The Policy of "Dig Holes Deep, Accumulate Great Stores of Grain and Seek No Hegemony"

A strategic policy proposed by Mao Zedong during the “Cultural Revolution”.

This policy was to borrow and develop Zhu Sheng and Zhu Yuanzhang's kingdom in the Ming Dynasty by proposing "building high walls, accumulating large quantities of grain and slowly becoming king".

Beginning in the mid-1960s, based on an estimate of the seriousness of the international situation, Mao stressed the need to highlight the issue of war preparations, to prepare grain and cloth, to dig bomb shelters, and to build fortifications. In accordance with these spirits, in August 1969, the CPC Central Committee formally decided to establish a national leading group for people’s air defense, and all provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions also set up leading groups for human defense at all levels. As a result, the scale of people’s air defense projects expanded rapidly on the basis of existing ones, and the specifications of people’s air defense projects were continuously improved.

On December 10, 1972, the CPC Central Committee forwarded the State Council's "Report on the Food Problem" of November 24, and conveyed Mao Zedong's instruction of "Dig Holes Deep, Accumulate Great Stores of Grain and Seek No Hegemony". On January 1, 1973, People's Daily, Red Flag Magazine and People's Liberation Army Newspaper jointly published “New Year's Address”, which announced this instruction to the whole country. Under the call of this instruction, the scale of people’s air defense projects in China was rapidly expanded and the standard of human defense projects was rapidly improved. From 1972 onwards, the state treasury earmarked an item for people’s defense, and by 1980, the national treasury alone earmarked several billion yuan for people’s defense.