Mao Zedong’s Thinking and Practice on “Economic Work Must Be Attended To” during the Central Soviet Area Period

In August 1933, at the Economic Construction Conference of the Seventeen Southern Counties of the Central Revolutionary Base Area, Mao Zedong proposed that “economic work must be attended to” and demanded that “a movement on the economic front be launched immediately to carry out all necessary and possible economic construction undertakings.” This provided an action guide for economic work in the Central Soviet Area and played an important role in breaking the economic blockade of the reactionary Kuomintang government, improving the people’s livelihood, and consolidating the base area. At present, there are relatively few research results in academia on this important assertion and demand of Mao Zedong during the Central Soviet Area period. This article intends to start with the important documents Mao Zedong wrote during this period, such as “Economic Work Must Be Attended To,” “Our Economic Policy,” and “Be Concerned with the Well-Being of the Masses, Pay Attention to Methods of Work,” and, in light of the historical background of the time, to offer some analysis and interpretation of the implications of Mao Zedong’s thinking and practice on “economic work must be attended to.”

1933年8月，毛泽东在中央革命根据地南部十七县经济建设大会上提出“必须注意经济工作”，要求“立即开展经济战线上的运动，进行各项必要和可能的经济建设事业”，为中央苏区开展经济工作提供了行动指南，对打破国民党反动政府的经济封锁、改善人民群众的生活、巩固根据地，发挥了重要作用。目前学术界关于中央苏区时期毛泽东这一重要论断和要求的研究成果比较少，本文拟从毛泽东在这一时期撰写的《必须注意经济工作》《我们的经济政策》《关心群众生活，注意工作方法》等重要文献入手，结合当时的历史背景，对毛泽东关于“必须注意经济工作”的思考与实践的意蕴作出一些分析和解读。

I. “Economic Construction Must Revolve around the Central Task of Revolutionary War”

一、“经济建设必须是环绕着革命战争这个中心任务的”

“Economic work must be attended to” refers to the positioning of economic construction during the Central Soviet Area period. Based on the overall situation of the Chinese revolution at that time and the reality of revolutionary war during the Central Soviet Area period, Mao Zedong pointed out that “revolutionary war is the current central task” and that economic construction must serve this central task, using the development of the red-region economy to consolidate the material foundation of the revolutionary war.

“必须注意经济工作”，是就中央苏区时期经济建设的定位而言的。立足于当时中国革命整体形势和中央苏区时期革命战争的实际，毛泽东指出，“革命战争是当前的中心任务”，经济建设要为这个中心任务服务，以红色区域经济的发展夯实革命战争的物质基础。

From the perspective of the overall situation of the Chinese revolution, after the Opium War of 1840, war was always a dark cloud hanging over the modern Chinese people. From its inception, the Communist Party of China clarified its program of thorough anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle, leading the Chinese people to advance wave upon wave and fight heroically for national independence and people’s liberation. Looking further at the reality of revolutionary war during the Central Soviet Area period, the failure of the Great Revolution made the CPC realize that to win national independence and people’s liberation, it had to wage a resolute struggle against reactionary forces. The Nanchang Uprising fired the first shot of armed resistance against the reactionary Kuomintang, marking the beginning of the CPC’s independent leadership of war, the creation of a people’s army, and the seizure of power by armed force. After the August 7th Meeting [1]1 This and subsequent quotations from Mao Zedong in this paragraph are drawn from his 1933 report “Pay Attention to Economic Work,” included in the *Selected Works of Mao Zedong*. established the policy of carrying out the agrarian revolution and armed uprisings, our Party successively led a series of armed uprisings, including the Autumn Harvest Uprising, the Guangzhou Uprising, and the Hailufeng Uprising, but most failed due to the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves. The Party urgently needed to find a revolutionary path suited to China’s national conditions. The shift from attacking large cities to marching into the countryside was a decisive new starting point for the Chinese revolution. On this basis, the Red Army and base areas led by the CPC developed rapidly. To extinguish the spark that could start a prairie fire of red political power, the Kuomintang government launched successive “encirclement and suppression” campaigns against the base areas. Especially after the formation of the Central Soviet Area, the unreconciled Kuomintang government successively launched the fourth and fifth “encirclement and suppression” campaigns, attempting to achieve the goal of annihilating the Red Army with troops superior in numbers and equipment. Therefore, adhering to revolutionary war as the central task reflected the war pressure faced by the CPC during this period and was also an urgent need for the entire Party to concentrate its strength to win victory.

从中国革命整体形势看，1840年鸦片战争后，战争始终是笼罩在近代中国人民头上的阴云。中国共产党在成立之初，即明确了彻底的反帝反封建斗争纲领，带领中国人民为实现民族独立和人民解放而前赴后继、英勇抗争。再从中央苏区时期革命战争的实际看，大革命的失败，让中国共产党认识到要争取民族独立和人民解放，就必须与反动势力做坚决斗争。南昌起义打响了武装反抗国民党反动派的第一枪，标志着中国共产党独立领导战争、创建人民军队和武装夺取政权的开端。在八七会议确定实行土地革命和武装起义的方针后，我们党先后领导了秋收起义、广州起义、海陆丰起义等一系列武装起义，但因为敌我力量悬殊，大多失败了。党迫切需要找到适合中国国情的革命道路。从进攻大城市转为向农村进军，是中国革命具有决定意义的新起点，在此基础上，中国共产党领导的红军和根据地迅速发展。为了扑灭红色政权的星火燎原之势，国民党政府接连发动了针对根据地的“围剿”。特别是中央苏区形成后，不甘失败的国民党政府又陆续开始了第四次和第五次“围剿”，企图以更具人数和装备优势的兵力实现围歼红军的目的。因此，坚持以革命战争为中心任务，反映了这一时期中国共产党面临的战争压力，也是全党汇聚力量赢得胜利的迫切需要。

The clarification of the central task actually pointed out the basic positioning of economic construction work during the Central Soviet Area period. As a foundational task, economic construction under the conditions of revolutionary war “must revolve around the central task of revolutionary war.” After the victory of the three anti-“encirclement and suppression” campaigns, the establishment of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic greatly alarmed the Kuomintang government. They “used military encirclement and suppression, political offensives, and economic blockade in a three-pronged approach,” intensifying the blockade of the base areas by setting up “public sales offices” and “blockade checkpoints.” This caused severe difficulties in the supply of military necessities and daily necessities for the masses in the Central Soviet Area, with “industrial products such as salt, coarse cloth, kerosene, and Western medicine becoming extremely scarce and increasingly expensive.” Added to this was the destruction of finance and commerce by profiteers and reactionary forces, making materials in the area even more scarce. Proceeding from the actual situation at the time, Mao Zedong demanded that everyone must attach importance to the role of economic construction. He pointed out that it was necessary, for the victory of the revolutionary war, to mobilize the masses to carry out possible and necessary economic construction undertakings. By developing industrial and agricultural production, promoting economic construction bonds, developing cooperatives, and strengthening grain regulation and other measures, the war could “obtain a considerable material foundation,” the Red Army could “concentrate single-mindedly on fighting the enemy,” and the masses, because they “obtained considerable satisfaction in their livelihood,” would be more active in “doing all kinds of revolutionary work.”

