( August 4 and November 1, 1955 )

Comrade Lin Feng[1]:
Please pay attention to this matter[2] and invite some comrades concerned to discuss it and try to find a solution.
Mao Zedong
August 4

1. Local cultural and educational departments and Youth League committees do not attach importance to the creation and supply of children's books, and local publishing houses lack personnel and publishing plans for children's books.
2. Ordinary writers are unwilling to write for children, and some writers feel that engaging in children's literature "cannot make a living or bring fame." (Mao Zedong wrote a marginal note beside these two items: "No one to compile.")
3. Most bookstores nationwide do not sell children's books, and even those that do are not proactive, limiting sales to a few retail departments without reaching out to schools and children.
4. Book prices are too high. Ordinary children's books generally cost over ten to twenty cents, and some translated works cost seventy to eighty cents or even one yuan, which children cannot afford. (Mao Zedong wrote a marginal note beside this item: "Too expensive.")

Comrade Lin Feng:
This letter[1] has been read, but I have not had time to read the attachments yet. You may proceed according to your arrangements without waiting for my opinions.
Mao Zedong
November 1

--- Notes

[1] Lin Feng was then deputy secretary-general of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and director of the Second Office of the State Council.
[2] The material titled "Children's Books Are Extremely Scarce, Relevant Departments Pay Insufficient Attention," published in *Situation Bulletin* No. 334 compiled by the First Office of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, states: The China Youth Press recently convened a discussion with relevant departments on the issue of children's books. At the meeting, it was widely reported that works urgently needed by children and Chinese children's literature are extremely scarce. Many necessary books are unavailable, and among the few available, most are suitable only for students in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades of primary school. (Mao Zedong wrote a marginal note beside this passage: "Few books.") The main reasons for this situation are:

[1] Refers to Lin Feng's letter to Mao Zedong dated October 29, 1955. The letter states: Regarding the improvement of the creation and distribution of children's books, we have, in accordance with the instructions of the Chairman and the Central Committee, held discussions with leading comrades from the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education, the Chinese Writers Association, the China Committee for the Protection of Children, the Central Committee of the Youth League, and relevant publishing houses. We now submit for review the report of the Party Group of the Chinese Writers Association on improving the creation of children's books, the report of the Party Group of the Ministry of Culture on improving the publication and distribution of children's books, and the report of the Party Group of the Ministry of Education on issues concerning children's books. The Party Group of the Chinese Writers Association has already made preliminary work arrangements based on this report.