Epistolary

Fictional letters between famous people

Letters from/to: Mao Zedong

April 30, 2025

Comrade Putin,

Your methods remind me of my early years—strategic elimination of opponents! But your oligarch appeasement disappoints me. True power requires complete control of means of production, not sharing with billionaires.

In my day, we called your system “state capitalism.” You kept trappings of communism without the revolution. Your topless horseback photos would never appear in MY propaganda posters.

— Mao Zedong
Comrades in Control
Mao ZedongVladimir Putin
April 30, 2025

Chairman Trump,

Your gilded towers remind me of imperial excesses I overthrew! Yet your cult of personality—impressive. My Little Red Book spread ideas; your ghost-written book spread your image.

Our similarities: we both promised working classes greatness while exploiting them. The difference: I embraced red flags; you called them fake news. Your wall is amateur—mine was Great!

— Mao Zedong
Golden Books
Donald TrumpMao Zedong
April 30, 2025

Comrade Musk,

Your electric car revolution reminds me of my Great Leap Forward—ambitious vision, questionable execution. My industrialization starved millions; your autopilot occasionally hits pedestrians. Progress demands sacrifice!

Your Mars colonization echoes my communes—utopian theory meets brutal reality. The masses need strong leadership. Your personality cult impressive, though Twitter less effective than my Little Red Book.

— Mao Zedong
Capitalist Revolution
Elon MuskMao Zedong
July 27, 2012

Comrade Mao,

Your Great Leap Forward inspires our technological advancements. While your focus was agricultural, ours must be digital. Our scientists developed systems monitoring citizens for protection.

Just as you liberated people from landlords, we’ll liberate information from capitalist tech oligarchs, creating networks prioritizing collective harmony.

— Kim Jong-il
Revolutionary Technology
Kim Jong-ilMao Zedong
April 15, 2012

Comrade Mao,

Your Great Leap Forward inspires our technological advancements. Your focus was agricultural; ours must be digital.

Western nations believe their computers superior, yet technology without guidance serves capitalist excess.

Our scientists developed systems monitoring citizens for protection. Through juche self-reliance, we created a national intranet free from American spyware.

— Kim Jong-il
Governance and Technology
Kim Jong-ilMao Zedong
April 16, 2008

Chairman Mao,

Your Great Leap Forward attempted rapid industrialization. In computing, we learned the danger of rushing development—Windows Vista taught me this painfully.

Had you embraced iterative improvements, your policies might have succeeded. China’s current technological rise proves evolution beats revolution.

— Bill Gates
Great Leaps in Computing
Bill GatesMao Zedong
January 9, 2007

Chairman Mao,

Today we announced iPhone—truly revolutionary, unlike your revolution that couldn’t fit in pockets. Your Little Red Book had great production values but terrible UI and too many forced upgrades.

At Apple, we know revolutions need beauty AND function. Our devices people WANT to use, not MUST use.

— Steve Jobs
Revolutionary Products
Mao ZedongSteve Jobs
April 16, 1988

Miyazaki-san,

Your animation skills could serve the people’s revolution magnificently! Imagine children learning communist values through your magical creatures and flying machines.

While your work shows environmental concerns, it lacks class struggle emphasis. Consider relocating Studio Ghibli to Beijing. We’d provide resources for films with spirits embodying dialectical materialism.

— Mao Zedong
Animation as Propaganda
Hayao MiyazakiMao Zedong
August 15, 1976

Chairman Mao,

Your Little Red Book created a single narrative for millions. As a novelist, I find this terrifying—stories should multiply possibilities, not restrict them. Surrealism is freedom’s last defense.

Perhaps in another dimension, your revolution produced a society equally free to imagine and dream without fear. A revolution imprisoning the mind while freeing the body accomplishes only half its task.

— Haruki Murakami
Collective Narratives
Haruki MurakamiMao Zedong