Letter to Kang Sheng
(August 5, 1965)
Comrade Kang Sheng:
Mr. Zhang Shizhao’s work, “A Guide to Liu Zongyuan’s Prose,” consists of two volumes, upper and lower, totaling 22 books and approximately one million characters. When you have some free time, you might read it bit by bit; it contains many novel insights that are quite engaging. By and large, it extols Liu Zongyuan while refuting the unjust treatment heaped upon Han Yu, overturning the wrongful convictions leveled against the Two Wangs and the Eight Simas—this is indeed commendable. Moreover, it criticizes the Tongcheng School and praises the Yanghu School, censuring the practice of paying for official posts while upholding traditional scholarly principles; these aspects also merit consideration. However, the author lacks an understanding of the materialist conception of history, and in…
[I]
Zhang Shizhao, whose courtesy name was Xingyan, was at that time a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and the Director of the Central Institute for Literary and Historical Research.
[2]
“A Guide to Liu Zongyuan’s Prose” is a specialized study devoted to Liu Zongyuan’s collected writings.
[3]
Liu refers to Liu Zongyuan, a literary figure and philosopher of the Tang dynasty.
[4]
Han refers to Han Yu, a literary figure and philosopher of the Tang dynasty.
[5]
The “Two Wangs” denote Wang Shuwen and Wang Ren. During the reign of Emperor Shunzong of the Tang dynasty, Wang Shuwen served as a Scholar of the Hanlin Academy and, together with Wang Ren and others, initiated political reforms. Following the failure of these reforms, Wang Shuwen was executed, and Wang Ren was demoted. The “Eight Simas” comprise Han Tai, Han Hua, Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi, Chen Liang, Ling Jun, Cheng Yi, and Wei Zhiyi. They supported Emperor Shunzong’s reform efforts; after the reforms’ collapse, all eight were exiled to remote posts as simas, hence the appellation “Eight Simas.”
[6]
The Tongcheng School refers to a school of prose writing during the Qing dynasty. It was founded by Fang Bao in the Kangxi era and subsequently further developed by Liu Daxie, Yao Nai, and others. These scholars were all from Tongcheng County in Anhui Province, which gave rise to the school’s name. They advocated emulating the pre-Qin and Two Han prose works such as the Zuo Zhuan and Records of the Grand Historian, as well as the classical prose of Tang and Song masters like Han Yu and Ouyang Xiu, emphasizing “righteous method” and demanding language that was “elegant and concise.”
[7]
The Yanghu School denotes another school of prose writing during the Qing dynasty, established by Xun Jing and Zhang Huiyan, among others. Xun was from Yanghu (present-day Wujin) in Jiangsu Province, and many of his successors also came from the same county, hence the name. Originating in part from the Tongcheng School, they nevertheless expressed dissatisfaction with its strict formalistic rules. Their compositions drew inspiration from the Confucian classics while also incorporating texts from the various schools of thought of the Hundred Schools.

In the realms of literature, history, and philosophy, the work still confines itself to interpreting Liu Zongyuan solely through the author’s own perspective—indeed, this book could be called a “complete interpretation of Liu.” One day, historians may apply the materialist conception of history to critically examine it. Should such an analysis take place, that would be a positive development. I have already informed Mr. Zhang of this possibility, advising him to prepare himself mentally, though I do not expect a man of 85 years to alter his worldview.
Mao Zedong
August 5, 1965