Ten Major Relationships
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On the Ten Major Relationships () is a speech by
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
which outlines how the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
would construct
socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
different from the model of development undertaken by the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. It was delivered by Mao during an enlarged session of a
Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...
meeting of the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
on April 25, 1956, and further elaborated in the 7th Supreme State Conference on May 2 the same year. In official account, the speech is celebrated as the landmark of the search for an alternative mode of socialist development that fit the specific conditions in China and it also marks the beginning of Mao's denouncement of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s. In fewer than 13,000 words in Chinese (10,000 in English translation), Mao stressed that China had to avoid repeating "certain defects and errors that occurred in the course of their
he Soviet Union He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
building socialism." Covered in the speech are the economic, social, political, and ethnical aspects of building socialism in China. Mao further charted a strategy of forming alliance and splitting enemies in international sphere. The speech was made in front of the party secretaries of various provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, and was subsequently circulated among the middle and top cadres for political study. It was not published until after Mao's death in September 1976.


Background

In January 1956 Mao Zedong noticed that
Liu Shaoqi Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary and politician. He was the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1954 to 1959, first-ranking Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communis ...
was receiving reports from some committees of the
State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative authority of China, headed by the Premier * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of S ...
and became interested in those reports. Beginning from late last year, Liu was preparing for the political report for the forthcoming party congress and Mao then instructed to arrange different bureaus to report to him. As Mao said, the formulation of the ten major relationships was the result of communicating with the cadres in those bureaus. From February 14 to April 24 (1956), Mao listened to the reports from 34 different bureaus, plus the report from the State Planning Commission on the Second Five-year Plan. During those 41 days, Mao listened to reports for four to five hours every day in
Zhongnanhai Zhongnanhai () is a compound that houses the offices of and serves as a residence for the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the State Council of the People's Republic of China, State Council. It was a former imperial gard ...
. Other top leaders including
Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...
, Liu Shaoqi,
Chen Yun Chen Yun (13 June 1905 – 10 April 1995) was a statesman of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China. He was one of the most prominent leaders during the periods when China was governed by Mao Zedong and later by Deng Xia ...
, and
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...
had also participated in these meetings and expressed their opinions. The reporting began with
heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
, then proceeded to
light industry Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...
, handicraft industry,
transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
ation and
telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...
,
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
and
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
,
finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
, and other areas. During the same period, Mao was also involved in the drafting of another document titled On the Historical Experience of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat (), which, published on April 5 on the
People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' ( zh, s=人民日报, p=Rénmín Rìbào) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP in multiple lan ...
, was an immediate response of the Chinese Communist Party to the
20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union () was held during the period 14–25 February 1956. It is known especially for First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev's " Secret Speech", which denounced the personality cult and dictator ...
. After listening to the first round of reports, from April 12 to 17 Mao visited an exhibition of mechanics to see the latest development in the industry. Then from April 18 onwards,
Li Fuchun Li Fuchun (; May 22, 1900 – January 9, 1975) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. He served as a Vice Premier of China. Biography Li Fuchun was born in Changsha, Hunan Province. After completing middle school in his home p ...
reported to Mao on the Second Five-year Plan. The entire process was Mao's longest and most comprehensive investigation on economic affairs after 1949. In the enlarged Politburo meeting from April 25 to 28, Mao made the speech on its first day. As the original agenda was about issues like agricultural cooperative, attendants did not expect Mao to make such a speech on the ten major relationships and it became the focus for the rest of the meeting.


