January 14–20

The CPC Central Committee held a conference on the issue of  intellectuals. Zhou Enlai delivered the Report on the Issue of Intellectuals on behalf of the CPC Central Committee. The Report gave full credit to the role of  intellectuals in socialist construction, declared that the vast majority of intellectuals were already part of the working class, put forward the task of formulating a long-term plan for the development of science and technology, and issued a call to all the Chinese people to “march toward modern science.” Speaking on the last day of  the conference, Mao Zedong called on the whole Party to diligently study scientific knowledge, to unite with intellectuals outside the Party, and to work hard to catch up with the advanced level of  science currently existing in the world.

January 15

  More than 200,000 people from all walks of  life in Beijing had a meeting at the Tiananmen Square, celebrating the cooperativization of Beijing’s agriculture and handicraft industry, as well as Beijing being the first in China to realize all-industry public-private joint management of capitalist businesses. By the end of the year, a decisive victory had been won throughout the Chinese mainland regarding the socialist transformation of private ownership of the means of production.

January 23

The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee proposed the Outline of National Agricultural Development from 1956 to 1967 (Draft). On January 25, the 6th Session of  the Supreme State Meeting discussed the draft outline, and after many changes and amendments, the Outline was promulgated in April 1960.

January 27

The CPC Central Committee issued the Instructions on the Issue of  Chinese Language Reform. On January 28, the 23rd plenary meeting of the State Council passed the Resolution of  the State Council on Promulgating the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme and the Instructions of the State Council on Promoting Putonghua. On February 9, the Chinese Language Reform Commission issued the Chinese Phonetic Transcription Scheme (Draft).

March 14

The State Council established the Science Planning Commission. On December 22, the CPC Central Committee ratified the Report on Soliciting Opinions on the “Outline of Long-Term Plans for Developing Science and Technology from 1956 to 1967(Revised Draft)” submitted by the Leading Party members group of the Science Planning Commission of the State Council.

April 25

Mao Zedong gave a report titled “On Ten Relations” at the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The report stressed the need to mobilize all positive factors at home and abroad to strive for the building of a strong socialist country, summed up China’s experience of socialist construction, and put forward the task of exploring a socialist road suitable for China. The report also proposed the policy of  “long-term coexistence and mutual supervision” between the Communist Party and other democratic parties.

April 28

While concluding an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Mao Zedong pointed out that a policy was necessary which should allow a hundred flowers to bloom in the field of art, and a hundred schools of thought to contend on academic issues. On May 2, Mao Zedong formally proposed the policy of “letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend” at the 7th Session of the Supreme State Meeting.

June 30

The Dinghushan National Nature Reserve in Guangdong Province, the fifirst of its kind in China, was established. On September 25, 1982, the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park became the first of  its kind in China. China has ever since gradually established natural conservation areas of various kinds and levels, such as nature reserves, forest parks, scenic spots, natural heritage, geological parks and marine parks.

July 13

The First Automobile Works in  Changchun successfully produced, on a trial basis, the first batch of made-in-China Jiefang trucks. In May and August 1958, the first made-in-China Dongfeng car and Hongqi car came off the assembly line.

September 15–27

The 8th CPC National Congress was held. The Resolution on Political Reports passed by the Congress stated that the socialist transformation had won a decisive victory; the contradiction between China’s proletariat and bourgeoisie had been basically resolved; the institution of class exploitation, which existed for thousands of years, had fundamentally come to an end; the institution of  socialism had been fundamentally established. The principal contradictions in China had already become the contradiction between people’s wish for an advanced industrial country and its reality as a backward agricultural country, and the contradiction between people’s needs for the rapid development of economy and culture and the reality that the current economy and culture could not meet their needs. The primary mission of  the Party and the people at present was to concentrate the efforts to solve the contradictions and turn China from a backward agricultural country to an advanced industrial country as soon as possible. The Congress stressed the need to strengthen the ruling Party and passed the newly revised Constitution of the Communist Party of China.

September 28

At the 1st Plenary Session of the 8th CPC Central Committee, Mao Zedong was elected chairman of the Central Committee, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, and Chen Yun vice chairmen, and Deng Xiaoping general secretary.

From: Chronicle of the People's Republic of China (October 1949 — September 2019) ,edited by The Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, PP32-37