Thursday, 21 January

Sixteenth day of the twelth lunar month

In the morning Director Bo Daomin (卜道明)[1] came and talked about the recent Sino -Soviet relationship and other small issues. His view was the same as mine in many ways. Zhu Jiahua (朱家驊)[2] dispatched Li Yongxin (art name: Li Heling, Mongolian, 李永新) who was a political administrator. He told me about many things related to Inner and Outer Mongolia, which I hadn’t heard before. He also mentioned the work of the Party Bureau in the border area. I agreed that I would source this information for him.

Xu Jingzhi (許靜芝) invited me to a farewell lunch at the Chongqing Air Raid Rescue Committee at No.281 Zhongzheng Road. The morals and writings of Xu Jingzhi set good examples to the younger generation like us. He treated me particularly well, as if I was his son or niece. It was very heartening. Ma Xiuzhong (馬秀中) would like to talk to me but [I was] not courageous enough to do so.

At 5.00 I went to Fanzhuang to bid farewell to the Deputy President of the Executive Yuan H.H. Kung. He had caught a cold but he still took the time to see me. He told me that diplomacy concerning the Soviet Union was the most trying one, and that I should not have high hopes. He said I shouldn’t be very disappointed when encountering difficulties there. I was so moved. He then said that in case the lives of the staff in the Embassy proved to be too hard, he could be reckoned on to help with additional funding. By the end of the conversation, he said it was he who suggested dispatching Shao Lizi to the Soviet Union.

At 7.00, Zhu Jiahua invited me to a farewell dinner at his home. Originally he thought of giving me a painting by Xu Beihong (徐悲鴻)[3] as a gift. However, as the calligraphy was not that good he did not give it to me. Yang Gongda had already told me about this, so I insisted on having it but he declined. He treated me well over the past two years, and he is a very honest man. He is truly my good friend.

[1] Bo Daomin (1902-1964) had studied in the Soviet Union. He was an official of the Nationalist Government.

[2] Zhu Jiahua (1893-1963) had studied at Berlin University. He was a senior official in the Nationalist Government. He was also a renowned geologist.

[3] Xu Beihong (1895-1953) was an extremely famous painter in Modern China.