Domestic sphere

After the founding of the new country in 1949, the party had consolidated its control over Chinese society through mass campaigns like Land Reform (1947–1952), the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries (1950–1953), the Three-Anti and Five-Anti Campaigns (1951–1952), the Campaign to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950–1953), and the Sufan Movement (1955). The government also completed the Ethnic Classification in 1954 which aimed at sorting and categorizing the hundreds of distinct
ethnic communities An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...
within the country, the result of which served as the basis for future policy on nationalities. In terms of economic development, China had followed the Soviet model of socialism ever since Mao's decision to lean on the side of the Soviet Union. As his speech
On the People's Democratic Dictatorship "On the People's Democratic Dictatorship" () is a speech which was written by Mao Zedong. It was presented to the public on 30 June 1949, twenty-eight years after the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This speech is part of the fourt ...
() in June 1949 states,
"We must learn to do economic work from all who know how, no matter who they are. We must esteem them as teachers, learning from them respectfully and conscientiously. We must not pretend to know when we do not know. We must not put on bureaucratic airs. If we dig into a subject for several months, for a year or two, for three or five years, we shall eventually master it. At first some of the Soviet Communists also were not very good at handling economic matters and the imperialists awaited their failure too. But the Communist Party of the Soviet Union emerged victorious and, under the leadership of Lenin and Stalin, it learned not only how to make the revolution but also how to carry on construction. It has built a great and splendid socialist state. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union is our best teacher and we must learn from it. The situation both at home and abroad is in our favour, we can rely fully on the weapon of the people's democratic dictatorship, unite the people throughout the country, the reactionaries excepted, and advance steadily to our goal."
Following Mao's visit to Moscow from late 1949 to early 1950, on February 14, 1950, the two countries signed the
Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance The Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance ( Russian: Советско-китайский договор о дружбе, союзе и взаимной помощи, ), or Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance fo ...
() which promised the Soviet Union's commitment to help build socialism in the newly founded People's Republic of China. From 1950 to 1956, a total of 5,092 Soviet experts were sent to China for technical assistant and the total number of visits of the Soviet experts was over 18,000 throughout the years. The areas they provided assistance included government bureaus, military, large enterprises, and higher institutions. In the countryside, from late 1955 to early 1956, China's agricultural sector completed the Socialist High Tide, transforming from having only 14.2% (16.9 million out of 120 million) of peasant families collectivized to 91.2% of them joining the co-operatives and 61.9% joining collectives. Likewise in the cities, private factories and shops were either turned into cooperatives or nationalized in the name of joint public-private ownership.


International sphere

Regarding to the Soviet Union's leadership in the socialist camp, the Tito-Stalin Split broke out in 1948, followed by the
Informbiro period The Informbiro period was an era of Yugoslavia's history following the Tito–Stalin split in mid-1948 that lasted until the country's partial rapprochement with the Soviet Union in 1955 with the signing of the Belgrade declaration. After ...
that ended at 1955, signaling the end of the Soviet Union's intolerance of alternative socialist development. In Moscow, a dramatic event happened during the
20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union () was held during the period 14–25 February 1956. It is known especially for First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev's " Secret Speech", which denounced the personality cult and dictator ...
in February 1956, as
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...
made the "
Secret Speech "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences" () was a report by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, made to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on 25 Februa ...
" of denouncing the personality cult and dictatorship of
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
. Chinese Communist
Zhu De Zhu De; (1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Zhu was born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan. He was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...
and Deng Xiaoping attended the congress and were surprised by the length that Khrushchev went into denouncing Stalin. Furthermore, the Soviet Union had begun to implement its 6th Five-year Plan for 1956–1960. On the geopolitical scene, China had since 1954 began to foster relations with her Asian neighboring countries like India and Burma. In April 1955, the
Bandung Conference The first large-scale Asian–African or Afro–Asian Conference (), also known as the Bandung Conference, was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, which took place on 18–24 April 1955 in Bandung, We ...
was held in Bandung, Indonesia and Zhou Enlai attended the conference as the representative of the PRC, strengthening its role in the African and Asian continents.


