Letter to the Editorial Department of the Literary Monthly “East China Sea” [1]
(February 15, 1957)

Comrades on the Editorial Board:

I can no longer recall; it does not seem right. The battle at Lazikou was commanded by Comrade Lin Biao, and I was also at the front line. I would never have sent a telegram in such a manner. Those few lines are not suitable for publication. Thank you very much for sending “East China Sea”!
Mao Zedong
February 15, 1957
[1]
On February 6, 1957, the editorial department of the literary monthly “East China Sea” forwarded a copy purportedly transcribed by a reader—a telegram said to have been sent by Mao Zedong during the Long March to celebrate Peng Dehuai’s capture of Lazikou Pass: “High mountains, long roads, deep ravines—vast armies gallop across the land. Who dares stand firm with sword in hand? None but our General Peng!” They requested that Mao Zedong review it and grant permission for its publication in “East China Sea.” After reading it, Mao wrote this reply on February 15.

More than twenty years had passed, and the letter had misstated both the location and the historical context of the poem’s composition. Consequently, Mao could not remember ever having written it and did not approve its publication. According to Peng Dehuai’s recollections, the poem was actually composed by Mao after the Red Army defeated pursuing cavalry forces upon reaching Wuqi Town in northern Shaanxi. Peng modified the final line to “None but our valiant Red Army” before returning the original draft to Mao. (See Peng Dehuai’s Autobiography, pp. 206–207.) This poem first appeared in the April 1957 issue of PLA Literature and Art and was later included in the supplementary section of Selected Poems of Mao Zedong in September 1986.