(July 3, 1938)
Comrades [Peng] Xuefeng and [Zhu] Lizhi:¹
We have received your telegram. On the whole, we are in agreement with your
arrangements for guerrilla war. Generally speaking, however, guerrilla war should
not be launched too early, and it should be launched in the relatively weakly defended areas in the enemy's rear. As far as the Funiu mountain range is concerned,
we should go there right away to establish a basis for Party and mass work. In
terms of cadres, we plan to send four hundred members of this graduating class of
the Anti-Japanese University to Henan and northern Anhui. The only problem is
that we have very few cadres with guerrilla experience. Right now we are still
searching, and we may be able to send a few. Guo Zihua² of the Jiangsu-Shandong
Border Region has already been in touch with Guo Hongtao³ of the Shandong
Provincial Committee.

Hongtao is now setting up a base area in Mengshan. In the future please inform
him by telegraph of the development of guerrilla warfare in Henan at all times.

Mao [Zedong] Luo [Fu] [Zhang Wentian]
Hu [Fu] [Liu Shaoqi]

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 2, pp. 357-58, where it is reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.
1. Regarding Peng Xuefeng, see above, the note to the text of August 19, 1937. At this
time, he was the head of the Military Department of the Henan Provincial Committee; Zhu
Lizhi was the secretary of the Henan Provincial Committee.
2. Guo Zihua was the secretary of the Jiangsu-Shandong Special Committee.
3. Guo Hongtao was the secretary of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee.

Congratulatory Telegram from
Comrade Mao Zedong to the
People's Political Council

(July 5, 1938)

For the perusal of Mr. Wang Jingwei, speaker of the Wuhan People's Political
Council, Mr. Zhang Boling, deputy speaker, and all the councilors:

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the anti-Japanese war, at a time when
the whole country from top to bottom is united in absolute sincerity, fighting ceaselessly and unremittingly, and swearing to expel the ferocious enemy, but the enemy is still stepping up its attack endlessly, the fact that the People's Political
Council is holding its meeting in Wuhan at this time will create a precedent for a
constitutional government and set up an example of soliciting the will of the people
at the very initial stage. This causes all our compatriots profound satisfaction.
Although he has been chosen as a member of the council, Zedong is not able to
come and personally listen to everyone's eloquent speeches and profound comments, because he has been caught up with so many trivial tasks. But I have already asked the other comrades to express fully my humble ideas that might be
helpful regarding big issues such as the anti-Japanese war and building the country in their proposals, thus taking such an opportunity to make my small contribution. The [Japanese] bandits are so aggressive, and have brought such a tremendous
calamity to us, that the Divine Land¹ seems to be falling apart like a sinking continent, but so long as the will of the people can be manifested, there is still a hope
to reverse the great disaster. There are many ways to reverse it, but, according to
my opinion, the following three ways are the most fundamental ones: first, persist
in the anti-Japanese war; second, persist in the united front; and third, persist in a
protracted war. If we make the right move and march forward forcefully, if we do
not lose our courage or relax our will, there is absolutely no doubt that victory will
belong to us. At the time of the opening day of your meeting, I would like to

This telegram was first published in Jiefang, no. 46, July 23, 1938. Our source is Mao
Zedong ji, Vol. 6, p. 161, which reproduces that version. In Mao Zedong ji, the document is
dated July 6, but according to Nianpu, Vol. 2, p. 80, the telegram was sent on July 5, to arrive
on the 6th.
1. Here the Chinese is Shenzhou, a poetic name for China.