Content

Mao Zedong summarized the issues related to socialist construction and transformation into ten major relationships. To avoid the mistakes that the Soviet Union had made, Mao urged to mobilize the "positive elements" of the country, which were the peasants and workers, and turned the "negative elements" of reactionaries as far as possible into positive. Internationally "forces that can be united" were positive whilst reactionary forces were negative. The following are the synopses of the ten relationships, many of which were Mao's urge for balanced development and open criticism of the situations in the Soviet Union and
Eastern European countries Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...
.


Relationship between heavy industry on one hand and light industry and agriculture on the other

Mao was concerned about the speed of
capital accumulation Capital accumulation is the dynamic that motivates the pursuit of profit, involving the investment of money or any financial asset with the goal of increasing the initial monetary value of said asset as a financial return whether in the form ...
and the production of the
means of production In political philosophy, the means of production refers to the generally necessary assets and resources that enable a society to engage in production. While the exact resources encompassed in the term may vary, it is widely agreed to include the ...
. He was of the opinion that China was on the right course of balancing heavy industry on one hand, and light industry and agriculture on the other. Unlike in the Soviet Union and some Eastern European countries, where the disequilibrium resulted in "a shortage of goods on the market and an unstable currency", the supply of grain, raw materials, and daily necessities were stable in China. He urged to increase the investment in agriculture and light industry so that the accumulation of capital could be enhanced for the development of heavy industry.


Relationship between industry in the coastal regions and industry in the interior

The focus of this part is the balance between the development in the coastal regions and interior regions, which Mao considered free from major mistakes. Yet he urged to give greater attention to development in coastal regions, because the military threat posed by the United States had subsided and it would be unwise to abandon the coastal regions. He also mentioned in the interior regions industry should be gradually built.


Relationship between economic construction and defense construction

Similar to last part, Mao suggested that the threat posed by the United States since the Korean War had subsided and the Chinese armed forces had grown. Though China did not yet have the atom bomb, they would be able to possess it soon. Hence he urged lowering military and administrative expenses in favor of economic construction, which would eventually lead to investment in defense construction.


Relationship between the state, the units of production, and the producers

As for the relationship between the state and society, Mao urged for more openness and delegation of powers to the individual units of production and producers. Workers should be given improved working conditions and welfare, and increased and more equal wages as a reward for their political consciousness and over-fulfillment of production quotas. Factories should also been given more autonomy in operation. Unlike in the Soviet Union where peasants were exploited heavily by the state, China had a good relation with the peasants, though the Chinese Communist Party made a huge purchase of grain despite the floods in 1954 which made the peasants disgruntled. The policies of low agricultural tax, purchasing agricultural productions at standard prices, and subsidizing the grain sale to grain-deficient areas prevented China from making the mistakes the Soviet Union had made.


Relationship between the central and the local authorities

Mao stated that because of the complex situation of China's large population and vast scale, it was better to have both strong central and strong local governments than only a strong central government (as Mao described the Soviet Union). Mao stated that China should not be like the USSR, which Mao described as having a central government that was not flexible enough for local governments to operate. Though the incidents of
Gao Gang Gao Gang ( zh, s=高岗, w=Kao Kang; 1905 – August 1954) was a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader during the Chinese Civil War and the early years of the People's Republic of China (PRC) before he became the victim of the first major purge w ...
and
Rao Shushi Rao Shushi (; 1903—1975) was a Chinese politician and a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader before he was purged in 1954 alongside Gao Gang. He was imprisoned in 1955 and died in custody in 1975. Early years As a native of Lingchuan (), Ji ...
in 1953 reminded the danger of local leaders having too much power, "provided that the policies of the central authorities are not violated, the local authorities may work out rules, regulations and measures in the light of their specific conditions and the needs of their work, and this is in no way prohibited by the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
."