中心任务的明确，实际指明了中央苏区时期经济建设工作的基本定位。作为基础性工作，在革命战争环境下的经济建设“必须是环绕着革命战争这个中心任务的”。三次反“围剿”胜利后，中华苏维埃共和国临时中央政府的成立，使国民党政府极为恐慌。他们“以军事围剿、政治攻势和经济封锁三管齐下”，通过设立“公卖会”和“封锁卡”等方式，加紧了针对根据地的封锁。这使得中央苏区的军需用品及群众生活必需品的供给出现了严重困难，“食盐、土布、煤油、西药等工业品，十分奇缺，价格越来越高”。加上奸商和反动势力对金融和商业的破坏，区内的物资更为匮乏。毛泽东从当时的实际出发，要求大家必须重视经济建设的作用。他指出，务必为着革命战争的胜利，动员群众开展可能和必要的经济建设事业，通过发展工农业生产、推销经济建设公债、发展合作社及加强粮食调剂等举措，使战争“得到相当的物质基础”，使红军“专心一意去打敌人”，使群众因为“得到生活上的相当的满足”而更加积极地“去做各项革命工作”。

Therefore, it was necessary to correctly grasp the relationship between revolutionary war and economic construction and to overcome two erroneous views among cadres and the masses: one held that under the conditions of revolutionary war, there was no possibility of carrying out economic construction, that “there is no spare time to do economic construction work,” and that “whoever talks about economic construction should be denounced as ‘right opportunism’”; the other held that “economic construction is already the center of all current tasks,” thus “neglecting revolutionary war.” Mao Zedong pointed out that both views were incorrect. The former erroneously believed that economic construction could only be carried out in a peaceful and stable environment. These comrades did not recognize the important position of economic construction under the conditions of revolutionary war; canceling economic construction was in fact “weakening the war,” because it directly affected the material foundation of the war and the improvement of the masses’ livelihood. Conversely, the latter did not understand that the central task at that time was revolutionary war, and that we must carry out various economic construction undertakings revolving around this center. Therefore, these comrades mistakenly regarded economic construction as the center of the tasks at that time, believing that economic construction could be carried out apart from revolutionary war. In Mao Zedong’s view, at that time, every task should be carried out according to the requirements of the war situation, and the erroneous idea of carrying out economic construction apart from revolutionary war needed to be corrected immediately.

因此，必须正确把握革命战争与经济建设的关系，克服干部群众中存在的两种错误观点：一种认为，革命战争环境下没有进行经济建设的可能，“哪里还有闲工夫去做经济建设工作”，“见到谁谈经济建设，就要骂为‘右倾’”；另一种则认为，“经济建设已经是当前一切任务的中心”，因而“忽视革命战争”。毛泽东指出，这两种观点都是不对的。前者错误地认为经济建设只有在和平安静的环境下才有进行的可能。这些同志没有认识到经济建设在革命战争环境下的重要地位，取消经济建设实则是“削弱战争”，因为它直接关系战争的物质基础及群众生活的改良。反过来，后者则不了解当时的中心任务是革命战争，我们必须围绕这个中心去开展各项经济建设事业。因此，这些同志错误地将经济建设视为当时任务的中心，认为可以离开革命战争去开展经济建设事业。在毛泽东看来，在当时，每项工作都应是根据战争形势要求而进行的，离开革命战争进行经济建设的错误想法，需要立刻改正过来。

II. “Develop Agricultural Production, Develop Industrial Production, Develop Foreign Trade, and Develop Cooperatives”

二、“发展农业生产，发展工业生产，发展对外贸易和发展合作社”

To serve the central task of revolutionary war, it was necessary to promote various necessary and possible economic construction undertakings. Mao Zedong pointed out that economic construction should “develop agricultural production, develop industrial production, develop foreign trade, and develop cooperatives,” indicating the key tasks of economic construction work in the Central Soviet Area.

为了服务革命战争的中心任务，需要推动各项必要和可能的经济建设事业。毛泽东指出，经济建设要“发展农业生产，发展工业生产，发展对外贸易和发展合作社”，指明了中央苏区经济建设工作的重点任务。

