Instruction on Zhang Shizhao’s[1] Letter Reflecting the Circumstances of the Surviving Dependents of Zhang Zhidong and Duan Qirui[2]
(29 September 1951)

Comrade Peng Zhen,[4] please investigate the circumstances clearly and handle with due consideration.

Mao Zedong
29 September 1951

[1] Zhang Shizhao, then a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; during the period of Beiyang warlord rule, he served as Minister of Justice and concurrently Minister of Education in Duan Qirui’s provisional government.
[2] Zhang Zhidong, one of the leaders of the Westernization faction in the late Qing Dynasty. In 1884, he became Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi and began establishing new-style industries; in 1889, he was transferred to serve as Governor-General of Hunan and Hubei, where he established the Hanyang Ironworks and the Hubei Arsenal, set up four bureaus for weaving, spinning, silk reeling, and hemp processing, and vigorously advocated for the construction of the railway from Lugouqiao to Hankou; in 1898, he published *Exhortation to Learning*, proposing “traditional learning as the essence, new learning for practical application.” Duan Qirui, leader of the Anhui clique of the Beiyang warlords. In 1912, after Yuan Shikai usurped the position of Provisional President, Duan was appointed Minister of the Army. From Yuan Shikai’s death in 1916 until 1926, Duan Qirui served as Premier of the State Council, Provisional Chief Executive of the Republic of China, and other positions.
[3] Refers to the letter Zhang Shizhao wrote to Mao Zedong on 28 September 1951, in which he reported that the surviving dependents of Zhang Zhidong and Duan Qirui were living in dire poverty, that the residences they left behind had been ruled by the court to be confiscated by the government, making it difficult for them to sustain their livelihood, and requested that the government grant them special consideration, etc.
[4] Peng Zhen, then Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and Mayor of the Beijing Municipal People’s Government.

Where the letter stated, “In casual conversation, it was occasionally mentioned that the surviving elders of the former Qing Dynasty and the Beiyang warlords are not enemies of the people, and the government may grant them consideration,” Mao Zedong commented: “Because a long time has passed, the people have already forgotten them; this does not mean they were not enemies of the people in the past.”

Where the letter stated that Duan Qirui “though morally deficient in factional private struggles, committed no counter-revolutionary acts,” Mao Zedong commented: “There was the March 18 Massacre.”

Where the letter stated, “In matters such as his campaign against the Restoration, the declaration of war against Germany, and his southward journey to resist Japan in his later years, all can be regarded as major revolutionary undertakings,” at the phrase “his southward journey to resist Japan in his later years,” Mao Zedong commented: “Only this part is acceptable.”

Where the letter stated, regarding the residence on Jizhao Hutong left by Duan Qirui, “the matter of its so-called purchase by the enemy,” “I beg you, Sir, to assign it to the relevant authorities for thorough investigation and clarification; it would be best if it could not be confiscated, but if that is absolutely impossible, I also hope that an alternative means of consideration can be devised,” Mao Zedong commented: “This matter can be discussed.”