Call for Submissions for the Publication of *The Long March Record*[1]

(August 5, 1936)

There is now an excellent opportunity to conduct propaganda at home and abroad to expand the influence of the Red Army and to raise funds for the anti-Japanese resistance. It is imperative to publish an account of the Long March. To this end, a collective work is hereby initiated. It is hoped that all leading cadres will mobilize and organize divisional and regimental officers to write numerous episodes based on the battles they experienced, the local customs and conditions, and the anecdotes and remarkable tales encountered during the Long March, and submit them to the General Political Department before September 5. This matter is of great importance and must not be neglected.

Owing to the current need to conduct international propaganda and to launch large-scale fundraising campaigns both at home and abroad, it is necessary to publish *The Long March Record*. Therefore, a collective creative endeavor is hereby initiated. Each person shall select the most vivid and interesting episodes from the battles, marches, local conditions, and unit work they experienced and write them up in a number of fragments. The writing need only be clear and expressive in conveying the meaning; there is no need to delve into profundity. Writing a passage is tantamount to conducting fundraising propaganda for the Red Army and expanding the Red Army’s international influence. Manuscripts are requested to be sent to the General Political Department before September 5. A modest remuneration will be provided as a token of appreciation.

--- Notes

[1] This is the telegram sent by Mao Zedong and Yang Shangkun to all military units and the letter addressed to comrades who participated in the Long March, calling for submissions for the publication of *The Long March Record*. *The Long March Record* was later published in Yan'an.