(October 25, 1937)

To Comrades Zhu [De], Peng [Dehuai], and Ren [Bishi]; Lin [Biao], Nie
[Rongzhen], and Luo [Rongqu]; He [Long], Guan [Xiangying], and Xiao [Ke];
Liu [Bocheng], Xu [Xiangqian], and Zhang [Hao] [Lin Yuying]; and to be transmitted to responsible comrades at all levels:

After small¹ victories, arrogance is bound to appear, together with looking down
upon the enemy and thinking oneself extraordinary. The surprise attack on the
771st Regiment at Qigen Village was a consequence of letting these victories go
to our heads.² You should issue an order to the whole army, and relay it even to all
the soldiers in the companies, explaining that the war against Japanese imperialism is a long process of arduous struggle. All those cadres who regard themselves
as number one under heaven, swell with pride, and regard everyone as beneath
them, should be sincerely admonished with words like these: the spirit of bravery
must be linked to the spirit of prudence, and one-sided and mechanical opinions in
the army must be opposed.

Mao Zedong

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 2, pp. 102-3, where it is reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.
1. According to a note to the Chinese edition, two of the three existing copies of this text
have "small" here; the other one has "numerous." They have opted for "small," and we
follow them in this. At the time, the Eighth Route Army had not recorded a large number of
victories, and it seems more likely that Mao was warning the commanders not to take themselves too seriously because of the few successes they had enjoyed.
2. On October 23, 1937, the 771st Regiment of the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division
of the Eighth Route Army was attacked at Qigen Village (situated in Shanxi, 35 kilometers
east of the Pingding xian seat) by a Japanese contingent, supported by cavalry numbering
over two hundred, and suffered more than thirty casualties.