Letter to Xu Fanting[1]

(December 23, 1941)

Your two letters have been respectfully received. The telegram has been sent as requested; your views are quite correct. I am grateful for the wine and honey you sent, which I have shared with Ruofei. The ailment in my arm is now fifty to sixty percent healed, thanks to bathing and sunbathing; after some more time, it may perhaps be fully cured. Your esteemed illness is showing improvement, which gladdens everyone. Only, you must not be impatient for a speedy recovery, nor should you immediately prepare for activity. In my view, your health requires at least another year of rest and recuperation—what do you think? As for your place of residence, suitability should be the main consideration. If the Central Hospital has rooms available, that would naturally be fine; otherwise, stay where you are now. Having Lin, Xie, Gao, Nan,[2] and the others to talk with can console you in your solitude. On New Year’s Day there will be a small evening gathering here; if you are in the mood, you might come and have a look. I will send a car to fetch you.

[1] This is the main content of Mao Zedong’s letter to Xu Fanting.

[2] Lin, Xie, Gao, Nan refer to Lin Boqu, Xie Juezai, Gao Gang, and Nan Hanchen.