(September 29, 1938)

To Mr. Kaishek¹ for his gracious perusal:

Enlai and all the comrades, on returning to Yan'an, spoke of your great kindness
and expressed deep admiration for you.
You, sir, have been leading the whole nation in fighting an unprecedently great
revolutionary war, and there is no one among our countrymen who fails to look up
to you. In the War of Resistance, which has been going on for fifteen months, each
setback has made us all the more fierce, and we have continued to exert ourselves.
Although the ferocious thrust of the stubborn bandits has not yet been halted, the
foundation for our triumph has already been laid. Future prospects are bright, and
our hopes are boundless. As regards the situation in the War of Resistance, there is
a trend toward gradually entering a new stage. On the one hand, this will be more
difficult, but, on the other hand, it will certainly see more progress. We must unify
the entire people, consolidate and expand the anti-Japanese front, persist in the
protracted war, mobilize fresh forces, overcome our difficulties, and prepare for a
counterattack. During this process, the enemy will surely take advantage of the
events in Europe and the weaknesses of our country to carry out all sorts of plots to
sabotage the unification and solidarity of our country. For this reason, my colleagues and I believe that our unification and solidarity are more important at this
stage than at any other time. Only when all the parties and factions as well as the
people of the whole country exert their very best efforts under your unified leadership to prevent and smash the enemy's plots of sabotage, clear away the pessimistic feelings among our countrymen, raise national consciousness and confidence in
victory, and carry out the wartime policies that are necessary for this new stage can
we achieve our purpose of stopping the enemy's attack and preparing for a counterattack. Since the situation in Wuhan is so tense, we desire that Comrade [Zhou]
Enlai not wait until the meeting is over,² but return to Wuhan immediately so that
he can meet with you, sir, and discuss all these issues. Whatever is not fully stated
here, Enlai will be entrusted to convey in person. It is Zedong's firm belief that
long-term unity between the Guomindang and the Communist Party will certainly
be capable of supporting the protracted war, and that even though the enemy is
ferocious and stubborn, he will be defeated in the end. China, a nation with a population of 450 million, will surely be able, in the course of a long-term, bitter struggle,
to overcome all difficulties, gather its strength, launch its counterattack, expel the
obstinate bandits, and stand as a hero in East Asia. I am quite sure that you must
have the same feelings and ambitions. I have here expressed my views. I respectfully wish you good health and extend to you national revolutionary greetings.

Respectfully yours,

Mao Zedong

September 29, the 27th Year of the Republic

2. The reference is to the Sixth Plenum of the Sixth Central Committee, which had just
begun.


--- Notes

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 5, pp. 185-86, where it is reproduced
from a volume entitled Jiang zongtong milu (Secret Records of President Chiang), published in Taibei in 1974.
1. This usage, in which the given name of the recipient is preceded by xiansheng, "sir" or
"Mr.," is frequently followed in semiformal writing of this kind. It implies a mixture of
deference and familiarity. In the balance of the letter, Mao consistently addresses Chiang
simply as xiansheng. This could most accurately be translated as "you, sir." The use of that
expression half a dozen times in a short letter would be rather ponderous in English, so for
the most part we have rendered it simply as "you," even though in three places Mao further
underscores his respect by elevating the reference to Chiang to begin a new line of text.