In 1961, after watching “Sun Wukong Fights the White Bone Demon Three Times,” Guo Moruo composed a poem. On November 17, Chairman Mao wrote a seven-line regulated verse titled “In Reply to Comrade Guo Moruo,” standing on a higher vantage point and seeing farther. Later, on January 6, 1962, Guo Moruo composed another poem in response to the Chairman, which reads:

Thanks to the thunderbolt from a clear sky, We do not allow white bones to pile up. From the nine heavens to the four seas, The mists are cleared; Through eighty-one trials, Great calamities are averted. The monk, having endured suffering, comes to repent; The pig, inspired, vows to repay even a drop of kindness. With golden eyes and fiery gaze, There is no pardon—no matter how countless the demons may be.

This responsive poem was forwarded to the Chairman by Comrade Kang Sheng. In his reply to Guo Moruo, the Chairman said, “Your poem is good; it does not advocate ‘hundreds of knives should be used to slice Tang Monk’s flesh.’ Adopting a united-front policy toward the middle forces—that is just right.”