Author's note: After reading Comrade Hu Maoren's masterpiece "Today We Still Need Education to Compare the Old and New Societies" published by the Red Culture Network on March 29, 2024, I suddenly remembered that the author sent a letter to the Party Central Committee and Comrade Hu Yaobang on this issue 42 years ago, and received an affirmative reply from the Central Propaganda Department.
At the end of 1981, when I transferred from the army to Hebei People's Publishing House, it coincided with the beginning of reform and opening up, when the number of old employees in enterprises and institutions gradually decreased, and the number of new employees increased significantly. With the opening of the country, a large influx of Western culture, I heard that some young workers of some enterprises and institutions do not understand the two worlds of the old and new society, complain about the "backwardness" of the motherland, and yearn for a bourgeois lifestyle; In response to this problem, in August 1982, I wrote an article entitled "Should We Engage in Comparative Education in the Old and New Societies?", with a total of more than 4,500 words.
The content of the article is based on the important expositions on the comparative education of the old and new societies in Lenin's "The Tasks of the Youth League" and Chairman Mao's "Commenting on the Great Victory in the Northwest and on the New Army Rectification Movement of the People's Liberation Army", and Premier Zhou's inscription praising Comrade Lei Feng for "hating and loving a clear class position, a revolutionary spirit consistent with words and deeds, a communist style that forgets selfishness, and a proletarian fighting spirit that does not care about himself"; In the early 60s, during the three-year period of economic difficulties on the mainland, the whole party, the whole army, and the people of the whole country "thought about the past in the name of the revolution, treated the present in the name of the revolution, and looked at the future in the name of the revolution." Everyone tightened their belts, worked with one heart and one mind, and followed the party's experience in overcoming natural disasters and blockades by hostile forces. Combined with his own personal experience of enlisting in the army, he established a correct world view and outlook on life by participating in the education of remembering bittersweet and sweet; He called for the restoration of our party's glorious tradition of using the contrast between the old and new societies to carry out ideological education, and suggested that we should get a good grasp of rescuing the glorious tradition of remembering bittersweet and sweet education. The so-called "rescue" means that while some veteran comrades were still alive at that time, on the one hand, they were educating young people, and on the other hand, some typical mining history, factory history, village history, company history, family history, etc., were sorted out and published, compiled into textbooks, and made into films, which were used as teaching materials for a long time. He believes that "we have lost this lesson, which is a great loss to our political and ideological work," and that "if we do not grasp this education now, we may regret it in the future"; In view of the vague concepts such as "the old and new society is outdated", we will discuss and discuss the vague concepts such as "the old and new society is outdated".
The article was written on August 10, 1982, and was submitted to some newspapers and periodicals, all of which were lost in the sea with the claim that "the central government does not have this formula"; After a period of reflection, it was sent to the Party Central Committee and Comrade Hu Yaobang, then General Secretary, on August 28. In November, I received a letter from the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, saying that "the situation and opinions I reflected were very good, and they have a certain reference value for the current propaganda work."
Although the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee replied that the proposal was "very good", it deeply felt that under the "general climate" at that time, no one would respond and there would be nowhere to publish it, so it was shelved.
Since June 2010, in the course of participating in the publication and review work, it has been discovered that existing social science journals and professional theoretical workers in some social science research units have openly published articles denying the mainland's new democratic revolution and the socialist system, saying that the Chinese revolution is a "red revolutionary organization" and "the founder of new China", and using the "foreign banner" of the "class struggle theory" to "inite" the class consciousness of the masses; The struggle for land reform is the result of the Communist Party's "practice of power", "institutional implantation from the outside", and "artificially creating hostile classes"; The struggle for land reform was a "group violence with no humanity at all", and the peasants in the land reform were "angry and impulsive thugs" who violated the "human rights" of the landlords. The landlords were "kicked from the top of the pyramid of power structures to the bottom of society" and "sacrificed their lives"; The War of Liberation was "one type of people fighting another,...... Some articles directly attacked "the establishment of 'socialism' on the mainland in the 50s and 70s of the 20th century was an obvious regression in the process of modernization" and so on (see Hebei Social Science Forum, No. 4 and No. 9, 2011, No. 10, 2012, etc.)
