Remarks at the Farewell Party for
General Marshall1
(March 5, 1946)
(Xinhua News Agency dispatch, Yan’an, March 5) At 9:30 A.M. today, people
from all walks of life in Yan’an held a warm farewell party for General Marshall,
General Zhang Zhizhong, and General Zhou Enlai, the three members of the
Executive Bureau, before their departure from Yan’an for Wuhan. Chairman
Mao, Commander-in-chief Zhu [De], all the leading comrades of the Central
Committee, and Chairman Lin Boqu [1886–1960, native of Hunan] of the border
region government all went to the airport to see them off. Before boarding the
plane, General Marshall cordially shook Chairman Mao’s hand. He said:
“I would like to express again my sincere gratitude to you and to all the people
in Yan’an for your warm hospitality. I am very pleased that I have had this opportunity to come to Yan’an and meet you. Our meeting is of historic significance.”
Chairman Mao replied: “I would also like to extend to you once again our
heartfelt thanks for your efforts in helping the cause of peace, democracy, unity,
and unification of the Chinese people. In particular, I would like to declare once
more that the Chinese Communist Party will make every effort to resolutely carry
out the three agreements [Note: the armistice agreement, the resolution of the
Political Consultative Conference, and the plan to consolidate and reorganize the
national military].”
Mr. Marshall then again held out his hand and warmly shook hands with
Chairman Mao. At that moment, Chinese as well as foreign reporters were busy
taking pictures to preserve a record of this most precious occasion.


Our source for this text is Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 8, p. 87, where it is reproduced
from Jiefang ribao, March 5, 1946.


1.  The reference is to General George C. Marshall, who was at the time a five-star army
general, equivalent to a marshal in the British, French, or Soviet armies. This is expressed
in the original Chinese text, using the Chinese term for marshal, yuanshuai, but it seems
pointless to translate this literally. In December 1945, Marshall became a special U.S. envoy
to China to mediate between the Guomindang government and the Communist Party. He
returned to the United States in August 1946 after declaring the failure of the negotiations.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-95