First, place agricultural production in the first position of economic construction work. Mao Zedong pointed out, “Under the present conditions, agricultural production is the first position of our economic construction work.” [1]1 This and subsequent quotations from Mao Zedong in this paragraph are drawn from his 1933 report “Pay Attention to Economic Work,” included in the *Selected Works of Mao Zedong*. This was a scientific judgment made on the basis of objective realities such as the large proportion of the peasant population in the Central Soviet Area, the limited financial resources of the Soviet government, and the long-term encirclement of the base area by reactionary forces. The “Proclamation of the Central People’s Economic Commission and the People’s Land Commission — For Developing Agricultural Production and Industrial Production” pointed out the importance of developing agricultural production: “These products, half being the people’s grain and half being industrial raw materials, are the foundation for developing the Soviet area’s economy.” How could agricultural production be advanced? On the one hand, strengthen the implementation of land policy, distributing land to the peasants so as to stimulate their labor enthusiasm. Through comparison, Mao Zedong pointed out that under the rule of the Nationalist government, peasants had no land of their own, and their initiative to improve the land and develop production through their own efforts was severely shackled. After the establishment of the Soviet red political power, through striking the local tyrants and dividing the land, land was distributed to the peasants and their production was encouraged, so the peasants’ labor enthusiasm was greatly stimulated. For example, “Zhang Qingyou’s family in Zhuotian Zuoba Township reclaimed 121 dan [2]2 *Dan* (担) is a traditional Chinese unit of weight, roughly equivalent to 50 kilograms or 110 pounds. of wasteland in a month and a half; the husband and wife at Songqiao Bridge in Xiafang Village reclaimed 70 dan; a female comrade from Shouhua reclaimed 15 dan of wasteland; a Red Army dependant [3]3 “Red Army dependant” (红属) refers to a family member of a Red Army soldier, often entitled to certain forms of support from the Soviet government. named Zhong from Yangniu Village, Yangdeng Township, Shangsha District, Xingguo County, alone reclaimed 18 dan of wasteland.” On the other hand, attach importance to the adjustment of the labor force. Because of the needs of war, most able-bodied young men in the various base areas had joined the Red Army, causing a shortage of labor for agricultural production. Mao Zedong pointed out: “Organized adjustment of the labor force and promoting women’s participation in production are our most fundamental tasks in agricultural production.” In his investigations, he affirmed the practice of the masses in Caixi Township of forming “plowing teams” to exchange labor, and proposed raising the plowing teams to the level of “mutual aid societies,” so that the labor force could be adjusted in an organized manner. In addition, considering that because young men had joined the army, many agricultural production tasks actually fell on women, Mao Zedong proposed establishing women’s labor education committees to encourage women to participate in production and learn production skills such as using plows and harrows, so as to effectively alleviate the labor shortage. Of course, the difficulties peasants encountered in production also needed to be resolved through organizing “plow-ox cooperatives,” building water conservancy projects, reclaiming wasteland, and developing science and technology, to which Mao Zedong also gave attention and reminders.

首先，把农业生产放在经济建设工作的第一位。毛泽东指出，“在目前的条件之下，农业生产是我们经济建设工作的第一位”。这是根据中央苏区农民人口占比大、苏维埃政府财力有限及根据地长期处于反动势力包围之中等客观实际情况作出的科学判断。《中央国民经济人民委员部、土地人员委员部布告——为发展农业生产与工业生产》指出了发展农业生产的重要性：“这些生产，一半是人民的粮食，一半是工业原料，是发展苏区经济的基础。”如何才能推进农业生产？一方面，加强土地政策的执行，将土地分配给农民以激发其劳动热情。经过对比，毛泽东指出，在国民党政府统治下，农民没有自己的土地，他们用自己的力量去改良土地和发展生产的积极性受到严重束缚。而苏维埃红色政权建立后，通过打土豪、分田地，将土地分配给农民并对其生产加以鼓励，农民的劳动热情得以极大激发。比如，“濯田左拔乡张庆有一家一个半月开荒一百二十一担，下坊村松桥头夫妻二人，开荒七十担，守化一个女同志开了十五担荒田，兴国上沙区杨登乡杨牛村红属钟氏一人，开了十八担荒田”。另一方面，重视劳动力的调剂。因为战争的需要，各根据地大部分的青壮年男子都参加了红军，造成农业生产劳动力的紧缺。毛泽东指出：“有组织地调剂劳动力和推动妇女参加生产，是我们农业生产方面的最基本的任务。”在调查中，他对才溪乡群众以组建“耕田队”来调换劳动力的做法予以了肯定，并提出把耕田队提高为“互助社”的建议，使劳动力得到有组织的调剂。此外，考虑到因为青壮年男子参军，很多农业生产的任务实际都落到了妇女身上，毛泽东提出，设立妇女劳动教育委员会，鼓励妇女参加生产并学习使用犁耙等生产技能，以有效缓解劳动力紧缺的问题。当然，农民在生产上遇到的困难，还需要通过组织“犁牛合作社”、兴修水利、开垦荒地及发展科技等途径得到解决，对此毛泽东也给予了重视和提醒。

Second, planfully restore and develop handicrafts and certain industrial production. The Central Soviet Area was located in remote mountainous regions, where industry was extremely backward and modern industry was virtually non-existent. In his “Xunwu Investigation,” Mao Zedong had already discovered that many daily industrial products in the Soviet areas of southern Jiangxi and western Fujian “had always relied on imports from other counties.” After the establishment of the Central Soviet Area, the Nationalist government intensified its economic blockade, making it difficult to import industrial goods such as salt, cloth, and Western medicine, affecting the people’s normal life and also causing the already underdeveloped handicraft production to face difficulties due to raw material supply problems. To ensure the supply for war and the daily needs of the people, Mao Zedong demanded “planfully restoring and developing handicrafts and certain industries,” achieving self-sufficiency in industries such as tobacco processing, papermaking, weaving, pharmaceuticals, sugar refining, farm tool manufacturing, and fertilizer production. To this end, the Central Soviet Area successively established state-owned enterprises such as the Central Arsenal, the Central Clothing Factory, and the Central Printing Factory, and also established a number of publicly operated civilian enterprises based on actual needs, such as the Changting Paper Mill and the Changting Camphor Factory. While industrial production was being restored and developed, Mao Zedong emphasized the need to strengthen the planning of industrial production. In particular, for undertakings operated by the state and cooperatives, formulating precise production plans and making accurate calculations of raw material production and sales markets “is completely necessary.”

其次，有计划地恢复和发展手工业和某些工业生产。中央苏区地处边陲山区，工业极为滞后，现代工业几乎没有。在《寻乌调查》中，毛泽东就发现，赣南、闽西苏区很多日用的工业制品“一向仰给外县之输入”。中央苏区建立后，国民党政府加紧经济封锁，使得食盐、布匹、西药等工业品很难输入，影响了群众的正常生活，也导致原先就不发达的手工业生产因为原料供给问题而处境艰难。为保证作战供给及百姓日常生活之需，毛泽东要求，“有计划地恢复和发展手工业和某些工业”，实现制烟、造纸、织布、制药、制糖、制农具及生产肥料等工业的自给。为此，中央苏区先后成立了中央兵工厂、中央被服厂、中央印刷厂等国有企业，还结合实际需求成立了一批公营民用企业，如长汀造纸厂、长汀樟脑厂等。在工业生产得到恢复发展的同时，毛泽东强调，要增强工业生产的计划性。特别是国家和合作社经营的事业，制定精密的生产计划，对原料的生产及销场进行确切计算，“是完全必需的”。

