K. This is the 1st working draft of vol. VI. It still ... - From Marx to Mao

298 MAO TSE-TUNG
most two-thirds since the time of the civil war. As a result, in 1940
and 1941 we were able to export 500,000 packs of salt. If it were
not for the increase in oxen and donkeys, this salt would have been
very difficult to move out.
However, the development of agriculture has not been even.
Those areas with relatively all-round development and rather more
successes include the counties under direct administration and the
Longdong sub-region, in particular Yanan, Ansai, Ganquan, Huachi,
Quzi and the three eastern counties. This is because they have a lot
of land, few people, and the climate is quite good. These counties
also have the biggest share in the subsidiary work of salt transport
and, at the same time, the largest amount of public expenditure. The
FROM MARX
TO MAO
area that has not developed is the special military area [jingbeiqu],
⋆
because it has a large population and the land is limited. There is
no possibility of enlarging the ploughed area. They have had some
success there in the gradual restoration of household spinning and
weaving work. Moreover, there has been some emigration to the
Yanan area, which has eased the distribution of population and land.
The speed of development has also varied. Development was
faster before 1940, particularly in the years 1939 and 1940. In these
two years 1,700,000 mou of new land were opened up. In 1940, the
number of sheep increased by nearly 600,000, and oxen and donkeys
by over 50,000. NOT But in 1941 FOR and 1942, only about 600,000
mou of land were opened up. This is only one-third of the previous
two years. There were fewer sheep in 1941 over 1940, and the number
of oxen and donkeys COMMERCIAL
only increased by 10,000 (in reality there
was a reduction). However, in these two years cotton growing and
textiles both developed.
The above outlines the development of agriculture in the Border
Region. Now I DISTRIBUTION
want to say a few words about how this development
took place.
Before the civil war ended, agriculture was in decline. Afterwards
it developed. How did this development come about? Apart
from the arrival of the Central Red Army, the cleaning up of the
local bandits, and the realization of peace so that the peasants could
live and work securely, there were the following six reasons.
(1) The “left” mistakes in economic policy were corrected and
the policies to build up the resources of the people were implemented.
Although the peasants had obtained a share of land, they
were afraid to develop production because of the “left” economic