Envelope addressed by Mao Zedong to Bo Yibo sells for $1 million at auction

An envelope addressed to Bo Xilai's father, Bo Yibo, by Mao Zedong in the chairman's own calligraphy sold for 6.55 million yuan ($1,075,110) at an auction in Beijing on Sunday. 

"To Mr Fu Yisheng and Mr Bo Yibo," Mao wrote along with printed message reading: "From the People's Revolutionary Military Committee of the Central People's Government" (a precursor to the Central Military Commission). 

Both Fu and Bo were generals in the People's Liberation Army at the time. Fu Yisheng (aka Fu Zouyi) defected from the Kuomintang in 1949 during the last days of the Chinese Civil War. 

The letter inside the envelope was not up for auction. "Under regulations of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, leaders' letters cannot be auctioned," a spokesperson for auctioneers China Guardian told the SCMP. 

It is believed that the envelope dates from the early days of the People's Republic, which was established in October 1949. 

The identity of the buyer of this expensive piece of Mao-rabilia has not been disclosed. 

Earlier this month, China's richest man Wang Jianlin purchased "Claude et Paloma" by Pablo Picasso for 171.8 million yuan ($28.2 million) at an auction house in New York.