Third, attach importance to developing foreign trade. Because of the economic blockade, daily industrial goods could not be transported in, and agricultural products and specialties could not be transported out. Coupled with the “intermediate exploitation” by profiteering merchants, severe difficulties arose in the circulation of goods in the Soviet area. To cope with the predicament, Mao Zedong pointed out: “Planfully organizing the people’s foreign trade, and having the state directly manage certain necessary commodity circulations,” “is now exceptionally necessary.” On the one hand, attach importance to mobilizing the strength of the masses. To this end, the Soviet government appealed: “Find many small transport routes to the White areas, [4]4 “White areas” (白区) were territories controlled by the Nationalist (Kuomintang) government, as opposed to the “Red areas” under Communist Party rule. carry out trade in an organized manner, so that the enemy cannot blockade us.” The masses in the Soviet area actively responded, hiding salt, Western medicine, and other goods in the seams of cotton-padded clothes, bamboo poles, and pastry boxes, breaking through the multiple blockades set up by the Nationalist government. On the other hand, establish the Central Grain Adjustment Bureau and the Central Foreign Trade Bureau to guide the development of foreign trade. The Grain Adjustment Bureau was responsible for the purchase, storage, and internal adjustment of grain, and also organized the export of surplus grain, developing the Soviet area’s economy. In just the period from April to August 1933, “there was a commodity turnover of 270,000 yuan, with a surplus of over 7,000 yuan.” The Central Foreign Trade Bureau, through measures such as setting up purchasing offices, organizing transport teams, and winning over merchants from the White areas, realized the exchange of products from the Soviet area with industrial goods from the White areas. The unimpeded channels for the import and export of goods in the Central Soviet Area played a positive role in breaking the economic blockade and developing the foreign trade work of the Central Soviet Area. For this reason, Mao Zedong called foreign trade “the pivot for developing the national economy.”

再次，重视发展对外贸易。因为经济封锁，日用的工业品运输不进来，农产品及特产也输不出去，加上奸商的“中间剥削”，苏区的货物流通发生了严重困难。为应对困境，毛泽东指出：“有计划地组织人民的对外贸易，并且由国家直接经营若干项必要的商品流通”，“现在是异常需要的了”。一方面，重视发挥人民群众的力量。为此，苏维埃政府呼吁：“寻找许多交通小道到白区去，有组织的去进行买卖，使敌人无法封锁我们。”苏区群众积极响应，把盐、西药等藏在棉衣夹缝、毛竹、糕点盒中，冲过了国民党政府设置的重重封锁。另一方面，成立中央粮食调剂总局和对外贸易总局，指导发展对外贸易。粮食调剂总局负责粮食的收购、储存及内部调剂，同时也组织余粮出口，发展了苏区经济。仅 1933年 4月到 8月，就“有二十七万元的商品流转，并得到七千余元的盈余”。对外贸易总局则通过设立采办处、组织运输队伍及做通白区商人的工作等举措，实现在苏区的生产品和白区的工业品之间的交换。中央苏区货物进出口通道的畅通，为打破经济封锁、发展中央苏区对外贸易工作发挥了积极作用，毛泽东也因此将对外贸易称作“发展国民经济的枢纽”。

Finally, establish cooperatives. The original intention of establishing cooperatives in the Soviet area was to solve the “price scissors” [5]5 “Price scissors” (剪刀差) refers to the economic phenomenon where the prices of industrial goods rise relative to agricultural products, creating a disparity that disadvantages agricultural producers. problem between industrial and agricultural product prices under the economic blockade. After the formation of the Central Soviet Area, Mao Zedong demanded that the Soviet government must assist in the organization and development of cooperatives, by establishing consumer cooperatives, producer cooperatives, and credit cooperatives, so as to “resist the manipulation of speculative merchants,” “resist the sabotage of capitalists,” and “resist private usurious exploitation.” As economic organizations serving the masses, the establishment of cooperatives adhered to relying on the masses of the Soviet area. Through measures such as mobilizing the masses to buy shares, adjusting grain prices, and supplying daily necessities at cost, the masses of the Soviet area were more effectively united, thereby strengthening the economic strength of the Soviet area.

最后，创办合作社。苏区合作社的创办，初衷是为了解决经济封锁下区内工农业产品价格的“剪刀差”问题。中央苏区形成后，毛泽东要求苏维埃政府必须帮助合作社的组织和发展，通过创办消费合作社、生产合作社和信用合作社，以“抵制投机商人之操纵”，“抵制资本家之怠工”，“抵制私人的高利剥削”。作为服务于群众的经济组织，合作社的创办坚持依靠苏区群众，通过动员群众入股、调节粮食价格、原价供给日用品等举措，将苏区群众更有力地团结起来，进而增强了苏区的经济实力。

III. “Mobilizing the Masses from the Organizational Level”

三、“从组织上动员群众”

Mao Zedong always firmly believed that the “true iron wall” was the masses of the people. In the practice of leading economic construction in the Central Soviet Area, he fully affirmed the principal role of the masses, attached importance to the economic mobilization of the masses, and strove to “create an intense atmosphere of economic construction among the broad masses of workers and peasants.”

毛泽东始终坚信，“真正的铜墙铁壁”是人民群众。在领导中央苏区经济建设的实践中，他充分肯定了人民群众的主体作用，重视对群众的经济动员，力图“在广大工农群众中，造成一种热烈的经济建设的空气”。

First, Mao Zedong pointed out that “the revolutionary war is a war of the masses.” To achieve victory in the revolutionary war, the key was to organize the broad masses of the people on the economic front, mobilize their enthusiasm for participation, and create the necessary economic foundation for the victory of the revolution. To “mobilize the masses from the organizational level,” governments at all levels and their relevant staff must regularly “grasp the work of economic construction for discussion,” and strengthen supervision and inspection of work such as grain adjustment, issuing public bonds, and developing cooperatives. At the same time, “use great effort to lead” mass organizations such as trade unions and poor peasant leagues, relying on them to mobilize the masses to join the economic front. As for methods of propaganda, Mao Zedong proposed that propaganda for economic construction could be carried out through the form of mass meetings. In propaganda, it was necessary not only to explain clearly the relationship between economic construction and the revolutionary war, but also to explain issues such as how economic construction serves the people’s livelihood and how the masses can participate in economic construction “in a very practical way,” calling on the masses to struggle for promoting economic construction.

