not dare to speak in a serious atmosphere.
In a word, if people at lower levels dare to speak and to express their ideas freely, this is a good phenomenon. This proves that leadership in this unit is good because people at lower levels know that they will not be blamed even if they express erroneous views.
2. We should refrain from pinning on too many political labels. For instance, if a person who utters erroneous remarks is severely criticized, or labeled as suspected of "leftist" phrasemongering or right opportunism; if we pin such unsuitable political labels on him at random, such a person will probably be "ruined" and will no longer be able to work after under- going such an experience on three or four occasions. Some people are particularly interested in acting on principle while dealing with all kinds of problems. For instance, when a certain comrade committed a minor mistake, he said that political vacillation was the root of his mistake. Can we say that a minor mistake is committed because of political vacillation? It is not correct to deal with all kinds of problems from the higher plane of principle. Such a mechanical way of doing things is also dangerous. I would like to tell you some stories, because this is a fairly serious problem. In the past, there was a female comrade who concealed a pair of scissors under her pillow. Later, people discovered the scissors. They guessed: "This was probably because she did not want other people to use the scissors." Therefore, they jumped to the conclusion that she was an "individualist." Individualism and our communism are diametrically opposed to each other! Another comrade ate more dishes when taking his meals and always "charged forward" in eating dishes. Consequently, he was criticized as being selfish. If this comrade were a Com- munist Party member, we would have to consider his party membership because of the word "selfishness." There was another example. A student of Shaanbei Public School lost a knife. He was upset because the knife was a souvenir. Another comrade asked him why he was so upset. He said he had lost a knife. This comrade criticized him as "lacking the spirit of sacrifice," saying that a revolutionary should dare to sacrifice his life, why could he not sacrifice even a knife? What he said seemed quite reasonable.
Actually, to criticize people this way because of such trivial matters grievously wrongs people. To cherish a souvenir is not an unreasonable thing. How can we jump to the conclusion that such a person lacks the spirit of sacrifice because of this. Therefore, this was also a big political label. The reason for pinning on big political labels is that very often we exaggerate mistakes and inappropriately criticize them from the high plane of principle. We should avoid looking at matters in a mechanical way. We should be able to determine whether what a person has done is a mistake or is a serious mistake. We should avoid pinning big political labels on people at random.
3. When we are criticizing other people's mistakes, we should point out the roots of the mistakes and the way to correct them. The purpose of carrying out criticism is not to give vent to our anger. Generally speaking, there are two attitudes which people adopt when carrying out criticism: the first attitude is to accuse people fiercely; the second is to talk to people with a kind and pleasant countenance and to tell them the cause of their mistakes and the way to correct them out of good will. Only the second attitude can make those who are criticized feel satisfied and truly help solve the problem.
When leaders at higher levels criticize their subordinates, their criticism must be reasonable and correct. They most avoid the pinning of big political labels. This is because when leaders at higher levels criticize their subordinates, the influence is not the same as that of mutual criticism among comrades at the same level. Why? Because people at the same level think that they have more or less the same positions and qualifications; they will not take their mutual criticism to heart, even if the criticism is overdone or is not completely correct. This is not the case with criticism from leaders at the higher level. This is because when a leader at the higher level talks to his subordinates, he always talks in a very serious way. Therefore, he should avoid criticizing people in a random way. If the criticism is overdone or incorrect, he needs to exert great efforts to free the minds of those who are criticized of the misunderstanding. In such a way, other people will not show contempt for those who are criticized. Of course, people at the lower level should also believe that the criticism from cadres at the higher level has good intentions. They should not pay too much attention to and take to heart the manner and tone of those who criticize.
While carrying out criticism, we should know whether those who are criticized are old or new party members and whether they are old or new cadres. We should also know whether they have been members of the CPC or the revolution for a long time. With regard to an old party member, we can criticize him without paying too much attention to manner and means. However, this is not the case with new party members. Due to the fact that they have just joined the party, their mentality is still different from that of old party members. Therefore, when criticizing them, we should adopt a gentle manner. We should try to persuade and talk them into coming around.
In a word, we should encourage people to speak up. To do so, we should avoid pinning big political labels randomly. We should not deal with every minor mistake from the higher plane of principle. We should sincerely criticize people out of good will and in a friendly way. In the meantime, we should point out the cause of the mistakes and the way to correct them.
