5 3

( 159 )

( CIP )

: 3 ; / 5 , 1993 , 10 : ISBN 7- 301-02313- 8 . . . . - - - - A44

: : 100871
: : - : 8501168 32 11 265 1993 10 1993 10 : 0001 - 4500 9 .50 :

P OE M S O F M A O ZEDO N G
with rhymed versions and annotations

T ranslated and annotated by Gu Zhengkun

Peking University Press

Beijing , China, 1993

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 16 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 20 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 24 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 28

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 32 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 36 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 40

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 44 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 52 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 58 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 62 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 68 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 74 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 80 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 86 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 94 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 98

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 106 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 112

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 122 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 130 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 136 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 142 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 150 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 158 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 164 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 170 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 172 - - - - - - - - - - 176 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 180 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 186 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 192 -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 196 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 206 2 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 210 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 216 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 222

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 230 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 238 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 240 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 244 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 250 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 254 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 258 5

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 266 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 270 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 272 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 279

FOREWORD - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Part One
TO YANG KAI HU I ( 1923 ) to the tu ne o f Congrat ul ating Bridegroom - - - - - - - - - 3 CHANGSHA (1925) to the tu ne o f S pri ng Bea ming i n Garden - - - - - - - - - 9 YE LLOW CRAN E TOWER (1927) to the tu ne o f Bud dhist Dancers - - - - - - - - - - - - 17 - - - - - - - - - - 21 KAI- SH EK AND JINGGANG MOUN T AIN ( Autumn 1928 ) to the tu ne o f Moon over West River TH E CLASH BE TWE EN CHIANG

WARLORDS IN GUANGXI P ROV INCE ( Au tumn 1929 ) to the tu ne o f Music of Peace - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 25 TH E DOUBLE NI N TH ( October 1929 ) to the tu ne o f Mu lberry- Picking Song - - - - - - - - - - 29 N EW YEARS DAY ( January 1930 ) to the tu ne o f Drea m- like Lyric - - - - - - - - - - - - - 33 ON TH E WAY T O GUANGCHANG COU N TY ( February 1930 ) to the tu ne o f Lily M agnolia Flowers , Character- Reduced - - 37 MARCH F ROM TI NGZHOU TO CHANGSHA ( July 1930 ) to the tu ne o f Bu tterf lies Love Flowers - - - - - - - - - 41

AGAINST T HE FIRST ENCIRCL EM EN TCAM PAI GN ( Spring 1931 ) to the tu ne o f Fishermens Pride - - - - - - - - - - - - 45 AGAINST TH E SECOND ENCIRCLE MRN T CAMPAIGN ( Summer 1931) to the tu ne o f Fishermens Pride - - - - - - - - - - - - 53 DABODI ( Summer 1933) to the tu ne o f Bud dhist Dancers H U ICHANG ( Summer 1934 ) to the tu ne o f Music of Peace - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 63 THRE E DIT TIES (1934-1935) to the tu ne o f S ix teen-Character Ditty - - - - - - - - - - 69 LOUSHAN PASS ( February 1935 ) to the tu ne o f Recall a Qi n Beau ty - - - - - - - - - - - 75 TH E LONG MARCH ( October 1935) to the tu ne o f Seven- Character L Shi - - - - - - - - - - 81 K UN LU N ( October 1935) to the tu ne o f Charm of M aiden Nian nu - - - - - - - - - 87 MO UN T LI U PAN ( October 1935) to the tu ne o f Music of Peace - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 95 SNOW ( February 1936 ) to the tu ne o f S pri ng Bea ming i n Garden ( April 1949 ) to the tu ne o f Seven- Character L Shi to the tu ne o f Seven- Character L Shi 8 - - - - - - - - - 107 - - - - - - - - - 113 REPLY TO MR .LI U YAZI ( April 29 , 1949) - - - - - - - - 99 TH E PEOPL E LIBERA TION ARMY CAP T URES NANK ING S - - - - - - - - - - - - 59

REPLY TO LI U YAZI ( October 1950) to the tu ne o f S ilk- W ashi ng Strea m BEIDA IHE ( Summer 1954 ) to the tu ne o f W aves Si f t Sand - - - - - - - - - - - - 131 SWIM MI NG ( June 1956) to the tu ne o f Prel ude to W ater Melody - - - - - - - - - 137 REPLY TO LI SHUY I ( May 11 , 1957) to the tu ne o f Bu tterf lies Love Flowers - - - - - - - - - 143 FAREWEL L TO T H E GOD OF PLAGU E ( July 1 , 1958) to the tu ne o f Seven- Character L Shi SHAOSHAN REV ISIT ED ( June 1959) to the tu ne o f Seven- Character L Shi to the tu ne o f Seven- Character L Shi ( February 1961 ) to the tu ne o f Seven- Character Jue Ju - - - - - - - - - - 171 REPLY TO A FRIEND (1961) to the tu ne o f Seven- Character L Shi - - - - - - - - - 173 TH E IM MORT AL S CAV E : INSCRIP TION ON A PHOTO TAKE N BY COMRADE LI JI N ( September 9 , 1961 ) to the tu ne o f Seven- Character Jue Ju - - - - - - - - - - 177 REPLY TO COMRADE GUO MORUO ( November 17 , 1961 ) to the tu ne o f Seven- Character L Shi GUO MORU O S SUBDUES T HE ( October 25 , 1961 ) to the tu ne o f Seven- Character L Shi - - - - - - - - - 185 9 POEM : ON WHIT EBON E - - - - - - - - - 181 T HE MON KEY TIM ES T HREE SEEI NG DEMON - - - - - - - - - 159 - - - - - - - - - 165 ASCE N T OF L USHAN MOU N TAI N ( July 1 , 1959 ) INSCRI PTI ON ON A PHO TOGRAPH OF M ILITIA WOM EN - - - - - - - - - 151 - - - - - - - - - - 123

ODE TO T HE PL U M BLOSSOM ( December 1961) to the tu ne o f Song o f Divina tion - - - - - - - - - - - 187 - - - - - - - - - 193 WIN T ER CLOUDS ( December 26 , 1962) to the tu ne o f Seven- Character L Shi REPLY TO COMRADE GUO MORUO ( January 9 , 1963 ) to the tu ne o f R iver f ul Red - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 197 GUO MORUOS POEM ( January 1 , 1963) to the tu ne o f R iver f ul Red - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 203 A LAME N T FOR COMRADE LU O RONGH UAN ( Dece mber 1963 ) to the tu ne o f Seven- Character L Shi READING H ISTORY ( Spring 1964 ) to the tu ne o f Congrat ul ating Bridegroom - - - - - - - - 211 REASCE NDI NG JINGGANG MOU N TAI N ( May 1965) to the tu ne o f Prel ude to W ater Melody - - - - - - - - - 217 A DIALOGU E BE TWE EN TWO BIRDS ( Autumn 1965 ) to the tu ne o f Charm of M aiden Nian nu - - - - - - - - 223 - - - - - - - - - 207

Part Two
SE EING JU U ICH IRO OFF TO JAPAN ( Spring 1918 ) to the tu ne o f Seven- Character Ancien t Ode - - - - - - - 231 TH E AU T U MN HARV EST UP RISING (1927) to the tu ne o f Moon over West River - - - - - - - - - - 239 TO COMRADE PENG DEHU AI ( October 1935) to the tu ne o f S ix-Character Poetry TO COMRADE DI NG LING (1936) to the tu ne o f I m mortal at R iverside - - - - - - - - - - 245 10 - - - - - - - - - - 241

REPLY TO MR .LI U ( YAZI ) ( November 1950 ) to the tu ne o f S ilk- W ashi ng Strea m to the tu ne o f Seven- Character L shi JINGGANG MOUN T AIN ( May 1965 ) to the tu ne o f Charm of M aiden Nian nu - - - - - - - - 259 - - - - - - - - - - 251 - - - - - - - - - 255 REPLY TO COMRADE ZHOU SH IZHAO (1955)

Appendices
A LE T TER ABOU T POE TRY - - - - - - - - - - - - 267 A LE T TER TO COMRADE HU QI AOM U - - - - - - - 271 A LE T TER TO CH EN Y I ABO U T POE TRY - - - - - - 273 INDEX - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 279

11

P ar t O n e

h x l n ng

hu u c ng z q sh

g ng n k q xing xi n r n ng k q ch ng s ng 7 3 1

y n ji o m i sh d s h o -u n

r i y ng hu n zh l l zh hu f n sh w qi n y

gu y n t o t o y g n ng w su n r jin zh w h n j r

r y b ng n u 2

?
tin zh u f

zh shu j n o ng zh ng d -ng m n l ,

zh h ng t b n tin c n yu o ng q r x q ng

q y ch ng y du d sh ng n

c ng c tin yg l p ng g du n ch u s n h l

y s k n n b ng ju o l b y qi xi t i f s hu n y u ng ng o

ch ng b y h n zh y ( )

TO YANG KAIH UI 1
to the tune of Congratulating Bridegroom Hands waving from you off I start2 . How can I bear to see you face me with an aching heart , Retelling me your sorrows as we part . Grief is w ritten over your brows and in your eyes , You wink back the hot tears about to break ties . I know, you misunderstood my former letter to you , But like clouds and mist the misreading soon away flew, In this world only you and I in each others hearts dwell . For how can heaven tell 3 If man suffers hell ?
4

This morning on the road to the East Gate4 heavy frost is seen to lie , The waning moon over the Pond5 lingers half way down the sky, So sad and clear on high . With a sound of the whistle6 our hear ts break and moan , Then I set out on a journey to the worlds end alone , And thus cut off in brief The string of sadness and grief Just as Mount Kunluns cliffs suddenly topple down , Or the typhoon sweeps the world adown .7 Then in a pair we will soar Into the clouds once more .
( 1923 )
8

TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 . Yang Kaihui: born in 1901 , a native of Changsha , Hunan P rovince .She got married wit h Mao Zedong in 1920 and joined t he Communist Party of China in 1921 .In October , 1930 , she was arrested by t he Kuomin tang au thority in Changsha and killed on November 24 of t hat year . This poem was first published in t he Peop le s Daily ( September 9 , 1979 ) . 2 .Hands waving from you off I start : In April, 1923 , Zhao Heng ti, t he warlord of Hunan Province, issued an order to arrest Mao Zedong; Mao t hus left Changsha for Shanghai .In the summer of t hat year, Yang Kaihui, too , arrived in Shanghai for a reunion wit h Mao; t hey stayed there engaging themselves in revolutionary activities for a short time and t hen toget her came back to Changsha in the autumn .Possibly in October or November of the same year ( t he definite time now remains unclear ) , Mao Zedong went to Guangzhou alone to help Sun Yat- sen wit h the preparation of the First National Congress of Kuomin tang .This line is just a reference to Maos second separation from Yang Kaihui at Changsha . 3 .m an : a pun possibly implying 1 ) the poet himself; 2 ) individuals in general; 3 ) t he Chinese people living in hot waters at that time . Some critics tend to t hink the last implication is more acceptable t han the other two , for it echoes lines 17-18 w here the poet is believed to attempt a revolution in the south of China . 6

4 .t he East Gate: also called Xiaow umen , a side gate in the east of the cit y of Changsha . 5 .t he Pond : referring to Clear Water Pool ( Qingshuitang)outside the East Gate w here Mao Zedong and Yang Kaihui lived from 1921 to 1923 . 6 .the w histle: t he whistle of the train the poet got on .There was a railway station near t he Pond . 7 .Just as . . . t he world adow n : These two lines are believed by some scholars to hin t at a great revolu tion to come in t he sou th of China . 8 .1923 : In June of that year , t he Third National Congress of the Communist Par ty of China was held in Guangzhou , Guangdong Province . Mao Zedong was present at t he meeting and elected executive member of the Cent ral Committee of C . P . C . The Congress adopted Proposals on National Movements and K uomintang in tending to build up a revolutionary united front in , cooperation wit h K .M .T .under t he leadership of Sun Yat- sen .

q n yu n ch n

ch ng sh

d h n qi l -

, ,

xi ng jing b q i z zh t j -u u

k n w n sh h ng bi n n ; c ng n r l j n n -

m n jing b u t b g zh ng li i , y ng k j ch ng -ng 8

,
y xi qi d ng n

w n i shu l ng ti n zy j ng u

ch ng li o ku , w c n ng m ng d d -

shu zh ch n f 4 2

xi i b c ng y u l i l y xzh ng r su ch u w ng ng yu , qi t xu sh o ni ng n

f hu zh ng ng m o , sh sh ng y q hu ch ng qi f - , zh ji ng sh di n n 9

,
y ng w n z j f n t d ng ni w n h h u n

c ng f u j , d zh o -ng li sh j ? l ng f i zh -u ( )

10

CHANGSHA 1
to the tune of Spring bea ming in Garden At the head of the Orange Island2 Alone I stand in the autumn chill , Watching the Xiang3 flow north still . Lo ! Ten thousand mountains4 are clothed in red5 With serried maples all dyed through , And the river so purely blue, While ships try racing ahead . Eagles soar undauntedly on high , Fish hover in the limpid deep , For freedom all creatures with each other vie , Under the frosty and vaulted sky .6 With feelings and thoughts evoked to my tongue , I cannot help asking the land so immensely wide and Long :
11

Who can hold you up or sink you down ? Here with many of my friends I often came , And memories of arduous years now remain the same . We were young as schoolmates , All in our prime without taints , Imbued with young scholarsdaring, We defied all restraints . We criticised the state affairs then , With vigorous strokes of the pen , 8 To us , nothing but dung were those big men !9 Ah , remember , do you , While swimming in the midstream , we sent up waves 10 That stayed even the flying canoe ?
(1925)

12

TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 .Changsha: t he provincial capital of H unan Province .Mao Zedong came to Changsha in 1911 when he was eigh teen years old .There from 1913 to 1918 , he studied in No .1 Normal School of Hunan Province .At t he near end of t hat period with the joint efforts of He Shuheng, Cai Hesen , Chen Cang , Zhang Kundi, Luo Xuezan and others , Mao Zedong sponsored and organized New People Society aiming to transform China into one of new system .During the May Fourth Movemen t, the Society developed in to an organization of seven ty- eigh t members . In 1919 , Mao Zedong taught in Changsha, meanwhile , editing the journal X iang R iver Review ( Xiangjiang Pingl un ) in which he published many articles advocating revolutionary ideas . In September , 1920 , still in Changsha, and again wit h He Shuheng and ot hers, he set up the Communist Group of H unan .It was not until 1923 that he left Changsha for Shanghai for the first time .In autumn , 1925 , w hen he went to Guangzhou , he passed by Changsha where he revisited the Orange Island and Yuelu Mountains .The poem records the experiences of his last visit to Changsha . This poem was first published in Poetry ( January , 1957 ) . 2 .t he Orange Island : an islet in t he Xiang River west of Changsha, noted for its delicious oranges . 3 .t he Xiang : the longest river in Hunan , originating in Guangxi, flowing by Changsha and north ward to t he Dongting Lake . 4 . Ten t housand moun tains: many mountains , here specifically 13

referring to Yuelu Moun tains sout hwest of t he Changsha city . 5 .clothed in red : Yuelu Mountains are covered wit h maple t rees which , under the at tack of au tumn frost , usually become red . 6 .t he frosty . . . sky : implying deep aut umn . 7 .Who can hold you up or sink you dow n : w ho can cont rol t he rise and fall of t he coun trys destiny . 8 .Imbued wit h . . . vigorous strokes of the pen : See note 1 . Mao Zedong was t he organizer as well as t he leader of many revolu tionary activities then in Changsha . For instance, in September, 1915 , Y uan Shikai in tended to preclaim himself emperor, Mao Zedong wrote and dist ributed a pamphlet against Y uan s evil intention , t hough T ang Xiangming , a warlord of H unan, severely forbade any anti- Yuan activities .In 1919 , t here broke out a movemen t to drive away Zhang Jingyao, a warlord of H unan ; again , Mao was one of t he leaders of t he movement . 9 .big men : referring to warlords in general as well as warlords in particular such as T ang Xiangming , Fu Liangzuo and Zhang Jingyao w ho were warlords of H unan . 10 .swimming in t he midstream . . . the flying canoe : Mao Zedong was a good swimmer ever since his childhood .Zhou Shizhao, one of Mao s middle school classmates t hus recalled in an article en titled The Roar of t he Xiang River At midautumn nigh t, : abou t ten of them wen t by a small rowboat to t he midstream of the Xiang River for viewing and admiring the full moon . . . the small row boat loaded wit h t heir songs , laughters and high aspirations moved around t he ten-mile- long Orange Island .They 14

came back very late; all was silent .( See New Newspaper of Hunan , December 28 , 1962 .)