首先，毛泽东指出，“革命战争是群众的战争”，为取得革命战争的胜利，关键需要在经济战线上把广大人民群众组织起来，调动其参与的热情，为革命的胜利创造必要的经济基础。为着“从组织上动员群众”，各级政府及其相关工作人员就要经常地“抓着经济建设的工作去讨论”，加强对粮食调剂、发行公债、发展合作社等工作的督促和检查。同时，“用大力去领导”工会和贫农团等群众团体，依靠他们动员群众加入到经济战线上来。就宣传方式而言，毛泽东提出，可以通过群众大会的形式去做经济建设的宣传。在宣传中，既要讲明白经济建设与革命战争的关系，也要将经济建设怎样服务群众生活、人民群众如何参与经济建设等问题“讲得十分实际”，号召群众为推动经济建设而斗争。

Second, Mao Zedong stressed that an important purpose of carrying out economic construction work was “to consolidate the alliance of workers and peasants through economic construction, to consolidate the worker-peasant democratic dictatorship, and to strengthen the leadership of the proletariat.” One important reason the Chinese Communist Party was able to push the revolution forward and ultimately win victory was the continuously consolidated worker-peasant alliance, which won broad popular forces for the revolutionary victory. Mao Zedong attached great importance to the forces of the workers and peasants. Considering that economic alliance was an extremely important and solid form of alliance, “consolidating the economic alliance of workers and peasants” became an effective practical path for consolidating the worker-peasant alliance. Objectively speaking, the workers in the Soviet areas had also suffered multiple layers of exploitation before the revolution and possessed a strong revolutionary will. During the Central Soviet Area period, they actively displayed a master-of-the-house posture and became the main force of economic construction in the Soviet areas. Taking the purchase of public bonds alone, “in the summer of 1933, the Central Soviet Area issued 3 million yuan in public bonds for economic construction; within three months, workers in the Soviet areas subscribed to 1.007 million yuan, accounting for more than one-third of the state’s planned issuance.”[n] To better bring out the production enthusiasm of the peasants, the Soviet government placed agricultural production in first place, helped peasants solve production difficulties, used the victory of agricultural production to improve the living conditions of the working class, and provided raw material support for handicraft and industrial production. In addition, restoring and developing handicraft and industrial production could also satisfy the peasants’ demand for daily industrial goods. Both sides exerted force together, promoting the further consolidation of the worker-peasant alliance and also consolidating the mass base of economic construction in the Central Soviet Area. Mao Zedong further stressed that political education of the working class should be strengthened, “ensuring the leadership of the proletariat over the peasants,” making every effort to improve the people’s livelihood, and effectively “consolidating the economic alliance of workers and peasants.” He considered this point important: “striving for the leadership of the state economy over the private economy, creating the prerequisites for future development toward socialism.”

其次，毛泽东强调：进行经济方面的建设工作，一个重要目的是“为着从经济建设去巩固工人和农民的联盟，去巩固工农民主专政，去加强无产阶级的领导”。中国共产党能够领导革命深入推进并取得最终胜利，其中一个重要原因即在于不断巩固的工农联盟，为革命胜利争取到广泛的群众力量。毛泽东十分重视工农群众的力量，考虑到经济方面的联合是极为重要和牢固的联合，因此“巩固工农在经济方面的联合”便成为巩固工农联盟的有效现实路径。客观地看，苏区工人在革命前也遭受重重剥削，有着强烈的革命愿望。中央苏区时期，他们积极展现主人翁姿态，成为苏区经济建设的主力军。仅就购买公债来说，“1933年夏，中央苏区发行 300万元经济建设公债，在 3个月中苏区工人就认购 100.7万元，占国家计划发行额的 1/3多”。为更好发挥农民生产积极性，苏维埃政府把农业生产放在第一位，帮助农民解决好生产困难，以农业生产的胜利改善工人阶级的生活，并提供手工业和工业发展的原材料支撑。此外，恢复发展手工业和工业生产，也可以满足农民对日用工业品的需求。两方面齐发力，推动了工农联盟的进一步巩固，也夯实了中央苏区经济建设的群众基础。毛泽东进一步强调，加强对工人阶级的政治教育，要“保证无产阶级对于农民的领导”，极力改良民众的生活，有效“巩固工农在经济方面的联合”。他认为这一点很重要，“争取国营经济对私人经济的领导，造成将来发展到社会主义的前提”。

Whether the masses can be mobilized ultimately depends on whether the masses are convinced of our Party’s economic construction principles and policies and whether they support our Party’s leadership. Mao Zedong pointed out that the Kuomintang warlords, disregarding the people’s interests, often caused the masses in the areas under their rule to fall into a situation of “the people being impoverished and the state’s resources exhausted.” The Chinese Communist Party, on the other hand, represents the interests of the broad masses of the people, and its every starting point is to seek benefits for the masses. Objectively speaking, the overall economic level of the Soviet areas was not high. Successive military “encirclement and suppression” campaigns and economic blockades made it difficult to satisfy the basic living needs of the masses. “At mealtimes, there was no salt and no oil; they often ate with chili peppers and dried taro as a side dish. As time went on, everyone felt a lack of strength.” Therefore, Mao Zedong stressed that we must care about the lives of the masses and solve their problems of food, clothing, housing, fuel, oil, salt, and so on. Not only should these be placed on the agenda, but work on discussion, decision, implementation, and inspection should also be strengthened to promote the practical resolution of problems. “When we satisfy the needs of the masses, we truly become the organizers of the masses’ lives, and the masses will truly rally around us and warmly support us.”

是不是能够动员群众，最终取决于群众是否信服我们党的经济建设方针和政策，是否拥护我们党的领导。毛泽东指出，国民党军阀置人民利益于不顾，往往使他们统治区域的群众出现“民穷财尽”的情况。而中国共产党代表广大人民群众利益，一切出发点都是为人民群众谋利益。客观地看，苏区经济整体水平不高，接连而来的军事“围剿”及经济封锁，使得群众基本的生活需求难以得到满足，“吃饭时，无盐无油，经常以辣椒和芋头干送饭。日子长了，大家感到力气不足”。因此，毛泽东强调，要关心群众的生活，解决好群众的吃饭、穿衣、住房、柴米油盐等问题，不仅要把它们提上议事日程，还要加强讨论、决定、实行和检查等方面的工作，推动问题的切实解决。“满足了群众的需要，我们就真正成了群众生活的组织者，群众就会真正围绕在我们的周围，热烈地拥护我们。”

IV. “A Very Large Number of Work Cadres Are Needed”

四、“需要有很大数量的工作干部”

If the masses of the people are the “fighters” on the economic front, then launching a large-scale economic construction movement in the Soviet areas also requires a group of “commanders” who understand economic construction. Mao Zedong proposed: “The development of the economic construction movement requires a very large number of work cadres.” Mobilizing their enthusiasm was also an important task in promoting economic construction in the Central Soviet Area.

