To Mao Anying
(October 8, 1947)
Anying:
I wanted to let you know that Yongshou1 has returned and has arrived in
Harbin. He wants to go to middle school and study Chinese, and I have agreed. I
have not seen the boy for a long time, and I very much want to see him. And what
are you up to now? Working or studying? No matter what one studies or what
kind of work one does, one will always make progress if one has enthusiasm and
perseverance and eschews the kind of individualistic vanity that is groundless and
inconsistent with the interests of the people. Have you written to Li Na?2 She is
already very near us, and I often receive letters and drawings from her; she is in
good health. Jiang Qing and I are both fine. I am even somewhat better than last
time I wrote to you. The weather here has become chilly enough to start wearing
quilted jackets. I will write to you again another time.
Wishing you the best!
Mao Zedong
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong shuxin xuanji, pp. 286–87, where it is reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript.
1.  Mao’s second son, Mao Anqing.
2.  Li Na, Mao’s daughter by Jiang Qing (1914–1991, native of Shandong), was born
in 1940.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-39