Once, when I was sorting out the old manuscript, I found the manuscript of this article and the reply letter from the Central Propaganda Department, and after rereading it, I recalled the problematic articles that the author found in the publication review, and felt that the proposal was not only not "outdated", but had a feeling that I had "unfortunately been corrected". So he reprinted the original text of the material, wanting to make suggestions for the central government again; In July 2013, the title was changed to "Responding to Contemporary Youth and Strengthening the Study of Historical Knowledge in Comparison between the Old and New Societies", the text remained unchanged, and in order to avoid the accusation of "leftism", only the "study of historical knowledge" was emphasized in the title, which was intended to be sent to the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League for reference. Although this matter has not been followed, I still have no let go in my heart.
Judging from the current state of mind in society, especially among some young people, I deeply feel that it is a great loss that we have lost this lesson in the past 40 years or so. Now it is much better to make up the class, although it is late, than some people who are keen to make up for the capitalist class, so that Xu Jiayin and his ilk can "get rich", and the working people will suffer twice and suffer twice!
It should be explained that this kind of class education in contrasting the old and new societies is the theoretical study of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought in the light of the historical reality of the Chinese revolution, the education of communist ideals in the context of the contrast between the old and the new societies, and the enhancement of the Marxist class consciousness of the cadres and masses through class analysis, the correct understanding of the law governing the development of human society, the firm belief in the great and bright future of the Communist Party and the proletariat, and the enhancement of the political and ideological consciousness of defending the eternal color of socialism.
Our party has many positive and negative experiences in this kind of education. As long as we have a heart for the country and the people, and conscientiously study and grasp the party's principles and policies, we will certainly be able to prevent the occurrence of "leftist" deviations and any "excessive" behavior.
The copy of the "Reply Letter" of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee and the original text of the author's "Proposal" are now reissued for reference only:
Should we engage in some comparative education between the old and new societies?
Lenin, in his essay "The Tasks of the Youth League", said of the communist education of the youth: "When people see how their parents live under the oppression of the landlords and capitalists, when they share in the suffering of those who have begun to fight against the exploiters, when they see the sacrifice to continue this struggle in order to defend what has been achieved, and when they see what crazy enemies the landlords and capitalists are, they are raised to become communists in this environment." (Lenin, Selected Works, vol. 4, September 2012, p. 292)
Based on Lenin's teachings and the ideological reality of the young people on the mainland, I believe that the contemporary youth should strengthen the history education of the contrast between the old and the new society.
Comparative education between the old and new societies is a glorious tradition of our party's ideological and political work, and it is a good method that has been effective. Comrade Mao Zedong said: "As a result of the correct conduct of the campaigns of complaining about the sufferings of the working people in the old society and the reactionaries) and the three investigations (checking the class, work, and fighting spirit), the consciousness of the commanders and fighters of the whole army in fighting for the liberation of the exploited working masses, for the land reform of the whole country, and for the elimination of Chiang Kai-shek's bandits, the public enemies of the people, has been greatly enhanced. At the same time, the strong unity of all commanders and fighters under the leadership of the Communist Party has been greatly strengthened. On this basis, the purity of the troops has been enhanced, discipline has been rectified, a mass military training campaign has been launched, and democracy in the political, economic, and military spheres has been carried forward in a completely and orderly manner. In this way, the troops will be united as one, everyone will find a way, everyone will contribute their strength, they will not be afraid of sacrifice, they will overcome the difficulties of material conditions, and they will be brave and brave to kill the enemy. Such an army will be invincible in the world. (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 4, June 1991, p. 1294)
During the years of the revolutionary war, the role of class education carried out by our army was very great, and many veteran comrades still remember that at that time, before the war, they remembered the bitterness first, and after remembering the bitterness, they wiped away their tears before going to the battlefield, and they were very brave in the war, because the commanders and fighters learned through class education that they fought for the class and the nation, and that bloodshed and sacrifice were the most worthwhile. In the course of land reform and the socialist transformation of private ownership of the means of production, the party led us to carry out class education in factories and rural areas in which the old and new societies contrasted, thus effectively promoting the implementation of the party's principles and policies.