如果说人民群众是经济战线上的“战斗员”，那么，开展苏区大规模经济建设运动，也离不开一批懂经济建设的“指挥员”。毛泽东提出：“经济建设运动的开展，需要有很大数量的工作干部。”调动他们的积极性，也是推动中央苏区经济建设的一项重要工作。

Mao Zedong believed that work cadres “are the commanders on the economic front,” and “they must be organized, trained, and sent to the positions of economic construction” to strengthen the guiding force of economic construction in the Soviet areas. These cadres were all tempered in the practice of revolution and struggle, were rich in experience, and had close ties with the masses in the Soviet areas; they could be relied upon to strengthen economic mobilization of the masses. Therefore, with Mao Zedong’s active promotion, the National Economic Department of the Central Government was established in April 1933, and at the same time, provincial and county levels were also required to establish National Economic Departments to further strengthen leadership over economic construction work in the red areas. The Soviet Central Government required that National Economic Departments at all levels “grasp several central tasks in current economic construction,” such as the development of agricultural and industrial production, the regulation of grain, “the expansion of cooperatives, the establishment of foreign trade offices, the development of state-owned enterprises, etc., and carry them out practically.” While improving leading institutions at all levels, the Soviet government attached importance to selecting experienced leading cadres and economic construction experts to serve as heads of National Economic Departments or responsible persons of relevant departments and enterprises. The head of the National Economic Department of the Central Government was concurrently held by Deng Zihui, the Minister of Finance, and was later succeeded by Lin Boqu. Together with the heads of National Economic Departments at all levels and local cadres, they made tremendous contributions to strengthening economic construction in the Soviet areas.

毛泽东认为，工作干部“是经济战线上的指挥员”，“要把他们组织起来，训练起来，送到经济建设的阵地上去”，充实苏区经济建设的指导力量。这些干部都是在革命和斗争实践中锻炼出来的，经验丰富，并且与苏区群众的联系密切，可以依靠他们加强对群众的经济动员。因此，在毛泽东的积极推动下，1933年 4月中央政府国民经济部成立，同时省、县两级也按要求增设国民经济部，以进一步加强对红色区域经济建设工作的领导。苏维埃中央政府要求，各级国民经济部要“抓住目前经济建设上几个中心工作”，如农业和工业生产的发展，粮食的调剂，“合作社的扩大，对外贸易处的建立，国有企业的发展等，实际的进行起来”。在健全各级领导机构的同时，苏维埃政府重视推选经验丰富的领导干部及经济建设专家，使其担任国民经济部部长或相关部门、企业的负责人。中央政府国民经济部部长由财政部部长邓子恢兼任，后改由林伯渠接任。他们和各级国民经济部部长、地方干部一起，为加强苏区经济建设作出巨大贡献。

Mao Zedong also pointed out, “This is not a matter of a few dozen or a few hundred people, but requires several thousand or tens of thousands of people.” It was necessary to strengthen the training, selection, and assignment of cadres familiar with economic construction work. First, increase the intensity of cadre training. Mao Zedong stressed that these cadres also bore a responsibility in their work, namely, “to help those places where work is weak, to help those comrades who are not yet good at work to do their work well.” Due to subjective and objective reasons such as insufficient ideological understanding, the influence of “Left” deviations within the Party, and the严峻 war situation in the Central Soviet Area, the National Economic Departments of Soviet governments at various levels were not well established; “some had not even found a department head, or had only used people with relatively poor work ability to fill the numbers.” To solve this problem, Mao Zedong demanded increased efforts in cadre training. The “Resolution of the Conference on Economic Construction of the Seventeen Southern Counties of the Central Soviet Area” made a special deployment for cadre training: “The provincial Soviet government should immediately train a large number of cadres who are active in work and politically strong for itself and for the county and district levels,” in order to strengthen the combat forces on the economic front at the provincial, county, and district levels. Second, strengthen the selection and training of cadres. The provincial Soviet government sent cadres to border areas and new areas to strengthen class struggle, the land investigation movement, and fund-raising work in these places.[n] At the same time, localities should also select experienced comrades good at management to be trained in the Central National Economic Department, and after completing their studies, assign them to various procurement offices to undertake corresponding work. Finally, attach importance to introducing talent from outside the Soviet areas. The Soviet Central Government promulgated the “Notice of the Chinese Soviet Provisional Central Government Seeking Specialized Technical Talent,” widely mobilizing specialized technical personnel from inside and outside the Soviet areas to participate in Soviet economic construction, especially proposing to hire various types of technical personnel from the White Areas at high salaries.[n] Of course, regarding these specialized technical personnel, Mao Zedong stressed that education should be strengthened, and they should be patiently guided to overcome the ideas of the old society, helping them improve step by step.

毛泽东还指出，“这不是几十几百人的事，而是要有几千人几万人”，必须加强对熟悉经济建设工作的干部的培养、选派和训练。首先，加大干部的培养力度。毛泽东强调，这些干部在工作中还负担着一种责任，即“帮助那些工作薄弱的地方，帮助那些还不善于工作的同志们作好工作”。因为思想认识不够、党内“左”倾思想影响及中央苏区战争形势严峻等主客观原因，各地苏维埃政府的国民经济部门不够健全，“有些连部长还没有找到，或者也只拿工作能力较差的人去凑数”。为解决这个问题，毛泽东要求加大对干部的培养力度。《中央苏区南部十七县经济建设大会的决议》中对干部的培养工作进行了专门部署：“省苏要立即为本身及县区两级训练大批工作积极政治坚强的干部”，以充实省、县、区经济战线上的战斗力量。其次，加强干部的选派和训练工作。省苏维埃政府派出干部赴边区和新区，加强这些地方的阶级斗争、查田运动及筹款等工作。同时，地方也要选派有经验且擅长管理的同志到中央国民经济部训练，学成后分发各采办处，承担相应工作。最后，重视引进苏区之外的人才。苏维埃中央政府颁布了《中华苏维埃临时中央政府征求专门技术人才启事》，广泛发动苏区内外专业技术人才参加苏区经济建设，尤其提出重金聘请白区各类技术人才。当然，对这些专业技术人才，毛泽东强调，要加强教育，耐心引导他们克服旧社会的思想，帮助其一步一步提高。

