To Yan Xishan
(May 25, 1936)
Mr. Baichuan:

Our humble army made its westward crossing [of the Yellow River] as a
gesture toward the cessation of civil war and to promote an awakening on the
part of your honorable forces and on Mr. Chiang's part so as to reach the goal of
jointly resisting Japan. Given the possibility that our May 5th Circular Telegram¹
may not have reached you, we have made a copy that we are entrusting to
Regimental Commander Guo² to take back for your perusal, which we sincerely
request that it receive.

The great cause of national salvation is not something that can possibly be
achieved by only a handful of people. Our humble army has been blocked from
fighting the Japanese, but this will of ours remains as before. No matter how many
vicissitudes we encounter, we will never stop until we accomplish our goal, and
we firmly believe that the day will surely come when you gentlemen finally wake
up. We have heard indirectly that Mr. Chiang has been increasing his pressure on
you, and has forced the Shanxi Army to enter Shaanxi for the second time while
using his own Central Army to keep watch from behind. This Mr. Chiang has so
far shown no sense of regret, and is unparalleled as a Chinese traitor selling out
his country, so the soldiers and the people in Shanxi must share our indignation. If
you, sir, can join as one with our humble side in resisting Japan and opposing
Chiang, our comrades would be most willing to stand with the Shanxi Army on a
shared front line and eliminate this common enemy of the Chinese people.

Regimental Commander Guo and the officers and soldiers of your honorable
army have all been treated fairly. We are all compatriots, so one side's winning
over the other is nothing to boast about, and our side would certainly never put
on airs. As for the weapons and ammunition [we captured from you], what was
lost by a man of Chu is found by a man of Chu,³ so we trust that you, sir, and
from a copy in the Central Archives.
1. Translated above.
2. Guo Dengying, commander of the 392nd Regiment of Yan Xishan's Sixty-sixth
Division.
3. This is an allusion to a story recounted in the Shuo yuan of the Han dynasty writer
Liu Xiang, about a king of Chu who lost a bow. His attendants looked everywhere for it,
but the king said, "The bow of a man of Chu will be found by a man of Chu, so why
bother looking for it?" This has become a commonly used expression meaning that such
losses and gains are of no importance so long as both parties are on the same side.
other leaders of your honorable army, will bear us no grudge. We are presently
sending Regimental Commander Guo back to Shanxi to deliver this letter in
person. If you have any advice for us, please do send Mr. Guo back again, so that
we can set up contact with each other and achieve mutual understanding in order
to deal with our common enemy. The xian magistrate of Jixian will remain here
for the time being, and after a short while we will order him back to Shanxi as
well. As the national calamity intensifies day by day, we trust that people of
virtue in Shanxi will find it impossible to sit by idly and watch with indifference.

Writing specially to wish with respect that plentiful merit and fortune may all
be yours!

Mao Zedong


--- Notes

Our source for this letter is Mao Zedong shuxin xuanji, pp. 34-35, where it is reproduced