15

p s m n

hu ng h l u

m ng m ng ji p li zh i -ng gu ch n ch n y chu n n b i xi n n 0 7 1

y y m ng c n ng c ng - gu su d ji ng sh

2 4

hu ng h zh h q

, !
( )

sh ng yu y u r ch n

b ji i t o t o l

x n ch zh l g o ng o

16

YE LLOW CRANE TOWE R1

to the tune of Buddhist Dancers Nine streams , 2 mighty and misty , each ploughs the land3 in its course , One railroad line so endless and dark th reads from south to north .4 Far and wide the smoky rain veils the scene and the town , The Mountain Tortoise5 and the Mountain Snake6 lock the River Long .7 Gone is the crane so yellow and nobody knows where , Now only the tower remains here for visitors to stare .8 I hold up wine to the waves before my eyes , 9 The tides of my heart , too, rise !
( Spring 1927 )
10

17

TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 .Yellow Crane Tower : a very famous tower sit uated in Wuchang Coun ty , H ubei Province .I t was first built in t he period of the Three Kingdoms ( 220 - 280 ) .The presen t name is said to have come from a tale that a certain immortal once passed by the tower, riding a yellow crane . This poem was first published in Poetry( January , 1957) . 2 . Nine St reams: The Yangzi River branches into many smaller rivers in Hubei and Jiangxi . Here t he figure nine is only rhetorically used to mean many.In a letter dated December 29 , 1959 , to Zhong Xuekun , Mao Zedong says Nine streams mean , nine rivers in t he three provinces of Hunan , H ubei and Jiangxi . However, it is unnecessary to specify each of t hem ; t here have been different opinions of t he question . 3 .t he land : the mainland of China . 4 .One railroad line: t he line from Beijing to Guangzhou . 5 .The Moun tain Tortoise: the name in the original pronounced as Guishan, located in t he city of Hanyang . The mountain looking like a tortoise was believed to be the fossil of an ancient tor toise t hat once helped the Great King of Yu to regulate rivers and watercourses several thousand years ago . 6 .t he Moun tain Snake: the name in t he original pronounced as Sheshan , situated in the city of Wuchang , zigzaging like a snake . 7 .t he River Long: t he Yangzi River , t he longest river in China . 8 .Gone is the Crane . . . for visitors to stare: These two lines allude to a poem under t he same title Yellow Crane Towerby a Tang 18

poet Cui Hao( ? - 755 ) : T he ancien t i m mortal rid ing the yellow crane goes aw ay , Here only the Yellow Crane Tower rem ains today; T he yellow crane is gone an d co mes back no more, On ly w hite clouds d ri f t f or a thousand years as bef ore . 9 .I hold up wine . . . my heart , too, rise: On these lines , Mao Zedong offered a commen t on December 21 , 1958 It is set in t he eve of : t he failure of t he Great Revolution in 1927 ; I was very sad and dist racted, quite at a loss what to do .I t was in t he spring of the year .Then on August 7 ( in t he summer of t he year ) , an urgent meeting was held by t he Party , at w hich , a decision on armed uprising was made, t hencefort h , we have had a way ou t . 10 . Spring 1927 : O n A pril 12 , Chiang Kai-shek launched a devastating at tack upon t he Chinese communists in Shanghai, but Chen Duxiu , Secretary General of t he Cen tral Committee of t he Communist Part y of China, instead of staging a counterattack against Chiang , insisted on making concession to Kuomintang and giving up the Party s leadership over the revolu tion .Mao Zedong strongly appealed to the Par ty for an immediate act to frustrate Chiangs massacre of communists , but his proposals were ignored and he himself was actually excluded outside t he Party leadership at t he Fifth National Congress of the Communist Part y of China held in Wuhan from April 27 to May 9 , 1927 .

19

x ng yu ji

g j ng ng sh n

sh xi q zi w ng n j ng sh t g ji xing w n n u o , d w i k w qin ch ng j n n n w zku b d r n ng - , z y s y n b i o n l g ng ji zh ng zh ch ng ch ng

hu ng y ng ji sh ng p sh ng o l ng b d d xio d o o j n n ( ) 20

JINGGANG MOUN TAIN 1

to the tune of Moon over West R iver At the foot of the mountain our banners are seen , On the top our bugles are heard . Though enemies encircle us in a ring after ring , Nothing can leave us stirred . For tified strongly has been our defence , Our wills united into a wall . At Huangyangjie2 the peal of the gun comes suddenly thence , The foe reportedly flees by the dark night- pall .3
( Au tumn 1928)

21

TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 . Jinggang Moun tain : a tremendous and craggily precipitous moun tain , sit uated at t he border of Jiangxi and Hunan Provinces . In October , 1927 , t he Autumn Harvest U prising Army led by Mao Zedong drove into t he area and set up t he first rural revolutionary base .In this area, Mao Zedong mobilized masses to carry on a guerrilla warfare, initiated an agrarian revolu tion , and established local armed forces , Par ty organizations , and a workers and peasants regime . In April 1928 , an army con tingent t hat had participated in t he Nanchang U prising and t he contingent of armed peasan ts that had taken par t in the uprisings in Hunan , led by Zhu De and Chen Yi, arrived at the Jinggang Mountains and joined forces wit h the revolutionary army led by Mao Zedong .After their meeting , t hese forces were reorganized in to t he Fourt h A rmy of the Chinese Workers and Peasants Red Army , numbering more t han 10 , 000 men .Zhu De served as its commander , Mao Zedong as the Par ty represen tative, and Chen Yi as the director of its political depart ment .I t was during t he period of struggle in the Jinggang Moun tains t hat the principle of the Part ys absolu te leadership over the army was established .Many fierce battles were fough t here; t he one referred to in t he poem took place in September , 1928 . This poem was first published in Poetry ( January 1957 ) . 2 .H uangyangjie: the steepest pass of the Jinggang Mountains leading to the Ninggang Coun ty of Jiangxi Province, and to t he Ling 22

Coun ty of Hunan Province; located in the nort hwest of the Jinggang Mountains; 1342 feet above t he sea level, wit h deep valleys and gorges; 17 kilometres away from the pass stationed the headquar ters of the Red Army . 3 .the peal of t he gun . . . by the dark nigh t- pall: On August 30 , 1928 , t he Red Army repulsed frequent charges on the part of the Kuomin tang t roops . In t he afternoon , some Red Army soldiers found a mor tar left behind by the main force of t he Red Army and launched a surprising attack upon the K uomintang troops .Possibly in terpreting t he peal of the mortar as t he token of the ret urn of the main force of t he Red Army , the Kuomin tang t roops quickly withdrew by nigh t .

23

q ng p ng yu ji gu zh ng ng zh n , f y t bi ng n n f ch ng k zh n j n i

s xi r ji n d sh ng n -u yu n y hu ng li z xi zh n ng i n

h ng q yu gu jing t ng zh xi y n sh ng h ng l ng sh sh -u j n-u y pi n ( ) 24

f ti f d m n n n zh n ng

T HE CLASH BE T WEEN CHIANG KAI- SHEK AND WARLORDS IN GUANGXI P ROVINCE 1

to the tune of M usic of Peace The sudden change of wind and rain Comes when warlords clash again . Miseries and grievances are heard everywhere , For some2 a Millet Dream3 , for others a nightmare . Red flags4 leap over the River Tingjiang5 , Pressing on to Longyan and Shanghang6 . Part of the Golden Bowl7 now regained in our hand , The freed men are busy dividing the land8 .
( Au tumn 1929)

25

TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 .The Clash Bet ween Chiang Kai- shek and Warlords in Guangxi Province: At t he end of 1928 , t he Kuomintang Nanking Governmen t proclaimed itself t he only legal governmen t of China, t hus t he cont radictions between t he warlords under t he cont rol of Kuomin tang were brought for th to open st rife and veiled st ruggle against each ot her .On February 21 , 1929 , Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, t he warlords of Guangxi Province staged a coup d tat in Changsha , driving away Lu Diping , t he Pro-Chiang chairman of H unan Province .On March 26 , the Nanking Government issued an order to relieve Li and Bai of their posts .The next day, Chiang Kai- shek sen t three armies to assault Wuhan occupied by Guangxi t roops .Due to the bet rayal on the par t of Yang Tenghui, a general under the Guangxi warlords , who was costly bribed by Chiang , t he Guangxi warlords army had to wit hdraw , fleeing sout hward to Guangxi Province on April 4 . Thus ended t he clash between Chiang Kai- shek and the warlords of Guangxi Province . 2 .some: some warlords . 3 . Millet Dream : pipe dream ; wishes t hat cannot be realized . The allusion stems from a story by Shen Jiji, a story- teller in t he Tang Dynasty , t hat a poor scholar named Lu Sheng dreamt t hat he had become a high official bu t awoke to find only t he pot of millet still cooking on the fire . 4 .Red flags: the Red Army . 5 .t he River T ingjiang : a river originating in Fujian Province and 26

t hreading through Guangdong P rovince and flowing sou th ward in to the Sout hern Sea . 6 .Longyan and Shanghang : t he names of the two counties in the sout hwest of Fujian P rovince .On May 19 , 1929 , the Red Armys Fourt h Army started from Ruijin , Jiangxi Province, and came across Tingjiang on May 20 .On May 23 , June 3 and 19 , t he Red Army occupied Longyan t hree times , and on September 21 , it occupied Shanghang . 7 .t he Golden Bowl : t he whole land of the count ry . 8 .The freed men are busy dividing t he land : F rom 1929 to 1930 , along wit h t he expansion of the rural revolutionary bases , just within the area of 300 li in lengt h and bread th in the west of Fujian Province, the farm lands were distributed to about 800 , 000 peasan ts .The success of t he agrarian revolution in the above area is explaind by t he fact that frequen t clashes between the warlords surely opened up many good chances for the Chinese Communist Par ty to win the heartfelt suppor t from the peasants by satisfying their needs for cultivated land .

27

c sng z i

ch ng y ng

r sh ng y o tin n n o n l l su ch ng y ng su , yu ch ng y ng jn zh n d hu f n w xing hu ng i , y ni y d qi f n ng j n b s ch n gu ng

,
( )

sh ng s gu ch n ng -

li o ku jing tin w n shu l ng

28

THE DOUBL E NINTH 1

to the tune of M ulberryPicking Song Man ages too easily but heaven never gets old, 2 Double Ninth comes yearly in the same mould . This years Double Ninth would tell The yellow flowers3 on the battlefield4 sweeter smell .5 Every year in autumn the wind blows with might , How different from the spring sight ! Yet in splendour the autumn could the spring defy With its frosty and boundless water and sky .6
( October 1929) 29

TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 .The Double Nin th : Septe mber 9 in the Chinese lunar calendar . The numeral 9 was worshiped by the Chinese ancients as a Yang figure , i .e . a masculine or positive figure Sep tember t he nint h . is mon th of t he year , thus September 9e mbraces double 9s the nint h mont h and t he nin th date . The Double Nin th is a traditional festival day on which people usually ascend a height to enjoy t he sigh t of chrysant hemum .T he Double Nint h in 1929 was October 11 in the Gregorian calendar ; up to t hat day , t he Red Army led by Mao Zedong had wiped out the local warlords of Tingjiang in t he south of Fujian P rovince and occupied Shanghang . Meanw hile, in t he rural revolutionary bases , the agrarian revolution was carried out with great enthusiasm ; this mean t the overthrow of the landlords and t he distribution of land among the peasan ts . 2 .Man ages too easily but heaven never gets old : 1 ) Mans age is show n by his physiological change yet heaven s age bears no discenible t races because its change occurs very slowly ; 2 ) That man must get old is a natural law; man dies but t he universe exists for ever ; 3 ) a possible allusion to a line of the poem Ode to the Golden Bronze Immortal Who Takes Leave of t he Palaces of the Han Dynastyby Li He (790 816) , a Tang poet Should heaven : be sen timental, old would it be . The story is told in S tories of the T hree Kingdoms ( Chapter 105 ) by Luo Guanzhong ( ? 1330 ? 1400 ) .The allusion is also inserted in Mao Zedongs anot her poem The Peoples Liberation Army Captures Nanking 30

( lines 7-8 ) . 3 .The yellow flowers: t he chrysant hemum flowers .See Note1 . 4 .the battlefield: t he city of Shanghang was just occupied by the Red Army in September of t he year . 5 .sweeter smell: smell sweeter than usual ; believed to suggest a touch of revolutionary optimism . 6 .Maos preference of au tumn to spring is often explained by many scholars as 1 ) au tumn is a harvest season ; 2 ) au tumn is a time when transient t hings must be killed ; 3 ) aut umn is a symbol of revolution .

31

r m ng l ng

yu n d n

n hu q ng li gu hu ng i n sh n t i hu l l

r xi h ng jn ng f zh zh w y sh n xi

sh xi sh xi n n - f zh n h ng q r hu ng ( )

32

NEW YEARS DAY 1

to the tune of Dream- like Lyric How hard we passed Ninghuas , Qinglius , Guihuas2 Deep woods , slippery moss and a long , narrow path !3 4 Today whence are we bound ? St raight to the foot of Wuyi , 5 the mount . The foot , the mount , The wind unfurls the flags like pictures beyond count .
( January 1930)

33

TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 .New Years Day : At the end of 1929 , the K uomintang troops stationed in Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong Provinces closed in on the area occupied by the Fourth Army of the Red Army . To preserve its effective strengt h , the Red Army decided to transfer to t he rear area under the Kuomin tang rule .A few days later righ t after the New Years Day , i .e .January 7 , 1930 , t he main force of the Red Army led by Zhu De set ou t from Gutian , advancing to Jiangxi Province; w hile Mao Zedong led part of t he Red Army covering the evacuation of the main force, going over Wuyi Mountain to Jiangxi via coun ties like Liancheng , Qingliu , Guihua, and Ninghua . This poem was first published in Poetry ( January , 1957 ) . 2 .Ninghua, Qingliu , Guihua: three counties in t he sout h of Fujian Province . The order of the t hree counties is not necessary the actual order in which Maos t roops went t hrough t hose counties bu t chiefly out of consideration of certain phonetic requirements on t he part of the poet . 3 .Deep woods , slippery moss , and a long , narrow pat h : 1 ) reme mber it was a rapid and concealed march to shake off t he enemys hot pursuit , thus t he Red Army had to choose a narrow pat h in the remote moun tainous dist rict w here woods were naturally deep and moss slippery ; 2) six pauses in t he first two lines adroitly e mployed by t he poet to give a sense of sprigh tly rhyt hm and forcefulness suggesting the soldiers vigorous and brisk strides on t he ragged 34

moun tain path . 4 .Today whence are we bound : Notice t he relaxed tone and mood , for the aim of t he strategic transfer was finally reached ; t he enemy by now had been shaken off , so the troops could go st raigh t to the foot of Wuyi Mountain wit hou t concealing its movement . 5 .Wuyi : a moun tain sit uated in Fujian Province .

35

ji n zm l hu n gu ng ch ng sh ng l

m n tin ji b i xu x l ng q g j n ng ng p , t sh ng g sh u o n f ju n h ng q gu d gu ng n

c xng h q

- g n ji ng f xu m n ch ng m

mng zu n l ng b sh w n g -ng n ng xi n j ( ) 36

ON THE WAY TO G UANGCHANG CO UNTY 1

to the tune of L ily Magnolia Flowers , Character- Reduced The whole world is immaculately white , We march in snow , 2 with hearts and lips tight .3 Above our heads the peaks tower on high , 4 Red flags unfurled , the great passes5 we pass by ! Now where are we bound ? To the snow-shrouded River Gan .6 Yesterday there issued the command : One hundred thousand armed men7 should press on Ji An .
( February 1930)

37

TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 . Guangchang Coun ty : a coun ty in t he sou theast of Jiangxi Province, east of Ninghua and Jianning Counties of Fujian Province .From February 2 to 9 , 1930 , Mao Zedong presided over a military meeting in Potou near Ji An , at w hich a decision was made to seize the whole area of Jiangxi Province and the first target of at tack was Ji An .After t he meeting , the Red Army troops pressed forward in several directions to Ji A n .The military action, however , was soon rescinded , because the Kuomintang governmen t mustered emergency reinforcements from Hunan , H ubei and Jiangxi Provinces , tending to rescue Ji An from the siege . This poem was first published in Peoples Literatu re ( No . 5 , 1962 ) . 2 .We march in snow: Historical records prove that rare snowstorms happened in Jiangxi in January , 1930 , w hen t he Red Army got over t he pass at Wuyi Mountain where the local people helped the Red Army soldiers clean up snow and pave the way wit h chaff . 3 .wit h hearts and lips tigh t: The earlier tex t read with no green cypresses around .Later on , Mao made some correction of the phrase .The presen t version was rendered according to the aut hor s corrected text in the 1963 edition of Poems of Chairm an M ao ( Peoples Literature P ress , Beijing, 1963) . 4 .t he peaks tower on high : possibly referring to Y unshan Mountains abutting on Ningdu Coun ty . 38

5 .t he great passes: Many passes are seen on t he way to Guangchang Coun ty: in Yudu Coun ty , t here are Pingtian Pass , Zuokeng Pass , Niuling Pass; in Ningdu Count y , there are Donglong Pass , T ianbu Pass , Bailu Pass , Changsheng Pass , Paiyun Pass, Xiuling Pass , and Shituling Pass . 6 .River Gan : t he biggest river in Jiangxi, branching into t wo smaller rivers at Ganzhou , hence t he name; here vaguely hin ting at the area through which the river goes . 7 .armed men : The original is workers and peasants the adaptation ; is made to render a more understandable version from t he con text to t he English- speaking people .

