To Hong Yu
(March 12, 1946)
Comrade Hong Yu:1
I received your letter of January 25 a long time ago and I am sorry that I have
not been able to answer you until now because I have been ill for the past several
months; I beg your pardon. After carefully reading your letter, I feel I must agree
with you. In terms of your specific issues, although this is your own view and I
have not heard the views of others, I feel that the suggestions you made are in
fact worthy of our Party’s notice and attention. Since it is already one-and-a-half
months since you sent your letter, I do not know whether your problem has been
resolved. If not, please see the deputy director of the Organization Department,
Comrade An Ziwen,2 and talk with him in person and try to reach a resolution. I
have already sent a copy of your letter to Comrade An Ziwen. When your problem
has been resolved, please let me know. I would like to know how this matter is
concluded. In any case, I feel very guilty toward you and many other comrades
because there are too many things in our work that are not done well.
With comradely best wishes!
Mao Zedong
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong shuxin xuanji, pp. 269–70, where it is reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript.
1.  Hong Yu (1918–1998, born in Nan’an, Fujian) was a researcher in the Literature
Department of Yan’an’s Lu Xun Academy of Art and Literature. When a vetting of cadres
was carried out in Yan’an, Hong was wrongfully investigated, so he wrote to Mao Zedong
appealing for help. The matter was resolved following Mao’s intervention.
2.  An Ziwen (1909–1980, a native of Shaanxi) joined the Chinese Communist Youth
League in 1925 and was inducted into the Chinese Communist Party in 1927. He participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. In 1943 he became
head of education at the Central Party School, and after 1945 he was deputy director of the
Organization Department.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-97