Using people well means that we should encourage people so that they dare to do their work. If you have a habit of asking your subordinates to consult you and ask for your approval whenever they encounter even a minor problem or trivial matter, and if you feel pleased and comfortable and think that you are treated like a leader when your subordinates do so, your habit will severely hamper work. How much strength and time can a person have? Even if you think that you are extraordinarily capable and that you are the "number one man under heaven," you need the help of the number two and three men. Only thus can you succeed. Without them, you will not become the number one man either. When a leader has such a defect, the sense of responsibility of other cadres will be weakened. This will also dampen the confidence and enthusiasm of cadres at lower levels in their work. For instance, when a person has done a correct thing, he might say that this was work assigned by the higher level. When he has done a wrong thing, he might also say that the higher level asked him to do so. In so doing, he might shift responsibility onto others. Whether the work is carried out well or not is not directly connected with him. When cadres at the lower level lack a sense of responsibility, they will not do their work well. This will also dampen their initiative and creativity and hamper the development of their ability.
Some comrades might say: Your leadership method of giving play to the initiative of cadres at the lower level is not so good, because it will give rise to many mistakes. I believe that although mistakes cannot be avoided, we should not worry about this too much. In a certain sense, a person cannot make progress if he has never made any mistakes. When he makes a mistake, he can draw a lesson from it. Only by constantly drawing lessons can he constantly improve himself. We frequently learn things from mistakes. Are all things invented by scientists not derived from experiments and mistakes? Today, a streamlined car looks beautiful and light. However, when we look at a car, housed in a museum, which was manufactured in an early period following the invention of the car, we find that it is heavy and clumsy. Numerous experiments and failures had to come to pass in order to turn the previously bad things into the present good things and to attain the present-day successes. It does not matter much when a comrade commits a minor mistake. After committing mistakes, as long as he can conscientiously learn from them, he will get more experiences and enhance his ability. Therefore, we should not be afraid of the possibility that cadres at the lower level might commit mistakes. We should encourage them to give play to their ability.
In a word, it is very important to encourage cadres to speak up and act boldly. Only thus can we arouse the enthusiasm of cadres so that they will keep their minds on their work. If a cadre obeys everything you say, he is merely a receiving instrument. It is impossible to give play to his ability. In a unit, if cadres never ask for transfers and if they can give play to their initiative and creativity, the leadership in the unit is good. If cadres in a unit cannot keep their minds on their work and ask for trans- fers, there must be something wrong with the leadership of the unit. When you do leadership work in the future, you should ensure that people at the lower level dare to speak up and act. In so doing, you will attain a good result in work.
Finally, let us come to the fourth topic: taking good care of people.
Here, there are several problems which merit our attention.
1. As I mentioned above, we should avoid promoting cadres today but demoting them tomorrow, just like pile-driving. If we want to promote a certain cadre, we should, first of all, make an all-round assessment of his political integrity and his ability. We should carefully consider whether he is suitable for the position. After he has been promoted, we should pay attention to his work. When we find out that he is no longer able to continue the work, we should think of a way to help him. We should not wait until he gets into trouble and consequently blame him and relieve him of his post because of his failure.
2. When cadres at the lower level cannot keep their minds on their work, we must find a way to solve this problem. When I was living on the mountain, sometimes I felt annoyed. When I had just begun to read documents, somebody might look for me. I might ask: Is that person coming again? However, when I thought this matter over, I realized that the reason why he came to me so often was because he had something important which should be settled. So, I made up my mind to meet him. While I was writing an article, an uninvited person might unexpectedly arrive. Under such circumstances, it was not appropriate for me to straighten my back and continue to work without paying any attention to him. It was appropriate for me to set aside my pen and listen to what he had to say. While he was speaking, it was appropriate for me to listen to him attentively and answer various questions patiently. Only thus could I satisfy his needs. It is worth spending several hours if we can help a cadre solve his problems well. As cadres, we should spare no pains to deal with big and small matters. Since we have accepted a demand from a certain person, we should help him thoroughly solve his problems. Spending several hours on it should not be considered a waste of time.
3. When dealing with a cadre's problem which concerns his political life, we should handle it in a serious, cautious, and painstaking way. With regard to a comrade who has joined the revolutionary work, he does not pay too much attention to his physical life. On the contrary, he pays a lot of attention to his political life. He would rather sacrifice everything than be expelled from the party organization. If something has happened to his political life, he would think that he has no more prospects. We should not expel a party member from the party unless there is no other alternative.
