To the Office of the Xiangtan County Magistrate[1]

(July 1919)

...Zedong and others, as resident officers, bear a responsibility that is crucial to the future of education and cannot be taken lightly. It was imperative to follow established precedent and elect suitable individuals through a voting process to advance the work. After conflicts arose and the ballot box remained unopened, we sought to compromise for the greater good, striving only to act without violating reason or law. We repeatedly sent representatives to mediate, yet Huang Zongxian and his associates dispersed one after another, refusing to engage in consultations. This led to a breakdown that became irreparable. At the meeting that day, the president and vice president

[1] From July 7 to 9, 1919, the Xiangtan County Education Association convened a reelection conference. The conference procedure was as follows: first, officers were nominated in equal numbers from the county's 17 districts, after which resident officers were to be elected from among these nominees. On July 7, officers were elected from each district, with Mao Zedong, Song Huanda, and others being chosen. On July 8, during the election of resident officers, Song Huanda's name was struck out and replaced by Huang Zongxian and others. Song immediately rose to question this, and Huang offered various excuses while threatening to abolish the position of resident officer. President Chen Zuliang, seeking to monopolize the association's affairs, repeatedly shielded Huang. At this point, Mao Zedong stepped forward to speak: the resident officers were representatives of all 94 officers of the county education association, and their establishment was absolutely necessary. He elaborated on the duties and responsibilities of the resident officers. A report in Hunan's *Ta Kung Pao* noted that Mao Zedong's speech was "eloquent and forceful in argument, his voice and demeanor commanding, stirring the entire assembly." On July 9, the election of resident officers continued, but Huang Zongxian again disrupted proceedings, proposing that school administrators be elected first. Mao Zedong retorted: this is not an election of resident officers but a distribution of sinecures. Under no circumstances should positions be tailored to individuals. Even if mediation of disputes was necessary, the resident officers should first be elected, after which the officers' council could discuss school administration and assign resident officers to oversee it. Mao Zedong's speech won the support of the vast majority of officers, and a vote was held to elect the resident officers. Just as the ballots were about to be counted, Huang Zongxian and his group suddenly swarmed in, forcibly seizing the ballot box and carrying it away, leaving the election without a result. After the meeting, Mao Zedong joined more than 20 officers in submitting a petition to the Xiangtan County Magistrate's Office, recounting the proceedings of the meeting, proposing remedial measures, and requesting that the county education association be temporarily suspended until autumn, when new election preparatory personnel could be chosen and the association reorganized. This is the latter part of the petition; the full text has yet to be found.

had already publicly announced their resignations. Zedong and others, having gathered the opinions of the county's academic circles and deliberated repeatedly, have concluded that the only course is to temporarily suspend the association. We have also notified the Education Promotion Office that public funds allocated to the education association must not be disbursed during this suspension period, and that all documents and equipment are to be entrusted to the Education Promotion Office for temporary safekeeping. This autumn, a new assembly shall be convened to elect preparatory personnel, who will, in accordance with ministerial orders, revise the association's charter, strictly enforce eligibility criteria, and reorganize the body, so as to ensure genuine progress in educational endeavors. This is the remedial measure adopted after the association's meeting was disrupted by Huang Zongxian and others, yielding no results. Zedong and others earnestly fear that some may stir up further complications in an attempt to sabotage these efforts. We can only present a detailed account of the meeting's proceedings and the resolved-upon remedial measures, submitting this report to your esteemed office for review, filing, and official instructions, which we shall dutifully follow. This is submitted for the public good.