Letter to Liu Songlin[I]
(June 13, 1961)

Daughter:
How are you!
How could there be any reason to forget? You must heed advice and make up your mind to marry[2]; the time has come. A mind that is indecisive loses everything completely. Too choosy to take the high and unwilling to accept the low—this is a common failing among girls of your kind. Is it not so? Upon receiving this letter, a reply to me is eagerly awaited!
Regards.
Father
June 13

[I] Liu Songlin, original name Liu Siqi, married Mao Zedong’s eldest son Mao Anying in October 1949. In November 1950, Mao Anying died a martyr in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. From October 1957 to August 1961, Liu Songlin studied in the Department of Russian Language and Literature at Peking University.
[2] In February 1962, Liu Songlin married Yang Maozhi, an instructor at the Air Force Academy of the People’s Liberation Army of China.