Conversation with Voroshilov on the Latter’s Departure
(May 6, 1957)

Source: Li Yueran, “Mao zhuxi songbie Fu lao,” in RMRB (May 7, 1957), 1.

According to the source, Mao visited Voroshilov around midnight on May 6, 1957, to bid
him farewell on his imminent return to the Soviet Union. For information on Voroshilov’s
China visit, see text April 15, 1957, source note.

(Mao inquired of Voroshilov whether he had slept well and whether he was
sufficiently well-rested.)
Voroshilov: Very well-rested. I am truly sorry to cause you this disturbance so
late in the night. You should have gone to bed long ago.
Mao: I should come to see you.


[As the two men approach the doorway to the reception room, each courteously
encouraged the other to go first.]
Voroshilov: Since you came here [to see me], you are [my] guest. Please go first.
Mao: Let's go in together.
[In the room, Voroshilov, now seated, places an ashtray on the armrest of
Chairman Mao's sofa.]
Voroshilov: This is more convenient for you; you won't have to stand up to flick
the ashes off your cigarette; the table is a bit far from your seat.
[Voroshilov wants to move the table closer.]
Mao: Please do not bother. I can manage.
Voroshilov: Really? Please don't be so polite.
Mao: You must be tired out with these twenty days [of activity], aren't you?
The schedule might have been a bit too tight. You have not had enough rest, have
you?
Voroshilov: My dearest friend, Comrade Mao Zedong, I am not tired at all.
Everything is fine. Once in a while I got a bit dizzy from the sun. In Guangzhou, I
ate a bit of snake meat which perhaps stirred up a battle between the dragon and
tiger in my stomach and just when I came back to Beijing I felt slightly uncomfortable. But that was over quickly. Whenever I think of the welcome and hospitality
that we have received from the warm and hospitable Chinese people, I forget every
bit of weariness that I might have had.
(Mao inquired about Voroshilov's health, suggesting that since he still had
to make a long trip, his weariness may be increased if he did not get enough
rest.)
Voroshilov: I hear that every day you work during the night. I am deeply
concerned. No matter what, you must stop staying up nights. In the past, I have also
worked through entire nights and, as a result, my physical condition was damaged
considerably. I wish you would do this: When the sun rises you say hello to it; when
it sets you bid it goodbye and go to rest.
Mao, (smiling): That's good, we must do things according to the sun's schedule.
. . . Don't worry, I am already accustomed to working at night.
Voroshilov (shaking his head): No, you mustn't do that.
(Voroshilov asks Mao how many cigarettes he smokes each day.)
Mao: Not too many. Sometimes I hold one in my hand but do not light it, or I
may light it but not smoke it and simply watch the smoke rise. In spirit, I will feel
as if I had been smoking.
(Voroshilov hands Mao a cup of tea.)
Voroshilov: My dear Comrade Mao Zedong, if ever you wish to take a break,
you can come any time to our place. You can go wherever you want, such as to
Sochi in southern Russia, or to the Crimea on the shores of the Black Sea.
Mao: I am deeply grateful, that is a very good idea.
[As Voroshilov leaves Mao and approaches the automobile waiting to take him
to the plane:]
The Chairman: I will not bid you goodbye, I will simply say, for the time being,
[farewell and] see you again soon. I wish you a safe trip!

APRIL – JUNE 1957 / 535