Since Zhang Jingyao entered Hunan, he has been engaged in arson and murder,
he has let his soldiers loot and plunder, he has forced people to grow opium; he has
destroyed education, extorted money from merchants, illegally increased the salt tax,
stolen and sold mineral products, appropriated public rice stores, assassinated citizens,
promoted sorcery, stifled public opinion, forced people to donate food to his army,
smuggled salt, stopped honoring paper money, forced people to buy lottery tickets,
auctioned off textile mills, ravaged the countryside, sold off public assets, smuggled
weapons, illegally raised land taxes, manipulated finances, and illegally created his own
Council on Education, Provincial Assembly, and Provincial Agricultural Association.
All his crimes have been repeatedly exposed by various sources, and petitions for his
dismissal and punishment are pending. The people of Hunan have been forced into
misery, and their very survival is in great peril. Aroused by the popular fury, we, the
representatives of the people of Hunan, have come to Beijing and presented one petition
after another. After more than a month of waiting, we have not heard of any decision.
We are deeply troubled and puzzled. Today, we can wait no longer. We sincerely request
that our premier, as soon as possible, publicly dismiss Governor Zhang and appoint a
worthy and able successor. We are most urgently awaiting your decision.
Letter to Tao Yi59 (February 19,1920)
Dear Miss Siyong,
(Opening passage deleted)
I feel we should organize a noble, pure, valiant, and dedicated society of comrades.
We comrades, in the preparatory stage, should have a goal of “outward expansion.” I
have a number of thoughts about this question. Many people talk about reform, but
it seems to me to be only a vague goal. To what extent should we reform (i.e., what
is the ultimate goal)? How shall we reach this goal? Where do we ourselves, or other
comrades, start? Very few have studied these questions in detail. Individually, perhaps,
yes; but, as a group, together, little has been done. An individual may have plans,
such as “I will study it this way,” “I will prepare myself this way,” “I will destroy such
and such,” “I will build such and such,” but most of these plans will lead to error.
The reason for their failure is that these plans are built purely on the imagination of
one individual. Such imaginings, though deemed good by that person, will often not
work once they are put into practice in society. This is a drawback. There is a second
drawback. The means thought out by one individual, sound as they may be, are only
known to him, and study, preparation, and application are limited to that individual.
This phenomenon of “individual fighting,” of “sporadic struggle,” “exerts a lot of effort,
yet yields little results”; it is “least economical.” To overcome this drawback, there is
and a middle school. In 1912 Mingde College in Beijing was founded, but this closed in 1915 as a result
of financial difficulties.
59 JinYunpeng.

one way, which is “group discussions.” There are two points in group discussion: (1)
to discuss our common goals, and (2) to discuss the methods we can jointly employ.
After goals and methods have been fully discussed, we must then further discuss how
to put the methods into practice. Only after
such group discussions can we have common study (in the academic realm), common
preparations, common destruction, and common construction in the future. Only then
will we be able to see concrete results. “Sporadic fighting” is doomed to fail and is
least effective. Discussing together and advancing together means that we will have
“united forces,” “allied armies,” and that we will have a guarantee of victory. We have
to guard ourselves against “sporadic fighting.” We have to organize united forces to
fight together.
The above problem is a great problem. There is yet another problem which is also serious. It is “the proper placement of people for studying abroad or working.” If we want
to achieve a certain objective (reform), we have to pay attention to proper methods.
One of them is how to place people properly. Especially during the present “shortage of
talents,” we have to be economical about talents. Otherwise, talents will be redundant,
piled up, or wasted. Some comrades in Paris are trying very hard to convince others
to join them there. If they attract more people from the general public to Paris, that
is fine. But if they attract more comrades there, it will inevitably lead to some errors.
We comrades should be scattered all over the world to conduct investigations. Some of
us should go to every comer of the globe; we should not all be in one place. The best
way is to have one or several comrades open up a certain area. We should open up all
“fronts.” We should send people to act as our vanguard in all directions.
