This commemoration was authored by the Editorial Departments of Renmin Ribao, Hongqi, and Jiefangjun Bao and published on May 17^th, 1968. We are reproducing the 1968 Foreign Languages Press translation, which used the Wade-Giles Chinese to English transliteration system.

Quotation from Chairrnan Mao Tsetung

The great proletarian cultural revolution is in essence a great political revolution under the conditions of socialism made by the proletariat against the bourgeoisie and all other exploiting classes; it is a continuation of the prolonged struggle waged by the Chinese Communist Party and the masses of revolutionary people under its leadership against the Kuomintang reactionaries, a continuation of the class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

The Circular of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (May 16, 1966)¹ drawn up under the personal guidance of Chairman Mao is an epoch-making document for charting the great proletarian cultural revolution. The theory, line, principles and policies for continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat advanced by Chairman Mao in the Circular constitute a creative development of Marxism-Leninism.

“An Epoch-Making Document” by the editorial departments of Renmin Ribao, Hongqi. and Jiefangjun Bao in commemoration of the second anniversary of the publication of the Circular is an important article which has profoundly end comprehensively summed up the great victories of China’s great proletarian cultural revolution during the last two years in the political, ideological and organizational fields. Politically, this revolution has smashed the bourgeois headquarters hidden in our Party and headed by China’s Khrushchov, and crushed the criminal schemes of the handful of capitalist roaders in the Party, counter-revolutionary revisionists, renegades, enemy agents and counter-revolutionary double-dealers to subvert the dictatorship of the proletariat and restore capitalism in our country.

Ideologically, revolutionary mass criticism and repudiation has been waged against a handful of class enemies and has enhanced the widespread dissemination of Mao Tse-tung’s thought and helped the proletariat attain a still more dominant position in the ideological field. Organizationally. there has emerged an entirely new organ of power based on the revolutionary “three-in-one” combination – the revolutionary committee which closely unites the basic forces (representatives of the revolutionary masses), the staunch pillar (representatives of the People’s Liberation Army) and the backbone of leadership (representatives of the revolutionary cadres) of the dictatorship of the proletariat – and this organ of power has strengthened the dictatorship of the proletariat. The article calls on the proletarian revolutionaries and the broad revolutionary masses to rally more firmly around the banner of Mao Tse-tung’s thought, resolutely follow Chairman Mao’s proletarian revolutionary line and fight unremittingly for the all-round victory in the great proletarian cultural revolution, the first of its kind in the history of mankind!

1. See Circular of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (May 16, 1966) . A Great Historic Document, published by the Foreign Languages Press, Peking, in 1967-Tr. ↩︎

Two years ago, the May 16, 1966 Circular of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist party- a brilliant, historic Marxist-Leninist document – was drawn up under the personal guidance of the great leader Chairman Mao.

This Circular is an epoch-making document for charting the great proletarian cultural revolution; it is a militant call to the proletariat and the broad masses of revolutionary people, under the conditions of socialism, to march against the bourgeoisie and all other exploiting classes.

Two years is a short time. But what great revolutionary changes have taken place in these two years! The theory, line, principles and policies for continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat advanced by Chairman Mao in the Circular have smashed the resistance put up in one form after another by the bourgeois reactionary line, armed the proletarian revolutionaries and hundreds of millions of revolutionary people in our country, and displayed the mighty power of Marxism-Leninism, thus winning the decisive victory for the unprecedented, great proletarian cultural revolution during the past two years.

I

Chairman Mao points out in the Circular: The whole Party must

…hold high the great banner of the proletarian cultural revolution, thoroughly expose the reactionary bourgeois stand of those so-called academic authorities who oppose the Party and socialism, thoroughly criticize and repudiate reactionary bourgeois ideas in the sphere of academic work, education, journalism, literature and art and publishing, and seize the leadership in these cultural spheres. To achieve this, it is at the same time necessary to criticize and repudiate those representatives of the bourgeoisie who have sneaked into the Party, the government, the army and all spheres of culture, and to clear them out or transfer some of them to other positions. . .