Relationship between the Han nationality and the minority nationalities

Mao said that the party had been able to oppose
Han chauvinism Han chauvinism is an ideology that speaks out for the ethnic Han Chinese people and its uniqueness throughout human history. Han chauvinists believe that the current influence from the West has downgraded the development of China's own cultura ...
and foster a harmonious relation with ethnic minorities. The situation in China was that Han population was the majority, but they occupied relatively a lower portion of land and the ethnic minorities occupied the majority of the land. The party hence needed to keep reviewing their own policy to eliminate the influences of the old time and devise systems of economic management and finance for the minority nationalities.


Relationship between Party and non-Party

This part is the most liberal of the ten major relationships, as Mao opined that the existence of other political parties could serve the party well by providing supervision. Though democratic parties were composed of the national bourgeoisies and intellectuals, they offered "well-intentioned criticisms." Even if the criticism was abusive, the party could refute by rational responses. Mao then envisioned the disappearance of the party, as the Marxist theory suggested the coming of a
stateless society A stateless society is a society that is not governed by a state. In stateless societies, there is little concentration of authority. Most positions of authority that do exist are very limited in power, and they are generally not perman ...
when communism is achieved, and even though a coercive party was needed to suppress counter-revolutionaries, he proposed to streamline the party and the bureaucracy.


Relationship between revolution and counter-revolution

Though counter-revolutionaries were negative factor, thanks to the policy of the party, some of them had stopped opposing the revolution. Whilst affirming the necessity of suppressing the counter-revolutionaries campaign in the early 1950s, Mao distanced himself from the
Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...
of Stalin and insisted that counter-revolutionaries like
Hu Feng Hu Feng (, November 2, 1902 – June 8, 1985) was a Chinese Marxist writer, poet and literary theorist. He was a prominent member of the League of Left-Wing Writers. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Hu Feng became a member ...
still existed and hence execution was needed in some cases to safeguard socialism and the dictatorship of the proletariat.


Relationship between right and wrong

In this section Mao focused on those who made mistakes in the past, which include "dogmatists headed by
Wang Ming Wang Ming (; May 23, 1904 – March 27, 1974) was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He led the CCP delegation to the Comintern, Communist International (Comintern) from 1931 to 1937. After returning to China, he came ...
" who led the party "picking up the bad aspect of Stalin's style of work". Mao used
Lu Xun Lu Xun ( zh, c=魯迅, p=Lǔ Xùn, ; 25 September 188119 October 1936), pen name of Zhou Shuren, born Zhou Zhangshou, was a Chinese writer. A leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in both vernacular and literary Chinese as a no ...
's "
The True Story of Ah Q ''The True Story of Ah Q'' is an episodic novella written by Lu Xun using third-person narration perspective, first published as a serial between December 4, 1921 and February 12, 1922. It was later included in his first short story collectio ...
" to illustrate it was "bad either to bar people outside the Party from the revolution or to prohibit erring comrades inside the Party from making amends." He suggested to observe those Communists who had erred but not those "who cling to their mistakes and fail to mend their ways after repeated admonition".


Relationship between China and other countries

In the tenth point, Mao emphasized the importance of "learning the strengths of all peoples and all countries." Mao viewed the policy of learning from the other countries (implying the Soviet Union) had been right so far. Yet since that every nation had its weak points, China "mustn't copy everything indiscriminately and transplant mechanically" and "pick up their shortcomings and weak points." The Chinese Communists must be able to discern what were the strong or bad points from other countries to pick up. He used the example of the setting of a
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...
and a Bureau of Cinematography, instead of a Ministry of Cinematography and a Bureau of Culture like the case of the Soviet Union, to illustrate the importance of making a decision that best fitted the situations of China. Regarding to the denouncement of the cult of personality of Stalin in the Soviet Union, Mao said that the "assessment of 30 per cent for mistakes and 70 per cent for achievements" for Stalin was "just about right." He then recounted the history of Wang Ming's "left adventurism" and "right opportunism" in the early history of the Chinese Communist Party which could be traced back to Stalin. In terms of socialist construction, Mao warned against the dogmatic following of Marxism–Leninism and applied their doctrines creatively. Lastly, Mao summed up the two weaknesses of China, one being the lack of confidence among the people due to its colonial and semi-colonial past and the imperialist encroachment, and another being the delay of revolution which came only in 1949, four decades after the
1911 Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...
.


