Inscription for the Xinhua Bookstore[1]

(Early 1946)

Xinhua Bookstore Head Office.

[1] In early 1946, in accordance with directives from the Party Central Committee, large numbers of cadres from Yan’an were transferred to the Northeast and other revolutionary base areas, and the Party and government organs in Yan’an streamlined their structures. The Central Publishing Bureau and the Central Propaganda Department were merged, under which a Distribution Section was established, with Xu Yuanzhen serving as section chief and Zhang Zhongxian as deputy section chief. External liaison work and activities were conducted under the name of the Xinhua Bookstore Head Office. One day, Xu Yuanzhen reported to Mao Zedong on the state of publishing and distribution work and requested that Mao Zedong inscribe a shop sign for the Xinhua Bookstore Head Office. Mao Zedong took up his brush and inscribed the six large characters: “Xinhua Bookstore Head Office.”