The Complete Works of Mao Zedong
Volume 45

However, I did not ask the Chairman in person, so I do not know whether my explanation is ultimately correct. But at the poetry symposium in Guangzhou, I was very pleased that the comrades agreed with my view. Perhaps someone might ask: Why does the reference to "a single morning and a single evening" in a ci poem not signify just one day? This is by no means a rare instance in our Chinese poetry. For example, in Qu Yuan’s "Li Sao," there are lines such as:
‘In the morning I drink the dew dripping from magnolia blossoms; in the evening I dine on the fallen petals of autumn chrysanthemums,’
or
‘In the morning I pluck magnolias on the high slopes; in the evening I gather the evergreens on the islet.’
In such cases, the so-called morning and evening are not confined to a single day." After reading this passage, Mao Zedong deleted it in its entirety and rewrote it into the text of this piece.

[3]
Refers to the poetry symposium held in Guangzhou in early February 1962.

[4]
Refers to Mao Zedong.

[5]
There was a previous claim that the Zunyi Conference (the Enlarged Meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee) was convened on January 9, 1935. In recent years, textual research has confirmed that the Zunyi Conference was held from January 15 to 17, 1935. Thus, the First Battle of Loushan Pass by the Central Red Army occurred before the Zunyi Conference, not after it.

[6]
Liu Xiang, in 1933, served as Commander-in-Chief of the Sichuan "Bandit Suppression" General Headquarters of the Nationalist Army, and in 1934 concurrently served as Chairman of the Nationalist Sichuan Provincial Government.

Letter to Shao Hua [1]
(June 3, 1962)

Hello! There is a letter [2], bring it, I want to see it. Take good care of your health, resolve to march toward the future. Let there be less girlishness, add a touch of manly spirit, and accomplish something for society—this I earnestly hope for you. "Shang Ye" [3]

Father
Seven in the morning, June 3

[1] Shao Hua, originally named Zhang Shaohua, was Mao Zedong’s daughter-in-law. This letter written to her by Mao Zedong bears no salutation.
[2] Refers to letters written individually by Mao Anqing and Shao Hua to Mao Zedong.
[3] "Shang Ye" is one of the eighteen pieces of the Han "Nao Songs" of the Music Bureau. "Shang" means heaven; "Ye" is a variant of "耶," an exclamatory particle. "Shang Ye" means swearing by heaven. Its lyrics are:
"By heaven! I desire to know you and be with you, with a bond enduring without end. Until mountains lose their peaks, rivers run dry, thunder rumbles in winter, snow falls in summer, and heaven and earth merge—only then would I dare part from you."

1962, Mao Zedong with Mao Anqing, Shao Hua, and others at home in Zhongnanhai.