'Safe' books devoted to Mao Zedong Thought and subjects related to the Maoist interpretation of reality were essential reading material for leaders at every level, including party secretaries in the rural areas. The official version of events as it was handed down had to be scrutinized, studied and applied in practice.

The book read can just be recognized as 'Anti-Dühring' (反杜林论) by Friedrich Engels (恩格斯), first published in German in 1878. It was both a brief and readable explanation of Marxist theory, and a harsh reckoning with a rival (Eugen Dühring).

On the impressum of this poster, Liu Zhide is identified as Secretary of the Party branch of the Qin Third Production Brigade of the Qindu Commune (秦渡公社秦三大队党支部书记).