Very often comrades who have been expelled from the party lodge their appeal to the Central Organizational Department or write letters of appeal. For example, a very young person was expelled from the party because a statement by certain accused people under investigation said that he was a Trotskiyite.[17] Although this young person's party membership was later restored, his glorious history over the preceding 7 years was discredited. He was treated like a new party member. This person demanded clarification of his problem. There were witnesses to this event. However, one witness was in Xian, one in Yanan, one in the 129th Division, and one in a foreign country. Letters were written to them in order to investigate the matter. After a certain period of time, we recently received their replies. We realized that the previous judgment was wrong. We recognize his past glorious history. As a result, such a "dead person," who thought that "I would rather die on the front," has become a living person again. Was it worth spending 2 months carrying out the investigation? I believe that it was worth doing so, because it is impossible to train a cadre in a period of 2 months, but it is well worth spending 2 months on rescuing a cadre.
Let me give you another example. Some people reported to me that a certain man was a member of the Trotskiyist special committee and that a certain woman was a Trotskiyite. This man and woman came to me for help because they intended to study in the Party School and training class. I told them that some people had accused them of being Trotskiyites. Hearing what I said, this man and woman burst into tears. I promised to help them solve this problem. When they came to see me, they were vivid and lively. When they left, their eyes were filled with tears. We spent 2 weeks on the investigation. The results of the investigation showed that they were not Trotskiyites. Since we have solved this problem, do you not think that our efforts are worthwhile?
Some comrades are reluctant to provide correct evidence for other comrades for fear that they might get into trouble. Therefore, when we encounter such problems of personal political history, we should handle them in a prudent way. Otherwise, the problems of some people can never be solved and those comrades who are suspected will be wronged forever. This has actually harmed the party cause. Those who are engaged in leading party work and the army should pay close attention to this matter.
Comrades! Parents are very careful to take good care of their children. The CPC is also very careful to take good care of party members, just as parents would. When a person commits mistakes, we should help him correct them. When a person commits very serious mistakes, or even offenses, what should we do? Under such circumstances, we should consider whether he made contributions in the past. If he did make contributions, we should make a comparison between his contributions and errors. Actions can be taken only after making such a comparison. If a person made mistakes in the past and continues to do so now, he should, after making criticism and self-criticism, awake promptly and become resolute. As long as he repents, he can turn over a new leaf in his life and expiate his crime by good deeds in the future. Our Communist Party is fair and reasonable. As long as those who made mistakes can repent and truly correct their mistakes, the revolutionary ranks should allow them to continue to carry out the revolution. If a person has committed mistakes today, his previous achievements can be used to expiate his mistakes. If he commits mistakes now and made errors in the past, he is allowed to expiate his crimes by good deeds in the future. Our Communist Party will do its best to rescue those who committed mistakes, because this will be beneficial to the revolution.
4. We should avoid "flattering" cadres and praising them one-sidedly. If we praise the merits of cadres at the lower level and cover up their mistakes, they will become arrogant and work in an unrealistic way. In so doing, we will ruin our cadres rather than helping them.
There are some cadres who like to hear people's praise. When they are praised, they feel comfortable and happy. Otherwise, they become angry. Those who only praise people are toadies. It is not a good thing to fawn on people. Only those people who can carry out criticism unreservedly can be regarded as good people and revolutionary comrades. Very often, some cadres do not understand this. As the saying goes: "Good advice jars the ear and good medicine tastes bitter." All comrades should bear this in mind.
In a word, it is very important to take good care of people. When promoting a certain cadre, we should make an all-round assessment of his political integrity and ability. Since we have promoted him, we should do everything possible to help him so that he will not collapse. We should patiently solve the problems of those cadres who cannot keep their minds on their work. We should carefully and seriously solve problems that concern a cadre's political life. We should not "flatter" cadres. On the contrary, we should adopt a practical attitude toward them. Only thus can we truly take good care of people.
These are the things which I wanted to talk about. However, there are two points which I would like to point out: First, comrades should not think that revolutionary discipline is no longer necessary. It is wrong to disregard discipline. In order to ensure the accomplishment of the revolutionary tasks, iron discipline is needed in the revolutionary ranks. With- out iron discipline, the CPC and the 8th Route Army will not survive and develop. Revolutionary discipline must be observed. I hope that our comrades will not violate revolutionary discipline. My speech is not aimed at helping those people who violate discipline. Second, those comrades who were wronged or punished should not use my speech to launch a counterattack. Today, they are not allowed to take this opportunity to retaliate, because it is no good for them to do so. Things which happened in the past are over. Is there anybody who never does anything wrong? It is good as long as a person can correct his mistakes. Our comrades must be broadminded.
This is the end of my speech.
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FOOTNOTES
[1] See Stalin's "A Speech Delivered at a Graduation Ceremony of the Students of the Red Army College Held at the Kremlin" ("Selected Works of Stalin," Vol 2, People's Publishing House, 1979, p 373).