Influence

In Mao Zedong's own works, "in the first eight years we copied foreign experiences, but since the ten major relationships was proposed in 1956,
he party He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...
had found a path suitable for China." The speech was credited for setting the tone for the
8th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party The 8th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in two sessions, the first 15–27 September 1956 and the second 5–23 May 1958 in Beijing. It was the first Congress of the Chinese Communist Party since the start of it taking ...
to be held in the second half of 1956, the first national congress after the founding of the new country in 1949. During the drafting process for the political report for the congress, Mao's original idea was to set "anti-rightist conservative thought" as the guiding thought. After the speech was delivered, the ten major relationships became the guiding thought instead and it was followed up by Liu Shaoqi,
Hu Qiaomu Hu Qiaomu (4 June 1912 – 28 September 1992) was a Chinese sociologist, Marxist philosopher and politician. Hu Qiaomu is a controversial figure for opposing the reform and opening up era of economic reform that followed the death of Mao Zedon ...
, and other top leaders in their preparation for the congress. During the congress Zhou Enlai reported on the proposal for the Second Five-year Plan (1956–1962) and issues highlighted by Mao in the speech, like the ratio of investment between heavy and light industries and decentralization, were addressed. After the speech was distributed to local level, "bearing in mind lessons drawn from the Soviet Union" was understood differently. In early 1957, it was reported that many local units began to lose enthusiasm in Soviet experts, did not learn from them, and even became rude to them. Soviet experts were not assigned works and leaders in some bureaus did not form a close relationship with them. Some bureaucrats even refused to work with them. In response, the experts reported back to Moscow their observations and dissatisfaction with the Chinese counterparts. ''Ten Major Relationships'', along with '' On the Correct Handling of Contradictions among the People,'' was an important part of the theoretical efforts to incorporate Marxism into the Chinese context and China's efforts to develop socialism.


Analysis


Soviet model of development and Sino-Soviet relations

Many considered the speech the beginning of Mao's disagreement with the Soviet path of socialist development. Political scientist Frederick C. Teiwes believes that the thorough investigation of China's situations in 1956 had urged top Chinese leaders to examine the shortcomings of the Soviet model critically and raise doubt about its applicability in China. Despite having a more mature industrial base, the Soviet economy grew slower than the Chinese one. A central change effected by the speech was the ratio of investment between heavy industry on one hand and light industry and agriculture on the other. In June 1956, the ratio of heavy industry to light industry was reduced from 8:1 to 7:1 and a few months later the proposed investment in agriculture had also increased from 7% to 10%. Also, the State Council planned to decentralize the administration of economic organizations and the use of indirect planning and market mechanisms were proposed and experimented in late 1956. Yet the attempt was soon curtailed because of the difficulties involved and opposition from economic planners. Teiwes reminds that the Soviet Union themselves had also tried to decentralize in mid-1955 and it contributed to China's reaction. An instance of such influence was the use of Soviet machine tractor for spreading the mechanization of agriculture but it was questioned by the Chinese side due to its insufficiency. Another instance was that the "one-man management" factory system, which placed authority in the hands of the factory manager, was never able to gain prominence in China except in the Northeast where the Soviet influence was strongest. Both practices were graduately abandoned by the Soviet Union. Economist Chris Bramall believes that the period between April 1956 and June 1957 was Mao at his most conservative and the speech reinstated Mao's economic policy of balanced development which was different from the Soviet emphasis on heavy industry. However, historian Shen Zhihua suggests that for adjusting the ratio of investment between heavy and light industries, altering the plan for industrial development, and improving people's living standard, Mao's development strategy in the speech did not differed significantly from the one in Khrushchev's speech made in the party congress in the same year and their 6th Five-year Plan as well. In Shen's view, China and the Soviet Union were both searching for the path for furthering socialist development.


