Two Letters to Hu Qiaomu [2] Regarding Requesting Guo Moruo [1] to Revise the Poems “To Shaoshan” and “Ascending Lushan” (September 7 and 13, 1959)  I Comrade Qiaomu: Please pass these two poems [3] to Comrade Guo Moruo for his review, to see if there are any flaws.
It would be most important to make editorial corrections as needed.
The theme is to combat rightist tendencies and boost morale—to punish those who oppose the Party, the General Line, the Great Leap Forward, and the People’s Communes.
Although the theme is sound, the poetic quality is limited; only a few lines are relatively good, such as “Clouds stretch across the Nine Rivers, upon which the Yellow Crane seems to float.”
Poetry is difficult to write.
Those who have experienced it know full well its subtleties—its warmth and chill—and this cannot be explained to outsiders.
Mao Zedong September 7 Based on the manuscript for publication.

 II Comrade Qiaomu: I have read both letters from Comrade Moruo and found them enlightening.
I have made further minor revisions to the wording of the two poems.
Please again show them to Comrade Guo Moruo for another review and revision, and kindly inform me of his views.
Mao Zedong Morning of September 13 “The overlord” refers to Chiang Kai-shek.
This couplet [4] depicts the class struggle of that period.
The entire poem covers thirty-two years of history.
Published according to the Selected Letters of Mao Zedong (with manuscript). Notes [1] Guo Moruo, at that time Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Chairman of the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. [2] Hu Qiaomu, at that time Mao Zedong’s secretary. [3] Refers to Mao Zedong’s seven-character regular verse “To Shaoshan,” written in June 1959, and “Ascending Lushan,” written on July 1, 1959. [4] Refers to the line “Red flags roll up like spears of serfs; black hands hold high the whip of the overlord” from the poem “To Shaoshan.”