On the Temporary Abandonment of Yan'an and the Defence of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of On the Temporary Abandonment of Yan'an and the Defence of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region has been prepared and revised for digital publication by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism under the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Switzerland on the basis of the following editions:

• On the Temporary Abandonment of Yenan and the Defence of the Shensi-Kansu-Ningsia Border Region, in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, First English Edition, Vol. 4, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1965.
• Circular of the CPC Central Committee on Establishment of the Work Committee of the Central Committee and Other Matters, in Mao's Road to Power, First English Edition, Vol. 9, Routledge, New York and London, 2023.

#INTRODUCTION NOTE

This is an inner-Party circular drafted by Comrade Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Qingyangcha, Henshan, Shaanxi, China on the 9th of April, 1947. It was first published in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 4, in 1960.

This document was written 20 days after the occupation of Yan'an by Nationalist troops on the 19th of March, 1947. After the bankruptcy of Jiang Jieshi's plan for an all-out offensive against the Liberated Areas, he adopted frantic measures to save his dying regime, convened a bogus «National Assembly», expelled the representatives of the Communist Party of China from the Nationalist areas, and launched an attack on Yan'an, the seat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. As this document pointed out, the outcome of Jiang Jieshi's measures was his complete self-destruction politically. Militarily, he concentrated his forces on the eastern and western flanks of the Liberated Areas, that is, the Shandong Liberated Area and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Liberated Area in an attempt to carry out «attacks against key sectors»; and again, the outcome was complete failure. The Nationalist troops attacking the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region were more than 230'000 strong, while the North-Western People's Liberation Army had only some 20'000 in that region. Therefore, the enemy forces were able to occupy Yan'an and all the region's county towns, which the people abandoned on their own initiative. The enemy, however, failed to achieve their objective of destroying the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the North-Western People's Liberation Army or of driving them east of the Yellow River. On the contrary, the enemy suffered many heavy blows from the people's army, lost about 100'000 troops, and finally had to flee in confusion from the Border Region, while the people's army triumphantly went over to the offensive for the liberation of the Great North-West. Moreover, the people's army in the North-Western theatre, employing a very small force, pinned down and destroyed large numbers of the enemy's main force, and thereby strongly supported the operations of the people's troops in other theatres, particularly in the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan theatre, and helped them go over more quickly to the offensive. Comrade Mao Zedong, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the General Headquarters of the People's Liberation Army remained in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region the whole time from March 1947, when the people's army withdrew from Yan'an, to a year later, when it went over to the offensive in the North-Western theatre. This fact was of great political significance. It greatly inspired and strengthened the will to fight and the confidence in victory of the army and the people in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and in other Liberated Areas throughout the country. While in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, Comrade Mao Zedong not only continued to direct the People's War of Liberation on all fronts throughout the country, but also took personal command in the North-Western theatre and successfully achieved the aim to defend and expand the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and the Liberated Areas in the North-West with a firm fighting spirit.

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#ON THE TEMPORARY ABANDONMENT OF YAN'AN AND THE DEFENCE OF THE SHAANXI-GANSU-NINGXIA BORDER REGION

#CIRCULAR OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA

#Mao Zedong

#9th of April, 1947

#★

#To All Bureaus and Sub-Bureaus of the Central Committee, All Provincial and District Party Committees, and All Field Army Commanders

In order to save its moribund regime, the Nationalist Party of China, besides taking such steps as convening the bogus «National Assembly», drawing up the bogus «Constitution», driving out the representative agencies of our Party from Nanjing, Shanghai, and Chongqing, and proclaiming a break between the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party,¹ has taken the further step of attacking Yan'an, the seat of our Party's Central Committee and the General Headquarters of the People's Liberation Army, and of attacking the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.

The fact that the Nationalist Party has taken these steps does not in the least indicate that its regime is strong, but rather that the crisis of the Nationalist regime has become extremely deep. Its attack on Yan'an and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region is moreover a vain attempt to settle the North-Western question first, cut off our Party's right arm, drive our Party's Central Committee and the General Headquarters of the People's Liberation Army from the North-West, then move its troops to attack North China, and so achieve the objective of defeating our forces one by one.

In these circumstances, the Central Committee has decided as follows:

• We must defend and expand the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and the Liberated Areas in the North-West with a firm fighting spirit; it is entirely possible to achieve this objective.
• Our Party's Central Committee and the General Headquarters of the People's Liberation Army must remain in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. It is an area where we have a favourable mountainous terrain, a good mass basis, plenty of room for manoeuvre, and full guarantee for security.
• At the same time, to facilitate our work, we have set up a Working Committee of the Central Committee to proceed to north-western Shanxi or some other suitable place to carry out the tasks en trusted to it by the Central Committee.

These three decisions were made last month and have already been put into effect. You are hereby notified.

#Central Committee