A Letter to the Chinese National
Revolutionary Alliance
(December 22, 1936)
To the ladies and gentlemen of the Chinese National Revolutionary Alliance:
I have received your letter and am in total agreement with your ideas expressed
therein. We still lack the necessary and reliable communications with the Shanxi
and Suiyuan authorities, and this poses a great disadvantage for the present
urgent task of saving the nation from extinction. We resolutely declare: With
complete sympathy for the determination and action of the Shanxi and Suiyuan
authorities and their army and people truly to resist the Japanese bandits and to
defend our national territory, we wish to assist them with all our might. This
spring, when the Red Army crossed the Yellow River and marched eastward, its
original destination was Hebei and Chahar, and the frontal enemy was the Japanese bandits, but the situation was unfortunately misunderstood by the two gentlemen, Mr. Yan [Xishan] and Mr. Chiang [Kaishek], so the army was diverted
back to the west to await their understanding. Although the Red Army is eager to
go to the very frontlines of the anti-Japanese arena, it must first obtain the
understanding of the local friendly armies. Before obtaining such an understanding the Red Army will certainly not recklessly advance. If the Shanxi and
Suiyuan authorities are serious about their commitment to resisting Japan, and
when they deem it necessary, the Red Army will sign an agreement of cooperation with them. Such an agreement should stipulate the demarcation of defense
lines, mutual assistance, supply of military materials, unification of military
command, and so on. If such an agreement can be reached, and the Red Army
can accordingly enter the Resistance War area in Shanxi and Suiyuan, then the
Red Army will devote all its efforts to the interests of the Resistance War and
will definitely refrain from interfering with the local authorities and from taking
any actions harmful to the friendly armies. In your letter, you inquire about the
strategic objectives of the Red Army in the Northwest. We would like to advise
you that the only objective of the Red Army in the Northwest is to defend the
Northwest and North China. At present we are concentrated in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia area, and we seek first of all the understanding of the
Guomindang army and, on the basis of cooperation, to join in the anti-Japanese


Our source for this letter is Mao Zedong wenji, Vol. 1, pp. 473–74, where it is reproduced
from a copy in the Central Archives.
battlefront. We have no other goal apart from this. We have already made our
declaration known to all Guomindang troops in the Northwest: The Red Army
will on its own initiative stop attacking them and will take necessary self-defense
measures only when they attack us. We shall return all personnel and weapons
captured in self-defense as soon as they turn to resisting Japan. As they move
over to the anti-Japanese battlefields, no Red Army personnel is ever allowed to
interfere in any way with their actions, and they are, rather, to be assisted in
every possible way. In sum, at this time when the nation may face extinction at
any moment, our wish is to resist Japan and save the nation, and resistance
against Japan and national salvation are our only wish. Although some people in
every group are still suspicious of us, time will prove that we do precisely what
we say. You are struggling hard for national liberation, and, on behalf of our
Party, our government, and our Red Army, I should like to express to you our
warm admiration and respect and our hopes that our two sides will form a solid
battlefront and fight to the very end to drive out Japanese imperialism. We
further hope that you will influence all quarters, above all, the Shanxi and
Suiyuan authorities, to carry out quickly the war of resistance and establish a
united front of every faction. We, too, are doing the same in relation to all
quarters.


With sincere best wishes and a national revolutionary salute to you!
Mao Zedong
December 22, in the Northern Shaanxi
Soviet Area