When Xu Maoyong was in the League of Left-wing Writers, he wrote to Lu Xun in August of 1936 about the two slogans of "national defense literature" and "popular literature of national revolutionary war". After receiving this letter, Lu Xun published an article "Answering Xu Maoyong and Talking about the Anti-Japanese United Front", which refuted Xu Maoyong. Xu Maoyong arrived in Yan 'an on March 1938 in order to find out right and wrong. At the end of mid-May, Xu Maoyong wrote a letter to Mao Zedong asking for an interview. Mao Zedong wrote back to Xu Maoyong the next day, saying that he was willing to talk to him. Finally, he said, don't worry, the problem can always be sorted out and the future is bright. Another day, Mao Zedong sent his secretaries Pei Yuan and Hua Min to Xu Maoyong to learn about "left-wing writers".

Mao Zedong's secretary Huamin took Xu Maoyong to the cave where Mao Zedong lived at the foot of Phoenix Mountain in the north gate. Mao Zedong just got up from a nap, put on an old cotton-padded jacket, and let Xu Maoyong sit opposite his desk. Asked about smoking, Xu said no, and smiled and said, "There are not many people who engage in literature and art who don't smoke." And say, "Let's talk about it now." Xu Maoyong first briefly described his resume, and then detailed his understanding of the "Left League", the process of the dissolution of the Left League, the debate of two slogans, his letter to Lu Xun, Lu Xun's refutation of his article, and the attitude of Shanghai public opinion towards him later. He came to Yan 'an and demanded a clear understanding of right and wrong. About an hour and a half. Mao Zedong listened very carefully. After listening to all Xu Maoyong's words, Mao Zedong talked about the following contents of the debate on the two slogans:

"After Comrade Zhou Yang and them came to Yan 'an, we have basically understood the debate about the two slogans. After listening to what you said today, some things make us more clear and specific. "

"I think, first of all, it should be affirmed that the nature of this debate is the debate within the revolutionary camp, not the debate between revolution and counter-revolution. Your side is not counter-revolutionary, and neither is Lu Xun. "

"This debate takes place at a critical moment of line and policy change. From the civil war to the anti-Japanese national United front, it is a major change. In the process of such transformation, due to the imbalance between the theoretical and policy levels within the revolutionary camp, as well as differences in understanding, disputes will inevitably occur. In fact, are you the only ones arguing? In Yan 'an, we also had a heated argument. However, you are writing, and as soon as you compete for the newspaper, the whole country knows. We hid in the ravine and quarreled, but we didn't know it outside. "