V. “Using Practical Methods to Improve Our Work”

五、“用切实的方法来改善我们的工作”

To carry out the economic construction work of the Central Soviet Area well, correct leadership styles and working methods were indispensable. Mao Zedong pointed out that if “the leadership style is wrong, and various correct and effective working methods cannot be adopted, it will immediately affect the effectiveness of the work.” Therefore, it was necessary to adhere to proceeding from reality in everything, adhere to the principle of wholeness, and overcome bureaucratic leadership styles, in order to smoothly advance the development of the Soviet areas’ economic construction.

要开展好中央苏区经济建设工作，离不开正确的领导方式和工作方法。毛泽东指出，如果“领导方式不对，不能采取各种正确的有效的工作方法，那就会立刻影响到工作的成效”。因此，要坚持一切从实际出发，坚持整体性原则，克服官僚主义的领导方式，以顺利推进苏区经济建设事业的发展。

First, adhere to proceeding from reality in everything. Proceeding from reality means doing what should be done, can be done, and is achievable at present. Mao Zedong pointed out that, compared with tasks that were still impossible at the time, such as “building a railway to Longyan,” “building a motor road to Ganzhou,” “full state monopoly of grain,” and “salt and cloth businesses all run by the government,” it was still necessary to do work that was practical and achievable, such as increasing grain harvests, restoring the production of farm tools, lime, and tungsten sand, and strengthening salt imports. It was precisely on the basis of the actual conditions of the national economy that Mao Zedong demanded the “simultaneous advancement” of state-run enterprises, cooperative enterprises, and private enterprises. Although state-run enterprises were then limited to a part of the economy, their prospects were “boundless.” Cooperative enterprises had developed rapidly and “would become a huge force in the economic sphere.” In response to the view of some comrades influenced by “Left” thinking who advocated restricting the development of the private economy, Mao Zedong proposed that, proceeding from objective reality, “the current development of the private economy is necessary for the interests of the state and the people,” and that the private economy would inevitably predominate for a considerable period. The “Resolution on Soviet Economic Construction” and related economic work regulations clearly stipulated that capitalist enterprises and handicrafts were “not yet to be nationalized,” that “merchants’ grain trading was not prohibited,” and that “the initiative of various mass and private commercial organs should be encouraged,” and so on. Proceeding from the actual conditions of the economic base and the needs of the revolution at the time, the Soviet government adopted a policy of “advocating and encouraging” the private economy, represented by individual agriculture, handicrafts, and commerce. This was able to fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the masses in the Soviet areas to participate in economic construction, thereby promoting the development and deepening of economic construction work.

首先，坚持一切从实际出发。从实际出发，就是要做一些现在应做、能做并且做得到的事情。毛泽东指出，相比较“修一条铁路通龙岩”“修一汽车道通赣州”及“粮食完全专卖”“盐布生意都由政府经管”等当时还无法完成的任务而言，还是要做一些切合实际、能完成的工作，如提高粮食收成，恢复农具、石灰和钨砂的生产，加强食盐输入等。也正是立足于国民经济发展的实际，毛泽东要求坚持国营事业、合作社事业和私人事业的“同时并进”。国营事业目前虽然只限于一部分，但前途“不可限量”。合作社事业得到迅速发展，“将成为经济方面的巨大力量”。针对当时部分受“左”倾思想影响的同志主张限制私人经济发展的观点，毛泽东提出，从客观实际出发，“目前私人经济的发展，是国家的利益和人民的利益所需要的”，私人经济在相当长时间内必然占优势。在《关于苏维埃经济建设的决议》及相关经济工作的条例中就明确规定，对于资本家的企业和手工业“尚不实行国有”，“商人的粮食买卖是不禁止的”，“鼓励各种群众的与私人的商业机关的自动性”，等等。从当时的经济基础和革命需求的实际出发，苏维埃政府对以个体农业、手工业和商业为代表的私人经济采取“提倡和鼓励”政策，能够充分调动起苏区群众投身经济建设的积极性，从而推动经济建设工作的发展和深入。

Second, adhere to the principle of wholeness. Doing a good job of economic construction in the Soviet areas required grasping the principle of wholeness, properly handling the dialectical relationship between economic construction and the revolutionary war, the life of the masses, and other tasks of the Soviets from a comprehensive and interconnected macro perspective. On the one hand, Mao Zedong pointed out that mobilizing the masses to participate in the revolutionary war was the central task at the time, and our comrades must see this task clearly and consciously link “organizing the revolutionary war” with “improving the life of the masses.” Facts had already proven that “if we simply mobilize the people for war and do nothing else at all, can we achieve the goal of defeating the enemy? Of course not.” He specifically criticized the erroneous view that set the interests of the army and the people in opposition, demanded that the life of the masses be improved as much as possible, and considered that doing so was truly “subordinating everything to the war.” On the other hand, it was necessary to handle the relationship between economic construction and other tasks. Mao Zedong proposed that economic construction was one aspect of the overall work of the Soviets, that it could not be separated out in isolation, and that it must be grasped as a whole in connection with other work. He gave examples, pointing out that the in-depth development of the land investigation movement [9]9 The land investigation movement (查田运动) was a campaign launched in the Chinese Soviet Republic in 1933 to reclassify landholdings and redistribute land from rich peasants and landlords to poor peasants, intensifying the earlier land reform., because it struck at feudal remnants, enabled the peasants to “quickly enter the battlefront of economic construction”; the resolute implementation of the labor law enabled the worker masses, due to the improvement of their lives, to “actively and rapidly participate in the cause of economic construction”; correctly leading the election movement and the denunciation movement [10]10 The denunciation movement (检举运动) was a campaign in the Chinese Soviet Republic to expose and remove corrupt, counter-revolutionary, or incompetent officials from Soviet government and Party organs. enabled “our government to lead” economic work more effectively; carrying out cultural and educational work to raise the political and cultural level of the masses “was also of great importance for the development of the national economy”; as for the significance of expanding the Red Army for economic construction, “that goes without saying.” Therefore, Mao Zedong demanded that close connections be maintained between economic construction work in the Soviet areas and other work, and that all these conditions actively serve the revolutionary war, in order to win final victory.

