Ba Jin: Chinese people must take the road of socialism

Chairman Mao's report "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People" was published. Not only in China, but also in the whole world, this is a big deal. Newspapers of our brother countries reprinted it in full, and our friends were excited about it. But our enemies are confused and frightened by it. Even American newspapers believe that "the West must be carefully studied." No matter what kind of research and speculation they make, they will not understand the significance of this report. But they had to admit the fact that the position of the new China had been consolidated and the confidence of the leaders of the new China had been strengthened. Even a month or two ago, American journalists had made such a judgment when commenting on the news of the Chinese Communist Party's rectification. Naturally this assertion is not something they themselves like.

　　As for how the people of the whole country warmly welcomed Chairman Mao's report, this is also conceivable, and everyone can describe in vivid sentences such moving examples that he has heard and witnessed. It is true that the People's Daily said that the report had encouraged the enthusiasm of the people in the capital for the anti-rightist struggle. We can also say that the report has inspired the enthusiasm of the people of the whole country – not only for the struggle against the Right, but also for the building of socialism. The struggle against the Right is precisely for the purpose of building socialism.

　　For more than three months, we have often talked about Chairman Mao's report. Many people have listened to Chairman Mao's report and the recording and transmission of the report, and some have even heard it several times. But even if you have listened to it a few times, you may not fully understand the significance of the report. Because the content of the report is both deep and broad and comprehensive, the twelve questions include all the important issues at present, raising not only the problems, but also the solutions to them. These require careful experience, repeated research and serious study. But now the situation is different. In the course of these three months or so, many things have happened that we did not expect, and these things have precisely confirmed Chairman Mao's words and have annotated Chairman Mao's report. We are amazed that Chairman Mao had seen so many things at that time, and saw them so clearly, as if he were a prophet of uncertain prophets. In fact, he only correctly mastered and applied dialectics. So when we re-read Chairman Mao's report today, we will feel very cordial and encouraged. It was as if we had found a compass or a self-defense weapon. To give a random example, for example, to deal with poisonous weeds, we now have a knife to cut grass or a hoe to weed.

　　Some time ago, everyone talked about the problem of fragrant flowers and poisonous weeds in "singing" and "putting", and some people were worried that they would not be able to distinguish what poisonous weeds were for a while. Now this concern has turned out to be superfluous. Poisonous weeds have sprung up here and there. These poisonous weeds are still mixed in the middle of the fragrant flowers, some of which are "put" and "put", some of which are just "put" out and retracted, and some of which are also covered with various disguises. But no matter what kind of "bubble tactics" they have to take, they are immediately exposed as soon as they appear. Even if they were to insert false flowers to "help rectify the wind", they would not be able to hide the ambitionist conspiracy to usurp the leadership and the motives of the exploiting class to try to restore. No one treats poisonous weeds as fragrant flowers, unless they first resonate with their thoughts and feelings. As the old saying goes: "The eyes of the people are shining". Poisonous weeds can't hide from the eyes of the people.

　　On the contrary, the eyes of rightists with ulterior motives are not shining. They see only their personal interests. They actually regarded today's situation of "singing" and "releasing" as a pool of muddy water, and wanted to touch the big fish there. Believing that the party's rectification style was an opportunity for them to take advantage of, they threw out the magic weapons in their hands one after another, hoping to seize the fruits of the revolution in one fell swoop, change the situation in China, and divide the "world" as the private property of individuals, and even the class component could be exchanged for money as goods. There are also hypocrites who claim to be inseparable from the "common people" who, in order to satisfy the "freedom" of personal insults, would rather let the "common people" return to the old society to suffer.

　　But all this is just the wishful thinking of a small group of people. These ideas will not have even the slightest chance of being realized. Because the "common people" do not want them, in the eyes of the "common people" they are "poisonous weeds".

　　The rightists clamour not to "lead the party" for the simple reason that they want to take the capitalist road. Of course, the road of capitalism cannot be led by the Communist Party, which will lead us to socialism and communism. However Chinese the people must take the road of socialism. Thousands of revolutionary martyrs in China shed their blood for socialism, and today there are thousands of revolutionary volunteers who have dedicated all their strength to building socialism. Chinese people want to take the road of socialism, because they know that only by taking this road can we make poor and weak China prosperous and strong, and only by taking this road can we bring happiness to them and their children and grandchildren. This view is very reasonable. Why didn't what was possible in a hundred years be done in a few years? Why did Chinese, who had not been able to stand up for a hundred years, stand up all at once? In fact, today's Chinese and our ancestors are the same hard-working people, the difference is that today we have the right path and the right leadership. In the past, without correct leadership, Chinese has always been set up by Westerners as "scattered sand". Today, with the right leadership, Chinese become a strong whole, at least the strength of most people has been exerted. Many Westerners do not understand this, so they can never estimate the strength of the new China, and the Americans did not understand it until north Korea touched the nail. The rightists should know more than the Americans, because they are Chinese. They shout with their eyes closed that "no party leadership" is just a matter of their class position. They don't want others to lead, just because they want to lead on their own. But this is something that violates the interests and aspirations of the Chinese people, and the real people will not agree to it.

　　Today, no one opposes the big "sound" and the big "release". However, "sounding" and "releasing" should also have a purpose. Rectifying the wind is to do a good job, and "sounding" and "releasing" is also for the purpose of doing a good job. All this is to better serve the building of socialism. Poisonous weeds can hinder our work and hinder our construction. If anyone releases poisonous weed in the "sound" and "release", even if there is only one plant, we must pull it out and not let it grow. Poisoned grass in our new society does not have the right to survive. Counter-criticism and drawing a line is a way to pull the grass.

　　It is time for rightists to "restrain themselves from the precipice". Do you continue to release poisonous weeds to harm people, or do you conscientiously study Chairman Mao's report and use the six political criteria to examine your own thinking and admit your mistakes? Cut yourself off from the people, or bow to them?

　　There is no third way in front of them.

　　

　　This article was published in the People's Daily and transcribed from the book "The Collected Drums of War", which was first published by Beijing Publishing House in December 1957