[2] Base areas in northern Shaanxi mentioned here refer to the revolutionary base areas in Shaanxi and Gansu, which were located in the northern parts of Shaanxi and northeastern parts of Gansu. During the period between 1932 and 1934, under the leadership of Liu Zhidan and Xie Zichang, the 26th Army and the 27th Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army were established, and base areas on the border of Shaanxi and Gansu and the northern parts of Shaanxi were set up. In July 1935, after smashing the enemy's "encirclement and suppression" of the four provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and Shanxi, the revolutionary base areas on the border of Shaanxi and Gansu and those in the northern parts of Shaanxi were linked together. In September of the same year, the 26th and 27th Armies of the Red Army broke out of the encirclement of Hubei, Henan, and Shaanxi and marched toward the northern parts of Shaanxi to join forces with the 25th Army. The 15th Army Group was thus set up. At that time, there were about 20 counties in the base areas with a population of more than 900,000. They became bases of the Central Red Army and the 2d and 4th Front Armies.
[3] Wu Peifu (1874-1939) was from Penglai, Shandong Province. He was a leader of the Zhili group of the northern warlords. In 1918, he opposed Duan Qirui's policy of "armed reunification" and advocated peaceful negotiation between the north and the south. After the May 4th Move- ment, he pretended to be a "patriotic armyman" to oppose the govern- ment's signing of the Paris peace treaty and called on the government to abrogate the Sino-Japanese secret treaty. After the first war between the Zhili group and the Fengtian group in 1922, he supported Cao Kun in gaining control of the Beijing government. In 1923, he brutally suppressed the movement of the railway workers of the Beijing-Hankou line. In 1924, he was defeated in the second war between the Zhili group and Fengtian group. In 1926, he cooperated with Zhang Xuelin, a warlord of the Fengtian faction, to attack the national army of Fe Yuxiang. In the same year, he was defeated by the northern expeditionary army in Hubei and fled to Sichuan. In 1939, he died in Beiping.
[4] Nationalism is a kind of bourgeois ideology which uses an abstract concept of nations to cover up the class nature of nations. Such ideology was prevalent in Europe during the 18th century. During the 1920's, political representatives of some big landlords and big bourgeoisie in China were also called followers of nationalism. Due to the fact that they flaunted the banner of patriotism, some young intellectuals were once deceived. The CPC and CYL used XIANGDAO and ZHONGGUO QINGNIAN as their main means to criticize the fallacy spread by nationalism and win over those genuine patriotic youths.
[5] The three people's principles mean nationalism, democracy, and the people's livelihood advocated by Sun Yat-sen. With the change of times, there are differences between the old and new contents of the three people's principles. The old three people's principles were the revolutionary programs of the old democratic revolution in China. In January 1924, Sun Yat-sen accepted the proposal put forth by the com- munists and reexplained the three people's principles at the First National Congress of the Chinese KMT. He developed the old three people's principles into the new three people's principles, characterized by the three great policies of allying with Russia and the communists and assisting peasants and workers.
[6] The central soviet area, the key soviet area, and the soviet area in Jiangxi mentioned in this article refer to base areas of the provisional central government of the Chinese Soviet Republic led by the CPC with Ruijin as a center. These areas were established during the second revolutionary civil war. They were the so-called central revolutionary base areas. They were located in the southern parts of Jiangxi and the western parts of Fujian. They once governed 21 counties and had a population of about 2.5 million.
[7] Mao Zetan (1905-1935) was from Xiangtan, Hunan Province. He joined the CPC in October 1923. After the failure of the first revolutionary civil war, he took part in the Autumn Harvest Uprising and went to the Jing Gang Shan. He was once a member of the CPC special committee in the northeastern parts of Jiangsi, secretary of the Zhongxin County CPC Committee, division commander of the independent division of the Red Army, secretary general of the Central Bureau of the CPC in the soviet areas, secretary of the Fujian Provincial CPC Committee, and military commander of the Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi Military Region. After the main force of the Red Army carried out the Long March, he stayed in the south to persist in the guerrilla war. In April 1935, he heroically died in Ruijing when fighting against the enemy.
[8] The Luguoqiao Incident is also called the 7 July Incident. Luguoqiao is more than 10 km from the city of Beijing and a gateway to the south- western part of Beijing. On 7 July 1937, the Japanese aggressor troops started an attack on the Chinese Army from this place. Encouraged by the great mass fervor of resisting the Japanese invaders of the people throughout the country and influenced by the advocacy of the CPC of resisting the Japanese, the Chinese Army fought a heroic battle to resist the Japanese. The Chinese people's heroic 9-year war of resistance against the Japanese started thereafter.