The several dozens of us got to know one another rather late. And it has not been
too long either since we met. (The New People’s Study Society was founded only in
April 1918.) We haven’t had time yet to study these problems thoroughly (or, rather,
we have not even studied them yet). I, for example, have been quite ignorant, have
had little to contribute, and have seldom studied these problems before. But during my
recent visit to several places, I observed various situations, got to meet some people,
thought over some things, and feel that these problems are very much worth studying.
Quite a few people in various places outside our circle are like me, and have never
studied them. They, too, have been sleeping inside a drum. What a shame! You are a
very enlightened and purposeful person. What do you think about all these things? I
expect that you have perhaps thought them over long before I did.
What I have said so far is still rather vague. Let’s be more specific.
The members of The New People’s Study Society and those of the Dawn Study
Society60 should hold frequent group discussions regarding our common goals and the
60 Tao Yi (1896–1930), zi Siyong, born in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, was Mao’s first sweetheart.
Yang Changji regarded her as one of the best women students at Hunan Normal School, and in 1919
she was one of the first female members of the New People’s Study Society. She was active in the
Hunan self-government movement and helped Mao organize the Cultural Book Society. In 1920 she
was working at Zhounan Girls’ School. She and Mao soon developed ideological differences (she later

means to achieve them. Each member’s plans for studying abroad or for work should
be properly coordinated so that he has a specific responsibility and his activity will
be a conscious and organized one. There should be a plan as to where each should be
sent: how he opens up a new front at a certain place; how he attracts or wins over new
comrades; how he creates his new life. The same will apply to you, to Wei, Zhou, and
Lao,61 to the other comrades in Changsha and those who have already gone abroad,
and to myself in the future.
What I have set out above are only some general ideas. Now I will jot down a few
more random thoughts.
Fellow-member Zhang Guoji62 has set his heart on going to Southeast Asia. I’m in
favor of this. Xiao Zizhang63 and more than ten others in Shanghai are getting ready to
go to France, and this is also very good! Peng Huang64 and some others are organizing
a work-study mutual-aid group in Shanghai,65 which is also an excellent thing!
Peng Huang and I do not want to go to France; rather, we desire to go to Russia.
He Shuheng66 wants to study in France. I exhorted him saying that he should not
rejected communism) and parted on friendly terms. Tao Yi went to Shanghai, where she founded the
Lida School and remained until her death. The opening passage, which has been deleted on the only
existing copy of this letter, was presumably of a personal character, but Mao nevertheless addresses her
politely as “Xiansheng,” which we have rendered in this case as “Miss,” rather than “Mr.”
61 The Dawn Study Society was an independent study society established in January 1920 by mostly
female Hunanese students who did not go to France on the work-study program, yet wanted to continue
to study new ideas and raise their awareness. The majority of members were students of Zhounan Girls’
School and Hunan First Girls’ Normal School. One of the aims of the society was to raise the status
of women. The society established links with similar groups, including the New People’s Study Society
and the Young China Association.
62 Wei is Wei Bi; Zhou is Zhou Dunxiang; and Lao is Lao Junzhan. For detailed notes on these
three, see the note to text of November 25,1920.
63 Zhang Guoji (1893- ), also known as Yisheng, was from Yiyang, Hunan Province. Zhang was a
classmate of Mao at Hunan First Normal School, and from 1919a member of the New People’s Study
Society. In February 1920 he went to Singapore to teach at the Daonan School and the Overseas Chinese
High School. On reluming to China, he joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1927 and worked in the
education office of the Wuchang Peasant Movement Training Institute.
64 On the early years of Xiao Zizhang, also known as Xiao Zhifan, Xiao San, or “Emi Siao” (because
of his admiration for Rousseau’s Emile), see the note to Mao’s letter of August 3, 1915, to his elder
brother, Xiao Zisheng. He was one of the inaugural members of the New People’s Study Society, present
at its first meeting in April 1918, and in May 1920 went to France under the work-study program,
returning to China later that year. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1922 and went to Russia
to study in 1923, returning to China in 1924.
