The Importance of Instructing the Troops in
General Geographic Knowledge
(February 10, 1949)
To Lin [Biao] and Luo [Ronghuan]; Liu [Bocheng], Chen [Yi], and Deng
[Xiaoping]; Su [Yu] and Tan [Zhenlin]; Peng [Dehuai], Zhang [Zongxun], and
Zhao [Shoushan]; Xu [Xiangqian] and Zhou [Shidi]:1
According to the telegram sent by Yang [Dezhi], Luo [Ruiqing], Geng [Biao],
and Pan [Zili]2 on the 6th, cadres of the 193rd Division of the North China Second
Army Corps have felt the importance of study and have gone deeper in their reading of documents. In general, they feel that the more they study, the more benefits
they reap. Especially following the transmission of news of the current situation
and the tasks ahead, their feelings ran high, and they all said it was as if they were
given a pure-blood injection. At the same time, the standard of cadres is found to
be very low. Some battalion and company cadres even think that everyone in a
Communist state becomes a Communist, and that one crosses the Yellow River
after crossing the Yangzi River. It is therefore important to teach them general
knowledge of geography. Please consider whether you can produce a clear map
of the region south of the Yangzi River as well as of Northwest and Southwest
China. The map should include the names of major rivers and mountains, the
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 5, pp. 498–99, where it is
1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission.
Lin Biao and Luo Ronghuan were commander and political commissar, respectively, of
the Northeast Field Army. Liu Bocheng was commander of the Second Field Army. Chen
Yi was commander and political commissar of the Third Field Army. Deng Xiaoping was
political commissar of the Second Field Army. Su Yu was deputy commander and second
deputy political commissar of the Third Field Army, and Tan Zhenlin was first deputy
political commissar of the Third Field Army. Peng Dehuai was commander and political
commissar of the First Field Army, and Zhang Zongxun and Zhao Shoushan were both
deputy commanders of the First Field Army. Xu Xiangqian was deputy commander of
the North China Military Region and commander and political commissar of the Eighteenth Corps, and Zhou Shidi was deputy commander and deputy political commissar of
the Eighteenth Corps.
2.  Yang Dezhi was commander of the Nineteenth Army in the North China Military
Region. Luo Ruiqing was political commissar, Geng Biao was chief-of-staff, and Pan Zili
(1904–1972, native of Shaanxi) was director of the Political Department of the Nineteenth
Army of the North China Military Region.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-240

boundaries of provinces, and the names of major and medium-sized cities. You
should also note the population of a city beside its name. In the regions that each
field army is responsible for occupying and working in, you should note the names
of important towns. The map should not be too big—a meter in length and width
would be enough. Aside from giving a map to every unit at the battalion level and
above, it would also be good for you to give every company a map so that every
literate company and platoon leader and soldier can look at it. We think this education in general knowledge of maps will enhance the courage of officers and men
and will also make their tasks clearer. We hope you will attach some importance
to considering the above and carrying it out.
The Military Commission

reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.