Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung
[SOURCE: Long Live Mao Zedong Thought, a Red Guard Publication.]
Comrade X X X:
This item is very good. Please have it published after it has been studied within the New China News Agency. It looks like the hog raising enterprise will develop on a massive scale. Except for the minority nationalities that ban pork, the entire country should carry it out in accordance with the methods used by the Wang Chien Shou People’s Commune of Wu Chiao County, Hopei Province. In Wu Chiao County the accumulation of capital was easy, the policy was correct, the drive was strong and development was rapid. Very high enthusiasm is the key to it all. Procrastinating feeling that neither this nor that could be done and that there are layers upon layers of difficulties — these are the world outlook of a coward, a lazy bone. It has none of the driving ambition and strong determination of Marxism-Leninism. These people are a long way from the style of a true communist. I have advised them to think it over carefully and rectify their incorrect world outlook. I suggested that the communist party committees of the provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, districts, counties and communes, as well as the party organizations of administrative areas, production teams and production squads seriously consider and study the hog-raising enterprises and the raising of cattle, sheep, donkeys, mules, horses, chickens, ducks, rabbits and other enterprises and plan and adopt concrete measures for running such enterprises. I also suggested the establishment of a committee or group on animal husbandry and domestic fowl raising enterprises. This is to consist of three or 5-9 persons. A comrade who is knowledgeable and has the enthusiasm for this kind of work and good at carrying out work is to be the responsible leader of this committee or group. That is to say a strong person should be assigned to provide the leadership. The production of animal fodder should be carried out on a large scale. There are various fine and coarse animal fodder, but it seems that corn is king of them all. This is t! he way it is being done in the U.S.; and the Soviet Union is also vigorously carrying this out now. In China, the Wu Chiao County of Hopeh province has also begun this and it makes a person very happy to see it. In hog raising, there certainly must be many areas, which are as good as Wu Chiao County. The entire country should unfold this operation on a massive scale. And this matter must be reviewed as equally important as that of raising food grains and elevating corn to staple food. Some suggest elevating hog raising to the leading position among the raising of six types of domestic animals and not in the order of “horse, cattle, sheep, chicken, dog and pig.” I raise both hands in approval. For hogs to be in the leading position is perfectly reasonable. The great pedologist and agriculturist, Mr Wei Lien [Verin ?] of the Soviet Union stressed that agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry are interdependent. Each is indispensable to the other and the three must be placed on the same level of importance. This is entirely correct. We hold that agriculture and forestry are the progenitors in the development of animal husbandry and animal husbandry is the progeny of agriculture and forestry enterprises. After that, animal husbandry becomes the progenitor of agriculture and forestry enterprises (mainly agriculture) and agriculture and forestry become the progenies. This is the principle underlying the balanced and equal positions the three occupy and their interdependence. In the U.S. the planting enterprise is carried out in conjunction with animal husbandry. Our country must also take this route because it is an experience proven to be truly effective. The source of fertilizers in our country is, first of all, from the raising of hogs and big stock animals. If we could achieve the objective ratio of one hog to a person and one hog to a mou of land, the major source of fertilizer will then be resolved. This is chemical fertilizer 10 times better than inorganic chemical fertilizer. A ! hog is a small scale, organic chemical fertilizer factory. Furthermore, a hog has meat. It has bristles, skin, and bones, and it has viscera (which can be used as raw materials for manufacturing medicine). So why don’t we take advantage of it? Fertilizer is food for plants, plants are food for animals and animals, in turn, are food for humankind. Therefore, from this it can be seen that it is definitely within reason to raise hogs and other stock animals on a big scale. It seems that it will be possible to accomplish this glorious and great mission within one or two five-year plans. Providing agriculture with machinery is the decisive factor in the development, on a huge scale of the three-in-one combination of agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry. The ministry of agricultural machine building [referring to the Eighth Ministry of Machine Building] has been established this year. From all appearances, the mechanization of agriculture is not too far off.
Mao Tse-tung
11 October 1959