A Letter to Tian Jiaying [Month]
(April 27, 1958)
Comrade Tian Jiaying:
If you have time, you might take a look at Ban Gu’s “Biography of Jia Yi” in Volume 121. You may skip the two fu poems, “Using Qu Yuan” and “The Peng Bird,” and not read them. Most of Jia Yi’s writings have been lost; only two fu poems and two essays remain, as recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian. In Ban Gu’s Book of Han, the essay “On the Fall of Qin” has been omitted, leaving just two fu poems and one essay. The essay “Strategies for National Security” is considered the finest political treatise of the Western Han dynasty. Had Jia Yi returned from his southern exile at that time, this piece—except for the section on the crown prince, which is somewhat pedantic—would be entirely relevant to the issues of the day, imbued with a commendable spirit, and well worth reading. If Comrades Bodda and Qiaomu (4) are interested, please pass it along for their perusal.
Mao Zedong
April 27
Chuan

--- Notes

Tian Jiaying was then Deputy Director of the Political Research Office of the CPC Central Committee and Mao Zedong’s secretary.
[2]
Ban Gu was a historian and literary figure of the Eastern Han dynasty, author of the Book of Han.
[3]
Jia Yi was a political theorist and literary figure of the Western Han dynasty.
[4]
Bodda refers to Chen Boda, who at the time was an alternate member of the CPC Central Politburo, Director of the Central Political Research Office, and Mao Zedong’s secretary. Qiaomu refers to Hu Qiaomu, who was then an alternate secretary of the CPC Central Secretariat and Mao Zedong’s secretary.