Letter to Hu Zongnan Drafted for Xu Xiangqian
(October 18, 1936)

For the perusal of my respected classmate,¹ Army Commander Zongnan:

Ten years have flown by in a flash since we last saw each other at Huangpu, but,
recalling our friendship of old, it all seems like yesterday. At present the Japanese bandits are invading us on a large scale, the Northwest is in danger, and the
entire country is shaken, so it is most urgent for you, my elder brother, and me to
forget about past hostility and to rebuild our friendship, go to the anti-Japanese
battlefront, and strive to rescue our nation and our people from peril. On orders
from the Soviet Government and the Military Affairs Commission of the Red
Army, my humble forces have ceased attacking your honorable army as well as
other Guomindang armies, and only adopt measures of self-defense when under
attack by your honorable army. Everything can be discussed and negotiated; in
sum, the goal of stopping the civil war and joining forces to resist Japan can be
achieved through peaceful means. It is not that we fear your honorable army, but
the whole nation is in danger, and we truly do not wish to fight and kill each
other, for this would only jeopardize our national strength and enhance the
morale of the [Japanese] bandits. If you fail to see eye to eye with us, however,
and insist on resorting to warfare, the troops of our humble side are quite well
prepared and will have no alternative but to deal you the necessary counterblow
from a position of self-defense. All of our humble forces are struggling for the
purpose of resisting Japan, and are sincerely willing to conclude an alliance with
your forces and march forward hand in hand. Commandant² Chiang has now
reached a high level of awareness, and I deeply admire him. If you and I and all
the other teachers and schoolmates like us can forget about past hostility, restore
the united front between the Guomindang and the Communist Party, and fight a
war to the death against Japanese imperialism, the greatest enemy of the entire
nation, then today will be the day that we will be able to defend the nation and
the people, avenge all insults and wipe out all humiliation. You, my elder
brother, stand up tall and are farsighted, and have always won the admiration of

We have translated this letter from Mao Zedong wenji, Vol. 1, pp. 451-52, where it is
reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives. As indicated by the title, Mao drafted it
for Xu Xiangqian.
1. Hu Zongnan and Xu Xiangqian had both graduated from the Huangpu Academy in
the first class of 1924, before Xu joined the Communist Party.
2. Of the Huangpu Academy.
this younger brother of yours. Although we have been enemies for many years,
to be friends again with a single word would not be difficult at all. I am hereby
sending my envoy with this letter to seek out my elder brother's valuable opinion, and if you would grant me the favor of accepting my suggestions, then I beg
of you to halt your military operations immediately and await the negotiations
between our humble Party's Central Committee and Commandant Chiang and
the Central Committee of your honorable party. For our humble part, we would
most gratefully welcome any envoys you might choose to send this way. Because the current situation is very dangerous and the disaster demands immediate
attention, in view of the fact that we are disciples of the same teacher, I must
speak boldly and forthrightly to you and I know that you will not take offense.
I avail myself of this opportunity to inquire after your well-being.

Respectfully submitted by your junior classmate,
Xu Xiangqian