Invitation to Mr. Nehru to Visit Yan'an
(August 27, 1939)
To the New China Daily in Chongqing, for transmittal to Mr. Nehru, the leader of
the Indian National Congress:
I have heard, sir, of your arrival in Chongqing. From this time forward, the two
great nations of China and India will unite even more closely in the struggle for
their freedom and liberation. I, your humble servant, would like to extend to you
our best regards and sincere welcome on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party
and the Chinese people. I would also like to welcome you to visit Yan'an, so that
we may hear your great instructions in person. The medical team your honorable
organization has sent to aid China in her resistance to Japan is now serving in the
Eighth Route Army. This has moved and encouraged the entire army, and we wish
to express our gratitude.

Mao Zedong

Our source for this letter is Mao Zedong shuxin xuanji, p. 157, where it is reproduced from the
manuscript.
1. Mao's eldest son, Mao Anying (1922-1950), and his second son, Mao Anqing
(1923-), had been looked after by the Party in Shanghai following the execution of their
mother, Yang Kaihui, in 1930. In 1936, they were sent to Moscow, out of concern for their
safety and also so that they could receive an education. Mao Anying was killed during an
American bombing raid in November 1950 while serving in Korea.
2. Lin Zuhan (1885-1960), hao Boqu, had long been Mao's comrade both in the Chinese Communist Party, which he joined in 1921, and in the Guomindang during the First
United Front (see Mao's letter to him in Volume II, pp. 192-94). He had been commissar
for finance in the Jiangxi Soviet Republic, and had participated in the Long March. At this
time he was the representative of the Eighth Route Army in Xi'an and was thus in a position
to obtain books for Mao's sons.
This letter was first published in Xin Zhonghua bao, September 1, 1939. We have translated
it from Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 6, p. 99, which reproduces it from that source.