Varying situation/End of the 7000-Person Conference

Author: Zhang Suhua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: From January 11 to February 7, 1962, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Beijing held an enlarged central work conference attended by over 7,000 cadres from county-level party committees and above, known as the "Qīrén Conference." The scale of the conference was unprecedented. What made it even more fascinating was the wealth of information it contained and its profound impact on later history. The conference was called to address the economic difficulties of 1959–1961 by summarizing experience and combating decentralization. However, the conference's agenda and themes underwent a series of unexpected changes. The relaxed democratic atmosphere, described as "venting frustrations during the day and enjoying performances at night," allowed people to touch upon major issues such as who should bear the consequences and responsibilities of the "Great Leap Forward" and how to evaluate the "Three Red Flags." Inspired by the conference, a new situation emerged across the country in the spring and summer of 1962. But soon, the situation changed again, as Mao Zedong re-emphasized class struggle. The Qīrén Conference and the subsequent ideological divisions it generated became a distant cause of the later Cultural Revolution. Drawing on years of interviews, research, and material collection, the author of this book provides a comprehensive, in-depth, and detailed disclosure of the origins, process, and twists of the Qīrén Conference, offering detailed analyses of Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Chen Yun, Lin Biao, Deng Xiaoping, as well as the cadres of provincial and county-level party committees. It is rich in historical value and fills a gap in the study of Party history.