39

di li hu n

c ng zh xi ng ch ng sh t ng -u

li yu ti n b ng zh ng f w n zh ng ch ng y ng y b k n p ng f o , g n shu n bin h ng y o ji pin sh zh ji ng hu ng g -ng l , b w g i n -ng n ng q yng yu - x ju n ji ng xzh d xi ng h o , gu b g g y q j i - ( ) 40

ku ng bi o w w c ng ti n lu i

MARCH F ROM T INGZHOU TO CHANGSHA 1

to the tune of Butter f lies Love Flowers To uproot the corrupt and evil in June God sends armies strong2 To bind roc and whale3 with a cord of ten thousand feet long .4 Fiery is the far side of River Gan, 5 Huang , 6 commander of the wing there , is a talented man . Slaves uprise a million strong , hand in hand, Sweeping Jiangxi and pressing on Hubei and Hunan . Lets sing the Internationale solemnly in a pitch high , And hail the storm that falls from the sky .7
( July 1930)

41

TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 .March from Tingzhou to Changsha: O n June 22 , 1930 , t he First Red Army Group stationed in T ingzhou ordered t he troops in the west of Jiangxi to advance in the direction of Huichang .On July 11 , anot her order was issued from the headquar ters t hat an at tack be staged upon Zhangshu from Xingguo .At 7 : 30 on t he afternoon of July 20 , t he headquarters in Yongfeng gave anot her command that the main force of t he Red Army press on and gather at Maixie . The poem was chanted during t he Red A rmys march from Tingzhou to Changsha . This poem was first published in Peop les Literat ure( May , 1962 ) . 2 .God sends armies strong : a metaphor implying armies dedicated to a just cause; t raditionally emperors and kings in Chinese history called t heir armies God- sent armies.Here Mao Zedong uses the metaphor to mean t he Red Army . 3 .roc and whale: an allusion from Zhuang Zi There is fish called : Kun in the Nor thern Sea; it is as long as stretching several t housand li .When t he roc changes in to t he bird called Peng , it has a back as wide as stretching several t housand li; when it is flying , its wings are like longtrailed , sky- covering clouds .Roc and whale refer to Peng and Kun respectively ; the version is understood here as a compromise of the original, symbolizing Kuomintang chiefs , headed by Chiang Kai- shek . 4 .a cord of ten thousand feet long : According to History o f H an 42

Dynasty, LXIV , a young man called Zhong Jun recommended himself to go and persuade t he king of Yue in t he sout h to subject to t he Han Dynasty .He said , if he were given a long cord , he could bind the king of Yue in t he sout h wit h it and take t he king righ t to t he palaces of Han .Here in the poem , Mao uses t he cord to indicate t he military strength of the Red Army . 5 .Fiery is t he far side of River Gan Fieryimplies t he influence of : t he Red Army River Gan here means the dist rict around the . city of Nanchang down the River Gan w here the battle was fough t by t he Sixt h Army of the Red Army to capture t he city . 6 .H uang : Huang Gongl e( 1898 - 1931 ) , a native of the Xiangxiang Coun ty, H unan Province; commander of t he Sixt h Army of the Red Army .In June, 1930 , the Six th Army was in the sout hwest of Jiangxi w hile the main force of the Red Army , i .e . the Fourt h and Twelft h Armies , were moving from Fujian to Jiangxi , t hus the Six th Army functioned as t he wing of t he main force . 7 .t he storm that falls from t he sky: See Du Fu Seven Poems Written in t he Year of Qianyuan w hen I Lived in the Tonggu County: The sad wind falls for me from the sky .In Maos poem, stormsymbolizes t he rebellion led by t he Communist Party that took place in Jiangxi and Hunan at that time .

43

y ji o

f d d w i ji n y c o ,

w n m shu ng ti n h ng m n l n -

tin b ng n q -ng xio h n ch

w m n l g ng qi n zh ng ng n

q sh ng hu n qi t zhu le zh n u ng hu z n

r sh w n ch ng r g j n n 0 7 1
f y g g li ti n b n ng n n n 44

hu n q -ng n ng qin b w n g i

,
t x g n ng n - b zh sh xi h ng q lu n -u n ( ) - :

, - : , , , ; , , , , : , , , , : : , ( , , , , , ) ( ) : , , , , , , - , , , : , - , , , , , ; ? ,

45

AGAINST THE FIRST ENCIRCL EM ENTCAMPAIGN 1

to the tune of Fisher mens Pride Maple trees are burning red2 under the frosty sky, 3 The heaven armys wrath4 now soars to the clouds on high . Mist envelops Longgang5 and thousand peaks blurred, Cries in one voice are suddenly heard: At the front Zhang Huizan falls a jail bird . T wo hundred thousand strong invade Jiangxi once more , 6 The billowing dust and the wicked wind from the mid- sky pour . Ah , workers and peasants , rise in millions with your head high ! Fight as we do now,
46

Lo ! At the foot of Mount Buzhou , red flags flutter and fly . *

( Spring 1931)

* AUTHOR NOTE: S The story about Gonggong butting against Moun t Buzhou: On Ast ronomyin H ua i N an Zi says: In ancient times Gonggong and Zhuanxu fought each ot her for the throne .In a fit of rage Gonggong butted against Mount Buzhou , breaking the pillars of heaven and snapping the ties of the earth . Then the sky shifted towards the nort hwest, tilting t he sun , moon and stars; t he ear th sank in the sout heast so that dust and water gathered t here . The Chronicle of Zhouin G uoyu says: In ancien t times Gonggong , depar ting from t he righ t way , gave himself up to pleasure and unbridled licence .He t ried to stem t he hundred st reams , destroy hills and silt up low places, and thus brough t disasters to the ear th . Heaven did not give its blessing , nor t he people t heir help .Calamities and troubles broke out and Gonggong perished . The ancient commentator Wei Zhao quotes from t he Palace Officer Jia , i .e ., Jia K ui of t he Later Han Dynast y: Gonggong was t he lord of Jiang clan , a descendant of t he Fiery Emperor .When Emperor Zhuanxus power was on the decline, Gonggong attacked ot her vassal lords and fough t Gaoxin for t he t hrone . In The A nnals of the Three Emperors, Sima Zhens addenda to Sima Qians The Recor dings o f History , it is said Towards the : 47
7

end of her ( N Wa s ) reign , a lord named Gonggong became powerful t hrough his resourcefulness and the severe discipline he enforced . He did not rule like a king but like an au tocrat . Represen ting the element of water , he wan ted to succeed N Wa w ho represen ted t he elemen t of wood .He fough t Zhu Rong and was defeated .In a fit of rage he knocked his head against Moun t Buzhou , so that the pillars of heaven were broken and the ties of t he eart h torn . These are t he different versions of the legend . I prefer the version in H uai Nan Zi, w hich presents Gonggong as a victorious hero .Please notice this: In a fit of rage Gonggong butted against Moun t Buzhou , breaking the pillars of heaven and snapping t he ties of the eart h .Then t he sky shifted towards t he nor th west, tilting t he sun , moon and stars; t he eart h sank in t he sout heast so t hat dust and water gat hered there .Did Gonggong perish in the attempt ? H uai Nan Zi is silent on t his question .We may take that he did not , but came out victorious .( The English version of t his note is taken , wit h sligh t changes , from the 1976 edition of M ao Tsetu ng Poems, Peking : Foreign Languages P ress , p .23 .)

48

TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 .Against t he First Encirclemen t Campaign : In October , 1930 , Chiang Kai-shek ended the wars against Feng Y uxiang and Yan Xishan , two warlords , and then in December , Chiang flew to Nanchang to deploy his first encirclement campaign against the Red Army , appoin ting Lu Diping, Chairman of Jiangxi Province, as the Commander- in- Chief, and Zhang H uizan , t he commander of t he eigh teent h division , as the field commander .Chiang e mployed about 100 , 000 men , divided in to eigh t columns , to advance sout hward from Jian- Jianning line against the Red Armys base area .The Red A rmy had about 40 , 000 men and was concent rated in the area of H uangpi and Xiaobu in Ningdu Count y , Jiangxi Province . The situation was as follows . The encirclemen t forces did not exceed 100 , 000 men , none of whom were Chiang Kaisheks own t roops , and the general situation was not very grave . The enemy division under Luo Lin , defending Jian , was located across the Gan River to t he west .The three enemy divisions under Gong Bingfan , Zhang H uizan and Tan Daoyuan had advanced and occupied F utian- Donggu- Longgang- Y uantou sector sout heast of Ji an and nort hwest of Ningdu . The main body of Zhang H uizans division was at Longgang and that of Tan Daoyuans division at Y uantou .The two divisions under Zhang Huizan and Tan Daoyuan made up t he enemys main force, t hus , if the Red Army attacked one division at a time it would enjoy absolute superiority .For these reasons and ot hers , Mao Zedong decided t hat the first battle should be against Zhang Huizans main force . 49

The Red A rmy successfully hit two of his brigades and his divisional headquarters , capt uring the entire force of nine thousand men and t he divisional commander himself , without letting a single man escape .This victory scared Tans division into fleeing towards Dongshao and Xus division in to fleeing towards Toupi . The Red Army t hen pursued T ans division and wiped out half of it . T wo battles were fough t in five days , and, fearing to be defeated, Chiangs forces in Futian , Donggu and Toupi retreated in disorder .So ended t he first campaign of encirclement and suppressionagainst the Red Army .( See Selected Works of M ao Tse- tung , Vol . 1 , Peking : Foreign Languages Press , 1977 , pp . 226-227 .) 2 .burning red: a pun , implying t he red leaves of t he maple trees and t he Red Army soldiers w ho usually wore red stars on their caps , red collar insignias and red armbands , identical with t he red flags of the Army . 3 .t he frosty sky : usually referring to au tumn as in Maos anot her poem Changsha to t he t une of Spring Beaming in Garden ( For freedom all creatures wit h each ot her vie,/ U nder t he frosty and vaulted sky) , but here it indicates t he win ter .In China, bot h in win ter and autumn , frost can be seen . 4 .The heaven armys w rat h : the morale of t he Red Army men . 5 .Longgang : a small town in Yongfeng Coun ty , Jiangxi Province . 6 .T wo hundred thousand st rong invade Jiangxi once more: Notice t he second stanza of t he poem is abou t the second encirclement 50

and suppression campaign against the Red Army . On April 1 , 1931 , Chiang Kai- shek mustered t he suppression forces numbering 200 , 000 under the command of He Yingqin to prey on the Red Army occupied area .For details , see note to Against the Second Encirclement Campaign P ride . 7 . Gonggong : a t ribe chief in Chinese ancien t tales . Since Mao Zedong regards Gonggong as a hero , it is only too natural for him to use the name Gonggong to allude to t he Chinese Communist Par ty and t he Red Army , because the Chinese character Gong ( meaning common toget her all etc .) in Gonggongand , , , that in Gongchandang t he Communist Party) are t he same bot h ( in spelling and pronunciation .Mao obviously takes great pains to effect a pun by employing this historical story . to the t une of Fishermen s

51

y ji o

f d r c w i ji n d o , b y sh t y y i n n u n l , b y sh xi h sh ng i n n j k xi zh n m q l , qing n b l f i jing z xi o r j n ch ng , q i q sh w b l r

g n shu ng m ng m n sh b c n h ng s qi n r ju n x o j n 52

,
y r q u n w i y b b ji h ng j ( )

53

AGAINST T HE SECOND ENCIRCL EM ENTCAMPAIGN 1

to the tune of Fisher mens Pride On top of White Cloud Mountain2 , clouds mount a thunderhead3 , At its foot rallying cries4 burst forth from the battle red .5 Withered trees and rotten stumps6 all fight , in spirits high . Suddenly a forest of rifles presses nearby , While the flying general7 swoops down from the sky . Fifteen days see a rapid march of seven hundred li , 8 Vast are waters in Gan , and green are 10 mountains in Min , Like rolling back a mat we sweep off the armies we see .
54
9

Someone11 is heard to wail His strategy Entrench at every stepis bitterly fated to fail .
( Summer 1931) TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 . Against t he Second Encirclement Campaign : In February , 1931 , Chiang Kai-shek appointed He Yingqin as t he commander of a large army numbering 200 , 000 men to launch an all- out offensive against t he Red- Army-occupied area . As in t he first encirclement campaign , none of t he forces were Chiang Kai-shek s own t roops . Among them t he 19 th Route Army under Cai Tingkai, the 26t h under Sun Lianzhong and t he 8 th under Zhu Shaoliang were strong , while all t he rest were rat her weak .The Red Army ( numbering over 30 , 000 men) was somewhat smaller than in the first campaign , but it had had four mon ths in w hich to recuperate and build up energy .The Red Army t hus attacked the Futian sector first , defeating t he forces of Wang Jinyu , and of Gong Bingfan ( totalling 11 regimen ts ) . Then the Red Army swept across to the east , attacking the forces of Guo Huazong , Sun Lianzhong , Zhu Shaoliang and Liu Heding in succession In . fifteen days ( from May 16 to May 30 , 1931 ) we m arched seven hundred li, fough t five battles , cap tured more t han twen ty thousand rifles and roundly smashed the enemysencirclement and suppression campaign ( Mao Zedong , Selected Works of Mao Tse- t ung , vol .1 , Peking: Foreign Languages Press , 1977 , 55

pp .227- 228 .) 2 .White Cloud Mountain : a mountain located in the sout heast of Ji an Coun ty , Jiangxi Province .White clouds are said to have been always veiling the mountain , hence the name . 3 .Clouds mount a t hunderhead : a metaphor implying both the angry clouds and t he angry Red Army men share a bitter hat red of the enemy . 4 .rallying cries: shouts of t he enemy . 5 .t he battle red : the red- hot battle . 6 .wit hered trees and rotten stumps: Explanations of the phrase are too many to numerate; here are some of t hem : 1 ) all t he masses , workers and peasan ts , are mobilized into fighting ( People s Daily, May 12 , 1962 ) ; 2 ) t he fleeing enemys suspision of danger in all t hings; even t he wit hered trees and rotten stumps seem to be armed soldiers ( Ibid ) ; 3 ) an allusion to Sima Xiangru s Remonst ration with H un ting All the withered trees and rotten : st umps become evils .Thus the phrase refers to the enemy ( People s Daily , June 8 , 1962 ) ; 4 ) an allusion to Zou Yangs Self- Vindication in Prison to His Majesty , t he King of Liangxiao If praised beforehand , even t he wit hered trees and : rotten stumps can perform meritorious deeds and find favour wit h his Majesty . 7 .t he flying general: a very brave and skillful general named Li Guang in the Han Dynasty .See Sima Qians T he Recordi ngs of H istory: When Huns heard that Li Guang and his troops stationed at Youbeiping, t hey called him The Flying General of 56

t he Han Dynast y, avoiding any confron tation with him for a few years , being afraid to in trude on Youbeiping . The phrase here is used to stand for the Red Army soldiers . 8 .See Note 1 above . 9 .Gan : t he shor t form for Jiangxi Province . 10 .Min : t he short form for F ujian Province .This line drops a hint that battles took place in this district . 11 .Someone: Chiang Kai-shek .

57

p s m n d i d b

, ?

ch hu ng q ng z ch ng l l n - , y h f xi y ng u gu sh zh zh c n n n n ng , d ng ni no zh n j d nd ng qi c n b n , zhu ng di c n sh n gu n zh g j n o ng h o k n ( ) 58

shu ch c li d i n ng k -ng w

DABODI 1
to the tune of Buddhist Dancers Violet , blue , orange , yellow , indigo , red and green 2 Who dances with the colour ribbon3 in the sky serene ? Newly over is the rain , there appears the sun setting again , Now greener are the passes4 and hills in a view so plain . Years ago a battle was fought here tooth and nail , The village walls5 were riddled with bullets like a hail . The past battleground is adorned by the scars from war , Now it looks far more fair than it was before .
( Summer 1933)

59

TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 .Dabodi: a place situated sixt y li away nort h of t he city of Ruijin , Jiangxi Province . In early June, 1929 , t he Kuomintang troops ( numbering 30 , 000 men ) stationed in Hunan and Jiangxi were going to launch t he t hird encirclement and suppression campaign against t he Red- Army- occupied area in Jinggang Moun tains . In order to break t hrough the Kuomin tang suppression campaign and to ob tain enough supplies and clot hing for t he winter , t he main force ( numbering 3600 men) of t he Fourt h Red A rmy led by Mao Zedong, Zhu De and Chen Yi , left Jinggang Moun tains and advanced in t he direction of sout hern Jiangxi on January 14 . Having come under attack from all sides, the Four th Red Army suffered military reverses in five battles on the way . But on February 10 , things offered a favourable turn to the Red Army ; on t hat day, Mao Zedong and his comrades- in- arms deployed an ambush ring at Mazi Col near Dabodi, inflicting heavy losses on t he enemy force under t he command of Liu Shiyi w ho was hot on t he t rail of the Red Army .The battle was so fierce that Chen Yi later on wrote of it as the most honourable battle ever since the birth of the Red Army . In the summer of 1933 , Mao Zedong revisited Dabodi; the memory of t he battle there inspired him in to composing the poem above . This poem was first published in Poetry ( January 1957 ) . 2 . Violet , blue, orange, yellow , indigo , red and green : the seven colours of rainbow; notice here the original order of the colour 60

arrangemen t is red , orange, yellow , green , indigo, blue and violet . The change of t he order comes from a need for better rhyt hm and rhyme in t he English version . 3 .t he colour ribbon : the rainbow . 4 .t he Passes: referring to Mazi Col and moun tain peaks nearby , sout h of Dabodi .This place was given a new name Guanshan in me mory of t he bat tle many years ago(1929) . 5 .The village walls . . .a hail: During t he Cult ure Revolution , in the walls of t he Dengkeng Village near the bat tle- ground , bullet heads were found and t he village was t hus changed its name into the Qian Village; Qian means advance front etc . , ,

61

q ng p ng yu

hu ng ch

d -ng f ng y xio m d x o j n ng z o

t bi q ng sh r w l n n n i o f zh bin d h ng j ng o

hu ng ch ng w g f ch i o ng din li zh jid n -ng m ng , zh n sh k n n yu zh n g ng ji y y c -ng c -ng ( ) 62

H UICHANG 1
to the tune of M usic of Peace The day will soon break in the east , Say not You are an early bird to start. Having t ranversed all the hills2 I am not old3 in the least , Only to find the scenery here plays the fairest part . Rising and falling from outside the city walls of Huichang, To the east seas the mountains ranges run . Our soldiers point southward to East and West Guang4 , Where the southern hills look doubly verdant and young .
( Summer 1934)

