Talk Given By the Spokesman of the
Central Committee of the Chinese Communist
Party Regarding the Southern Anhui Incident

(January 18, 1941)

What is the actual number of men and rifles in the army in southern Anhui? You
said there were nine regiments, and Zhang Dingcheng¹ said there were only three
regiments. Shangguan Yunxiang claims to have captured 7,000 of our men, with a
section of the army (presumably Fu Qiutao's) having broken loose. Is this true or
not? Please let us know right away.
The New Fourth Army stationed south of the Yangzi was moving northward in compliance
with orders when it was suddenly attacked on orders from the government, which led to the
enormous tragedy of troops fighting against Japan being annihilated. This news caused shock
both at home and abroad. Our reporter interviewed the spokesman of the Central Committee
of the Chinese Communist Party, especially regarding this matter. What he said follows:

This tragic incident was by no means an accident but was, rather, the planned
handiwork of pro-Japanese conspirators and anti-Communist diehards. From the
time when the armed forces were mobilized to fight a war of resistance, the Red
Army guerrillas in the various southern provinces were soon grouped together to
form the New Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army. Over the past
three years or more, this army has fought successively in various places north and
south of the Yangzi River, resisting a powerful enemy and rendering one unusual
meritorious service after another. This is widely known not only by the people of
our country but also by people around the globe. An army like this, which has
made contributions in resisting Japan, should by all rights be protected and cherished. Yet those in authority, just at a time when a powerful enemy approached
and the nation was increasingly in peril, failed to uphold the righteous principle of
putting the nation and the War of Resistance first. Under the sway of prejudices
arising out of ten years of fighting the Communists, they have always looked upon
the army led by the Chinese Communist Party as an alien military force, so that
incidents of humiliation, cruelty, encirclement, and attack against us have been
legion. Toward the New Fourth Army, of course, there has been no exception to
this rule. Said army's detachment in Central Hubei under Li Xiannian was attacked many times by Cheng Ruhuai¹ and others; the detachment under Chen Yi

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 6, p. 285, where it is reproduced
from Wannan shibian.
1. The reference may be to Zhang Dingcheng (1898-1981), a native of Fujian, who
commanded the Seventh Division of the New Fourth Army at this time.
This text was first published in Xin Zhonghua bao, January 18, 1941. We have translated it
from Mao Zedong ji, Vol. 7, pp. 259-63, where it is reproduced from a documentary collection published in China in 1957. The text is not signed by Mao, but his participation in the
meeting at which it was decided to publish this talk is discussed at length in Nianpu, Vol. 2,
p. 257.
1. Cheng Ruhuai (1890-) was at this time a commander of guerrilla forces in Hubei.