Mao's view on the state purchase of grain

In part four, Mao said that the party "did make a mistake on the question of grain." In 1954, a decrease in production was accompanied by an increase in state purchase, making the peasants "disgruntled, and there were a lot of complaints both inside and outside the Party." In 1955, the amount of grain purchased by the state decreased and there was a good harvest, reversing the peasants' opinion on the party. In historian
Yang Kuisong Yang Kuisong (; born October 1953) is a Chinese historian. His work covers the history of the Chinese Communist Party. He is currently a professor of history at the East China Normal University, a researcher at the Si-Mian Institute for Advanced ...
's analysis, in the 1950s Mao was actually deeply concerned about the livelihood of peasants but his view on the state purchase of grain and the burden exerted on peasants changed gradually from considering to exploitative because of two factors: 1) the implementation of the First Five-year plan in 1953, and 2) the overall and long-term benefit of the state. The state collection of grain had been a strenuous issue for the new regime considering the fact that the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
and the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...
had caused a devastating effect on the country's economic activities. In the early 1950s, there were already incidents of peasants committing suicide or resisting the state collection despite
Chen Yun Chen Yun (13 June 1905 – 10 April 1995) was a statesman of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China. He was one of the most prominent leaders during the periods when China was governed by Mao Zedong and later by Deng Xia ...
's urge of caution. As seen from the official figures, grain shortage in spring (chunhuang 春荒) might not be the most direct cause of unnatural death, as years with higher shortage could actually have fewer unnatural death. Instead, natural disaster and the state purchase of grain were what exerted burden on the peasants. After 1949, the state purchase of grain had been on the rise and the increase was the most prominent after the implementation of the state monopoly in 1953. In 1956–1967, the figure dropped and it did not increase until the
Great Leap Forward The Great Leap Forward was an industrialization campaign within China from 1958 to 1962, led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Party Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to transform the country from an agrarian society into an indu ...
. Mao himself had directly intervened the policy on state purchase of grain in the early 1950s, requesting to lower the amount of grain to be purchased, so as to lighten the burden on peasants. During the period, the shortage of grain for peasants was a serious problem for the state which tried to maintain a low ratio of 30% in the purchase of grain. Chen Yun advocated a higher purchase ratio, which was opposed to Mao's view of maintaining a low ratio, as he knew that placing too much pressure on peasants would be counterproductive. But from 1953 onwards, Mao agreed with the view of economic planners and supported the state monopoly of the purchasing and marketing of grain. As the state monopoly was imposed, the state now had a better understanding of the amount of grain in the hands of peasants and in 1953, a total of 825 billion catties of grain was purchased, higher than the planned 708 billion. Emboldened by this increase, Chen Yun increased the amount even higher in 1954. The only concern for the planners was whether such increased led to massive death of peasants, which in 1955 a higher number of unnatural of death was indeed recorded. Other than ''Internal Reference'', Mao also knew about the problem from the democrats who wrote to Mao to report the severity of increased state purchase. As a response, Mao instructed Chen Yun to lower the purchase and for 1955 and a lower amount was purchased.


