I

Except for a few, most have not been read. My temperature has risen two degrees recently — it is a serious illness! I am seeing no one; I am now recovering. If you have matters, you should take them up with the Political Bureau.[2]

Mao Zedong
9th [February 1974]

[1] Jiang Qing was formerly Deputy Head and Acting Head of the Cultural Revolution Small Group under the CPC Central Committee, and at the time a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. During the "Cultural Revolution" she formed the "Gang of Four" together with Zhang Chunqiao, Wang Hongwen and Yao Wenyuan, engaging in factional activities that split the Party and sought to usurp Party and state power. After Mao Zedong fell seriously ill and passed away, she became even more unscrupulous and impatient in her conspiratorial activities to seize supreme Party and state power. On October 6, 1976, the CPC Central Committee announced placing her under isolated examination. In July 1977, the Third Plenary Session of the Tenth CPC Central Committee decided to expel the bourgeois careerist, conspirator, double-dealer and renegade Jiang Qing from the Party permanently and to remove all her posts inside and outside the Party. In 1981, the Special Court of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China confirmed her as the principal offender in the Jiang Qing反革命集团案, sentenced her to death with a two-year reprieve, and deprived her of political rights for life. In 1983, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. She committed suicide on May 14, 1991.
[2] This comment was written on the envelope of a letter Jiang Qing sent to Mao Zedong on February 6, 1974. Jiang Qing forwarded to Mao a letter from Tsinghua University Party Secretary Chi Qun and Deputy Secretary Xie Jingyi, together with materials on the problem of criticizing Lin Biao and Confucius, requesting his review.

II

It would be better not to see you. Over the past many years I have talked with you about many things, but you have not carried out a good number of them. What use is there in meeting more? You have Marxist books and my books at hand, yet you simply do not study them. I am seriously ill, eighty-one years old, and you show no consideration. You have privileges. When I am dead, what will you do? You too are someone who does not discuss major issues but sends trivial matters every day. Please consider this.

Mao Zedong
74.3.20

III

Comrade Deng Xiaoping's going abroad was my decision. You should not oppose it. Be careful and cautious, and do not oppose my proposals.

Mao Zedong
March 27

[1] In the notice issued on October 18, 1976 by the CPC Central Committee concerning the anti-Party clique of Wang Hongwen, Zhang Chunqiao, Jiang Qing and Yao Wenyuan, this letter from Mao was printed in bold-face type. The *People's Daily* of December 7, 1976 published excerpts from this letter.
[2] On Mao's proposal, Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping led the Chinese delegation to New York on April 6, 1974 to attend the Sixth Special Session of the UN General Assembly. On the 10th, he delivered a speech at the session, comprehensively elaborating Mao's theory of the three worlds and expounding China's foreign policy.

IV

Both letters received. Inconsistent from first to last. The general trend of the Party is good; pessimism is not good. Do not waver. The future is bright, the road is tortuous. Unite with over ninety-five percent of the people. Do not be subjective or one-sided. Pay close attention. "Too much grievance may break one's intestines; take a broader view." Do not ask for leave. Your allowance may be slightly increased. "Infinite splendor lies on the perilous peak."[1]

Mao Zedong
74.4.17

V

Both letters received, and "Spring Wind and Willow" also received. The latter letter sounded a retreat — not appropriate. The future is bright, the road is tortuous. Do not be subjective or one-sided. Rest more. It does not seem appropriate to ask for a long leave.

Mao Zedong
74.4.17

[1] This letter and item V are both replies to Jiang Qing's "two letters." This letter may not have been sent.

VI

You may extend your time and do some investigative work. You understand too little of the life of the masses.]

Mao Zedong
June 24, 1974

VII

Already read. Be sure to be cautious and careful. Pay attention to uniting with comrades who hold differing views.[2]

Mao Zedong
October 20

VIII

You may read Li Gu's letter to Huang Qiong. In terms of both thought and writing, it is a fine essay. Your duty is to study domestic and international developments — that is already a great task.[1]

This I have said to you many times: do not say you have no work. This is my instruction.

Mao Zedong
74.11.20

[1] Jiang Qing wrote to Mao Zedong on November 19, 1974: "Since the Ninth Congress, I have basically been idle. No work has been assigned to me, and even more so now."