63

TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 .H uichang : a count y in the southeast corner of Jiangxi Province . In January 1931 , Wang Ming ( originally known as Chen Shaoyu, 1904- 1974 ) assumed leadership in t he Chinese Communist Party at t he Four th Plenary Session of its Sixt h Cen tral Committee .Mao Zedong t hough t that , from that time to 1934 , Wang Ming promoted within the Party a Leftopport unist line characterized by doctrinairism , which did great damage to the revolution; that Wang st ubbornly insisted on the seizing of big cities and opposed the strategy of encircling t he cities from the count ryside and seizing power by armed forces; t hat Wang and his like wanted t he Red Army to occupy t he major cities immediately and ordered t he staging of st rikes and demonstrations by workers and studen ts in the large cities cont roled by Kuomintang ; that , as a result, nearly all t he Party organizations in t he Kuomin tang areas were destroyed ; that Wang and his followers adopted a policy of ru thless struggleand merciless blows towards t hose comrades w ho disagreed with him .Mao Zedong himself act ually was at one time squeezed ou t of t he leadership position in t he Red Army . In October 1933 , Chiang Kai-shek mobilized one million men to conduct t he fift h encirclement and suppression campaign against t he Cen tral Revolutionary Base and the neighbouring H unan-Jiangxi and Fujian- Zhejiang- Jiangxi bases .Because of the Left opport unists opposition to what t hey called guerrillaism the flexible tactics of concen trating a superior , force, luring t he enemy deep into our territory and conducting a 64

mobile warfare were abandoned .As t he Red Army was forced to fight pitched battles against a much superior enemy , it found itself in a passive position and , despite one year of struggle, failed to t hwart t he enemys encirclement and suppressioncampaign and had to leave the Cen tral Revolu tionary Base for a strategic shift .In October 1934 , the Red Armys First Front Army ( also know n as t he Cen tral Red Army ) of 80 , 000 men left Changting and Ninghua of Fujian , and Ruijin and Y udu of Jiangxi to begin the Long March . In the summer of 1934 , more than two mon ths before the beginning of the Long March Mao Zedong arrived at Huichang and attended a meeting there .At t he daybreak of July 23 , Mao and his men ascended the Huichang Moun tain ( also named Lanshanling) sit uated nort hwest of H uichang w here Mao w rote t he above poem . On December 21 , 1958 , Mao Zedong made a note to the poem: In 1934 , the situation was critical, and t he Long March was under preparation ; I felt rat her gloomy then . This piece of Music of Peace along with t hat piece ofBuddhist Dancers ( Yellow Crane Tower ) was t he very revelation of my mood at t hat time . See A pprecia tion of Poems by Mao Zedong , Jiangsu ( Classical Books P ress , 1990 , p .48 .) This poem was first published in Poetry( January 1957 ) . 2 .Having t raversed all green hills: Ever since the 1927 Autumn Harvest U prising, Mao Zedong and his men left their t races in many mountains and hills scattered in H unan , Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong Provinces . 65

3 .I am not old : Mao was four ty years old then . 4 .East and West Guang: historically referring to Guangdong and Guangxi; here chiefly to Guangdong .

sh li z sn sh l ng u , sh n ku m ji bin w xin i i

hu sh j ng u [ -]

tin sn ch sn l

q r , sh n - - d h f n jing ju n o i j l n , b n t ng j 66

w n m zh n y u h n

q , sh n

sn

c q ng tin w c n p i

tin y du li y zh q jin ( ) - : ,

, ,

67

THR EE DIT TIES

to the tune of Si x teen- Character Ditty1 1 Oh peak ! Whip and spur , I ride my horse and over fly , In surprise turning my head I shriek : The heaven is only three feet and three inches high !*2 2 Oh peaks ! All bristle like surging waves in a careening sea beyond, 3 Like ten thousand steeds4 Galloping in fury on the battle- ground . 3 Oh peaks ! Piercing the blue your points sharp remain !
68

The sky nearly falls with leaks , And you like pillars it sustain .
( 1934-1935 ) AUTHOR S NOTE
5

A folk rhyme runs: U p above is Skull Moun tain , Down below is Eight- treasure Mountain , The sky is three feet and t hree inches high , Lower your head if you on foot go by , Dismount if you ride a horse on t he fly .

69

TRANSLATOR S NOTES 1 .In surprise turning my head I shriek :/ The heaven is only t hree feet and t hree inches high : 1 ) The rider , after flying over the mountain top , feels surprised when he notices the distance bet ween t he top and t he heaven is only t hree feet and t hree inches high; 2 ) the rider goes past the foot of t he moun tain and exclaimes for t he heigh t of the mountain w hen he turns his head to look at the top . 2 .All bristle like surging waves in a careening sea beyond : 1) All the mountains are like surging waves in t he sea; 2 ) the Red Army men are marching and fighting in the wave- like mountains ( Languages S tu dies , No .8 , 1957) . 3 .Like ten t housand steeds/ Galloping in fury on the battleground : 1) ( Moun tains are ) like racing steeds on the battleground ; 2 ) steeds are likened to the Red Army soldiers who are figh ting against the enemy heroically ( L anguages Teaching , No . 10 , 1958) ; 3 ) t he galloping steeds are the images of mountains as well as t he Red Army men advancing and figh ting in the mountains ( Annota tions and Notes to Chairm an M ao s Poems, People Press , 1967 , P .4 7) . s 4 .Oh Peaks ! . . . like pillars it sustain : 1 ) This poem only describes t he loftiness and magnificence of t he mountains without reference to men , the first t wo lines depicting t he sharpness of the mountains tops; the last two lines describing the power and grandeur of the mountains; 2 ) the moun tains in this poem refer to 70

t he Chinese Communist Part y and the Red Army ; 3 ) t he poem describes both t he mountains and t he revolutionaries . Mao used to saying : Heaven can never fall . Then w hy does he say in t he poem The sky nearly falls ? It is an irony , meaning even if the sky falls, we can hold it up . ( See Learn ing Language, No . 1 , March , 1960 .) 5 .1934-1935 : during t he period of t he Long March . These t hree poems , though having a theme and an artistic form in common , were writ ten in different times after t he Zunyi Conference . The first was w ritten in December , 1934 when t he Red Army marched towards Guizhou . The two mountains , Skull Mountain and Treasure Moun tain, mentioned in t he author note, are just s situated in t he Leishan Count y, Guizhou P rovince . The second poem was possibly w ritten before June, 1935 , w hen the Red Army marched t hrough t he border of Y unnan , Guizhou and Sichuan Provinces . The third poem was written possibly after February and before October , 1935 , because it is put between Loushan Pass and Long March in t he editions of Poems of Chair man M ao revised by Mao himself ( Ten tative In terpretations of Poems of Cha irm an M ao, ed . Chinese Depart ment of Fujian Normal University , 1977 , pp .123-124 ) .

71

y q n l u , x li f ng ch ng k-ng y n ji o shu ng ch n yu , shu ng ch n yu

sh n gu n

m sh ng su b sh ng y t l

xi gu m n d zh n r ti ng n o r m b c ng t yu j n i u , c ng t yu u

,
( )

c ng sh n r h c n y ng r xu i

72

LOUSHAN PASS 1
to the tune of Recall a Qin Beaut y St rong is the west wind that wails , 2 Under the frosty morning moon a crying wild goose sails .3 Under the frosty morning moon Horses trotting , Bugles sobbing .4 Tell me not the great pass is iron wall kissing cloud, Now we are crossing its summit with st rides proud . Crossing its summit , The setting sun is bloodily red seen, The vast sea of mountains green .5
( February 1935)

73

TRANSLATOR S NOTES 1 . Loushan Pass: a pass sit uated nort h of the Great Loushan Mountain near Zunyi, Guizhou P rovince; it is steep , perilous and strategically located , historically a key pass for many military actions . During t he Long March , t he Red Army twice seized the pass respectively in Jan . and Feb . 1935 . 2 .In October 1934 , wit h t he failure of t hwarting Chiang Kai- shek s fifth encirclement and suppression campaign , t he Red Army wit hdrew from the Central Revolutionary Base and began the Long March . Breaking through four rings of blockade, the Red Army wen t t hrough Guangdong , Hunan and Guangxi to enter Guizhou . During the Long March , t he Red Army found itself in danger time and again and it suffered heavy casualties until only less than 50 per cent of its men remained . In January 1935 , t he Par ty s Cen tral Committee convened an enlarged meeting of its Political Bureau in Zunyi, Guizhou Province . During the meeting , Wang Ming s military line labled as Leftopportunism was criticised and , instead , Mao Zedong s military line was fully established . The leadership structure of the Party was reorganized , and Mao Zedong , Zhou Enlai, and Wang Jiaxiang were elected as members of t he leading group in charge of military affairs . The meeting also established Mao Zedong s leading position in t he Par ty . After t he Zunyi Conference , the Red Army entered nort hwestern Sichuan w here it joined forces with the Fourt h F ront Army under t he command of Zhang Guotao who was later 74

on criticised for his activities of splitting t he Red Army ; the Army t hus continued its nort hward march . After enduring t remendous hardship and suffering numerous set backs , t he Red Army finally arrived at t he base area in northern Shaanxi in October 1935 . There it joined forces with the local Red Army troops . The Long March covering 12 , 500 kilometres is , indeed , unprecedented not only in the military history of China but also in t hat of t he world . 3 .Strong is the west wind . . . a crying wild goose sails: 1 ) These two lines describe t he scene seen by the Red Army w hen t hey pressed forward to Loushan Pass; 2 ) t he description is not about how the Red Army men were marching on to Loushan Pass but about t he atmosphere of the battle-ground w hen t he Red Army soldiers were fiercely figh ting . 4 .U nder the frosty morning noon . . . Bugles sobbing : 1 ) These t hree lines describe the urgency of the task and sternness of the military order ; no hum an voice was heard but wind , horse and bugles; 2 ) the bugles sound was lowered ( sobbing) in case the enemy should know t he whereabouts of t he Red Army ; 3 ) trotting and sobbing are good descriptions of the tragic solemnity of t he attack staged by t he Red Army cavalry . 5 .There are heated disscussions over t he time at which Mao w rote t he poe m and over some ot her points; t he following are listed the essen tial argumen ts: 1) In January 1935 , t he Red Army starting from Zunyi went t hrough Loushan Pass , and on February 25 of t he same year , the Red Army ret urned to Zunyi via Loushan Pass a second time , t hus the poem is believed to w rite about the things w hich respectively happened in two periods of time . The first 75

stanza is set in the au tumn of 1934 w hen t he Red A rmy began its Long March . The second stanza is set in January , 1935 w hen the Red Army resumed its Long March after the Zunyi Conference . So w hat happens in t he poem is not on the same day ; 2 ) what is w ritten about in t he poem does happen on the same day . The first stanza describes t he battle atmosphere, while t he second about the heroism of the Red Army men when t hey have conquered the enemy .True, t he Red Army wen t over Loushan Pass twice, but only t he second time Witnessed t he fierce battle . To say the great pass is iron wallimplies at least two things . First , t he pass is very precipitous and impregnable; second , t he pass must have been firmly ent renched . And , indeed , we know, Loushan Pass t hen was held fast by the four Kuo- min tang regiments . Thus the line The setting sun is bloodily red seencan be interpretated as a symbol of t he bloody figh t for the capture of t he pass; 3 ) the frosty morning and the setting sun clearly indicate what is w ritten in t he poem happens on the same day . The belief that t he first stanza is set in the autumn of 1934is w rong , because it is impossible for Mao Zedong to write about Loushan Pass in the aut umn of 1934 w hen t he Red A rmy did not even reach the pass . Actually , on t he morning of January 8 , 1935 , t he Red Army men seized the pass without much figh ting, t hat is to say, the victory was not so bloodily won . What is more impor tant is that Mao Zedong could not have been in t he army t here, for , on the afternoon of January 8 , 1935 , Mao was presen t , and spoke to the masses , at a Ten Thousand People Meeting held in the cit y of Zunyi; meanw hile , on t he same day , Mao Zedong took par t in t he Zunyi Conference of historic significance, at which Mao was 76

elected Chairman of the Cent ral Committee of t he Chinese Communist Party . Mao appeared at two meetings on t he single day , he could not have been to Loushan Pass at t he same time, t herefore t he poe m is not about t he first figh t for the capture of t he pass . The second figh t for the cap ture of Loushan Pass took place from the evening of February 25 till the daybreak of February 26 ; Mao was in t he army, bu t he did not go t hrough the pass . It was on February 19 that Mao went over the pass , yet this time, no figh ting happened . So it is now clear t hat t he poem Loushan Passwas w ritten on February 19 , 1935 ; and what is w ritten is not about the fighting scene supposed to happen at Loushan Pass but about t he scene of Loushan Pass Mao saw and felt about on that day .

77

q ch ng

l zh ng

, h ng b p yu n zh ng n n j n w n shu n sh zh d ng xi qi n n , w w y t x l ng i ng l ng w p ng b m ng zu n w n

sh shu i y y nu n j n p n d d qi h ng ti su h n o , g ng xm sh qin xu n n l sn gu h k i y n j n u j n ( )

78

T HE LONG MARCH 1
to the tune of Seven- Character L Shi The red army regards the Long March as nothing but a game , Ten thousand mountains and rivers2 are easy for them to tame . Like foamy ripples the Five Ridges3 stretch in an unbroken chain ; Like mud balls4 the majestic Wumeng Ranges5 roll by without reign . The waves of Golden Sand6 buffet warm the towering cliffs , 7 The iron- chain bridge spanning the Dadu River with cold stiffs .8 When crossing the Min Mountains9 covered with boundless snow , Smiling are the three Armies10 and all faces happily glow .
( October 1935) 79

TRANSLATOR S NOTES 1 .The Long March : See Note 2 to Loushan Pass . 2 . Ten t housand mountains and rivers: coun tless mountains and rivers; typical of the Chinese rhetorical figure to mean many , manifold and countless . 3 .t he Five Ridges: the Dayu Ridge, the Qitian Ridge , the Dupang Ridge, the Mengzhu Ridge and the Yuecheng Ridge . These five ridges span the borders of five provinces: Jiangxi, Hunan , Guangdong , Guangxi and Guizhou . 4 .like mud balls: 1 ) Wumeng Ranges looked like mud balls from the view of an observer ( Mao ) who stood high at the top of a moun tain ; 2 ) mud balls are compared to t he Red Army men w ho threaded t hrough t he moun tains ( Language and Litera ture, No . 3 , 1959 ; No . 2 , 1960 ) ; 3) t he Red Army men crossed the great moun tains just like crossing small mud balls ( Language and Literat ure, N o . 4 , 1959 ) ; 4 ) mud balls and low hills , to be corroborated by Mao s anot her poem Loushan Pass in w hich Mao likens moun tains to t he vast sea ( Language Teachi ng , No . 2 , 1960 ) ; 5 ) t he note 1 ) ignores t he epic atmosphere and hardship embodied in t he poem ( Poetry, No . 2 , 1958 ) ; 6) the metaphor mud balls comes not from History of the H an Dynasty by Ban Gu ( 32- 92 ) but from T he History of the Later Han Dynasty by Fan Ye ( 398- 445 ) : Wang Y uan said to Wei Xiao : Please let me use a mud ball to clog up the Hangu Pass for your majesty . The Hangu Pass is a very perilous place: if one 80

guard is there, ten t housand invaders cannot get over ( Language Teach ing, No . 4 , 1959 ) ; 7 ) no matter how majestic the Wumeng Ranges are , t hey are like mud balls under t he feet of the Red Army men ; it is mountains that roll by like mud balls under mens feet not that men climb t he mud-ball- like moun tains . 5 . Wumeng Ranges: mountains st retching across Y unnan and Guizhou . 6 .Golden Sand: the Golden Sand River, the upper reaches of the Yangzi River , down to Yibin , junction point with the Min River , in Sichuan Province; but here referring to t he upper course going t hrough Yunnan P rovince . 7 .buffet warm the towering cliffs: t he waves of t he Golden Sand River Constantly st rike the towering cliffs , giving people a feeling of warmt h ( Language Lear ni ng, No . 6 , 1957 ) . 8 . with cold stiffs: stiffs with cold . When t he iron- chain bridge spans t he river , t he spanning itself gives one a very strong sense of cold and stiffness ( Journal of Shandong U n iversity, No . 3 , 1959 ) . 9 .Min Moun tains: mountains located along t he border of Sichuan P rovince . 10 .the three Armies: 1) traditionally meaning t he whole army of a coun try, w ritten as t he Three Armies; 2 ) in t he Zhou Dynasty (11 .B .C . 3 .B .C .) , t here was a three- army system : A big coun try owned Three Armies; a small country ow ned Two Armies or only One Army ; 3 ) the t hree Armies here mean a ) the Red Army as a w hole including the First Red Army , the 81

Second Red Army and t he Four th Red Army ; b) the First Red Army in particular yet with reference to t he Second and Fourt h Red Armies , because when t he First Red Army got over the Min Mountains in June 1935 , t he rest two armies were still in Hunan , Guizhou and Sichuan ; it was not until July 1936 that the rest t wo armies got over the Min Moun tains .

