Telegram in Response to Li Jishen and
Fifty-Five Others1
(February 2, 1949)
To Mr. Li Jishen, Mr. Shen Junru, Mr. Ma Xulun, Mr. Guo Moruo, Mr. Tan
Pingshan, Mr. Peng Zemin, Mr. Zhang Bojun, Mr. Li Xijiu, Mr. Cai Tingkai, Mr.
Zhou Jianren, Mr. Fu Dingyi, Mr. Zhang Naiqi, Mr. Li Dequan, Mr. Hu Yuzhi,
Mr. Sha Qianli, Mr. Mao Dun, Mr. Zhu Xuefan, Mr. Chen Qiyou, Mr. Huang
Zhensheng, Mr. Zhu Yunshan, Mr. Deng Chumin, Mr. Jian Bozan, Mr. Wang
Shao’ao, Mr. Wu Han, Ms. Xu Guangping, Mr. Chu Tunan, Mr. Qiu Zhe, Mr. Han
Zhao’e, Mr. Xu Baoju, Mr. Tian Han, Mr. Hong Shen, Mr. Hou Wailu, Ms. Shen
Zijiu, Mr. Huan Xiang, Ms. Yang Gang, Ms. Cao Mengjun, Mr. Li Wenyi, Ms.
Luo Shuzhang, Ms. Liu Qingyang, Mr. Zhang Manjun, Mr. Shi Fuliang, Mr. Sun
Qimeng, Mr. Yan Xinmin, Mr. Li Minxin, Mr. Mei Gongbin, Mr. Shen Zhiyuan,
Mr. Zhou Ying, Ms. An E, Mr. Wu Maosun, Mr. He Ju, Mr. Lin Yiyuan, Mr. Lai
Yali, Mr. Kong Dezhi, Mr. Yuan Zhen, Mr. Shen Qiang, and Mr. Wang Yunru:
We received your telegram of February 1, and we are very touched by your
goodwill. The liberation struggle of the Chinese nation and the Chinese people
has continued unrelentingly for more than a century. The fresh blood of countless martyrs has been spilled across our beautiful land; vast numbers of people
from subsequent generations have displayed a heroic spirit. The reason for the
success of the People’s War of Liberation this time is that the people have defied
the powerful and rallied together to fight. All the democratic parties and people’s organizations have risen up in unison and have come together in a common
effort. This has helped the People’s Liberation Army gain support from all sides,
and it has caused the enemies of the people to become completely isolated. As
a result, the tally of victories and defeats has become clear. Some enemies still
remain and continue their scheming. To get a chance to rest, they call for peace,
and waiting for foreign support is what they call waiting for negotiations. Even
Our source for this telegram is Mao Zedong wenji, Vol. 5, pp. 253–54, where it is reproduced from the document revised by Mao.
as they read out the eight points,2 they are sheltering war criminals, waiting for
American support, and advancing to Guozhou. If we want to gain the final victory
in the people’s struggle for liberation, all the country’s democratic forces must
be of one heart and one mind and continue to exert a persistent effort toward true
democratic peace. All of you ladies and gentlemen have been striving a long time
for the democratic cause. Now that you have arrived in the liberated regions, our
common cause of constructing a new China will achieve rapid success. We specially send this telegram in reply to express our welcome.
Mao Zedong
Zhu De

--- Notes

1.  The fifty-six addressees, including Li Jishen, Shen Junru, Ma Xulun, and Guo
Moruo, were all influential patriotic democratic personages from all kinds of factions, citizens’ groups, cultural circles, news media, the social sciences, and other spheres who had
arrived in the Liberated Areas. On February 1, 1949, they jointly sent a telegram to Mao
Zedong and Zhu De congratulating them on their victory in the War of Liberation.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-236


2.  The eight points refer to the eight conditions for holding peace talks with the Guomindang government that Mao Zedong put forth in his “Statement on the Current Situation” on January 14, 1949. At this time, the Guomindang government had verbally agreed
to these eight conditions as the foundation for peace talks. See “Statement on the Current
Political Situation by Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese
Communist Party,” January 14, 1949, in this volume.