To Liu Xingyuan: Two Couplets from Sichuan
(1972)

Win hearts, and unrest will subside of itself—since ancient times, those versed in warfare have never been fond of battle;
Fail to assess the situation, and both leniency and severity will go wrong—those who later govern Sichuan must ponder this deeply.

For one beyond worldly concerns, there is no fixed law in law—only then does one understand that what is not law is law;
The affairs of the world seem settled yet remain unsettled—why not let the unsettled settle them?

[1] Liu Xingyuan (1908–1990), a native of Ju County, Shandong Province, joined the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army in 1931, joined the Chinese Communist Youth League the same year, and transferred to the Chinese Communist Party. In 1934, he participated in the Long March with the Central Red Army. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general. He was elected a member of the Central Committee at the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh National Congresses of the Chinese Communist Party. He passed away in Beijing in 1990.

[2] In 1972, Liu Xingyuan, commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, was ordered to transfer to the Chengdu Military Region to deal with the aftermath of the “Cultural Revolution.” Before leaving for Sichuan, he went to Beijing to see Mao Zedong. Mao told him at Zhongnanhai: “You are going to Sichuan! In Chengdu, there is Kang Lihou Xiang. Remember, at the second gate of the Temple of the Marquis of Wu, there is a pair of couplets. You can go and take a look, and ponder them carefully. I have no more words to say.” Mao added: “When you go to Sichuan, first go to the Temple of the Marquis of Wu in Chengdu to see one pair of couplets. Then go to Baoguang Temple in Xindu County to see another pair.” The couplet at the Temple of the Marquis of Wu in Chengdu, Sichuan, is the first in this text; the couplet at Baoguang Temple in Xindu County is the second.