A Letter to Mao Zeyi
(May 12, 1950)

Zeyi, my dear virtuous younger brother:
Your letter has been received. I am deeply saddened by the passing of Yiquan. I cannot recall the matter of the loan; it is likely that such a debt existed. I am hereby sending you 3,000,000 yuan in Renminbi to meet your urgent needs. Please inform me when you receive it.

Wishing your entire family all auspiciousness!

Mao Zedong
May 12, 1950

[1] Mao Zeyi (b. 1929), a native of Shaoyuan Village, Shaoshan Township, Shaoshan City, Hunan Province; a farmer and a cousin of Mao Zedong.
[2] Yiquan, i.e., Mao Yiquan (1906–1949), father of Mao Zeyi and a village teacher, who participated in the peasant movement in Shaoshan during the Great Revolution period.
[3] Renminbi then in circulation; one ten-thousand-yuan note was equivalent to one new Renminbi yuan issued by the People’s Bank of China starting from March 1, 1955.