Letter to Zhou Dungu
(March 6, 1955)

source: Shuxin, p. 490.

According to the source, Zhou was an acquaintance of Mao's from the early years
when they were in school together in Changsha, Hunan, of which Zhou is a native.
(Mao studied in Changsha over a rather lengthy period, first as a student in Xiangrani Middle School and several vocational schools from 1910 to 1913, during which
time he also briefly joined the New Hunan Army, and then, from 1913 to 1918, as a
student of Hunan Normal School. We do not know in what context Zhou made Mao's
acquaintance.) At the time of this letter, Zhou was an instructor at the Literary Training Institute of the Chinese Federation of Writers.

Comrade Dungu:
I have received your letter of February 28. I do not intervene directly in
affairs related to the enrolment of any student in any school, and therefore,
begging your understanding and forgiveness, I cannot gratify your request. It
would really be up to you to decide for yourself whether or not you can wait
until this summer to apply and take the examination in Beijing then.
I wish you good health.
Mao Zedong
March 6, 1955