82

ni n n

jio

k n n l

h ng k-ng ch sh , m ng k n n l yu r ji n ch n s j n n - , f i q y l sn b w n ng i

ji o d zh tin h n ch -u

xi r xio r ng - , ji ng h y h ng r hu w i y bi n 84

qin qi g -ng zu

?
shu r c ng y p n ng shu :

w w r j n i

k n n l

b y zh g o o b y zh du xu o - ,

n d tin ch b jin y -u o ?
b r c w i sn ji i y w -u ji i , y z ji ng m i y hu n d ji -ng gu , t i p ng sh ji hu n qi t c li r ng ng ( ) 85

, , , , , , , , ,

86

KU NLU N 1
to the tune of Charm of Maiden N iannu Towering into the sky, You , Kunlun, so vast and high , Have kept all the spring splendeur of the human world in your eye ! Like three million jade dragons *2 in flight , You freeze the universe white . In summer your melting snow Making rivers3 overflow , Alas , men may become turtles or fish in woe .4 But , who ever tells us , for a time of thousand years long, You , after all , have done what good or wrong ? Now let me say to Kunlun : Too high you soar into the air , Too much snow you bear ;
87

How , then , could I wield a heaven- high sword , Cutting you in three to afford One piece to Europe , One piece to America , And the final piece to Asia .5 Ah , What a peaceful world we would see , 6 And alike warm and cold the earth would be !
( October 1935) * AUTHOR S ORIGINAL NOTE An ancient poet ( referring to Zhang Y uan , a scholar in t he Nor thern Song Dynasty t r .) says: The three million jade dragons end t heir figh ting on high/ Leaving behind their tattered scales whirling in the sky . The description is about t he flying snow . Now I just borrow t he first line to describe t he snow- covered moun tains . In summer, when one ascends Min Mountains to command a distant view, one finds all mountains are dancing in an expanse of w hiteness . People here say all t hese moun tains were afire w hen the Monkey King passed t hrough the place; it was non other t han the monkey who borrowed a palm leaf fan and quenched the fla mes , t hus t he mountains all t urned white .
7

88

TRANSLATOR S NOTES 1 .K unlun : mountain ranges , sit uated in the west of China, wit h its highest peak of 25348 feet above the sea level; it is on t he nort h edge of Tibetan Plateau, extending from Pamirs and Karakoram Range into Qinghai, having many subsidiary ranges . In June 1935 , the Red Army climbed over Jiajin Mountain and Min Mountain which are also the subsidiary ranges of Kunlun Mountain Ranges . 2 .jade dragons: snow- covered mountains . 3 .rivers: specifically referring to t he Yangzi River and the Yellow River both of w hich originating in the subsidiary ranges of Kunlun . 4 .men may become turtles or fish in woe : men may be drow ned . Com men taries on the Spring and Au tu m n A nnals ( Zuozhuan ) by Zuo Qiuming: Without Great Y u to regulate the rivers and watercourses, we all would have become fish . History of the Later H an Dynasty ( by Fan Ye ) , vol .1 Liu Lin persuades Liu : Xiu , the Guangwu Emperor: The Chimei rebels now station at the east end of the river , if we breach t he dam to flood them , a million st rong will become fish .Du F u s The Officer at the Tongguan Pass Alas t he battle at T aolin by t he Yellow River/ : Made a million strong become fish . 5 .Asia: In Mao s first draft , it was China not Asia . The , correction was made in the 1963 edition of Poems o f Chairm an Mao ( People Literat ure Press , 1963 ) . s 89

6 .The second stanza means t hat communism will be thus realized t hroughout t he world . 7 .t he Monkey King : also called Sun Wukong , a sain t- like monster who escor ts a monk called T ang Sanzang to go to t he west for Buddhist Cannons . Finding the Fire Mountains standing in the way , t he monkey , suffering a lot of set backs, finally succeeds in getting over the Fire Mountains with his master the monk and the other two disciples of t he monk , by borrowing a palm leaf fan to quench the fire . For details , see Pilgrim age to the West by Wu Cheng- en ( ? 1500- ? 1582) .

90

q ng p ng yu sh n

li p n

tin g y d n o n w ng du n n n f i y n

b d ch ng ch ng f i h h n o o q zh xng ch ngr w n

li p n sh sh ng g f n o ng h ng q m n ju n xf ng , r ch ng y ng z sh j n i u

?
( )

h sh f zh c ng l ng

92

MOUN T

LIU PAN 1

to the tune of M usic of Peace The skies are deep , clouds are thinly wan ; Fading into the south heaven wild geese we scan .2 One is not a man if failing to reach the Great Wall , 3 Counting, we know we covered twenty ve thousand li in all . High on the peak of Mount Liupan , In the west wind red flags flap and sound . We now hold the long cord in hand , 4 When will the Dragon5 be bound ?
( October 1935)

93

TRANSLATOR S NOTES 1 .Moun t Liupan : also called Longshan , a mountain sit uated sout h of Ningxia and east of Gansu with its highest peak of 9606 feet above the sea level . A pat h winding around t he mountain leads to t he top with six twists and t urns , t hus the moun tain is called Six Twists Mountain ( Liupanshan ) . O n the afternoon of October 7 , 1935 , t he vanguard of t he Red A rmy climbed over the main peak of Moun t Liupan , the last highest peak standing in the way to the destination of the Long March , nort hern Shaanxi . Mao Zedong wrote the piece righ t on top of t he peak . This poe m was first published in Poetry ( January 1957 ) . 2 .Fading in to the south heaven wild geese we scan : We scan wild geese fading in to the sout h heaven . Wild geese are migratory birds w hich , in autumn , fly to t he sout h to spend win ter days while in spring t hey fly back to t he north , so a wild goose image is a favourite wit h many t raditional Chinese Poets w ho use it to suggest 1 ) aut umn ( sout hward wild geese ) ; 2) spring ( north ward wild geese ) ; 3 ) t he missing of one s absent friend or dear one eit her in the south or in the north or in any far- away place . With Mao , the image suggests 1) autumn time ; 2 ) missing t he Second , Fourt h and Six th Red Armies still figh ting in the sout h . 3 .the Great Wall: the destination of the Long March . The act ual destination of t he Long March is Yenan in Nort hern Shaanxi, quite near the Great Wall . The choice of t he Great Wall in the 94

poem I suppose possibly stems from an ar tistic conception that 1) the Great Wall is a symbol of power and strength of t he Chinese people; 2 ) t he image might spark off more t raditionally poetic associations; 3 ) t he Great Wall in t he Chinese original is Changcheng ( the Long Wall ) t hat coincides wit h Changzheng ( t he Long March) partly in meaning and pronuciation , thus the great ness of t he Great Wall ( the Long Wall ) is sub tly compared to that of t he Long March . 4 .the long cord in hand : See note 4 to March from Tingzhou to Changsha to the tune of Bu tterflies Love Flowers. 5 . the Dragon : The original is Canglong ( t he Grey Dragon ) , traditionally symbolizing feudal rulers , here hin ting at Chiang Kai-shek .

95

q n yu n ch n xu

, ,

b i gu gu f ng ng

qin b ng f l ng w n xu o l pi ; w i y m ng m ng

w ng ch ng ch ng n w i i

d h sh ng xi d sh o t o n t 96

sh w y sh n n

, yu ch l xi n ng

y y tin g -ng sh g b o , x ng q r

k n h ng zhu ng s gu f n w y r o i o - , ji ng sh r c du jio n y n w sh y ng xi zh ng j ng yo

x q hu ng h n w n

sh c l w n i , t z ng -ng sng z sh x f so o n ng , 97

y i tin jio d

,
ch ng s n j h - zh sh w g n -ng sh d dio , w ng y j

sh f ng li r w n h k n zh i j n o ( ) - - - , -

98

SNOW1
to the tune of Spring Bea ming in Garden What a scene is in the nor th found !2 A thousand li of the ear th is ice- clad aground , Ten thousand li of the sky is snow- bound . Behold ! At both sides of the Great Wall An expanse of whiteness conquers all ; In the Yellow River , up and down , The surging waves are gone ! Like silver snakes the mountains dance , Like wax elephants the highlands bounce , * All try to be higher than heaven even once ! Come , when the day is fine and bright , How you ll be enamoured of the beautiful sight , To view the land adorned in red and white . With so much beauty is the land endowed,
99

So many heroes thus in homage bowed . The first king of Qin3 and the seventh king of Han4 , Neither was a true literary man ; The first king of Song5 and the second king of Tang , 6 Neither was noted for poetry or song . Even the Proud Son of Heaven , for a time , Called Genghis Khan , 7 in his prime , Knowing only shooting eagle , over his tent with a bow so bent . Alas , all no longer remain ! For t ruly great men , 8 One should look within this age ken . s
( February 1936) * AUTHOR S NOTE the highlands: here referring to loess plateau stretching across Shanxi and Shaanxi P rovinces .

1 00

TRANSLATOR S NOTES 1 .Snow: When this poem was w ritten , Mao Zedong stayed in Yuanjiagou of the Qingjian County , Shaanxi Province, planning to lead the Red Army in making an eastern journey to the AntiJapanese War front at Hebei Province . The publication of the poem in Chongqing in 1945 caused a sen tional stir in China . On August 28 , 1945 , Mao Zedong flew to Chongqing for a peace talk with the Kuomintang governemnt . The talk lasted 43 days during which Liu Yazi kep t asking Mao for poems , Mao therefore penned t he piece and gave it to him . On obtaining Mao Zedong s poem , Liu immediatly wrote a poem to the same tune as a reply and sen t both Mao s and his poems to New Ch ina Daily for publication . New Ch ina Daily was t hen t he voice of t he Chinese Communist Part y in Chongqing ; feeling it improper to publish t he poem without the permission of Mao himself , w ho , at the time, had already flow n back to Yenan , t he editor of t he Daily published only Liu s poem on November 11 , 1945 ; this in t urn aroused more people s interest in reading Mao s original piece . At t his time, a correspondent of the New Citizen E ven ing Paper happened to be in possession of t he copy of t he poem , the E veni ng Paper t hus losed no time publishing it on December 14 . On December 28 , T a K ung Pao republished both Mao s and Liu s poems . Kuo- min tang seized t he chance to attack Mao for what t hey called Mao s ambition of assuming emperorship w hile communists and many ot her writers or scholars wrote in support of Mao . 1 01

2 .What a scene is in the nort h found: What a scene is found in the nort h . 3 .The first king of Qin : also called Yingzheng ( 259B .C .- 210B . C .) in the Qin Dynasty , who conquered all t he other states during the Warring States period ( 475 B . C . 221 B .C .) and founded t he first cen tralized state power in China . 4 .t he sevent h king of Han : Liu Che ( 156 B .C . 87 B .C .) , the seventh king of t he Han Dynasty ( 206 B .C .- 220 A .D .) , noted for his political and military achievements in Chinese history . 5 .t he first king of Song : Zhao Kuangyin (927-976 ) , t he first king of t he Song Dynasty , who built out of t he political and military chaos of Five Dynasties and T en States period a united cent ral power in China . 6 .t he second king of Tang : Li Shimin ( 599- 649) , t he second king of t he Tang Dynasty , well know n for his political and military talents of helping his father , Li Yuan , to overt hrow t he Sui Dynasty and found the Tang Dynasty . 7 .Genghis K han : t he Mongol conqueror and emperor ( 1162-1227 ) , w ho gained con trol of Mongolia ( 1206 ) and conquered nor thern China ( 1211- 15 ) , t hen vast territories in cent ral and sou thern Asia as well as Asia Minor . After his death his dominions , w hich stretched from t he Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea , were divided among his descendants . His grandson , Kublai Khan ( 1260- 94 ) , completed his family s conquest of China and established his capital at Cambaluc ( modern Peking ) . He founded t he Y uan Dynasty ( 1279-1368 ) and conferred a post humous title of the 1 02

First Emperor of t he Y uan Dynasty upon his father , Genghis K han . 8 .truly great men : Mao gave a note to t his poem on December 21 , 1958 , that truly great menrefers to the proletariat .

1 03

r m ji f zh n n n n n ng j n l ng j ng , zh -ng sh f y q ng hu ng n ng c - b w xi sh gu d ji ng i n ng

h l p n sh j ng j n ng x -

tin f n d k k f i r ng

y jing sh ng yng zhu ku qi ng b k g ng xu w ng m b

tin ru y q u ng tin y o l r ji n zh n ng d sh ng sng o c ( ) 1 04

THE PEOPL E S LIBERAT ION ARMY CAP TU RES NANKING 1

to the tune of Seven- character L Shi Over the Bell Mountain2 a t remendous storm sweeps headlong , Crossing the Yangzi River , our army is mighty , a million strong . Once a den of tiger and dragon3 , now a victorious town , How excited we are , seeing heaven and earth upside- down ! We now should pursue the defeated foe with our remaining power , 4 Ape not King Xiang for a fame of mercy in a lucky hour .5 Were Nature sentimental , she would have a dying day, 6 T he change of seas into lands is Man s world s true way !7
( April 1949) 1 05

TRANSLATOR S NOTES 1 .The People s Liberation Army Capt ures Nanking : Soon after the Anti- Japanese War in 1946 , t here broke out t he Civil War between t he armies under K uomintang and t hose under the Chinese Communist Part y . F rom September 1948 to January 1949 , the People s Liberation Army won t hree smashing victories respectively in Liaoshen Battle, H uaihai Battle, and Pingjin Battle . The greater part of t he land beyond the nort h of the Yangzi River was under t he con trol of t he People Liberation s Army . At this critical hour, peace talks were tried but in vain . On April 21 , 1949 , the People Liberation Army launched a s general attack upon t he line of defense on t he part of the K uomintang Armies . On April 23 , Nanking , t he political cent re of t he K uomintang government , was capt ured by t he People s Liberation Army . At the news of t he victory , Mao Zedong , wild wit h joy , rushed off t he poem and sent it immediately to t he front by telegramme in order to encourage t he soldiers and civilians on t he front . This poem was first published in the 1963 edition of Poems of Chairm an M ao ( People s Literature Press , Peking , 1963 ) . 2 .t he Bell Moun tain: a mountain located in the eastern suburb of Nanking , 7 kilometres in lengt h , 3 kilometres in bread th , wit h t he main peak of 1257 feet above the sea level . The moun tain in t he sunligh t looks purple, t hus it is also called P urple Gold Moun tain (Zijinshan ) . 1 06

3 .Once a den of tigers and dragons: a metaphor used by Zhuge Liang ( a famous statesman and military strategist in t he Shu State of the Three Kingdoms ) to describe t he meandering Bell Mountain in Nanking and t he steepy Stone City in Nanking respectively as a dragon and a tiger . 4 .We should pursue the defeated foe wit h our remaining power : typical of Mao Zedong s way of thinking against the traditional ideas . In T he A rt of W ar by Sun Zi, chap ter V II , one finds the warning Pursue not the defeated foe .And Mao disagrees wit h : Sun Zi poin t of view ; his disagreement stems from his inten tion s to completely wipe out the K uomintang forces in China . For fur ther information , see the following notes . 5 .Ape not King Xiang for a fame of mercy in a lucky hour : King Xiang, i .e .Xiang Yu (232 B .C . 202 B .C .) , a leader of nobles in the Qin Dynasty . Both Xiang Y u and Liu Bang were rebel leaders who rose in arms against the Qin Dynast y . After the Qin Dynast y was overt hrow n , Xiang Yu was t he st rongest of t he rebel leaders , yet, for a vain name of playing fair , he let off Liu Bang at a banquet wit hout listening to his advisor Xiangbo s advice to kill Liu , a potential competitor of Xiang Yu for the throne . Later on , in a war between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang , Xiang got a better hand of Liu , bu t again , out of mercy , Xiang Y u signed a peace t reat y with Liu Bang . H owever , soon after Xiang Y u withdrew to the east , Liu Bang , by a breach of the peace treaty , staged a surprise attack upon Xiang Yu , and finally destroyed Xiang Yu s t roops . Before the People Liberation Army crossed t he Yangzi s 1 07

River and captured Nanking , there were suggestions both at home and abroad t hat t he Chinese Communist Party and the K uomintang governmen t could come to terms on condition that C .P .C be the master of t he land nort h of the Yangzi River w hile K .M .T . be the ruler of the land south of t he River . Mao flatly refused such an idea; his poem was an answer to the suggestions . 6 .Were Nature sen timental, she would have a dying day : The line is quoted from Li He ( 790-816 ) , a T ang poet , whose Ode to the Golden Bronze Immor tal Taking Leave of t he Han Palaces s con tains such lines to the effect that on the Xianyang Road even declining orchids wave goodbye to t he Golden Bronze Immortal; were Nat ure sentimental, she would have a dying day . The Golden Bronze Immor tal was made of bronze during the reign of Hanw u Emperor , which was 219 feet tall and ten arm spans around , magnificen tly standing on t he Divinit y Platform . In 237 , it was in tended to be moved to Luoyang ; when Weiming Emperor had it dismantled , it began to shed tears . Li He poem is par tly s based on this legend . Interpretations of Mao Zedong s message implicit in the quotation have been various . I hope t he following understanding may not go wide of the mark , i .e . Mao firmly holds t hat the People Liberation A rmy should take a merciless attit ude towards s t he inevitable destruction of t he Kuomintang regime . 7 .The change of seas into lands is Man s world s true way : an allusion from Ge Hong s S tories abou t I m morta ls , V II , in w hich Ma Gu says , the East Sea has been seen changed in to mulberry lands t hree times . 1 08

h li y z xin sh ng

y n ch yu h w n ng w ng i i su y zh y zh j -u ng hu ng

sn sh y ni hu n ji gu n lu hu sh ji d hu zh ng

lo so t i sh ng f ch ng du n ng

f w ch ng y f y li ng ng n ng

m d k n m ch shu qi o ng n - gu y sh n ng gu f ch n ji ng ( )

1 09

RE PLY TO MR . LIU YAZI 1

to the tune of Seven- Character L Shi T he memory of our drinking tea at Guangzhou is fresh still , And you asked me for poems at Chong- qing as yellow leaves were chill . I come back now in the old city after thirty- one years past , I readily read your beautiful lines at the season when flowers blast . Grievances , if too many , would wound seriously one hear t , s Weighing things one should be farsighted over a whole or par t . Say not too shallow here is the water of Kunming Lake , 2 I t is better than Fuchun River3 to watching fish for one to take .
( April 29 , 1949) 1 10

TRANSLATOR S NOTES 1 .Liu Yazi: also named Wei Gao ( 1887- 1958 ) , Qi Ji, An Ru , Ya Lu, etc .; a native of Wujiang, Jiangsu Province . He was a poet, an organizer , and later on , chairman of t he Sout h Society (1906) that was a literary body against the Qing Dynasty ( 1644- 1911 ) . In 1912 , he served as secretary to Sun Yat-sen , president of the Chinese Republic . In February 1949 , Mao Zedong invited Liu Yazi ( t hen in Hong Kong) to take par t in t he preparation of the Chinese People Political Consultation Conference . O n March s 18 , Liu Yazi arrived in Peking with his wife . Seven days later on March 25 , Mao Zedong , too , came back to Peking from Shijiazhuang ; Liu and ot her democratic personages went to meet Mao at the airport . At the night , t hey all attended a banquet held in the Summer Palace . Three days later , however , what wit h certain cont radictions existing in democratic parties and w hat wit h his inability to have a special car to offer a sacrifice to Sun Yatsen s mourning hall in Biyun T emple at Xiangshan , Liu Yazi gave vent to his grievances by w riting a poem on t he nigh t of March 28 and presented the poem to Mao Zedong . O n reading it , Mao immediatly inst ructed the aut hority concerned to arrange well for Liu s daily life, and , on the nex t day , Mao w rote t he poem Reply to M r . Liu Yazi in which one can easily feel t he note of , persuasion and advice .Again , on May 1 , Mao visited Liu at the Summer Palace . This poem was first published in Poetry ( January 1957) . 2 .K unming Lake: the lake in t he Summer Palace, with an area of 1 11

220 hectares . 3 .F uchun River : another name of Qiantang River , flowing through t he middle of Zhejiang Province . The line alludes to Yan Guang , a statesman in t he Eastern Han Dynast y, w ho once fished wit h a hook and line on the bank of t he Qiantang River .

