Inscription in Memory of Norman Bethune

To sacrifice oneself
For the liberation
Of all humanity
Is better than merely
The death of a technician.

Mao Zedong’s inscription in memory of Norman Bethune.

Poetry should preferably be rhymed.
(December 1939)
Both your letter and your work have been received; apologies for the delayed reply. Your efforts are commendable and entirely appropriate. Outstanding cultures are, for the most part, the collective creations of the masses over centuries. Among many works, there should be some that are truly good. Poetry is best when it employs rhyme; verse without rhyme finds it difficult to flow smoothly. The War of Resistance represents the greater unity, while differences in form and style constitute minor distinctions. All such minor variations within this overarching unity ought to be embraced and accommodated.

[1] In December 1939, the poet Liu Yu wrote to Mao Zedong, stating: “Your advocacy at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee for ‘a Chinese style and spirit that is popular and well-received by the Chinese people’—though originally proposed with regard to the study and dissemination of Marxism-Leninism—seems to me equally applicable to literary and artistic creation. It is precisely out of this understanding that I have been experimenting with poetry. I wonder, however, whether my views and practices are indeed correct.” To help Mao Zedong better grasp the situation, Liu Yu also sent him several poems he had recently composed. The above constitutes the main content of Mao Zedong’s reply to Liu Yu.

Inscription for the title of Xinhua News Agency’s professional publication “Communication”
(December 1939)
Communication
[1] On December 1, 1939, the inaugural issue of “Communication” was published, marking the first journalism-oriented periodical issued during the Yan’an era. Its intended readership consisted of correspondents from the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. Prior to the launch of “Communication,” the Communications Department, acting on behalf of Xinhua News Agency, addressed a brief letter to Mao Zedong, requesting him to inscribe the journal’s title. Mao Zedong promptly penned the two characters “Communication” in large script on three separate sheets of Xuan paper, allowing for selection.