On March 13, 1949, Mao Zedong set out the working methods of Party committees. Point five reads: “Learn to ‘play the piano.’ In playing the piano all ten fingers move. It will not do for some to move and others not. But if all ten fingers press down at once, there is no tune.”
“The Party committee must keep a firm grasp on its central work,” he went on, “and at the same time carry out work in other fields around it. We now manage many fields. The work of every region, every army and every department must be attended to. We must not pay attention only to part of the problems and drop the rest.”