Dear Brother Yuan:
I received your letter today and was very pleased. Unfortunately, I did not receive the
previous two letters [1]. My poetry and lyrics are of no significance, so please do not bother
with them [2]. I do not agree with commemorating individuals, so please inform the school.
The couplet is even more poor and cannot be used [3]. I will respond to this matter here.
Best wishes!

Mao Zedong
29th of September

[1] The first two letters were never received. One was a letter written by Zhou Shizhao to
Mao Zedong in Chongqing in 1945, and the other was a letter sent by Zhou Shizhao to Mao
Zedong in Beijing in 1968. As a result, Mao Zedong expressed his regret.
[2] In 1968, Zhou Shizhao read various annotated editions of Mao Zedong's poems and
letters and wrote to Mao Zedong asking how they should be handled and which annotated
editions were better.
[3] This refers to 1918, when Mao Zedong was the principal of the affiliated primary school
of Hunan First Normal School. He wrote a couplet by hand, which was carved by students
onto bamboo and hung in the grand hall: "The world is ours; everyone must work together."
In 1968, someone suggested writing another couplet and carving it. Mao Zedong expressed
his unwillingness to create a personal memorial. Thus, the matter was dropped.