To Liu Yazi1
(October 4, 1945)
My esteemed elder brother Mr. Yazi,
I have read with respect your poem and your instructions, and I sense deeply
your unwavering will to help others. Is Mrs. Liu’s ailment improving? In such a
serious situation, only relatives can understand the pain and feel it themselves; the
expression “discouragement” is inadequate to explain it. In terms of the current
situation, the items you have inquired about have not yet at the moment reached
the stage of a concrete solution. Much of what appears in the newspapers is very
unreliable. Earlier I offered you two phrases: The future is bright, but the road
is tortuous. Our generation should mainly think of the term “tortuous” (that is,
difficult), which corresponds to the present situation, for this will help us avoid
worries in case of disappointment. Moreover, it will definitely not be easy to overcome these difficulties. I sincerely hope that you, Sir, take a similar attitude. There
are other things worth discussing, but please allow me to tell you about them later
and not go into them one-by-one here. Your poem, Sir, is both courageous and
powerful; in despising Lu You and Chen Liang,2 it moves and excites people.
Unfortunately, I can only read it without doing anything about it. But adding me
to your tens of thousands of readers will be no disgrace to you, Sir, and is a matter
of pride for me as well.
Respectfully wishing you
Prosperity, peace, and good fortune.
Mao Zedong


duced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript.


1.  Liu Yazi (1887–1958, native of Jiangsu) was a poet and steadfast advocate of democracy. He was an early member of the Revolutionary Alliance (Tongmenghui) and a committee member of the Guomindang’s Central Inspection Committee. He was removed from the
party in 1941 after criticizing Chiang Kaishek’s role in the Wannan Incident. He joined the
China Democratic League in Chongqing in 1944.


2.

Our source for this letter is Mao Zedong shuxin xuanji, pp. 261–62, where it is reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript.


DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-38

Our source for this letter is Mao Zedong shuxin xuanji, pp. 261–62, where it is repro