Since 1966, there have been no articles in the Chinese press about language reform and no specialist journals to provide an alternative forum for discussion. In 1972, however, the Party's leading political publication, Hung ch'i (Red Flag), carried in its April issue a letter on what had come to be seen as an almost taboo subject, by no less a personality than Kuo Mo-jo. This letter and its manner of publication are both of great interest. Language reform is clearly on the agenda for discussion once again and the letter enables one to look both at its more recent history and at its future development. Such is the importance of the letter that I have translated it in full and discuss it section by section (the text being distinguished by bold type), adding a commentary to each section, rather in the manner in which commentaries were added to classical Chinese texts.