Study diligently.

A Congratulatory Letter for Comrade Xu Teli’s[1] Sixtieth Birthday
(January 30, 1937)

Comrade Xu:

You were my teacher twenty years ago,[2] you are still my teacher now, and you will certainly remain my teacher in the future. When the revolution failed, many Communist Party members left the Party, and some even went over to the enemy’s side, yet you joined the Communist Party in the autumn of 1927 and adopted an extremely active attitude. From that time until now, throughout the long and arduous struggle, you have been more active than many young and middle-aged Party members, more undaunted by difficulties, and more willing to learn new things with an open mind. What is "old age," what is "physical and mental decline," what are "difficulties and obstacles"—all have surrendered before you. But before some others? They have become excuses for timidity and inaction. You understand a great deal yet always feel inadequate, whereas some people, with only "half a bucket of water," insist on "splashing it around." What you think in your heart is what you say with your mouth and do with your hands, whereas in some people, a certain corner of their hearts inevitably harbors some filthy things. You are always with the masses at all times, whereas some people seem to take delight in distancing themselves from the masses. You demonstrate in every way that you are a model of obedience to the discipline of the Party and the revolution, whereas some people seem to think that discipline is only meant to bind others, not themselves. You are a foremost figure in the revolution—

[1] Xu Teli (1877–1968), a native of Changsha, Hunan. At the time, he served as Minister of Education of the Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic.
[2] From 1913 to 1919, when Xu Teli taught at the Hunan First Normal School, Mao Zedong studied there.