Letter to Li Weihan
(April 9, 1951)

Source: Siuxin, p. 41).

Li Wethan (b. 1896) was one of the earliest members of the CPC. He was a school
of Mao's at the First Normal School of Hunan together with others such as Cat He
and He Shuheng. He became a member of the Xinmin xuehui (New People Snaly 3
ety), which Cai and he organized and of which Mao also became a prominent menth
In 1919 Li went io France as a participant of the gingong jianxue (Diligent Worl
Frugal Study) movement (see J, Leung [1982] for details af this movement). Whil
Europe, Li became a very active member of the socialist groups, which inéluded)
people as Cai Hesen, Zhou Enlai, Li Lisan, Xu Deli, Chen Yi, and Zhav Shiyan. Ol
these organizations the Chinese Communist Youth League was formed. In early
Li returned to China and began work with Man Zedong in Hunan, In (927, at the Bi
CPC Congress, Li became a member of the Political Bureau. He continued to work
Hunan and was active in planning the Nanchang Uprising of August 1927. He &
under criticism by the Sixth CPC Congress in 1928, which was held in Moscow, bat)
hela his position in the Party, From 1928 te 1931, he worked in the communist unde
ground in Shanghai, In 1931, however, he was criticized and removed from the Ce
tral Committee for supporting Li Lisan. Wanted by the KMT police, he escaped
southern Jiunyxi and joined Mao Zedong und Zhu De at Ruijin, Later he went one
Long March to nothern Shaanxi, For the next decade at Yanan he was active primal
in Party organization work, and as far as is known, was not involved in military @
mand or action. He rook on the task of organizing and managing the Party's Uni
Front Department in 1944 and remained at the head of that department for the n@
two decades, He was, together with Zhou Enlai, Dong Biwa, and Ye Jianying, OME
the chief CPC negotiators with the KMT in the uncertain years of 1946-1949, ANE
1949, he bevame a chief officer of the new government, serving us secretary gene



Government Administration Council until 1953, on the Political and Legal
af the Committee of the Council, as well as heading the United Front Department, In
Ao se position, Li was the chief CPC spokesperson to the minority nationalities and
this people's organizations, especially the industrial and commercial circles (see
ww vie }, 1949, note 3), Hts influence in this area was paramount for the first decade
ie pull of the PRC, but he was removed in 1964. He was criticized in the Cultural
and be rion but was rehabilitated in 1978, For more details on Li's life and political
Revd see Zhonggong renming Iu, pp. 221-223, and D. Klein and A, Clark, eds.
yo71), 1 PP 534-540. See alse text Feb. 18, 1951, note 13. The subject of this letter
f so Zhengwel. who, according to the source, was an acquaintance of Mao's when
y? fan was @ studerd at the Higher Middle School of Hunan (later known as the First

Provincial Middle School of Hunan).

Comrade Luo Mai:'
Thiy man was a member of the national assembly during the time of the

Beiyang government,” It appears that during the period of [his association
with] the KMT he didn't do any bad things. He has many children working in
the People’s Government. He is himself now sixty-nine years old and came to
the capital, staying at the Xiangtan Guest House. He is having [financial]
difficulties and has asked me to take care of him. Please send someone to
speak with him and to give him some assistance.

Mao Zedong

April 9
Notes

L. Lao Mai is Li Weihan's pseudonym and a name under which he wrote many articles since
the 1920s.

2, See text May-June 1955, note 54,