Please ask the Premier to send someone to investigate and restore the situation.
July 15, 1973

[1] On July 6, 1973, Liao Jingwen, wife of the famous painter Xu Beihong, wrote to Mao
Zedong: "In the summer of 1965, the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall was demolished due to the
construction of the subway. More than 1,000 works of Xu Beihong, more than 2,000 pieces
of art collections, and more than 10,000 art pictures donated by his family were covered in
dust and scattered in several places. The memorials at the Babaoshan Revolutionary
Cemetery were also destroyed. I have repeatedly requested the relevant departments to
repair them, but no one has responded to my request." Mao Zedong wrote this comment
after reading the letter. On July 16, Premier Zhou Enlai wrote to Liao Jingwen, saying, "The
Chairman approved your letter to Chairman Mao on July 15 and asked me to send someone
to investigate the restoration." That same day, Zhou Enlai wrote to Wu Qingtong (then
deputy head of the core group in charge of the State Council General Office, responsible for
the restoration process) and Wu De (then head of the State Council's Cultural Group), asking
them to investigate the situation described in Liao's letter, agree on a restoration plan, and
begin preparations.