1 12

: -
q

g n sh m zh x ch ng o , k i tin p j zh n ji d n n shu xi y w d n n ng li - , du t f i w x n j ng l w ch t ji yu f hu n n ng n - , t z hu ng sh ng ji ul o p n ! g d n n ng w n ng y c d n n ,

n d n zh ng ch ji b n o

1 13

f h bi sh ng t n n n z l ( ) - , 2 , 4 , , !

1 14

Liu Yazi Poem s

MY T HOUGHT S PRESEN TED TO CHAIRMAN MAO1 to the tune of Seven- Character L Shi
Of the new heaven and earth you are t he great maker ! Canvassing bet ween Xiang and Liu 2 I am an embarrassed talker . Not being Wulu 3 who silences scholars by an imperial suppor t , I am cold- shouldered Feng4 lacking a cart to a summer resort . Feeling sorrow in early years for t his low- priced head 5 of mine , After all , deep in my heart sincerit y and loyalty s till shine . O t hat from t he sout hern expedition 6 t he news of victory come , T hen like Zi Ling 7 by t he lake of Fenhu8 a hermit become . * I ll
( April 28 , 1949) 1 15

AUTHOR S NOTE Fenhu is a large lake extending beyond Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces . Near t he end of the Y uan Dynasty , Yang Tieya ( 12961376 , a noted poet and calligrapher ) visited the lake, and t hus the lake was later on named in connection with Yang s visit . My native place is the Dasheng Village located to t he nor th of t he lake, w here my family had lived for generations , but the illustrious mansions of my old home were dest royed by Japanese invaders . Alas , whenever t hinking of the renowned vir tues and property handed down from my forefathers yet now reduced to ashes , I am obssessed wit h deep sorrows beyond compare .

1 16

TRANSLATOR S NOTES 1 .My thoughts presented to Chairman Mao : See note 1 to Reply to Mr . Liu Yazi to t he t une of Seven-Character L Shi. 2 .Canvassing between Xiang and Liu : persuading King Xiang to submit to King Liu . Xiang , Xiang Y u ; Liu, Liu Bang; see notes to The People Liberation Army Capt ures Nanking . Here s Xiang alludes to Chiang Kai-shek and the Nanking governmen t; Liu alludes to Mao Zedong and t he Chinese Communist Party . At t he time Liu Yazi w rote t he poem , the Chinese Communist Part y was making efforts to persuade the Nanking government to accept a peace treaty , hoping ot her democratic personages would join in the efforts . Liu Yazi here means he is powerless in under taking the attempt , t hough he is a founding member of K uomintang . 3 .Wulu : Wulu Chongzong , a scholar in t he Western Han Dynasty . He was a favourite wit h Liu Shi, an emperor of the Han Dynasty , t hus all t he scholars then were afraid of disagreeing with him w hen he lect ured on T he Book of Change . 4 .Feng : a talented figure in the State of Qi during t he Warring States period . Feng Huan was a hanger-on of Meng Changjun , an aritocrat . Dissatisfied with his lowgrade stat us , he ven t his grievances by tapping on t he hilt of his sword singing , Return , my sword ! I eat without fish .He was t hus gran ted the middlegrade t reatmen t; yet still dissatisfied , he sang again , Return , my sword ! I walk without a cart .He was finally satisfied wit h a 1 17

car t, t reated as one of the highest-grade hangers-on . Liu Yazi here hin ts obliquely at his inability to secure a car to go to Sun Yat-sen s mourning hall at Xiangshan . See note 1 to Mao s Reply to M r . Liu Yazi. 5 .low- priced head : Chiang Kai-shek once offered a reward to arrest Liu Yazi , but the reward was not of t he highest price . 6 .the sout hern expedition : the People s Liberation Army s punitive expedition ( Nanking ) . 7 .Zi Ling: also named Yan Guang , a renowned scholar in the Eastern Han Dynast y . He was a good friend of Liu Xiu , an emperor of t he Eastern Han Dynasty . Instead of accepting Liu Xiu s offer to be a high official, he returned to his native place, tilling the land and fishing by t he Qili Lake . 8 .t he lake of Fenhu : a lake located in the sout h of the Wujiang Coun ty , Jiangsu Province, here standing for Liu Yazi native s place . against Chiang Kai- shek regime in the sout h

1 18

hu n

x sh

h li y z xin sh ng ,

, 5 3 ,
ch ng y n n m ch ti n ng xi n , b ni m i n gu w pin xin i r m w y tu n yu n n n b

y ch ng xi tin xib ng j i , w n f ng yu zu yu y ti n sh x ng hu ng w qi r n g n ( ) 1 19

RE PLY TO MR . LIU YAZI 1

to the tune of Silk- W ashing S tream
In celebration of t he National Day , 1950 , M r . Liu Y azi com posed a poem im prom p tu to t he tu ne o f Silk- W ash ing S trea m at a song and dance perf orm ance, to w hich I replied , em ploying the sa me rhyme pa ttern .

The long night long enshrouded the sky over the Red State , 2 For a century3 devils and monsters4 danced in an ugly gait , And five hundred million people5 suffered a split- up fate . At a crow of the cock the dark world is suddenly exposed to light !6 Glad music comes from all corners7 , even Yutian8 , the remotest site . Never before has the zeal of the poet9 been inspired to such a height !
( October 1950) 1 20

TRANSLATOR S NOTES 1 .Reply to Mr . Liu Yazi: O n the evening of October 3 , 1950 , in watching a song and dance performance in celebration of the National Day , Mr . Liu Yazi sat in the row righ t before Mao Zedong s seat ; Mao said cheerfully to Liu , On such a grand occassion , what abou t composing a ci- poetry in memory of it ? I will reply to your composition .Liu immediately improvised a cipoet ry to t he tune of Silk- washing Stream and presen ted it to Mao Zedong . The next day, Mao wrote Reply to M r . Liu Yazi to the same tune . This poem was first published in Poetry ( January 1957) . 2 .t he Red State: China . The name was first used by Zou Yan , a scholar in t he period of Warring States . 3 .For a century : for a hundred years from 1840 ( t he Opium War ) to 1950 ( the founding of t he Peoples Republic of China ) . 4 .devils and monsters: imperialists and feudalists . 5 .five hundred million people: in 1950 , Chinas population amounted to about four hundred and fifty million . 6 .At a crow of the cock the dark world is suddenly exposed to ligh t: The line is quoted wit h a slight change from Li He (790-816) , a poet in the Tang Dynasty . 7 .all corners: t hroughout t he coun try . 8 .Yutian : a county in t he Xinjiang Uygur ( Uighur ) Autonomous Region . 1 21

9 .the poet: 1 ) poets in general; 2) specifically referring to Liu Yazi and Mao Zedong himself .

1 22

: -
hu n

x sh

, , ! hu sh y hu b y ti n n d -ng zm w pi n xi n xi i - g sh ng ch ng ch yu yu n r , b sh r n ng d y n l ng o ? n r b z g ng i ng pi n ti n ! li xio sh ng ng hu k-ng qi x n ( ) - 1 23

Liu Yazi Poem s

to the tune of Silk- Washing Stream
On the evening o f October 3 , I atten ded a soir e in Huairen Hall . The joi nt per formances were given by song and dance ensembles f rom the various na tionalities in the South west , X injiang , Y anbian in Jili n Province, and In ner Mongolia . A t Chair man Mao s request , I composed the followi ng poem to celebrate the great u nity o f the nationalities . Wit h fiery trees and silvery flowers it is a darkless night , Brot hers and sisters dance gracefully all wit h their feet ligh t . Songs echo T he Full Moon * through so far and so wide . But for one man who has offered his brilliant and wise guide , How could today t he hundred peoples fortunately assemble here ? Never before have we enjoyed a grand gathering with
1 24

good cheer .
( October 3 , 1950) * Liu Yazis note: There is a Kazakh folk song in Xinjiang called The Full Moon .

1 25

l ng t o

sh h

b i d i

, d y lu y y -u n

b ng t o tin i l q hu ng d w d y chu n n o i , y w pi n ng y ng d b ji -u n -

zh shu bin xi ng

, w ng sh qi n ni yu n

,
1 27

w w hu n i bi

d -ng n ji sh y y pi n l u xi o s qi f y sh ng j n u hu n le r ji n n ( )

1 28

BEIDAIHE 1
to the tune of W aves Si f t Sand The nor thern land is bathed in a torrential rain , Whitecaps in the Bohai Sea leap to the starhigh domain , While far beyond Qinhuangdao2 the fishing boat Is not seen on the boundless main , Where does it float ? Two thousand years ago just on this land , The Emperor Weiwu , 3 whip in hand, Rode eastward to Jieshi , 4 his poems of the autumnal sea remain ; Now the autumn wind sighs again , But the old world has changed its reign .
( Summer 1954) 1 29

TRANSLATOR S NOTES

1 . Beidaihe: a famous scenic spot , located in t he sout hwest of Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province, opened up as a summer resort even in 1898 . In t he summer of 1954 , Mao Zedong was t here spending his holiday . One day, t here arose on t he sea a storm and the surging waves splashed t he shore . Mao wan ted to swim in the sea but he was rebuffed by his guards; Mao insisted and succeeded in swimming in t he sea for over one hour . The poem was w ritten after Mao finished swimming . This poem was first published in Poetry ( January 1957) . 2 .Qinhuangdao: the Qin Emperor Island , located in the east of Hebei Province, a peninsula in crescen t shape . Qin Shi H uang , t he First Emperor of t he Qin Dynasty ( 221 B .C .- 207 B .C .) , was said to have stayed there for a time seeking immortals; hence t he name . 3 .The Emperor Weiwu : Cao Cao ( 155-220 ) , a noted statesman , military st rategist and poet in the period of the Three Kingdoms . Cao Cao was t he founder of the State of Wei; after his son , Cao Pi ( 187-226 ) , ascended t he throne he was conferred on the posthumous title of Emperor Weiwu . 4 . Jieshi: 1 ) a moun tain situated in t he Changli County , Hebei Province; 2 ) a mountain sit uated in t he Suizhong County , Liaoning Province , 15 kilomet res from the Shanhai Pass ( the Mountain- and- Sea Pass ) . In t he au tumn of 207 , Cao Cao 1 30

conquered t he tribe called Wuhuan in t he north , while on his way back , he passed by Jieshi Mountain , and there he wrote a few poems , of which A View of t he Great Seais referred to in Mao Zedong s poem : A View of the Great Sea I come eastward to Jieshi to scan t he endless sea . Look how waters roll, how islands soar , how t rees t hrive , how grasses lushly grow . The wind howls and sighs; The billowy breakers leap , The sun and the moon seem to journey through waves; The stars and t he Milky Way seem to gleam in the foams . How great is my deligh t ! I chan t it in this song .

1 31

shu o g t di u y u y ng

, c y n ch i ng sh shu y sh w ch u ng y -

w n ch ng jing h ng d l

m ch tin sh j

b gu n f chu d ng l ng

sh ng s ng x n b xi n t r d j n ku y n : z z chu i ng sh ng yu 1 33

!
sh r s f zh

, ,

f qi d ng ng ng

gu sh j ng q h ng t

y o f i ji n n b qi i

tin qi bi t -ng t n n -

g ng xjing sh b l , ji du n w sh y y n n g xi ch ng h o p

sh n n y ng w y ng d ng sh sh j ng ji ( ) 1 34

SWI MM ING 1
to the tune of Prelude to Water Melody The waters of Changsha2 just drunk is a good brew , Now I come to taste the Wuchang fish3 stew ; Swimming across the longest Yangzi River , Looking as far as my eye can reach to the sky of Chu .4 Let the wind blow and waves swill , To me , its better than having a stroll In a courtyard at will . Ah , today , how much at ease I feel . By the river Confucius5 is heard to say:
6 Thus do things flow away !

Lo ! Sails move with the wind, Tortoise and Snake7 silently stand,
1 35

We begin a plan so grand To span the nor th and south a bridge we will lay, The chasm will be turned into a broad highway . A dam will be built across the upstream to the west , Bringing Wushan Mountains clouds and rain 8 to rest , A lake will appear around the deep gorge s crest . Should the Wushan goddess be alive and sound today, She would marvel at the world now in new array .
( June 1956)

1 36

TRANSLATOR S NOTES

1 .Swimming : In 1956 , Mao Zedong made an inspection tour of various places t hroughou t China; at the end of May of t he year , he came to Wuhan , w here he swam in the Yangzi River t hree times respectively on June 1 , 3 and 4 . What is w ritten in the poem above is about his first swimming . This poe m was first published in Poetry ( June 1957) . 2 .The waters of Changsha: On December 21 , 1958 , Mao Zedong made a note to t he line What is called t he waters of Changsha is : found in the eastern city of Changsha where locates a well- know n well namedThe White Sand Well. 3 .Wuchang fish : a sort of round- head bream , tasting delicious , a specialty well- know n in Fankou of the Ezhou County , Hubei P rovince . T hese two lines mean I have just been to Changsha, and now I am in Wuhan again .The allusion is from a children s folk rhyme curren t in the period of the Three Kingdoms ( 220280 ) We would rat her drink waters of Jianye ( now t he cit y of : Nanking) t han eat Wuchang fish, because people t hen were against Sun Hao, t he ruler of Wu , for his idea of moving the capital of t he State of Wu from Jianye to Wuchang ( now the Ezhou Coun ty) . But here in Mao s poem, Wuchang refers to one of t he t hree cities of Wuhan . 4 .Swimming across . . . to t he sky of Chu : In a letter to Huang Yanpei, dated February 11 , 1957 , Mao Zedong says , When I 1 37

swam in t he Yangzi River, I spen t two hours drifting on the waters for more than thirt y li to reach the opposite bank ; the waters was indeed swift . I kep t relying on backstrokes and side strokes; it is , therefore, appropriate for me to describe the sit uation asLooking as far as my eye can reach to t he sky of Chu. 5 . Confucius: Kong Qiu ( 551 B . C .- 449 B . C .) , the famous scholar , thinker , statesman , educator as well as the originator of Confucianism , in China . 6 .Thus do things flow away : These two lines are quoted from T he Analects of Con f uci us: Standing by a river , t he master says , t hings do flow away like this wit hou t stopping, day or nigh t . ( T he A nalects of Con f ucius, chapter Zi Han , 9 .17) . 7 . Tor toise and Snake : the names of the two moun tains . The Tor toise Moun tain shaping like a tor toise is sit uated nort h of Hanyang, one of t he t hree cities of Wuhan ; w hile the Snake Moun tain shaping like a snake t hreads through the city of Wuchang . 8 .Wushan Mountains: mountains situated in t he east of t he Wushan County , Sichuan Province, wit h twelve peaks in all, six in the nor th , six in t he sout h .