Those representatives of the bourgeoisie who have sneaked into the Party, the government, the army and various spheres of culture are a bunch of counterrevolutionary revisionists. Once conditions are ripe, they will seize political power and turn the dictatorship of the proletariat into a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. Some of them we have already seen through, others we have not. Some are still trusted by us and are being trained as our successors, persons like Khrushchov, for example, who are still nestling beside us. Party committees at all levels must pay full attention to this matter.

Practice in the great proletarian cultural revolution in the past two years has fully confirmed Chairman Mao’s brilliant foresight. The people have understood ever more deeply that these instructions of Chairman Mao’s constitute a creative development of the Marxist-Leninist theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat, a development which will play a far-reaching historical role in consolidating the dictatorship of the proletariat and continuing the socialist revolution in our country, and in the international communist movement.

The revolutionary mass movement undertaken on an unprecedentedly large scale during the past two years, like the surging waves of the sea, has smashed the bourgeois headquarters hidden in our Party and headed by China’s Khrushchov, has brought into the open the counter-revolutionary revisionists who oppose the Communist Party, the people and Mao Tse-tung’s thought, as well as the renegades, enemy agents and counter-revolutionary double-dealers, and has crushed their criminal schemes to subvert the dictatorship of the proletariat and restore capitalism in our country.

The abundant, irrefutable evidence already brought to light has established that China’s Khrushchov and the others who form the handful of top party persons in authority taking the capitalist road are a counter-revolutionary sinister gang that represents the interests of the Kuomintang reactionaries, of imperialism, the bourgeoisie, the landlords, rich peasants, counter-revolutionaries, bad elements and Rightists. A considerable proportion of this gang are the dregs and bad eggs left by the Kuomintang reactionaries. China’s Khrushchov, this capitalist roader number one in the Party, is a despicable renegade who on many occasions fell on his knees before the imperialists and the Kuomintang reactionaries. Another top capitalist roader in the Party, and Tao Chu, Peng Teh-huai, Peng Chen, Tan Chen-lin, Lo Jui-ching, Lu Ting-yi, Yang Shang-kun, An Tzu-wen and others are all renegades, enemy agents or counter-revolutionary revisionists of all stripes who hid themselves in our party.

These scoundrels wormed their way into our party and usurped many important positions. They were the Khrushchovs who nestled beside us, time-bombs placed in our Party and the most dangerous enemies of the proletariat under socialist conditions. Once conditions were ripe, they would seize political power, turn the dictatorship of the proletariat into a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, and turn the socialist system into a capitalist system, into a semi-feudal, semi-colonial system. In that case, the historical tragedy of the restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union and other countries controlled by revisionist renegade cliques would be repeated in China and our country would be pulled back to the dark period of Kuomintang reactionary rule.

Our struggle against these counter-revolutionaries is a sharp, complex, life-and-death struggle, a great revolution in which one class overthrows another. As Chairman Mao profoundly pointed out in one of his latest instructions:

The great proletarian cultural revolution is in essence a great political revolution under the conditions of socialism made by the proletariat against the bourgeoisie and all other exploiting classes; it is a continuation of the prolonged struggle waged by the Chinese Communist Party and the masses of revolutionary people under its leadership against the Kuomintang reactionaries, a continuation of the class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.

Victory in this struggle has greatly consolidated the dictatorship of the proletariat.

Our Party in the past relied on the masses of revolutionary people in waging a people’s war and succeeded in defeating powerful domestic and foreign enemies and overthrowing the reactionary Kuomintang rule. Now, under new historical conditions, our Party again relies on the masses of revolutionary people to advance and carry out this great political revolution which has no precedent in history, a revolution launched by the proletariat against the bourgeoisie and all other exploiting classes. precisely because several hundred million revolutionary people and young Red Guard fighters have been mobilized under the guidance of Chairman Mao’s proletarian revolutionary line, it has been possible to uncover and bring to light the bourgeois representatives and the dregs and bad eggs left by the Kuomintang reactionaries – persons who are most sly, insidious and vicious, and who have hidden themselves for so long and wormed themselves in so deep.