其次，坚持整体性原则。做好苏区经济建设工作，需要把握好整体性原则，从全面、联系的宏观视角妥善处理经济建设与革命战争、群众生活及苏维埃其他任务的辩证关系。一方面，毛泽东指出，动员群众参加革命战争是当时的中心任务，我们的同志必须看清楚这个任务，自觉将“组织革命战争”和“改良群众生活”联系起来。事实已经证明，“单单动员人民进行战争，一点别的工作也不做，能不能达到战胜敌人的目的呢？当然不能”。他特别批评了一些将军民利益对立起来的错误观点，要求极力改良群众的生活，并认为这样做才是真正的“服从战争”。另一方面，处理好经济建设与其他任务的关系。毛泽东提出，经济建设是苏维埃整体工作的一方面，不能把它单独分离出来，要联系其他工作进行整体性把握。他举例指出，深入开展查田运动，因为打击了封建残余，使农民能“迅速地走入经济建设的战线上来”；坚决实行劳动法，使工人群众因生活的改善而“积极地迅速地参加经济建设事业”；正确地领导选举运动和检举运动，使“我们的政府更有力地领导”经济工作；开展文化教育工作，提高群众的政治文化水平，“对于发展国民经济同样有极大的重要性”；至于扩大红军的工作对于经济建设的意义，“那更不待说了”。因此，毛泽东要求，应保持苏区经济建设工作与其他工作的密切联系，并使这一切条件都积极服务于革命战争，以赢得最后的胜利。

Finally, overcome the bureaucratic style of leadership. Mao Zedong pointed out that this style of leadership was manifested either as perfunctory and irresponsible slack work, or as issuing orders with overbearing demands. The former lacked concrete and practical working methods, while the latter lacked patient persuasion; both would lead to the resentment of the masses. On the contrary, to rapidly develop economic construction, it was necessary to strive to persuade the masses, to do the work of economic mobilization “according to the concrete environment and the concrete mood of the masses as it manifests itself,” and to pay attention to the exemplary role of leading cadres. Therefore, Soviet governments at all levels, comrades in organs, and specific staff needed to go down to the grassroots and understand the concrete demands of the masses. In response to two completely different styles of leadership that emerged in practice, Mao Zedong gave comparative examples. The Tingzhou city government only focused on expanding the Red Army and mobilizing transport teams, but regarding the practical problems the masses actually faced, such as “no firewood to burn,” “no salt to buy,” and “no houses to live in,” it “did not discuss them at all.” As a result, its work achievements were extremely few. In contrast, the Changgang and Caixi townships were “truly model township governments”; they cared about and effectively solved the practical problems in the masses’ lives. When they saw a peasant’s house burned down, they “mobilized the masses to donate money to help him”; when they saw someone without food, they “immediately donated grain to relieve them,” and so on. Therefore, they achieved great work results: “they expanded the Red Army a great deal,” and “they also sold a lot of public bonds.” In response, Mao Zedong issued a call: “We must learn from Changgang and Caixi townships, and oppose bureaucratic leaders like those in Tingzhou city!”

最后，克服官僚主义的领导方式。毛泽东指出，这种领导方式，或表现为敷衍塞责的怠工，或表现为蛮横提要求的命令。前者缺乏具体实际的工作方法，后者则缺乏耐心说服，都会导致群众的反感。相反，要迅速开展经济建设，就要努力去说服群众，“按照具体的环境、具体地表现出来的群众情绪”，去做经济动员的工作，并注意发挥领导干部的示范作用。因此，各级苏维埃政府、机关同志和具体工作人员需要深入基层，了解群众的具体诉求。针对实践中出现的两种截然不同的领导方式，毛泽东进行了举例对比。汀州市政府只管扩大红军和动员运输队，对于群众实际存在的“没有柴烧”“没有盐买”“没有房子住”等实际问题，则“一点也不讨论”。结果，工作成绩极少。与之相反，长冈乡和才溪乡是“真正模范的乡政府”，他们关心并切实解决了群众的实际生活问题。看到农民的房子被火烧了，“发动群众捐钱帮助他”；看到有人没有饭吃，“马上捐米救济他们”，等等。因此，他们取得了很大的工作成绩，“扩大红军多得很”，“公债也销得很多”。对此，毛泽东发出号召：“我们要学习长冈乡、才溪乡，反对汀州市那样的官僚主义的领导者！”

During the Central Soviet Area period, Mao Zedong’s thinking on “must pay attention to economic work” provided an action guide for the Soviet areas to carry out economic construction, helped break the economic blockade of the reactionary Kuomintang government, improved the life of the masses in the Soviet areas, provided a considerable material foundation for the revolutionary war, and also accumulated rich experience for our Party in leading economic construction work. Revisiting Mao Zedong’s thinking on “must pay attention to economic work,” especially deeply grasping the thought methods contained therein, is of great significance for us to more deeply understand the history of the New Democratic Revolution in which the Party led the people in bloody struggles and unyielding efforts, to more comprehensively and accurately recognize the course of the Party leading the people in economic construction, to better draw wisdom and strength from Party history, and to do a good job of today’s economic construction work.

中央苏区时期，毛泽东关于“必须注意经济工作”的思想，为苏区开展经济建设提供了行动指南，有助于打破国民党反动政府的经济封锁，改善苏区群众生活，使革命战争得到相当的物质基础，还为我们党积累了领导经济建设工作的丰富经验。重温毛泽东关于“必须注意经济工作”的思想，特别是深刻把握蕴含其中的思想方法，对我们更加深入体悟党领导人民浴血奋战、百折不挠的新民主主义革命史，更加全面准确地认识党领导人民开展经济建设的历程，更好地汲取党史中的智慧和力量，做好今天的经济建设工作，具有重要意义。

(Author: Yu Shouping, Professor, School of Marxism, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University)

（作者：余守萍，南京晓庄学院马克思主义学院教授）

Online Editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心