Comment on the Publication of Guo Moruo’s [1] Poems on His Visit to Japan
(February 24, 1956)
Comrade Peng Zhen [2]:
Please forward the enclosed manuscript to the Beijing Daily for publication. Some of the cursive characters in it must first be converted to regular script to avoid errors.
Mao Zedong
February 24
[1] Guo Moruo, then Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
[2] Peng Zhen, then First Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and Mayor of Beijing.
[3] Refers to the seven poems by Guo Moruo on his visit to Japan enclosed in the envelope. Guo Moruo led a scientific delegation from the Chinese Academy of Sciences on a visit to Japan from December 1 to 25, 1955, at the invitation of the Science Council of Japan. These poems were written during his visit. The seven poems in the envelope are: “Impressions of Hakone,” “Visiting the Former Residence of Suwa Wada,” “Farewell to Suwa Wada,” “Impressions of Miyajima,” “Visiting Hakata Bay,” “Farewell to Overseas Chinese,” and “Visiting Beppu.” When published in the Beijing Daily on February 29, 1956, “Visiting Hakata Bay” and “Farewell to Overseas Chinese” were retitled “Mourning at Chiyo Pine Grove” and “On the Return Journey in a Train on the Tōkaidō,” respectively, and two additional poems, “Staying at the Shunpūrō” and “The Ship Enters the Mouth of the Yangtze,” were included. These nine poems were published under the general title “Miscellaneous Poems on a Visit to Japan.”