Comment on the Shenyang Municipal Government’s Official Letter to the Central News Photography Bureau Regarding the Casting of a Bronze Statue of Mao Zedong (May 20, 1950) The casting of a bronze statue [1] would set a bad example and should therefore not be undertaken. Mao Zedong, May 20. Printed from the manuscript. Note [1] refers to the fact that the Shenyang City Conference of People’s Representatives from All Sectors, in commemoration of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, had decided to erect a Founding Anniversary Tower in the city’s central district, with a bronze statue of Mao Zedong to be cast for the tower. In this connection, the Shenyang Municipal People’s Government wrote to the Central News Photography Bureau, requesting it to take four eight-inch full-length standing photographs of Mao Zedong. On the letter, next to the phrase “erect a Founding Anniversary Tower,” Mao Zedong wrote: “This is permissible”; “It has only satirical significance.” Next to the phrase “cast a bronze statue of Chairman Mao,” he wrote: