To Hu Fu, Chen Yi, [Huang] Kecheng, and for the information of Ye [Ting], Xiang
[Ying], and [Peng] Xuefeng:

You are quite right to pay attention to recruiting Tao Xingzhi and the other members of the Life and Education Society to take part in the cultural and educational
work in northern Jiangsu. This is the principal aspect. At the same time, however,
you should also pay attention to the fact that the Vocational Education Society,
under the leadership of Huang Yanpei, Jiang Wenyu, and others¹ has considerable
influence among the intellectuals in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, because Huang and
Jiang are not only celebrities in cultural and educational circles, but also wellknown representatives of national capitalists who are engaged in industry and business. Therefore, you should also attract members of the Vocational Education
Society and people in all the related areas to participate in our cultural, educational, financial, and economic enterprises. Meanwhile, through Han Guojun,² Li
Mingyang, Li Changjiang, and other members of the local gentry and cultural
circles, you should be in touch with Jiangsu and Zhejiang national capitalists other
than those in northern Jiangsu, such as Zhang Yilu, Huang Yanpei, Jiang Wenyu,
Chu Fucheng, Mu Ouchu, and so on,³ explain to them the true story about the


Our source for this text is Mao Zedong wenji, Vol. 2, pp. 300-301, where it is reproduced
from a copy in the Central Archives.
I. Huang Yanpei (1878-1965), who was born near Shanghai, obtained the juren degree in
1902. During a period in Japan before the 1911 Revolution, he developed an interest in the
study of vocational education, which remained his central concern thereafter. In the 1930s, he
was critical of the Guomindang, and, in the early 1940s, he became a strong advocate of
constitutional government. We have been unable to find information about Jiang Wenyu.
2. Han Guojun (1857-1942), zi Zishi, a native of Jiangsu, had obtained the xiucai degree at the age of twenty-one. During the decade following the 1911 Revolution, he served
as governor of several provinces. He also played an important role in economic and military
affairs until very late in his life.
3. For a note regarding Mu Ouchu, see Volume II, p. 158. All the individuals mentioned
here were influential figures, though some were leaders of local elite circles, while others had
regional or even national reputations.
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524 MAO'S ROAD TO POWER
Northern Jiangsu Incident, and ask them to send or recommend people to participate in the work of the local government, of public opinion institutions, and of
economic, cultural, and educational construction in northern Jiangsu. We have
been in touch with Zhou [Enlai] and Ye [Jianying] by telegraph. If they refer
people to northern Jiangsu in the future, these people should be received and
cooperated with in business, to serve as concrete examples of winning over Jiangsu
and Zhejiang national capitalists. This will benefit the development of the united
front.
Mao Zedong