The great victory won by the proletarian revolutionaries, by the hundreds of millions of revolutionary peop1e and young Red Guard fighters in China in waging the soul-stirring struggle against these class enemies in this great revolution, will shine for ever with unfading and militant brilliance in the history of the proletariat’s revolutionary struggle.

II

In breadth and depth never attained before the mass movement of the great proletarian cultural revolution has undertaken revolutionary mass criticism and repudiation of the handful of class enemies.

Inspired by the Circular, the proletarian revolutionaries and the revolutionary masses have held high the great banner of revolutionary criticism and repudiation in line with Mao Tse-tung’s thought, incisively exposed and repudiated the towering crimes against the party, socialism and Mao Tse-tung’s thought committed by the handful of top capitalist roaders in the Party and their agents in various regions and departments, vigorously criticized and repudiated the counter-revolutionary revisionist line and the old ideas, culture, customs and habits of the bourgeoisie and of all other exploiting classes.

The revolutionary mass criticism and repudiation has enhanced the widespread dissemination of Mao Tse-tung’s thought. The enthusiasm of the masses in the creative study and application of Mao Tse-tung’s thought has never been so high as today. The outlook of the people has undergone a tremendous change. Successors to the revolutionary cause of the proletariat are emerging in great numbers in the course of the struggle.

The revolutionary mass criticism and repudiation has helped the proletariat attain a still more dominant position ideologically. It has helped the proletarian revolutionaries overthrow the handful of capitalist roaders in the Party not only organizationally, but also in a thoroughgoing way politically, ideologically and theoretically, thus consolidating the dominant position the proletariat has won in the political and economic spheres.

In the political and ideological spheres, either the East wind prevails over the West wind, or the West wind prevails over the East wind; either the proletariat prevails over the bourgeoisie, or the bourgeoisie prevails over the proletariat. There is no middle course.

In the great proletarian cultural revolution, the aim of the proletarian revolutionaries is precisely to fight and repudiate resolutely the bourgeois reactionaries, poisonous weeds and those landlords, rich peasants, counterrevolutionaries, bad elements and Rightists who have not reformed themselves. The aim of the proletariat is precisely to prevail over the bourgeoisie; “equality” with the latter is out of the question. As Chairman Mao points out in the Circular:

Can equality be permitted on such basic questions as the struggle of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie, the dictatorship of the proletariat over the bourgeoisie, the dictatorship of the proletariat in the superstructure, including all the various spheres of culture, and the continued efforts of the proletariat to weed out those representatives of the bourgeoisie who have sneaked into the Communist Farty and who wave “red flags” to oppose the red flag?

The great victories in China’s great proletarian cultural revolution movement over the past two years are the mighty results won by Mao Tse-tung’s thought in the revolutionary mass criticism and repudiation of the old ideology of the bourgeoisie and all other exploiting classes.

Chairman Mao often says that there is no construction without destruction. Destruction means criticism and repudiation, it means revolution. It involves reasoning things out, which is construction. Put destruction first, and in the process you have construction.

Representatives of different classes and different ideologies will continue to perform on the stage in this unprecedented, great proletarian cultural revolution, in this extremely intense class struggle. The representatives of the moribund classes will continue to put on different disguises and resort to double-faced tactics to hoodwink people. We must continue to carry out the instruction “put destruction first, and in the process you have construction”, and continue to repudiate the hand-full of top capitalist roaders in the Party and the reactionary world outlook of the bourgeoisie.

All comrades in the ranks of the proletarian revolutionaries must hold aloft the great red banner of Mao Tsetung’s thought, firmly act according to Mao Tsetung’s thought and adhere to the high degree of principle inherent in the proletariat. They must repudiate the counter-revolutionary revisionist line represented by China’s Khrushchov, and repudiate Right opportunism and the reactionary thinking that is “Left” in form but Right in essence. They must repudiate all reactionary trends opposed to Marxism-Leninism, Mao Tse-tung’s thought, repudiate anarchism, the mountain-stronghold mentality, sectarianism and all manifestations of the ideology of the bourgeoisie and all other exploiting classes. They must carry revolutionary mass repudiation through to the end and clear the way ideologically for all-round victory in the great proletarian cultural revolution. This will ensure that the great red banner of Mao Tse-tung’s thought will fly high on all fronts.