Comrade Mao Zedong once said such an incident: "There is such a party member in Hubei who was born as a farmer, and his family has been asking for food for three generations, but after liberation, he turned over, made a fortune, and became a cadre at the district level. This time, he was very dissatisfied with socialism, very much in favor of cooperativeization, wanted to practice 'freedom,' and opposed unified purchasing and marketing. Now that his exhibition was being held and class education was being conducted, he wept bitterly and expressed his willingness to correct his mistakes. (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, vol. 5, p. 482)
Comrade Mao Zedong said that the cadre's name is Liu Jiemei, and there is a movie "Can't Take That Road" that tells his story. During the three-year period of economic difficulties in the 60s, we also often carried out this kind of education on the contrast between the old and the new society, and the whole party, the whole army, and the people of all nationalities in the whole country thought about the past in the name of the revolution, treated the present in the name of the revolution, and looked at the future in the name of the revolution. The great communist fighter Lei Feng emerged at this time, and one of his important experiences was not to forget the scars on his hands, so he had: "a clear class position of hatred and love, a revolutionary spirit consistent with words and deeds, a communist style of forgetting selfishness, and a proletarian fighting spirit that does not care about oneself." (Premier Zhou's inscription for Comrade Lei Feng)
In short, countless facts have proved that the education of the old and new societies is our heirloom, which should be restored and grasped. Now that we are missing this lesson, we cannot but say that it is a loss in ideological and political work. While criticizing the mistake of expanding the class struggle, some comrades even denied class education, believing that it was a "leftist" thing, and that this was also the mistake of "pouring out the bath water and throwing it out with the children."
"Historically, education has played a big role in contrasting the old and the new, but it is now outdated. This is one of the more common ways of saying it. Marxism holds that nothing is immutable, and everything is subject to time, place, and conditions. With the development of history and under the new historical conditions, some of our past experiences that have been effective will of course become obsolete. So, is the contrast between the old and the new society outdated and inapplicable? I don't think so. Although some of the contemporary young people know sporadically about the scenes of the old society from their ancestors and from movies and other literary and artistic works, for most of them, they lack an understanding of the essence of the old China. Many comrades do not understand what class, class oppression, and class exploitation are, do not understand the miserable life of the proletariat and the working people on the mainland before liberation, do not understand the duality of the old and new society, do not feel the happiness of living in the new socialist China, and do not know the blessings of being in the midst of happiness. Some comrades pursue enjoyment and yearn for a bourgeois way of life, but they do not know that today's China is a development of historical China, and they do not know what kind of tattered mess our new China developed on. In the view of some comrades, "socialism is not that set," and how do they know that for more than half a century, it has not been easy for the Chinese people to come up with this set. In view of the current state of mind of some young people, while some of the elderly who have personally experienced the hardships of the old society are still there, it is by no means "outdated" or "inapplicable" to educate the younger generation on the comparison between the old and the new society, but it is imperative.
"Class education can only stimulate simple class feelings. - That's what it said. Of course, it is not enough to carry out a revolution on the basis of simple class feelings. However, simple class feelings are the emotional basis for accepting Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, and all high-level, rational, and communist consciousness originates from here. Comrade Mao Zedong said: "There must be a foundation for improvement. For example, if a bucket of water is not raised from the ground, can it be raised from the air?" (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, vol. 3, June 1991, p. 859)
The elderly who have personally suffered the oppression of the three mountains of the old society have a heartfelt saying: "It was the party that saved us from the sea of suffering." Proceeding from such simple class feelings, they love our great socialist motherland, the Communist Party of China, the people's democratic dictatorship, Marxism-Leninism, and Mao Zedong Thought from the bottom of their hearts. Some comrades denounce this simple class feeling, but I believe that we are really lacking this feeling at present. In particular, for some young comrades, if they do not understand the darkness of the old society, they will not be able to appreciate the light of the socialist society, and they will not understand why we must adhere to the socialist road; they have not personally suffered the cruel persecution of reactionaries at home and abroad, and they will not be able to appreciate the glory and greatness of the Communist Party of China, and they will not understand why it is necessary to uphold the party's leadership. They have not personally experienced the miserable life under the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, nor can they understand the pride of being the masters of the country today, they do not understand why it is necessary to uphold the people's democratic dictatorship, they do not understand the history of humiliation and beatings in old China because of economic backwardness, they do not understand the sense of urgency of speeding up the construction of the four modernizations, and they do not know how much weight is given to the slogan of rejuvenating the Chinese nation with their own hard work. Under such circumstances, is there really no need for this kind of class feeling, which is condemned as simple? Some people complain about the ignorance of some young people at present, but is it not the most fundamental ignorance of ignorance of the old and new society?