[9] The anti-Japanese college meant the Anti-Japanese Military and Political College. Its full name was the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Military and Political College. It was a college of the CPC for training military and political cadres in order to resist Japan. Its predecessor was the Red Army College of Workers and Peasants in the central revolutionary base areas. When it moved to the northern part of Shaanxi, it was called the Anti-Japanese College of the Red Army. The name was later changed to the Anti-Japanese Military and Political College.
[10] Shaanbei Public School was a school run by the CPC for training cadres during the early period of the war of resistance against Japan. It was set up in Yanan in September 1937. Progressive youths from various parts of the country were admitted into the school and provided with a short-term revolutionary education. In 1939, parts of the Yanan Public School were amalgamated into Lianhe University in north China. The other parts of the school were retained in Yanan. In 1941, they were amalgamated into the Yanan University.
[11] Lu Xun Art Academy was a school run by the CPC to train cadres engaged in literature and art work. It was established in Yanan in April 1938. During the third revolutionary civil war, it was moved to the northeast.
[12] The party school mentioned here refers to the Central Party School. It was a school run by the CPC to provide leading cadres with a more systematic education in Marxist-Leninist theories. Its predecessor was the Marxist Communist School. It was established in Ruijing on 13 March 1933. After the Long March, the school was restored in Wayaobao in the northern part of Shaanxi in the winter of 1935 and the name was changed to the Central Party School. In early 1937, it was moved to Yanan.
[13] The 1911 revolution was a revolution led by the bourgeois revolutionary political party Tong Meng Hui headed by Sun Yat-sen. On 10 October 1911, revolutionaries mobilized the new army to carry out an uprising in Wuchang, Hubei Province. After that, various provinces enthusiastically responded to the uprising. The reactionary rule of the Qing Dynasty, which was supported by foreign imperialists, rapidly collapsed. On 1 January 1921, a provisional government of the Republic of China was established in Nanjing and Sun Yat-sen took up the post of provincial president. The Chinese imperial system, which had lasted for more than 2,000 years, was thus ended. The concept of the demo- cratic republic struck roots in the hearts of the people. However, the strength of the bourgeois revolutionary faction was still weak and had a tendency toward compromise. Therefore, it could not mobilize the broad masses of people to thoroughly carry an anti-imperialist and antifeudal revolution. The achievement of the revolution was rapidly usurped by the northern warlord Yuan Shikai. China was still unable to extricate itself from the state of semicolonialism and semifeudalism.
[14] The Hongqiang Society was a peasants' armed organization with a superstitious nature. It originated in Shandong and later spread to Henan, Shaanxi, and other provinces. It took red-tasseled spears as its main weapon, so it was called the Hongqiang [red-tasseled spear] Society. The policy adopted by the CPC toward the society was to enlighten and help its members so that they could become a revolutionary force and could avoid being used by warlords and local tyrants.
[15] The Gelao Society was a secret folk organization whose members were mainly bankrupt peasants, unemployed handicraftsmen, ex-servicemen, vagrants, and some landlord elements. During the 1911 revolution, they were influenced by and accepted the leadership of the revolutionaries and took part in the armed uprising.
[16]The three religions refer to Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, whereas the nine schools of thought refer to the Confucians, the Taoists, the Yin-Yang, the Legalists, the Logicians, the Mohists, the Political Strategists, the Eclectics and the Agriculturists. Later, the three religions and the nine schools of thought referred in general to various religious and academic schools. In the old society, the three religions and the nine schools of thought were used to refer to various kinds of itinerant quacks.
[17] Trotskiyite was an abbreviation for the Trotskiyite faction headed by Trotskiy inside the CPSU (Bolshevik), which opposed Lenin. In this article, it refers to Trotskiyites in China. After the failure of the 1927 revolution, a small number of capitulators headed by Chen Duxiu adopted a reactionary Trotskiyite stand and maintained that the Chinese bourgeoisie had already won a victory in the struggle against the imperialist and feudal force and that the democratic revolution of the Chinese bourgeoisie had ended. They also held that the Chinese proletariat could only carry out socialist revolution in the future. At that time, they advocated a legitimatized movement with "national congress" as their main slogan. Consequently, they liquidated the revolutionary movement. Therefore, they were also called the "Trotskiyite-Chen liquidationist faction." In November 1929, Chen Duxiu and his like were expelled from the party. Directly promoted by Trotskiy, Chen Duxiu cooperated with other Trotskiyites to establish a unified Trotskiyite organization in China in May 1931 and Chen Duxiu was elected secretary of the organization. Not long after that, its members were successively arrested by the KMT, and the organization gradually collapsed. However, some Trotskiyite elements and groups still continued to carry out their activities.