Letter to Tan Shiying
(June 8, 1955)

Source: Shuxin, pp, 496-497.

See text May 17, 1955.

Dear Shiying:'

I have received your letter of June 4 and your masterpiece. Thank you very
much, I approve of your idea of returning to your native village soon.

The xian committee of the Chinese Communist Party of Xiangxiang [xian]
sent me a letter (I also received one from the Party branch of the xiang) which
clarified a few things concerning your family's circumstances. According [to
these reports]: your two sons are indeed guilty; this is because, even after having been forgiven and released several times, they kept returning to their criminal ways, and because they have committed serious crimes. Therefore it is
only their just deserts that the government and the people have dealt with them
in accordance with the law. On your part, [it was decided that] you only have
some of the shortcomings brought over from the old society and a few improprieties regarding the attitude with which you have treated your two sons. For
that reason you have been subjected to a year of probationary control and surveillance; now that has been lifted. The letter of the xian [Party] committee
indicates that they have not found you guilty of anything else. I think that the
comments that the xian [Party] committee made regarding you are fair and
Just,

You ought to [learn to] look at problems from the perspective of the fundamental changes between the old and the new societies, and gradually change
around your own thoughts and temperament. In this way you can become
More open-minded, and you can change and get rid of some of your faults
and lead your entire family in promoting diligence and hard work at production. The most important thing is for you to obey the laws and ordinances of
the government and listen to the cadres. In this way, in a few years, people's
attitude toward you will change even more for the better.

If you feel the need to do so, you may show this letter to the comrades in
Positions of responsibility in the xian, or district, or xiang,


584 / MAO