Mao's view on personality cult

In part ten Mao mentioned that "in the Soviet Union, those who once extolled Stalin to the skies have now in one swoop consigned him to purgatory. Here in China some people are following their example." Shen Zhihua suggests that the criticism of personality cult of Stalin led to the removal of
Mao Zedong Thought Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China and later the People's Re ...
from the 8th party congress. The party constitution in the congress did not mention Mao Zedong Thought and all top party leaders did not mention it as well, which was different from the party constitution in the last congress which stated Mao Zedong Thought as one of the guiding principles, alongside Marxism and Leninism, for the Chinese revolution. Since Mao himself had more than once opposed the use of the term in internal communication, so its removal in the 8th party congress did not necessarily indicate that Mao's status had been challenged as argued by some historians like
Roderick MacFarquhar Roderick Lemonde MacFarquhar (2 December 1930 – 10 February 2019) was a British sinologist, politician, and journalist. MacFarquhar was founding editor of '' China Quarterly'' in 1959. He served as a Member of Parliament in the 1970s, then ...
. Though the trend of anti-personality cult was prevalent in the socialist camp after 1953, Shen argues that Mao only opposed the public use of Mao Zedong Thought, but not saw it as a problem itself. Hu Qiaomu explained that not mentioning Mao Zedong Thought was related to the Soviet Union who refused to accept the idea. And since China still relied on the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, so that was Mao's policy to downplay the idea. The Soviet-Yugoslavia conflict in 1948 had signaled that Stalin would not tolerate alternative socialist path and the Soviet Union remained dominant in the socialist world. After Stalin's death in 1953, however, the pressure from the Soviet Union lessened, yet Mao still had not put forward the use of Mao Zedong Though publicly because of the possible backlash due to the anti-personality cult in the Soviet Union. The development led to the concerns from top Chinese leaders. After the 20th Soviet party congress, personality cult became an even more sensitive issue and invited the speculation of whether there was personality cult in China. At local level, cadres started to raise doubt about the excessive praise given to Mao and internationally socialist countries also became cautious about personality cult. Yet the personal worship of Mao within the party already began in the Yan'an era, so it had a long historical root in the party. Though the criticism of Stalin relieved Mao of the pressure from the Soviet Union, it also made the personality cult of his own problematic. That is the reason why he highlighted that "in China some people are following their example" as a reminder that Mao was supportive of his own cult, but critical of that of Stalin.


Subsequent development

Chris Bramall opines that in actual practice Mao did not follow what he stated in the speech and such view was echo by columnist Li Kwok-sing who claims that "China has never followed the theory of the ten relationship." During and immediately after the Great Leap Forward, Mao went further on the repudiation of the Soviet development model through thoroughly criticizing two Soviet books, ''Political Economy: A Textbook'' and Stalin's '' Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR''. As for the development of the interior regions and defense construction, in response to the military threat posed by the escalation of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
and the
Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War. This was primarily caused by divergences that arose from their ...
in the 1960s, China had significantly increased the investment in the interior regions through the Third Front construction projects. Eventually China developed her own nuclear weapons in the mid-1960s. In 1995
Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as Chairman of the Central Mil ...
delivered a speech on "twelve major relationships" of socialist development, echoing what Mao had stressed nearly 40 years earlier, though much less significance was attached to the speech. Jiang's twelve relationships overlap with some of Mao's.