"Will the current education of the old and the new society lead to the expansion of the class struggle?" - Many comrades have such worries. Comparative education between the old and new societies is a kind of ideological education, and it is an education to understand the relevant knowledge of the old and new societies. This education includes a focus on class relations. But just as class and class struggle are two distinct categories, class education and class struggle are two different concepts that are both related and distinct. In conducting comparative education between the old and new societies today, we use the class relations under the two social systems of the old and new societies as the actual material, and from the combination of theory and practice, to study the Marxist law of social development, so as to clearly understand what classes are, the emergence of classes, and the emergence of classes. To understand the historical inevitability of development and annihilation, and to clearly understand the general historical trend of the victory of the proletariat over the bourgeoisie, the replacement of capitalism by socialism, and the necessity of communism, is to understand the proletariat, the economic and political position of this class in the old society, and the historical mission it undertakes, to understand the past, the present, and the future of this class, that is, its great future, to cultivate people's proletarian consciousness and enhance their consciousness, rather than to engage in any kind of expansion of class struggle.
"The present education of the old and the new society is not conducive to uniting comrades from the families of the exploiting class. Many comrades have this concern. We carried out class education under the condition that the exploiting classes on the mainland had been eliminated. On the mainland, the antagonism between the proletariat and the exploiting class is already a historical thing, and it has entered the history museum. Today, when we engage in class education that contrasts the old and the new society, we are not investigating the criminal history of that person, but liquidating the criminal history of the exploiting class as a class. For some comrades from exploiting families, it is not a bad thing to know the criminal history of the class from which they came, because that class was guilty in history and had no future, so it was eliminated, and this is the inevitable and lawful development of history. This is not about any class struggle against these comrades from exploiting families. Class is an economic category, and the class struggle of a "certain scope" that we cannot ignore today is a political category, and the object of struggle is those hostile elements who are hostile to the socialist system and oppose and sabotage socialist construction. The idea that class education is not conducive to uniting comrades from exploiting families is to confuse class education with class struggle.
"Comparing education between the old and new societies is nothing more than reminiscences, tears, and the same old thing. This understanding is too narrow to understand the comparative education of the old and new societies, and the recollection of the sufferings of the proletariat and the working people in the old society is an important but not the only content of this education. In view of the characteristics of the younger generation at present, it is necessary to combine this education with the party's basic theoretical education to carry out education in the history of social development, especially in China's modern history since the Opium War; we must not only recall the history of class oppression and class exploitation in the old society, but also recall the history of our invasion and enslavement by foreign enemies due to economic and political backwardness, and also recall the fact that the people on the mainland, under the leadership of the party, resisted the reactionaries at home and abroad and went one after another. The history of heroic struggle, the education of the glorious traditions of our party and our army, and the learning from the heroic figures who shed blood and sacrificed their lives for the establishment and construction of new China, and so on. The purpose of this kind of education is to enable comrades to understand that only socialism can save China, only the Communist Party of China can save China, and only Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought can save China. How can it be said that this is the same old fashion?
"Today's young people don't eat hard and soft, can class education be listened to?" - This estimation of young people is inappropriate. It should be said that the mainstream of the contemporary youth is good, positive, idealistic, willing to learn, and obedient to the party's words, and those who are backward can also become better. The question of the effectiveness of education depends on the fundamental attitude of educators towards the educated. First, the purpose of the reminiscence and comparison education we have carried out is not to let young people go back to the hard days of the old society, but to understand the superiority of the socialist society through reminiscences and comparisons, so as to stimulate the fighting spirit and look forward. Second, educators, especially leaders, should have an attitude of self-education, treat others equally, show up to speak, and put themselves in it, not just to educate others. Do what is right for yourself. If you engage in unhealthy practices yourself, but you want others to work hard, of course people won't eat your set. Today, for many veteran comrades, it is also very necessary to recall the history of arduous struggle with the party in the past. Some veteran comrades who have been revolutionary for many years and have done good deeds for the people have been hit by the bourgeois "sugar bomb" in the new situation, is it not because they have forgotten the past? But, in the final analysis, everything we do is for the youth.
Lenin said: "The task of the older generation is to overthrow the bourgeoisie, and the new generation should build a communist society, the first half of which has been done in many respects." ...... The younger generation of communists should build a communist society on this foundation. He added: "The training, nurturing and education of young people should be based on the materials left to us by the old society. (Lenin's Selected Works, vol. 4, September 2012, pp. 282, 287-288)
This kind of "material left to us by the old society" is one of the important contents of young people's study and education. We should take advantage of the fact that some of the older generation who have personally participated in the overthrow of the old society are still alive, restore the education on the contrast between the old and the new society, supplement it with the indoctrination of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, and cooperate with it in cultivating the successors of communism in a healthy literary and artistic work and in a lively and lively form. If we don't catch it now, we may regret it in the future.
(First draft, August 1982; The quotation is based on the 1991 edition of Selected Works of Mao Zedong and the 2012 edition of Selected Works of Lenin.