Approval Comment on Chen Yun’s[1] Request for Sick Leave
(June 8, 1959)

Comrades Liu,[3] Deng,[3] Peng Zhen,[3] Zhou,[3] and Chen Yun to read; to be kept by Shangkun.[4] I believe that first, a complete rest in a different location for three months should be resolutely carried out, and then, depending on the situation, a decision can be made on whether to resume work. It is appropriate for Comrades Li and Song to act in their stead.

Mao Zedong
June 8

[1] Chen Yun was then Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, head of the Central Finance and Economics Group, Vice Premier of the State Council, and concurrently Chairman of the National Capital Construction Commission.
[2] In a letter to Mao Zedong on the afternoon of June 8, 1959, Chen Yun stated that he had been bedridden due to illness for two weeks. He could now walk a little but had difficulty speaking. His doctor believed it would take three months for some recovery, and he proposed to agree to a three-month rest period. He also suggested that Li Fuchun act in his stead as head of the Central Finance and Economics Group and that Song Jiewen act in his stead as Chairman of the National Capital Construction Commission. This first section is Mao’s comment on the letter. In the same letter, Chen Yun also discussed his considerations for agreeing to leave Beijing for a three-month rest and his plan to speak with several comrades from the Finance and Economics Group about market issues and the methodology for next year’s plan before departing. The second and third sections below are Mao’s annotations on these two matters.
[3] Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi. Deng refers to Deng Xiaoping, then General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and Vice Premier of the State Council. Peng Zhen was then a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and a Secretary of the Central Secretariat. Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai.
[4] Shangkun, namely Yang Shangkun, was then an alternate Secretary of the Central Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party and Director of the General Office of the Central Committee.

Rest assured and take your leave; do not worry.
Since speaking is difficult, it is best to refrain from discussions.