Circulation and edition

On the Ten Major Relationships and On the Correct Handling of Contradictions among the People () were two important speeches that Mao delivered after 1949. The latter, delivered in February 1957, was revised by Mao himself and soon published on People's Daily in June the same year, but the former was only circulated among the middle and top cadres and remained unpublished until after Mao's death. Contrary to his usual practice of editing his own drafts, Mao had left the speech untouched after 1956. In 1965, Liu Shiqi suggested to Mao the publication of the speech due to its importance but Mao was dissatisfied with it and opined that further revision was needed. It remained for circulation among cadres only and was not for publication. In December, the party central instructed cadres to study the speech and express their views on it. In summer 1975, Deng Xiaoping directed the editorial work of the fifth volume of the Selected Works of Mao Zedong and suggested the inclusion of the speech. A further revision of the draft based on the original sound recording was prepared. After reading the revised draft, Mao agreed with its part-wide distribution, but still not its publication. Mao had twice commented on the importance of the speech, in 1958 and 1960 respective, each stressing the search for alternative socialist development. Yet in other occasions, Mao did not value it as highly. In September 1956 when he received the representatives from Yugoslavia, he said that for the speech he just summarized others' opinions and that was not his own creation. In May 1957, he mentioned that if he was not satisfied with some drafts even after revision, they would remained unpublished, indicating that the speech was not up to his standard. Other than the quality of the draft of the speech, another possible reason is the timing of political events. When Liu Shaoqi approached Mao in December 1965, Mao had already approved the criticism of the historical drama
Hai Rui Dismissed from Office ''Hai Rui Dismissed from Office'' (; also called ''Dismissal of Hai Jui'' in English) is a stage play, written by Wu Han (1909–1969), notable for its involvement in Chinese politics during the Cultural Revolution. The play itself focused on ...
which was considered the preparation for initiating the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
. The major contents of the speech were on economic issues which were different from the anti-revisionism of the Cultural Revolution and hence Mao did not agree to publish the speech. In 1975 when Deng Xiaoping approached Mao, Deng was restoring the previous practices and negating the Cultural Revolution and for the same reason Mao again disagreed to publish the speech. During the 2nd National Convention for Learning from Dazhai in Agriculture held in December 1976, the speech was chosen as a learning document. On the last day of the meeting, the article was published on People's Daily in full text and a nationwide learning campaign followed. The speech was also included in the fifth volume of Mao's Selected Works, with the following editorial:
"Bearing in mind lessons drawn from the Soviet Union, Comrade Mao Tsetung summed up China's experience, dealt with ten major relationships in socialist revolution and socialist construction and set forth the ideas underlying the general line of building socialism with greater, faster, better and more economical results, a line suited to the conditions of our country."
The published edition in 1976 contained contented which were omitted from the internal edition in 1965, including the criticism on the handling of heavy and light industries and agricultural sector of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, the criticism of Stalin, and other critiques. But the 1976 edition also did not contain all the contents from the speech in 1965.


See also

*
On Practice ''On Practice'' () is one of Mao Zedong's most important philosophical works. Along with '' On Contradiction'', this essay is a part of lectures Mao gave in 1937. It expresses Mao's support for Marxism and attempts to establish a distinctly Ch ...
*
On Contradiction ''On Contradiction'' () is a 1937 essay by the Chinese Communist revolutionary Mao Zedong. Along with '' On Practice,'' it forms the philosophical underpinnings of the political ideology that would later become Maoism. It was written in Augu ...
*
New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a type of democracy in Marxism, based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that w ...
* Third Front


References


Bibliography

* Bernstein, Thomas P. and Hua-yu Li, eds. ''China Learns from the Soviet Union, 1949-Present''. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2010. * Bramall, Chris. ''Chinese Economic Development''. London: Routledge, 2009. * Li, Kwok-sing. ''A Glossary of Political Terms of the People's Republic of China''. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1995. * MacFarquhar, Roderick. ''The Origins of the Cultural Revolution: Volume 1 Contradictions among the People, 1956-1957''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1974. * MacFarquhar, Roderick. ed. ''The Politics of China: The Eras of Mao and Deng''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. * Thomas, Mullaney. ''Coming to Terms with the Nation: Ethnic Classification in Modern China''. California: University of California Press, 2010. * Walker, Kenneth R. "Collectivisation in Retrospect: The 'Socialist High Tide' of Autumn 1955-Spring 1956". ''The China Quarterly''. Apr. - Jun., 1966. 26: 1–43. * 沈志华。《苏联专家在中国(1948–1960)》。北京:中国国际广播出版社,2003。 * 沈志華。《思考與選擇──從知識分子會議到反右派運動(1956-1957)》。香港:香港中文大學當代中國文化研究中心,2008。 * 杨奎松。〈从"小仁政"到"大仁政"——新中国成立初期毛泽东与中央领导人在农民粮食问题上的态度异同与变化〉。《开放时代》。6(2013): 163–90。


External links


On the Ten Major Relationships



A documentary on the making of the speech
{{Maoism, state=collapsed 1956 speeches Works by Mao Zedong Chinese diplomacy