Comrades!

We must be aware that although we have achieved great successes in socialist revolution and socialist construction, we are always lagging behind the needs of the objective situation. We still face very heavy tasks in our socialist revolution. The tasks of struggle-criticism-transformation in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution need to be carried on in a thoroughgoing way on all fronts. More, efforts are required to overcome the shortcomings, mistakes and certain unhealthy tendencies in our work. Our whole Party must make good use of the present opportune time to consolidate and carry forward the achievements of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and work well in all fields.

First of all, we should continue to do a good job of criticizing Lin Piao and rectifying style of work. We should make full use of that teacher by negative example, the Lin Piao anti-Party clique, to educate the whole Party, Army and the people of all nationalities of our country in class struggle and two-line struggle, and criticize revisionism and the bourgeois world outlook so that the masses will be able to draw on the historical experience of the ten struggles between the two lines in our Party, acquire a deeper understanding of the characteristics and laws of class struggle and two-line struggle in the period of socialist revolution in our country and raise their ability to distinguish genuine from sham Marxism.

All Party members should conscientiously study works by Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin and by Chairman Mao, adhere to dialectical materialism and historical materialism, combat idealism and metaphysics and remould their world outlook. Senior cadres, in particular, should make greater efforts to "read and study conscientiously and have a good grasp of Marxism," try their best to master the basic theories of Marxism, learn the history of the struggles of Marxism against old and new revisionism and opportunism of all descriptions, and understand how Chairman Mao has inherited, defended and developed Marxism-Leninism in the course of integrating the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of revolution. We hope that through sustained efforts "the vast numbers of our cadres and the people will be able to arm themselves with the basic theories of Marxism."

We should attach importance to the class struggle in the superstructure, including all spheres of culture, transform all parts of the superstructure which do not conform to the economic base. We should handle correctly the two types of contradictions of different nature. We should continue to carry out in earnest all of Chairman Mao's proletarian policies. We should continue to carry out well the revolution in literature and art, the revolution in education and the revolution in public health, and the work with regard to the educated youth who go to mountainous and other rural areas, run the May 7 cadres schools well and support all the newly emerging things of socialism.

Economically ours is still a poor and developing country. We should thoroughly carry out the general line of going all out, aiming high and achieving greater, faster, better and more economical results in building socialism, grasp revolution and promote production. We should continue to implement the principle of "taking agriculture as the foundation and industry as the leading factor" and the series of policies of walking on two legs, and build our country independently and with the initiative in our own hands, through self-reliance, hard struggle, diligence and frugality. Marx pointed out that "the greatest productive power is the revolutionary class itself." One basic experience from our socialist construction over more than two decades is to rely on the masses. In order to learn from Taching in industry and to learn from Tachai in agriculture, we must persist in putting proletarian politics in command, vigorously launch mass movements and give full scope to the enthusiasm, wisdom and creativeness of the masses. On this basis, planning and co-ordination must be strengthened, rational rules and regulations improved and both central and local initiative further brought into full play. Party organizations should pay close attention to questions of economic policy, concern themselves with the well-being of the masses, do a good job of investigation and study, and strive effectively to fulfil or overfulfil the state plans for developing the national economy so that our socialist economy will make still greater progress.

We should further strengthen the centralized leadership of the Party. Of the seven sectors - industry, agriculture, commerce, culture and education, the Army, the government and the Party - it is the Party that exercises overall leadership. Party committees at all levels should study "On Strengthening the Party Committee System," "Methods of Work of Party Committees" and other writings by Chairman Mao, sum up their experience and further strengthen the centralized leadership of the Party ideologically, organizationally as well as through rules and regulations. At the same time the role of revolutionary committees and mass organizations should be brought into full play. We should strengthen the leadership given to primary organizations in order to ensure that leadership there is truly in the hands of Marxists and in the hands of workers, poor and lower-middle peasants and other working people, and that the task of consolidating the dictatorship of the proletariat is fulfilled in every primary organization. Party committees at all levels should apply democratic centralism better and improve their art of leadership. It should be emphatically pointed out that quite a few Party committees are engrossed in daily routines and minor matters, paying no attention to major issues. This is very dangerous. If they do not change, they will inevitably step on to the road of revisionism. It is hoped that comrades throughout the Party, leading comrades in particular, will guard against such a tendency and earnestly change such a style of work.

The experience with regard to combining the old, the middle-aged and the young in the leadership, which the masses created during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, has provided us with favourable conditions for training millions of successors to the revolutionary cause of the proletariat in accordance with the five requirements put forward by Chairman Mao. Party organizations at all levels should keep on the agenda this fundamental task which is crucial for generations to come. Chairman Mao says: "Revolutionary successors of the proletariat are invariably brought up in great storms." They must be tempered in class struggle and two-line struggle and educated by both positive and negative experience. Therefore, a genuine Communist must be ready to accept a higher or lower post and be able to stand the test of going up or stepping down many times. All cadres, veteran and new alike, must maintain close ties with the masses, be modest and prudent, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, go to any post as required by the Party and the people and firmly carry out Chairman Mao's revolutionary line and policies under every circumstance.

Comrades! The Tenth National Congress of the Party will have a far-reaching influence on the course of our Party's development. We will soon convene the Fourth National People's Congress. Our people and the revolutionary people of all countries place great hopes on our Party and our country. We are confident that our Party, under the leadership of Chairman Mao, will uphold his proletarian revolutionary line, do our work well and live up to the expectations of our people and the people throughout the world!

The future is bright, the road is tortuous. Let our whole Party unite, let our people of all nationalities unite, be resolute, fear no sacrifice and surmount every difficulty to win victory!

Long live the great, glorious and correct Communist Party of China!

Long live. Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought!

Long live Chairman Mao! A long, long life to Chairman Mao!

(NO. 35-36 SEPTEMBER 7, 1973)