To Jiang Yong1
(August 19, 1949)
Mr. Yiyun:
I received your letter. The situation has developed very quickly. It is necessary for the new Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference to convene
as soon as possible. I would like to invite you, Sir, and Mr. Yan Junren2 to take
part, and I wonder if you would be able to attend. Regarding the issue of Mr. Xu,3
I have instructed comrades working in the area of jurisprudence to make sure to
extend an invitation to him. Please pardon this hastily written reply. Take care.
Wishing you safe travels!
Mao Zedong


Our source for this text is Mao Zedong shuxin xuanji, pp. 331–32, where it is reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript.


1.  Jiang Yong (1878–1960), style name Yiyun, was a jurist from Changtong, Fujian. In
spring 1949, he and Yan Huiqing, Zhang Shizhao, Shao Lizi, and others went to the North
as private individuals to discuss the issue of peace talks. In autumn of the same year, he
was invited to participate in the first Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
After the founding of the PRC, he served as a member of the Central People’s Government
Political and Legal Affairs Commission and as deputy director of the Shanghai Research
Institute of Culture and History.


2.  Yan Junren (1877–1950, alias Huiqing), previously served as prime minister and
minister of foreign affairs for the Beiyang government in Liaoning, Hebei, and Shandong
under the Qing dynasty, and as ambassador to the United States and to the Soviet Union
under the Nationalist Government. In fall 1949, he was invited to participate in the first
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. After the founding of the PRC, he
served as vice-chairman of the East China Military and Political Affairs Committee and
as a member of the Central People’s Government Political and Legal Affairs Commission.


3.  Jiang Yong recommended to Mao Zedong the jurist Xu Zaorong (1897–?, born in
Qingpu, which at that time was part of Jiangsu, but now is a district of Shanghai).
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-309