65 As indicated in the note to the text of July 30, 1919, Peng Huang was a close friend of Mao from
an early date. During the May Fourth movement, he was a student leader in Hunan, becoming chairman
of the Department of Criticism and Discussion of the Hunan United Students’ Association. He was a
student at the Commercial Vocational School where the association was located. In September 1919 he
was one of the expel-Zhang delegation sent to Shanghai to spread anti-Zhang propaganda. He worked
with Mao and others to organize a number of groups, such as the Association for Promoting Reform
in Hunan, the Frugal Study Society, the Cultural Book Society, and the Russia Studies Society.
66 See below, pp. 498–500, the “Fund-Raising Notice …” of this society.

necessarily go to France, and that it would be better to go to Russia instead. As for
my own plans, I will go to Shanghai within one week. Once order has been restored
in Hunan,671 will go back to Changsha and form a “Free Study Society” (or it might
be simply called a Self-Study University), hoping that within one or two years I will
be able to master the outline of all fields of study, ancient and modem, Chinese and
foreign, so that I may be equipped to study abroad (otherwise, I could not conduct
investigations there). Then I will form a work-study team to go to Russia. As for women
going to Russia, there should not be any problem. I’m sure they will be particularly
welcomed by the Russian women comrades. To form a “Work-Study Society for Women
Students to go to Russia,” following the precedent of the same for France,68 is also in
no way impossible. On this matter (going to Russia to study) I’m consulting Mr. Li
Dazhao and others. I have been told that Professor Tang Shoujun69 of Fudan University,
Shanghai (former principal of the Commercial College) is also interested in going. I
am so filled with joy and hope by this that I want to tell you especially! I believe
you said earlier that Yang Runyu70 has also joined our society. Recently I have read
some back issues of Dagongbao and have come across some of her writings, which are
excellent. What has she been doing for a living lately? Could you please let me know
when you have a moment? Today I went to the Women’s Work-Study Group.71 There
were eight people, including four newcomers from Rice Field.72 Among the eight, six
were from Hunan, one from Korea, and one from Soviet Russia. Quite interesting! But
what will their future achievements be? It depends on their abilities and their moral
force. Perhaps in the end they will fail (the men’s group can be said to have failed
already). Within Beijing Girls’ Higher Normal School, there is a spontaneous and lively
spirit among the students, but the teachers and staff are rather unenlightened. I have
67 He Shuheng (1870–1935), school name He Zhanhu, also known as He Zhanggu or Laowu, was
bom in Ningxiang, Hunan. He studied at the local Yunshan Primary School and in 1913 joined First
Normal School, where in 1917 he was one of Mao’s teachers in the training department. He was one of
the original thirteen founding members of the New People’s Study Society in April 1918, and the oldest.
He was active with Mao in petitioning for the ousting of Governor Zhang and was a member of the
Cultural Book Society. He was chosen, together with Mao, from the Hunan Marxist group to attend
the First Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in Shanghai in July 1921.
68 I.e., once the “disorder” or unrest resulting from Zhang Jingyao’s misrule and the popular movement to expel him has come to an end.
69 The “Hunan Women’s Society for Work and Study in France” was formed by Xiang Jingyu, Cai
Chang, and others in Changsha in December 1919. They aimed to use their experience in France to
revitalize education in China on their return. The society was to be responsible for raising funds to send
women to France, and for promoting the movement in Hunan.
70 Tang Song. See the relevant note to the text of July 21, 1919, on the “Strengthen Learning
Society.”
71 Yang Runyu (1899- ), bom in Changsha, was a graduate of Hunan First Girls’ Normal School.
She was an activist in the women’s movement in Changsha, and in February 1920 she became a member
of the New People’s Study Society.
72 This is the Beijing Women’s Work-Study Mutual Aid Group formed in early 1920. Most of its
members were students at the various women’s schools in Beijing.