Letter to Li Shuqing¹

(October 16, 1953)

Mr. Shuqing:

Your gracious letter has been received and noted. I am much obliged to you for informing me of the local situation. As for local matters, I only wish to collect materials for reference, and am unwilling and should not directly handle general local issues, which would make it difficult for the local Party and government to do their work. I beg your understanding.

With respectful regards,

Mao Zedong

October 16, 1953

¹ Li Shuqing, a teacher of Mao Zedong’s in his youth. During the Great Revolution, he assisted Mao Zedong in running *The Political Weekly* in Guangzhou. After the founding of New China, he served as a member of the Hunan Provincial Research Institute of Culture and History.