III

During the great proletarian cultural revolution movement, on the basis of the revolutionary great alliance formed by the proletarian revolutionaries and the broad masses of revolutionary people, there has come into existence the entirely new revolutionary committee which is based on the revolutionary “three-in-one” combination. As Chairman Mao points out: “The ‘three-in-one’ revolutionary committee is the creation of the working class and the masses in the current great cultural revolution.”

One of Chairman Mao’s latest instructions says:

There are three elements in the basic experience of the revolutionary committee: It embraces representatives of the revolutionary cadres, representatives of the armed forces and representatives of the revolutionary masses, constituting a revolutionary “three-in-one” combination. The revolutionary committee should exercise unified leadership, eliminate duplication in the administrative structure, follow the policy of “better troops and simpler administration” and organize a revolutionized leading group which links itself with the masses.

Guided by Mao Tse-tung’s thought, such a revolutionary committee which has the participation of representatives of the revolutionary masses who have brought about the revolutionary great alliance, and representatives of the People’s Liberation Army and revolutionary leading cadres, is the rich fruit of the struggle launched from below to seize power from the handful of capitalist roaders in the Party, the struggle by the proletarian revolutionaries and the broad revolutionary masses, who have grasped Chairman Mao’s theory on continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat. It has greatly enriched and developed the Marxist-Leninist theory of the state.

With outstanding elements of the proletariat, who have emerged in the mass movement, taking a direct part in state administration, such an organ of power represents the basic interests of the labouring masses of workers and peasants and maintains close and extensive ties with the masses. This will be of great help to our leading bodies at all levels in revolutionizing themselves and becoming organs of power which are revolutionary, enjoy proletarian authority, maintain close ties with the masses and are full of vitality. Such a revolutionary committee which closely unites the basic forces (representatives of the revolutionary masses), the staunch pillar (representatives of the People’s Liberation Army) and the backbone of leadership (representatives of the revolutionary cadres) of the dictatorship of the proletariat, has further strengthened the unity between the army and the people, between the army and the government and between the cadres and the masses, and strengthened the dictatorship of the proletariat so that our state organs of the dictatorship of the proletariat will meet still better the needs of the socialist economic base and the need to consolidate the dictatorship of the proletariat and prevent the restoration of capitalism.

Chairman Mao long ago taught us:

Without extensive people’s democracy, the dictatorship of the proletariat cannot be consolidated and political power will be unstable. Without democracy, without arousing the masses and without supervision by the masses, it is impossible effectively to exercise dictatorship over the reactionaries and bad elements or effectively to reform them; they will continue to make trouble, and there is still the possibility of a restoration. We should be vigilant on this question, and comrades should think about it carefully.

From the speech at the 7,ooo-strong meeting in 1962

The great proletarian cultural revolution has aroused the masses to the fullest extent. The broad revolutionary masses are paying attention to the major issue of consolidating proletarian political power and are taking an active part in exercising dictatorship over the class enemy. This is dictatorship by the overwhelming majority over a tiny minority, a dictatorship by the proletariat and the masses of the people over the bourgeoisie and all reactionaries, and a dictatorship by the masses of the people under the leadership of the political party of the proletariat. With the gradual winning of all-round victory in the great cultural revolution and the establishment, improvement and growth of revolutionary committees at all levels, the dictatorship of the proletariat, in which the masses of the people are aroused to participate, will display ever greater revolutionary power.

IV

The great historic contributions of the mass movement of the great proletarian cultural revolution are magnificent and indelible.

The victory of the mass movement of the great proletarian cultural revolution is irresistible.

With inveterate class hatred the handful of class enemies, facing their last days but unreconciled to their doom, are frantically opposing the revolutionary mass movement and trying in vain to negate the tremendous victories of the great proletarian cultural revolution. But the law of history is inexorable and operates independent of their will. No matter what criminal conspiracies and sabotage they may undertake, and no matter how much they may stir up the evil Right deviationist trend of trying to reverse correct decisions, they will end up crushed by the revolutionary mass movement.

