Letter to Yuan Shuipai
(April 20, 1957)

Source: Shuxin, pp. 524–525.
Yuan Shuipai, a.k.a. Yuan Shuibo (1916–1982), was a Jiangsu poet of renown during and
after the period of the War of Resistance Against Japan. During the period toward the end

APRIL – JUNE 1957 / 489

of that war, he began writing poetry of political satire in which he criticized the KMT
government. His poetic style, especially those poems written under the pen name Ma
Fantuo, was characterized by its populism, particularly by the mountain-area folk-song
genre (shange). At the time of this letter, Yuan was (we are told by the Shuxin source)
the director of the literature and art department and the supplement of RMRB. Yuan
held a number of elected positions in many literary associations and political bodies in
the PRC from 1953 to 1965. In the early stages of the Cultural Revolution he was
criticized and sent to Ningxia for labor reform. He was rehabilitated in 1973, and
regained prominence of sorts in the literary circles and in political standing. He
ultimately became editor-in-chief of Renmin wenxue (People’s literature) and a vice-minister of culture. He was, however, once more criticized and purged after the fall of
the Gang of Four. For biographical information on Yuan, see Zhonggong renming lu,
p. 476.

Comrade Shuipai:

Your [poem] “Yao tou” [Shaking One’s Head] is very well-written.1 (Chen
Yi’s poem is also a good one.)2 You should write more [of such things]. My
feeling is that instead of being an editor, it might be better for you to go outside
and do some traveling.3 You could have somebody take over your responsibilities and job for the time being, go outside, run around for a few months, then
come back and be an editor for a few months, and then go out again. Do you
think this is a workable plan? Please give it some thought and discuss it with
the comrades in charge [of your unit]. Li Xifan should go back to school, to
teach on the one hand and to do some research on the other.4 Once he went to
the editorial board of the newspaper he became divorced from the masses and
began to fall short in terms of an attitude of discussing things rationally and
calmly. Please discuss this with him.
I send you my regards in comradely salute!
Mao Zedong
April 20, 1957

Notes

1. According to the Shuxin source, this is a political-satire poem written by Yuan and
published in the April 18, 1957, issue of RMRB.
2. According to the Shuxin source, this refers to the poem “You Yuquanshan jishi” (An
Account of the Tour of Yuquan Mountain), written by Chen Yi and published in the April
18, 1957 issue of RMRB. For more biographical information on Chen Yi, see text Oct. 11,
1955(1), vol. I, note 54.
3. See text Jan. 27, 1957(1), text surrounding note 83. Mao was not talking of ordinary
“traveling” here, but was referring to Party cadres going to the masses at the “lower levels.”
4. For information on Li Xifan, see text Oct. 16, 1954(1), vol. I, notes 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7,
and text Oct. 1954(1), vol. I, note 3. According to the Shuxin source, Li was a graduate of
the Chinese language and literature department of Shandong University in 1953, and in 1955
he was made an editor of the literature and art department of RMRB. See also Zhonggong
renming lu, p. 187. In these remarks, Mao appears to come back to the criticism of RMRB;
see text April 10, 1957, paragraphs 5 and 6, and texts April 1957(1) and (2).