K. This is the 1st working draft of vol. VI. It still ... - From Marx to Mao

Old Comrade Hsu,
TO HSU TEH-LI 1
February !(#&
FROM MARX
TO MAO
You were my teacher twenty years ago; you are still my teacher;
you will continue to be my teacher in future. When the revolution
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failed and many members left the Party, even defecting to the enemy,
you joined [the Party] in the autumn of 1927 and adopted an
extremely active attitude. From then until now you have shown
through a long period of bitter struggle greater positiveness, less
fear of difficulty and more humility in learning new things than many
younger members of the party. “Age”, “declining physical and mental
abilities”, and “hardships and obstacles” have all surrendered to
you, in spite of the fact that they have served as excuses for the
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timidity of many people. You know a great deal but always feel a
deficiency in your knowledge, whereas many “half-buckets of water”
[people of superficial knowledge] make a lot of noise. What
you think is what you say or what you do, whereas other people hide
filthy things in a corner of their minds. You enjoy being with the
masses all the time, whereas some others enjoy being without the
masses. You are always a model of obedience to the Party and its
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revolutionary discipline, whereas some others regard the discipline
as restraint for others but not for themselves. For you, it is “revolution
first”, “work first”, and “other people first”, whereas for some
others it is “limelight first”, “rest first”, and “oneself first”. You
always pick the most difficult things to do, never avoiding your responsibilities,
whereas some others choose easy work to do, always
shunning responsibilities. In all these respects, I admire you and
am willing to continue to learn from you. I also hope that other
members of the Party will learn from you. I write this congratulatory
letter to you on your sixtieth birthday with my wishes that you
will enjoy good health and a long life and continue to be a model
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