Letter to Xu Fanting[1]

(September 22, 1946)

Brother Fanting:

Recently Jining, Huaiyin, and Heze have been lost, and Zhangjiakou will probably also be lost; in the future some more places will still be lost. However, today I read the article "Why I Participate in the Work of the CPC" written by the sixty-year-old Professor Chen Jinkun,[2] and I feel that what has been gained is greater than what has been lost. Mr. Chen has already arrived in Zhangjiakou, and it is said he is determined to join in our work. Chen’s article will be published in the newspapers in a few days. I heard that your illness is somewhat better, which gives me boundless relief. I am much better than last winter, still in semi-recuperation; noting your concern, I respectfully inform you.

Mao Zedong

September 22

[1] Xu Fanting (1893–1947), a native of Xishe Village, Guo County (now Yuanping City), Shanxi Province, was a famous patriotic general. In his early years he joined the Tongmenghui led by Sun Yat-sen. He later held posts in the Kuomintang, lived in retirement for a period, and then cooperated with Communists to establish the Shanxi New Army. After his death from illness in 1947, he was posthumously recognized as a full member of the Chinese Communist Party.

[2] Chen Jinkun (1887–1959), a native of Changde, Hunan Province, was a legal scholar. In 1946 he went from Beiping to Yan’an, and later served as a member of the Legal Committee of the Central Committee of the CPC and President of the North China People’s Court.