1 38

di li hu n d sh l y

, w sh o y sh ji ng j n li 8 4 3

y ng li q ng y ng zh sh ng ch ng xi o ji , w x w g ng h su y n n u w g ng p ng ch u ji ghu , m ch ng sh j gu ng xi w n ch ng k l -ng qi w i zh -ng h w n

h r jin c ng f h b o n 7 3 1

( ) 1 39

li f i d zu q ng p n y n

REPLY TO LI SH UYI 1
to the tune of Butter f lies Love Flowers You lost your darling Willow2 and I my Poplar proud , 3 Both Poplar and Willow soar gracefully farabove the cloud . T hey ask Wu Gang4 about what he has there , I the laurel wine5 that Wu offers them to ts share . T he lonely goddess of the moon6 spreads her sleeves long , To console the loyal souls she dances in sky with a song . Suddenly the news about the tiger sub- dued7 comes from the earth , At once the rain pours down from our darlings tears of mirth .
( May 11 , 1957)

1 40

TRANSLATOR S NOTES

1 .Reply to Li Shuyi: Li Shuyi ( 1901-

) , a native of Changsha,

teacher of Chinese in No . 10 Middle School of Changsha . In 1920 s , Li Shuyi was a classmate as well as a good friend of Yang Kaihui, Mao s first wife . In 1924 , t hrough Yang Kaihui s in troduction, Li Shuyi got to know, and later on married , Liu Zhixun ( 1898-1932 ) ; Liu was then one of Mao s comrades- in arms . In t he summer of 1933 , word came that Liu was killed in a battle that took place in H ubei Province . Weighed down wit h sadness , Li Shuyi could not eat or sleep well; she later on wrote a ci-poem to the tune of Buddhist Dancers in memory of her husband . It was not until t he founding of the People s Republic of China t hat Li acquired the exact information abou t t he deat h of her husband . On January 17 , 1950 , Li Shuyi wrote to Mao Zedong telling him how his wife, Yang Kaihui , died, and Mao replied to her on April 18 . In January 1957 , Mao Zedong s poems (18 in all ) were published in t he first issue of the magazine Poetry in Peking ; this reminded Li Shuyi of a ci- poem to t he tune of The Fair Lady Yu that Mao Zedong w rote to Yang Kaihui when he and Yang were first in love many years ago . However, Li could remember only the first two lines , she thus w rote to Mao Zedong for the w hole piece , and in passing, enclosing in t he letter her own Buddhist Dancersin memory of her husband , on February 7 . On May 11 , Mao Zedong replied , t he poem Kaihui told you is not fine enough to be rew ritten ; here is enclosed a ci-poem 1 41

Immortals to you . This sort of poet ry is different from ancient poems abou t immor tals , i .e . the poet himself does not appear in t he poem . But in ci-poetry, a poet can describe himself , such as t he ci-poems abou t the seven th evening of t he sevent h moon (according to a Chinese legend , on t hat evening , t he Cowherd and the Weaver Maid have a rendezvous on the magpie- made bridge over t he Milky Way t r .) . The poem Mao men tioned in the letter is the poem above . Mao Zedong s letter and t he poem to Li Shuyi was revealed to some t hird-year students of the Chinese Depart ment of Hunan Normal College at their request ; t hose st udents were t hen performing teaching practice in No . 10 Middle School of Changsha . Soon , a few st udents sent a copy of Mao s poem to Mao Zedong himself and asked Mao for a permission to publish t he poem in t heir college Journal , i .e . Jou rnal o f Hu nan Norm al College . On November 25 , Mao Zedong replied t hat the poem could be published on condition t hat t he original title Immor tals be changed into To Li Shuyi and t hat t he errors caused by copying be corrected . Thus , t he New Year Day of 1958 saw the s publication of the poem in Journal o f H unan Norm al College ( January 1958 ) and t he reappearance of t he poem in the subsequent issues of various magazines , journals and newspapers t hroughou t China . In t he 1963 edtion of Poems o f Chairm an M ao ( People s Literature Press , Peking , 1963) , t he title To Li Shuyiwas changed into Reply to Li Shuyias it is . 2 . your darling Willow: Li Shuyi husband , Liu Zhixun . In s 1 42

Chinese, Willow is pronounced as [ liu ] , t he same as the pronunciation of t he family name Liu . The subtlety here is that Willow ( Liu ) can also suggest willow catkin just as Poplar ( Yang ) can suggest poplar flowers; and we know the word Poplar( Yang ) indicates t he family name of Mao s wife , Yang Kaihui . Poplar and Yang in Chinese are t he same bot h in sound and meaning . Thus we feel no difficult to understand the second line Both Poplar and Willow soar gracefully far above the cloud; it suggests the souls of Yang Kaihui and Liu Zhixun fly above t he cloud to t he moon like wafting willow cat kins and poplar flowers . 3 .My Poplar proud : My proud Poplar ; Mao s wife Yang Kaihui (1901- 1930 ) . See note above and note 1 to To Yang Kaihui to the tune of Congratulating Bridegroom. 4 .Wu Gang : According to a Chinese tale, there is a Laurel t ree as high as more than one t housand met res in t he moon , and a man called Wu Gang is made to cu t t he t ree all the year round due to his wrong doing commit ted when he cultivates himself to be an immor tal . The tree, however , wit hstanding constant chopping , can never be cu t down , thus Wu Gang is punished to do the job forever . 5 .the laurel wine: sources unclear , possibly stemming from Mao s own reasoning : since t here is laurel, t here is, naturally , laurel wine . 6 .The lonely goddess of t he moon : According to the Chinese tale, 1 43

t he goddess of the moon is called Chang E , t he wife of an ancient

hero, Yi . When Yi comes into possession of an elixir vitae one

day , Chang E steals and eats it , flying up to the moon and being a goddes s t he re . 7.

thet

: -
p s m n

m j ng ng - , gu m f n sh n z l n su o y li ch d ng ch u li o l , d sh ti n n k n n ng xi o m j ng ng c n ? zh ng r h n ch m , li z w xi o x i , x y y ng bi sh 1 44

7 3 1 m n sh q ng i z n l ( )

Li Shuyis Poem
A BROKEN DREAM
to the tu ne o f Buddhist Dancers Tossing about in this lonely orchid- decorated bower , I suddenly feel t he touch of parting griefs so sour . What is that thats so unbearable for me to allay , Breaking my lingering dream early at the break of day ? Now tell me, where is my man who has gone to war ? For six autumns from him I have heard no more . Awakening to recall how he has been away for years , Ive found my sleeves are soaked wit h bitter tears .
( Summer 1933 )

1 45

q r sh l u sng w n sh n , -

, , , ,
shu sh w ng zdu l q ng n

! ,

hu tu n xi ch ng h w i o qin c n b r y sh l n w n h xio sh ch gu ng g

zu d x r ng b w n l

x tin y k n y n h n o qi , ni y w w n sh n sh l ng n 1 46

y ng b hu zh sh y i n b

q r

ch n f y ng ng li w n qi n ti o li y sh n zh sh y -u j n n o - , h ng y su x n f n zu l ng q ng sh zhu hu w i qio n y ,

tin li w y ch lu n l ng n d ng sn h b o d ti y

ji w w n y h n j n w ng ( )

zh chu n m ng zh zh o ti n sh o

1 47

FAREWE LL TO THE GOD OF PLAGUE 1

to the tune of L Shi ( t wo poems)
A f ter readi ng t hrough t he People s Daily of June 30 , 1958 , w hich sa id in Y ujiang Coun ty
2

schistoso miasis

had

been com pletely wiped ou t , I cou ld not sleep well at n igh t w ith t houghts throng ing m y m ind . T hen i n the nex t morni ng as sun ligh t penetrates i nto my w indow , a mid the w arm breeze, I , looki ng i nto the distan t sky, pen the followi ng li nes w ith great pleasu re .

1 What s the use of so many green and blue streams and hills , When even Hua Tuo4 could do nothing about this tiny creature of ills5 ? T housands of villages choked with weeds , men were sick in despair , T en thousand homes deserted ; ghosts howled
1 48

everywhere . Sitting still on the earth is travelling eighty thousand li a day6 , Touring the heaven I command a distant view of many a Milky Way .7 If , of the God of Plague , the Cowherd asks about the plagues crime , Say griefs and happiness all are gone with the passage of time . 2 The spring breeze caresses thousands of willow wands and boughs , Millions of people in this Divine Land9 are all Shuns and Yaos .10 At our will swirling into waves is red and flowery rain, 11 To our taste turning into bridges is the green mountain chain . Shiny hoes are wielded on the Five Ridges12
1 49
8

towering into the skies , Iron arms13 move , the T hree Rivers14 area are shaking in surprise . Now , the God of Plague , we ask , where are you bound anon ? Burning candles and paper boats to the sky15 well get you gone .
( July 1 , 1958)

1 50

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .Farewell to the God of Plague : Ancien t Chinese people believed t here were various gods in heaven w ho were in charge of plagues of the human world respectively .In the Eastern Han Dynasty , people began to practise a custom of sending off t he god of plague at t he end of the year . This poem was first published in the Peop les Da ily ( October 3 , 1958) . 2 .Yujiang Count y : a county in Jiangxi Province . 3 . schistosomiasis: a desease prevalent in Africa and other tropical areas and once seen in the south of China, occurring in human beings and animals and caused by schistosomes infesting the blood . 4 .Hua Tuo : H ua Tuo ( ? -208 ) , one of t he most famous doctors of ancient China .He lived in the Han Dynasty , a native of Anhui Province . He was killed by Cao Cao, Emperor Weiwu , for his disobeying to attend upon t he latter . 5 .t his tiny creat ure of ills: schistosomes . 6 .Sit ting still on the eart h is travelling eigh ty thousand li a day : In a letter to Zhou Shizhao , dated October 25 , 1958 , Mao Zedong says , The lineSitting still on t he ear th is t ravelling eigh ty t housand li a day - is figuratively based on the fact that the eart h is 12 , 500 kilometres in diameter ; w hen the distance is multiplied by the ratio of t he circumference of a circle to its diameter ,, 3 .1 416 , we 1 51

have 40 , 000 kilometers , i .e .eight y t housand li .This is t he very course covered by the rotation of t he ear th ( i .e .one day s time ) . To go by train , ship or bus , is called t ravelling ; t ravelling needs to pay the travelling expenses .Yet , to go by the ear th , one need not pay any money ( i .e .needn t buy any ticket ) .We have t ravelled eigh ty t housand li a day , but if we ask people : Is this t ravel ? The answer must be No, for , I am motionless . That is really unreasonable ! That is constrained by custom , handicapped by superstition .Completely phenomena of daily life, yet many people feel st range about it . 7 .Touring the heaven I command a distan t view of many a Milky Way : In the same letter to Zhou Shizhao, dated October 25 , 1958 , Mao says What I mean by Touring t he heaven is t hat this , solar system of ours ( including the earth ) is moving through the Milky Way system every day and every year . The Silver River ( t he Chinese way of calling Milky Way t r .) is only a single river, but rivers are numberless . . . We human beings are only touringin one river , bu t we cancommand a distant view of numberless rivers from our position . 8 .Of t he God of Plague , the Cow herd asks about t he plague s crime: In the same letter ( see note 6 and 7) , Mao says the cow herd is a , man in the Jin Dynasty (265- 420) . . .It is nat ural for him to show concern for his natives by asking abou t the God of Plague . The story of the Cowherd is well known to t he Chinese people: O nce t here was a weaving girl living on t he east bank of the Silver River ( the Milky Way) .She was the daugh ter of the 1 52

God of Heaven , labouring hard every day to weave cloud-brocade and heavenly clot hing .Having pity on her, the God of Heaven married her to the Cowherd on t he west bank of the Silver River . A nd , once married, t he weaver stopped weaving ; this angered the God of Heaven , who ordered her to go back to the east bank but allowed her to meet the Cowherd only once a year, i .e .July 7 of each year . 9 .t his Divine Land: China . 10 .Shun s and Yao s : names of lengendary monarches in ancient China, believed to be sain ts and wise leaders of the people . 11 .red and flowery rain : 1 ) spring rain ; 2 )falling flowers . 12 .the Five Ridges: See note 3 to Long March here referring to , mountains and rivers in general throughout t he country . 13 .Iron arms: 1 ) arms of the working people; 2 ) arms of cranes or excavators . 14 .t he Three Rivers: originally referring to the Yellow River , H uai River and Luo River , but more reasonably believed to stand for all t he rivers of t he coun try . 15 .Burning candles and paper boats to t he sky : According to the Chinese popular custom , people often send off t he God of Plague by burning candles and paper boats to t he sky at the end of the year .

1 53

q l d sh sh o o n

bi m ng y zh sh x u chu n g yu n s n sh r ni qi n n

h ng q ju n q n ng n j h sh g xu n b zh bi n i u o , w y xsh ng du zhu ng zh i u

g n ji o yu hu n x n tin r 1 54

,
x k n d sh n ch ng o qi l ng 0 7 1

bi d xi xi x n n y ng ng y ( )

1 55

SHAOSHAN REVISI T ED1

to the tune of Seven- Character L Shi
On June 25 , 1959 , I revisited Shaoshan w hich I lef t t hirty- two years ago .

Thirty- two years ago was the time I left the native place last , The leave- taking scene faded like a dream , I curse the vanished past . The serfs halberds amid the red flags were 2 held aloft , While the despot black hand raised the whip s over head oft . Sacrifice could only rouse people fighting s spirit and an ideal high They dare to demand the sun and moon change their course in a new sky ,
1 56

Now behold , the green crops ripple into waves upon waves beyond , The home- bound heroes are seen in the smoky twilight all around .
( June 1959)

1 57

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 . Shaoshan Revisited : Shaoshan , also named Shaoshanchong , 40 kilometers away from the tow n of t he Xiangtan County , Hunan Province, w here t hree counties , Xiangxiang , Ningxiang and Xiangtan, meet Shao means splendid or beautiful in . Chinese, t hus Shaoshan means t he beautiful moun tain . Mao Zedong was born t here on December 26 , 1893 .I t was also t here t hat Mao organized a peasant movement in February 1925 .From January 4 to February 5 , 1927 , Mao spen t 32 days making a ont he-spot investigation of the peasan t movement going on then in five coun ties of H unan P rovince, i . e . Xiangtan , Xiangxiang , Hengshan , Liling and Changsha .Shaoshan was the first place for Mao to choose as a focus of investigation w here he spent five days from January 4 to 9 .F rom June 25 to 27 , 1959 , Mao Zedong revisited Shaoshan and stayed there for three days, during w hich , Mao wrote the poem . This poem was first published in t he 1963 edition of Poems of Chairm an M ao( Peoples Literature P ress , Peking, 1963) . 2 .serfs: poor peasants . 3 . despot : Chiang Kai- shek . In a let ter to Hu Qiaomu , dated 1 58

September 13 , 1959 , Mao Zedong saysDespotrefers to Chiang , Kai- shek.This couplet describes t he class st ruggle of t hat period w hile t he w hole piece deals with the history of thirt y- two years .

1 59

q l d ng sh l n

y n f i zh jing bin sh d yu sh ng c -ng l s b xu n ng i , l y xi ng y ng k n sh ng n ji -

r f chuy s jing tin ng

, ,

y h ng ji p f hu ng h n i 1 0 7

l xi sn w q b y n ng i

t o b zh h q l ng ch

?
( )

t o hu yu n k g ng ti l n

1 60

ASCENT OF LUSHAN MOUN TAIN 1

to the tune of Seven- Character L Shi Towering above the mighty river mountain seems about to fly ,
2

the

Four hundred twists to wooded heights in a flash we pass by .3 I now glance at the world across the ocean with a cold eye, When hot wind4 blows raindrops onto the waters and into the sky . Clouds sail over the nine streams5 with the Yellow Crane6 in flight , Eastward billows sweep on to T hree Wu area7 amid the foam white . Where I ask does T ao Yuanming8 the Prefect right now dwell ? Does he in the Peach Blossom Land9 till the fields well ?
( July 1 , 1959) 1 61

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .Ascen t of Lushan Mountain : Lushan Mountain , a noted scenic spot, located sou th of t he city of Jiujiang , Jiangxi Province, ex tending in an unbroken chain for 25 kilometers , with its summit , Hanyang Peak , of 1474 meters above the sea level . In July 1959 , there on t he moun tain was held the ex tended meeting of t he Political Bureau of t he Cent ral Committee of t he Chinese Communist Part y .Mao Zedong arrived at Lushan Moun tain at the end of June, and several days later , he wrote the poem . Attention must be paid to t he fact that t he Lushan Meeting marks a peak of ultra- left tendencies on the part of t he Chinese Communist Par ty headed by Mao Zedong .During t he meeting , Peng Dehuai, t he then Minister of National Defense, was severely criticised for his candid criticism of the Par ty s mistakes concerning the Great Leap Forward and t he Peoples Commune . Peng was later on more cruelly persecu ted by the gang of four ; he died on November 29 , 1974 .Now the w rong once done to him has been righted , but the poem here by Mao, t hough artistically a success , seems, to a degree , still a monument to Pengs disgrace . Thus it would be better for t he English- speaking readers to appreciate the poem as a poem without referring to too many political associations . According to Li Rui, t he poem was originally preluded wit h the following words: On June 29 , 1959 , I ascended the Lushan Mountain w here I composed a poem of eight lines w hile I looked 1 62

into t he distan t Poyang Lake, Yangzi River , manifold peaks vying with t heir charms , innumerable valleys bristling and t he red sun rising in t he east . 2 .Four hundred twists: In 1953 , there was built a winding mountain high way leading from t he foot of Lushan to the Guling Town on t he moun tain as long as 35 kilometers , with about 400 twists on t he way . 3 .to t he wooded heights in a flash we pass by : Mao went up the moun tain by bus . 4 .hot wind : the summer wind . 5 .t he nine streams: See t he note 2 to Yellow Crane Tower to t he t une of Buddhist Dancers . 6 .t he Yellow Crane: See the same note above . 7 .Three Wu area : a general reference to t he area covering lower reaches of Yangzi River .But in par ticular , it may refers to Wuxing ( now Guzhou dist rict in Zhejiang Province ) , Wujun( now Suzhou district in Jiangsu Province ) and Huiji ( now Shaoxing dist rict in Zhejiang P rovince ) ; or , Wujun , Wuxing and Danyang ( now Nanjing district in Jiangsu Province ) ; or , Wujun , Wuxing and Yixing ( now Yixing dist rict in Jiangsu Province ) ; or , Suzhou , Changzhou and Huzhou . In a letter to Zhong Xuekun , dated December 29 , 1959 , Mao Zedong says What I called Three Wu , traditionally refer to Suzhou , t he East Wu; Changzhou , the Middle Wu ; and Huzhou , t he West Wu . 8 .Tao Yuanming the Prefect : also named Tao Qian ( 365-427 ) , a represen tative poet of the Wei and Jin Dynasties .He was once appoin ted as the P refect of t he Pengze Coun ty , Jiangxi Province; 1 63

but he soon resigned from his post and returned to his native place living on his own labour as a farmer .He often visited the Lushan Moun tain , because it was within easy reach of his dwelling place . Some scholars guess that T ao Y uanming t he Prefect alludes to Peng Dehuai, because t he latters being dismissed from his post at t he Lushan Meeting in a sense resembles T aos resigning from his prefectural position .Some argue t hat the guess is wrong , because t he poem is believed to be written before t he beginning of the Lushan Meeting . 9 .The Peach Blossom Land : an allusion from Tao Y uanmings A Story about t he Peach Blossom Land, in w hich , Tao describes a paradise- like place where people enjoy equalit y and freedom , all work and live in peace and happiness . The place bears much resemblance to Thomas More s Utopia . Mao s intention of employing the allusion from t he story has been unclear for a host of annotators and scholars . Many believe Maos tone seems to suggest a mild note of criticising Taos utopia .

