Letter to Kong Xiangxi[1]

(September 10, 1938)

Though the calamity of foreign invasion is grave at present, if we can truly pool the wisdom and efforts of all and carry the War of Resistance through to the end, then the final victory will surely be ours. However, as the war has entered a new stage, difficulties have consequently multiplied. To overcome these difficulties, my humble opinion is that it would be appropriate to implement new wartime policies, so that human and material resources can be mobilized on a vast scale; only then can a protracted war have a solid foundation.

[1] In August 1938, the Central Relief Commission of the Nationalist Government dispatched Cao Zhongzhi, Hao Ruizhen, and others to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region to provide disaster relief. When Hao Ruizhen arrived in Yan'an, he brought a letter from Kong Xiangxi to Mao Zedong. This reply from Mao Zedong was also entrusted to Hao Ruizhen to be forwarded to Kong Xiangxi. This is the main content of Mao Zedong's reply. Kong Xiangxi was then serving as President of the Executive Yuan of the Nationalist Government.