Telegram to Zhu De and Ren Bishi[1]

(December 19, 1937)

Since Carlson[2] is resolute in his desire to go to Wutai, it is inconvenient to obstruct him, but it is necessary: (1) In addition to writing a letter to the U.S. Embassy, he must write a letter addressed to the Presidential Palace stating: If danger is encountered, the Chinese Central Government and the Eighth Route Army bear no responsibility. (2) Dispatch a reliable unit to escort him, providing strict protection.

[1] This is the main content of Mao Zedong's telegram to Zhu De and Ren Bishi.

[2] Carlson was then an intelligence observer for the U.S. Marine Corps. Before going to the front, Carlson wrote a letter to U.S. Ambassador to China Johnson, in which he stated: "I will soon go to the front." "This is at my own request and is undertaken despite Commander-in-Chief Zhu De's advice that I not go. Should I be killed or wounded, I wish to make it clear that the Eighth Route Army or the Chinese Government side bears no responsibility whatsoever."