To the Esteemed Gentlemen of the Nationalist Party and the National Government in Nanjing:  The Xi’an Incident has come as a shocking announcement that Mr. Chiang Kai-shek has been detained, an event entirely unexpected.


Yet this is, in truth, the outcome of Mr. Chiang’s three major erroneous policies: external concessions, internal military campaigns, and oppression of the people.


Generals Zhang and Yang,[1] both Central Committee members of your party and leaders of the “anti-Communist” forces, have nonetheless earnestly urged a cessation of the “anti-Communist” campaign and united resistance against Japan; their eight-point manifesto[2] reflects precisely what the entire nation has long been calling for. To implement it without delay would be only right—how could it possibly be condemned?


The present Xi’an Incident is merely the third in a series following the Fujian Incident and the Guangdong–Guangxi Incident,[3] forming a tripod of such uprisings.


All three were patriotic and capable figures within your party who, dissatisfied with Mr. Chiang’s capitulation to Japan and his betrayal of national interests, boldly raised the banner of justice.


Should you remain heedless and persist in your current course, similar uprisings will surely erupt throughout the country, bringing a confluence of calamities from which there will be no means of recovery.


Is it conceivable that the Chinese Nationalist Party lacks patriotic and virtuous leaders? Yet they are constrained by Mr. Chiang and further hemmed in by the pro-Japanese faction, which panders to foreign powers at the expense of the people. As a result, righteous spirit cannot prevail, party principles are undermined, the nation shrinks by hundreds of li each day, its shattered lands suffer grievously, and the people, along with you, shall perish together, bearing boundless sorrow and resentment.


It is my humble view that the outbreak of the Xi’an Incident should serve as a profound occasion for reflection on the part of the Nanjing authorities, rather than prompting them to act out of spite and precipitate an unprecedented civil war, as recent telegrams have reported.


As the saying goes, when the clam and the plover lock horns, the fisherman waits nearby—and now that fisherman has already raised his net.


Since learning of Nanjing’s decision to launch a punitive expedition against Generals Zhang and Yang, the Japanese have been jubilant, mobilizing heavily armed troops and standing poised for action.


Were Nanjing to concentrate its coastal and Yangtze River garrisons and launch a major offensive against the remote northwestern corner of the country—setting aside the region’s harsh climate, the valorous ranks of Zhang and Yang, the ongoing hostilities in Shanxi and Suiyuan,[4] and the nationwide turmoil—the outcome would remain highly uncertain. Even if victory were achieved and one’s ambitions fulfilled, Japan would seize the opportunity to invade, exploiting the vacuum to strike Shanghai and Nanjing,[5] capture Qingdao and Jinan,[6] establish an independent North China, and place Northwest China in peril, ultimately leading to the utter collapse of the nation—a catastrophe from which there could be no recovery.


The metaphor of the mantis preying upon the oriole, the reproach that this brings pain to friends while delighting enemies, will forever stain our collective memory and can never be erased.


We here perceive grave danger and therefore feel bound to bring it to your attention.


China belongs to the Chinese people; if the nation perishes, what remains for the populace? And if the people are annihilated, upon what foundation could the party endure?


Thus, for over a year we have repeatedly advocated cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, seeking to transform adversaries into allies and jointly confront the national enemy, exhausting ourselves in the process.


If you truly wish to distance yourselves from Mr. Chiang and from the pro-Japanese faction, it would be wise to resolve to accept the demands of Generals Zhang and Yang: halt the ongoing civil war, remove Mr. Chiang from power and submit him to trial by the people, unite all parties, factions, social groups, and military units to form a United Front government, abandon Mr. Chiang’s sterile bureaucratic posturing centered on centralization, uniformity, and rigid discipline, and begin anew in sincere accord with the people. This entails fully restoring freedom of speech, reopening patriotic publications, releasing patriotic prisoners, and immediately dispatching all forces engaged in the civil war to Shanxi and Suiyuan to repel the Japanese invaders, turning darkness into light and transforming misfortune into great celebration.


Should this be done, though we may lack brilliance, we stand ready to lead two hundred thousand soldiers of the People’s Red Army in joint operations with your forces, advancing together onto the battlefield of the national revolution to fight unto death for a free and liberated homeland.


Otherwise, the destruction of the nation and the extinction of the race would be intolerable—not only for the people of China and the patriotic patriots within your party, but also for us, who could never remain idle spectators.


Awaiting your enlightened guidance with trepidation.


Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Zhang Guotao, Lin Boqu, Xu Teli, Wang Jiaxiang,[7] Peng Dehuai, He Long, Ye Jianying, Ren Bishi, Xu Xiangqian, Chen Changhao, Lin Biao, Xu Haidong.  Printed from a copy preserved in the Central Archives.


Notes [1] Zhang and Yang refer to Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, see notes [10] and [13] on page 371 of this volume, respectively.


[2] Refers to the eight-point manifesto for national salvation and resistance against Japan, announced nationwide by Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng via telegram on December 13, 1936: (1) Reorganize the Nanjing government to include all parties and factions, entrusting them collectively with the task of saving the nation; (2) Cease all civil wars; (3) Immediately release patriotic leaders arrested in Shanghai; (4) Release all political prisoners; (5) Allow the public to freely engage in patriotic activities; (6) Guarantee all political freedoms of assembly and association; (7) Faithfully uphold the testament of the Founding Father; (8) Convene a National Salvation Conference without delay.


[3] The Fujian Incident refers to the uprising launched on November 20, 1933, in Fujian Province by General Cai Tingkai and General Jiang Guangnai of the Nationalist Army’s 19th Route Army, in alliance with Li Jishen and other anti-Chiang elements within the Kuomintang. Following the incident, the “People’s Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China,” opposed to both Japan and Chiang Kai-shek, was established in Fuzhou. By January 1934, however, under pressure from Chiang Kai-shek’s military forces and efforts to sow division, the Fujian government had collapsed. The Guangdong–Guangxi Incident is discussed in note [2] on page 437 of this volume.


[4] Suiyuan refers to Suiyuan Province, see note [16] on page 371 of this volume.


[5] Shanghai and Nanjing.


[6] Qingdao and Jinan.


[7] Wang Jiaxiang.