The influence of the tremendous victories in our great proletarian cultural revolution over the past two years has spread throughout the world, inspiring the militant will of the revolutionary people of all countries. We can see that the great proletarian cultural revolution has played a certain role in pushing forward the revolutionary mass movement in countries ruled by the imperialists and their lackeys and in countries ruled by the revisionist renegade cliques. The great proletarian cultural revolution which is guided by Mao Tse-tung’s thought has inspired the heroism of the revolutionary people the world over in daring to struggle and to win. It has won enthusiastic support from Marxist-Leninists and the revolutionary masses throughout the world.

China’s great proletarian cultural revolution has aroused extreme fear, hatred and panic among the imperialists, the modern revisionists and the reactionaries of all countries. These bourgeois overlords always pin their hopes on the “premature end” of China’s great proletarian cultural revolution, on the “collapse” of China’s proletarian political power. Like witches, they mutter vicious curses about “the gloomy prospects of the cultural revolution”. But the fond dreams of these overlords have been crushed under the strides of the victorious advance of China’s proletarian revolutionaries and the broad revolutionary masses.

The sweeping torrent of China’s great proletarian cultural revolution is breaking through all obstacles and surging forward with powerful momentum.

We are at the key moment of winning all-round victory in the great proletarian cultural revolution. We still face arduous struggles.

In this new situation, we should act according to Chairman Mao’s teachings by guarding against arrogance and rashness, and following up the victories, one after the other. We should constantly sum up our experience, pay profound attention at all times to investigation and study, be alert to new trends, new characteristics and. new problems in the class struggle, and hold firmly to the general orientation of the struggle.

We should resolutely safeguard the leadership of the proletarian headquarters headed by Chairman Mao and with Vice-Chairman Lin Piao as the deputy leader, expose and smash all conspiracies and schemes by the class enemy to undermine the proletarian headquarters. We should further purify and consolidate our class ranks, unite and win over our allies, and continue to launch offensives against the class enemy. We should strictly differentiate contradictions between the enemy and ourselves from contradictions among the people. With regard to errors within the revolutionary ranks, we should persist in Chairman Mao’s traditional policy of “learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones, curing the sickness to save the patient”.

We should proceed from the cardinal issue of the struggle between the two lines and deepen the revolutionary mass criticism and repudiation. We should repudiate the reactionary bourgeois ideas both from the Right and from the ultra “Left” resolutely oppose Right opportunism, Right capitulationism and Right splittism, and completely smash the evil Right deviationist trend of trying to reverse correct decisions.

We should carry forward the enthusiastic mass movement for the creative study and application of Mao Tse-tung’s thought on a still wider scale continue to exert great efforts to run Mao Tse-tung’s thought study classes effectively, energetically strive to consolidate and develop the revolutionary great alliance on the basis of departments, trades and school classes and the revolutionary “three-in-one” combination, unite the great majority of the cadres and the masses, make a success of struggle-criticism-transformation¹ in each and every unit, grasp revolution, promote production and other work and preparedness against war and still do better in all fields.

The great Chinese People’s Liberation Army has made tremendous contribution’s in the great proletarian cultural revolution. We should continue to develop the movement to support the army and cherish the people and strengthen the unity between the army and the people.

We should cherish and support the new-born revolutionary committees so that they are steadily consolidated and improved and become fighting headquarters which hold aloft the great red banner of Mao Tse-tung’s thought and put proletarian politics to the fore. The revolutionary committees should lead the masses in their tens of millions to win new victories and carry the great proletarian cultural revolution through to the end.

Let us rally firmly around the banner of Mao Tsetung’s thought, resolutely follow Chairman Mao’s proletarian revolutionary line and fight unremittingly to fulfil in an all-round way the momentous historic task of the great proletarian cultural revolution which is the first of its kind in the history of mankind! New victories call to us, let us march forward courageously!

1. “Struggle-criticism-transformation” means: to struggle against and overthrow those persons in authority who are taking the capitalist road, to criticize and repudiate the reactionary bourgeois academic “authorities” and the ideology of the bourgeoisie and all other exploiting classes and to transform education, literature and art and all other parts of the superstructure which do not correspond with the socialist economic base.