Letter to Huang Yanpei
(February 11, 1957)

Source: Kau & Leung, The Writings of Mao Zedong 1949-1976, Vol. II
Pages 299-299
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was revered by the epithet of Fu sheng, or “Once again a sage.”

36. See text Jan. 27, 1957(1), note 68.

37. See source note. The Wansui (n.d. 3) source has “Hu XX” for “Ho Chi Minh.” See
also text Jan. 27, 1957(2), paragraph 1 and note 1.

38. The original in Wansui (1969), URI (1976), and Ziliao xuanbian is missing a word.
The term Mao uses, according to the Wansui (n.d. 3) source, ts zuiji zhao (the original reads
zul Zhao), which refers to the rare practice in traditional China when the emperor issues an
edict accepting responsibility for some mistake, or severe calamity.

39. The Chinese here in Ziliao xuanbian reads yi zhang zhuan zheng, which we believe
is a typographical error for yi dang zhuan zheng, as it appears in Wansui (n.d. 3).

40. We believe Mao is referring to people who are given positions or assignments. See
the final paragraphs of text Jan. 18, 1957, Version I (in a part of that speech that does not
appear in Version I).

41. We believe Mao is referring to the handling of counterrevolutionaries.

Letter to Huang Yanpei
(February 11, 1957)

Source: Shuxin, p. 522.
See text Feb. 17, 1951, vol. 1, source note.

Mr. Renzhi:!

I thank you for the moving, kind thoughts in your gracious letter. Since those
things already got into print, it is all right not to correct them. When I swam in the
Yangtze River, it took some two hours and I drifted for over thirty li before I reached
the other bank. It is possible to see from this how strong the current was. I swam
on my back or sideways the entire time; that’s why I found it more appropriate to
use the words: “My relaxed eyes roam over the vast expanse of the skies of Chu.”3
Let me send my deep respects.

Mao Zedong
February 11, 1957

Notes

I. See text Feb. 17, 1951, vol. I, note 1, and text Oct. 15, 1949, vol. I, note 1.

2. The language of this letter and the source do not provide further information about
what “those things” that “got into print” are, but we surmise that, in the context, it most likely
refers to the publication of Mao’s “old-style” poetry in the new publication Shikan (see text
Jan. 12, 1957[2]).

3. This is a line from Mao’s poem “Swimming” (see text June 1956). From the context
here, it may be that Huang Yanpei had suggested some poetic editing, but we cannot be sure.

 We do know, from the source here and from text Dec. 4, 1956 (postscript), that Mao had
sent a handwritten copy of this poem to Huang in December 1956.

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