Mr. Xingyan:
I have read your letter of December 16, 1965, and its attachments. I am deeply grateful! I
have also received the "Three Kingdoms" volume [2], which I will use as a souvenir. I would
like to express my gratitude to you at your convenience. Comrade Kang Sheng has read the
great work "Essentials of Liu’s Writings" and submitted it to me [3]. I have some comments
on the wording and sentence structure. Please consider whether they are appropriate. Best
wishes! Spring Festival [1]
Mao Zedong
January 12, 1966
PS. Attached are two sheets of paper and a letter [4] from Comrade Kang Sheng.

[1] Zhang Shizhao, also known by his courtesy name Xingyan, was a member of the Standing
Committee of the National People's Congress and director of the Central Academy of
Literature and History at the time.
[2] The Records of the Three Kingdoms is a chronicle of the Wei, Shu, and Wu kingdoms
written by Chen Shou in the Western Jin Dynasty. It consists of three volumes: Wei, Shu, and
Wu, totalling 600,000 volumes. The three volumes were originally independent, but were
later combined into one.
[3] Essentials of Liu's Writings is a book written by Zhang Shizhao that specifically studies the
collected works of Liu Zongyuan, a Tang Dynasty writer. On August 5, 1965, Mao Zedong
forwarded the manuscript to Kang Sheng, Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central
Committee, for reading. On December 5, Kang Sheng wrote to Mao Zedong, "After reading
it, I feel that the Chairman's evaluation of this book in his letter of August 5 is very pertinent
and completely correct." "Since some people already know that the Chairman has read the
book, I have made a few comments and marked them on slips of paper. Please review them
and see if any words or sentences need to be edited." "Essentials of Liu's Writings," after
revisions by the author, was officially published by Zhonghua Book Company in 1971.
[4] Refers to Kang Sheng’s letter to Mao Zedong on December 5, 1965.