1 64

q ju

w n m b ng zh o i n t

s shu ng y ng zw ch qing sh gu ng ch zh y n b ng ch ng o , zh -ng hu r n du q zh - b i h ng zhu ngi w zhu ng ( )

1 66

INSCRI PT ION ON A PHOTOGRAPH OF MILITIA WOMEN 1

to the tune of Seven- Character J e Ju Valiant and heroic in bearing, with rifles fivefoot long, They stand on the parade ground bathed in the morning glow . In China how unique and lofty are the ideals of the young, 2 Who love battle array instead of gay attire in show .
( February 1961) TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 .The poem was first published in t he 1963 edition of Poems of Cha irm an Mao( Peoples Literat ure Press , Peking , 1963 ) . 2 .t he young : militia women .

1 67

q l d y r u n

ji y sh sh ng b y f i n i n d ch ng f xi cuw z ng i 7 3 1

b zh y qin d i n zh l h ng xi w n du b ch ng y i ,

d ng ng b yng li tin xu t n ch ng d r g d o n ng d sh

w y y n zh m ng li o ku f r gu zh hu ng l j n o ( ) 1 68

REPLY TO A FRIEND 1
to the tune of Seven- Character L Shi Over the Nine Puzzles Mountain2 white clouds fly , With the wind the Princesses3 descend the green hills on high . One bamboo-shoot speckled with a thousand drops of their tears , 4 T en thousand red clouds5 are their robes in hundred tiers .5 Surging into the sky are snow- capped waves on Dongting Lake , 6 T he man7 on the Long Islet8 chants the poem making the ear th shake . T hereby my dream of an immense universe romantically begun, I see a land of lotuses9 illuminated bright by the morning sun .
1 69

(1961) TRANSLATOR NOTES S 1 .A friend : referring to Zhou Shizhao ( 1897-1976 ) , a native of the Ningxiang Coun ty , Hunan Province, classmate of Mao Zedong in the No .1 Normal School of H unan Province in early years .After the founding of the Peoples Republic of China, Zhou Shizhao was appoin ted president of t he above men tioned school as well as depu ty governor of the Education Depart men t of H unan Province . Since July , 1958 , Zhou was designated as t he depu ty governor of Hunan P rovince .Mao and Zhou kept up correspondence for many years . This poem was first published in the 1963 edition of Poems o f Chair man Mao ( Peoples Literature Press, Peking , 1963 ) . 2 .t he Nine Puzzles Moun tain : a branch of t he Mengzhu Ridge, one of t he Five Ridges , situated sout h of t he Ningyuan Count y , Hunan P rovince; with its nine peaks soaring in the same direction , the mountain indeed puzzles travellers; hence t he name . 3 . the Princesses: referring to E Huang and N Ying , the two concubines of Shun , and daugh ters of Yao ; both Shun and Yao were legendary monarches in ancient China .Of t he nine peaks , the four th is called the E H uang Peak ; t he six th , t he N Ying Peak . 4 .One bamboo- shoot speckled wit h a t housand drops of their tears: an allusion from a story that at t he deat h of Shun , t he two 1 70

concubines wept so sadly t hat t heir tears speckled the bambooshoots .( See Zhang Hua, T he Recor ds of Na tural Sciences , Vol . 8 .) 5 .red clouds: The original in Chinese is Hong Xia .Here, among ot her implications , t he imagery possibly alludes to Mao Zedongs first wife, Yang Kaihui, whose childhood name was Xia Gu .The word Xiaoften means colourful clouds shining in t he morning sun or in t he set ting sun . 6 .Dongting Lake: the second largest lake in China, with an area of 2 , 820 square kilomet res, located in t he nor th of H unan . 7 .The m an : believed to refer to Zhou Shizhao and his fellows w ho wrote many poems in praise of w hat t hey called socialist revolu tion and socialist const ruction at t hat time, not wit hou t exaggeration . ( See Appreciation o f Poems by M ao Zedong , Jiangsu Classical Books Press , 1990 , p .1 40 .) 8 .t he Long Islet : t he Orange Island ( see note 2 to Changsha to t he tune of Spring Bea ming in Garden here standing for ; Changsha . 9 .a land of lot uses: Hunan Province ; Hunan is said to be noted for its lotuses seen everyw here in the province .

1 71

q ju

w t zh su sh sh xi n r d i l j n ng t l n n ng zh o

m s c ng m ng k n s-ng j ng lu n y f i d r c ng r n ng ng

tin sh ng y g xi n r d n ng w xi f gu n ng ng zi xi f n ng ( )

1 72

T HE IM MOR TALS CAVE 1 INSCRIP TION ON A PHOTO TAKEN BY COMRADE LI JIN 2

to the tune of SevenCharacter Jue Ju Lo ! Standing in the dusky evening these pines sturdy keep, 3 So calm and quiet , withstanding billowy clouds4 that past sweep . I t is nature that chisles a cave for immortals antique , T he unmatched beauty dwells on the lofty and perilous peak .
( September 9 , 1961)

1 73

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .The Immortals Cave : a nat ural cave, 10 metres deep , 1049 metres above the sea level, sit uated at the Buddhas Hand Rock in the west of t he Guling Ridge of t he Lushan Mountain .It is said that L Dongbin , an immortal in t he T ang Dynasty once cultivated himself here; hence the the name of the cave . This poem was first published in t he 1963 editon of Poems of Chair man Mao( Peoples Literat ure Press , Peking , 1963 ) . 2 .Li Jin : Jiang Qing ( 1916-1991 ) , a native of Zhucheng, Shandong Province .Jiang was a film and t heatrical act ress in Shanghai in 1930s; during t he An ti- Japanese War, she went to Yenan , and t here she got married wit h Mao Zedong .Soon after Maos death , she was arrested in October 1977 , as one of the gang of four; she died on March 5 , 1991 . 3 .t hese pines sturdy keep : t hese pines keep sturdy; pines , believed to stand for the Chinese Communist Party ; but the originalsong ( pine) can be also understood as in t he single form , thus it may refer to a single person , for example, Mao himself . 4 .billowy clouds: a sad pligh t in which the Chinese Communist Par ty stayed from 1959 to 1961 w hen Chinas national economy suffered heavy set backs and mean while idealogical polemics between t he Chinese Communist Party and t he Soviet Communist Par ty were bitterly engaged . 1 74

q l -

h gu m ru t zh - ng

, y c ng d d f l q ng i bi y sh ng b g du n u j ng i , s sh m ng y u k x ng y n y w i gu y b z i o ch ng

h u f n q qi n b ng j n j n y y ch ng q ng w n i l

r hu h s n d sh j n n ng ( ) 1 75

zh yu n y w y ch ng li o u

REPLY TO COM RADE GUO MOR UO 1

to the tune of Seven- Character L Shi Ever since a thunder and storm crashes the ear th with might , An evil demon has been born of a heap of bones white .2 The monk though simple- headed is not an uneducated moke, 3 The demon so evil and malignant must disasters provoke . Once the Golden Monkey wields his cudgel of ten thousand jin , The fair and boundless sky is soon cleared of dust and din . We hail Sun Dasheng , the Wonder- worker , today , Because the evil mist4 rises again on the way .
( Nove mber 17 , 1961)

1 77

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .Guo Moruo : Guo Kaizhen( 1892-1978 ) , alias G uo Moruo , Mai Keang , Yi Kanren , Shi Tuo , Gao Ruhong , Gu Ren , Yang Yizhi, etc ., a native of Leshan , Sichuan Province .Guo is well know n for his studies in ancien t inscriptions on tortoise shell, ox bones and ancient t ripods .He is considered a versatile scholar w hose poet ry writing, play writing and t ranslation are also wort hw hile to be men tioned . In early October, 1961 , Mao Zedong saw a play entitled T he Gol den Monkey Subdues t he W hite Bone Demon T hree Ti mes, which Guo Moruo also saw on October 18 . On October 25 , Guo w rote a seven- character L Shi about t he play at t he request of t he drama group .Mao read the poem ; feeling unable to agree with Guos point of view embodied in the poem , he w rote t he above poem to t he same tune answering Guos on Nove mber 17 .I t was on January 6 , 1962 , when Guo stayed in Guangzhou t hat Maos poem reached Guos hand ( t hrough a copy by Kang Sheng) ; Guo sensed the mild criticism suggested in t he poem and he immediately replied Maos poem to the same tune on t he same day .His reply was forwarded to Mao t hrough Kang Sheng and Mao answered Your reply is good .Say not The monk deserves , to be torn limb from limb a thousand times again .A united front policy is assumed towards the middle-of- t he- roaders . That s fine . 2 .Ever since . . . a heap of bones white: The play T he Gol den 1 78

Monkey Subdues the W hite Bone Demon T hree T imes is based on Chapter 31 of Pil gri mage to the West by Wu Cheng- en( 1500 ? 1582 ?) , a noted novelist and scholar in the Ming Dynasty . According to Wu Cheng- ens story, an evil demon is born of a heap of w hite bones w hich has been absorbing t he spirit ual essence between t he ear th and heaven .Gradually it has taken the shape of a human being . To eat Tangseng , the monk from the Tang Empire, t he demon assumes different human forms t hree times, yet t hree times , Sun Dasheng , t he Wonder- worker, a disciple of Tangseng , sees t hrough the t ricks of the evil demon . Being unable to tell a demon from human beings , the monk reprimands Sun Dasheng for killing t he human- being- like demon , t hus he drives the monkey away .But Dasheng , later on , is witty enough to change himself in to t he form of the demons mother to deceive and finally destroy t he demon . 3 .The monk . . . is not an uneducated moke: I t is just here that Mao Zedong does not see eye to eye wit h Guo Moruo .Guo regards the monk an out- and-out bad egg who should be torn limb from limb a thousand times while Mao t hinks t he monk is one w ho needs , to be educated and won over in stead of being punished mercilessly . 4 .t he evil mist: mainly referring to Soviet revisionists .

1 79

: --
q l k n s w k-ng sn d b g n i j ng , r y din d sh i xio n o o f du c b duy dio d i u , zh ni g w n w n bi u n j n n t o b g l sn zo j ng i i , qi n d d o ng gu t s ru ng ng y h ku sh b d ng m o , ji o y sh kn z sh ng j n zh y zh sh u hu ng y c o ( ) 1 80

Guo Moruos Poem

T HOUGHT S ON SEE ING THE GOLDEN MONKEY SUBDU ES THE DEMON T HREE T IMES
Humans and demons , right and wrong , he all blends , The monk pities the foes and cruel to his friends . He keeps mumbling t he curse on the monkey in a vexed tone, And three times he let off the evil demon of white bone . The monk should die a thousand times if dealt with fair , Thanks to t he monkey who comes to help by plucking his hair . Timely teaching proves to be a laudable and wort hy school , So even the Pig can be taught t herein wiser t han a fool .
( October 18 , 1961 )

1 81

b su n z yng m i ,

,
f y sng ch n gu ng - f i xu y ch n d ng o

y sh y b zh ng b ng xu n i y u y hu zh qi o u

qi y zh o b ng ch n zh ch n li b o b

d d sh hu l m n sh i o n n t zi c ng zh -ng xi o ( )

1 82

ODE TO THE PLUM BLOSSOM 1

to the tune of Song of Di vination
A f ter read ing L u You s O de to the Pl u m Blosso m , I com posed t he f ollow ing to the sa me tu ne yet opposite to L u Yous in theme .
2

Wind and rain escorted Spring to go, 3 Now spring returns welcomed by flying snow .4 High on the cliffs are icicles5 hundred- foot long, there , A flower springs up so fair . So fair she is , yet , not so vain As to dominate Spring but to say it comes again . One day when all flowers bloom in different styles , She stands amid them all and smiles .6
( Dece mber , 1961)

1 83

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .Ode to the Plum Blossom : Ot her implications are possible , but more scholars maintain t he plum blossom symbolizes t he Chinese Communist Part y against t he Communist Par ty of t he Soviet U nion .The poem was writ ten in December 1961 , only one mont h after the close of t he T wen ty- Second Congress of t he Communist Part y of t he Soviet U nion ; during t he time, the Chinese Communist Party was attacked by many ot her communist parties or organizations headed by the Soviet Par ty w hom Mao Zedong deemed as revisionists betraying Marxism and Leninism .At home China s economic sit uation was rat her gloomy then , thus the phrase icicles hundred- foot longis not only a factual descrip tion of t he winter time but also a metaphor alluding to a harsh reality that t he Part y faced up to . This poem had been circulated wit hin t he Party for two years before it was published in the 1963 edition of Poems of Chairm an M ao( Peoples Literature Press , 1963) . 2 .Lu You : alias Fang Weng(1125-1210 ) ( Wild Old Man ) , native of Shanyin( now Shaoxing , Zhejiang ) , a great poet in t he Sou thern Song Dynasty . Lu You s poems are imbued with ardent patriotism , but t he one referred to in Mao Zedongs poem reveals t he ot her side of his st yle , i .e .graceful and tactful( see his Ode to t he Plum Blossomon the next page) . 3 .See t he poem Reply to Qin Taixus Ode to t he Plum Blossom 1 84

by Su Shi ( 1037- 1101 ) , a poet of t he Nort hern Song Dynasty : U naware that it is wind and rain t hat has sen t off spring . Also see t he story The Jade Bodhisatt va in Popu lar S tories o f the Capital , vol .10 . . .while Wang Jinggong ( Wang Anshi, 1021: 1086 , a Prime Minister of the Northern Song Dynasty t r .) saw t he flower petals scattered down to t he ground by the wind , he thought , so it was t he east wind t hat destoyed spring . Spring in t he poem by Mao stands for t he period w hen socialism was still in bloom; t he plum for t he Chinese Communist Party . 4 .flying snow : the depressing political sit uation in the world . 5 .icicles: hinting at the same as flying snow . 6 .The last two lines are in tended to a censure that t he Chinese Communist Part y was going to usurp the leadership over the In ternational Communist Movement .

1 85

: -
b su n z yng m i , y i du n qi o bin w m k i w zh j , y sh h n d zch u hu ng g ng zhu h f ng y , w y zh ng ch n k y n q f ng d r n , ng lu ch ng n ni zu ch n l n zh y xing r g u 1 86

Lu Yous Poem
ODE T O T HE P LUM BLOSSOM to the tune of Song of Di vination
By t he broken bridge near the post in repose, She , unseen and forlorn , blazingly blows . Saddened , she stands alone in the dusks reign , Exposed to more attacks from the wind and rain . Wit h no intention to be the springs pride , She ignores t he envy from flowers by her side . When ground to dus t and existing no more , Shell still smell as fragrant as before .

1 87

q l d -ng y n

xu y d -ng y b x f i n i w n hu f xi y x n sh ,

g tin g g h n li o n n j d d i w nu n q w i chu

d y y ng xi q b o u ng h 5 4 1

g ng w h ji p xi p o ng

m i hu hu xm n ti n xu n d ng s c ng y ng w z q i ( ) 1 88

WIN T ER CLOUDS 1
to the tune of Seven- Character L Shi Catkin-like snow2 whirls while winter clouds hang low , All of a sudden so many flowers fade or die in woe .3 In the skies cold waves roll on , swift and strong, On the earth warm breeze gently fans and moves along .4 Only heroes can drive leopards and tigers away ,
5

No brave men would fear wild bears6 today . Plum blossoms7 like whirling snow scattered in the sky , While flies8 seasonally freeze and tragically die .
( Dece mber 26 , 1962)

1 89

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .Winter Cloud : The day on w hich Mao Zedong w rote t he poem was t he bir thday of Mao at the age of 69 . This poem was first published in Poems of Chairm an M ao ( Peoples Literature P ress , Peking , 1963) . 2 .catkin- like snow: The simile is possibly from New A necdotes of Social T alk by Liu Yiqing ( 403- 444 ) of t he Song Dynast y : On a snowing day , Xie A n , a scholar , was discussing literature wit h his nephew and niece; it was snowing harder and Xie An asked wit h pleasure: What is the w hite flying snow like ? Xie Lang , his nephew, answered Nearly like salt sprayed in t he air . , But Xie Daoyun, his niece, retorted , Bet ter say it is like willow catkins w hirling in t he wind . 3 .Cat kin- like snow . . . or die in woe : These two lines imply the political sit uation in the world at the time was depressingly unfavourable to the Chinese Communist Part y .Mao though t most of the so- called Marxist Parties in various count ries had degenerated in to revisionists . Many flowers: many so- called Marxist Parties . 4 .On t he earth warm breeze gen tly fans and moves along : ( Though t he opposition Parties seem powerful, ) t hings gradually take a favourabe turn to t he Chinese Communist Party ; the brighter fut ure is visible . 1 90

5 .leopards and tigers: referring to imperialists . 6 .wild bears: Soviet revisionists; Russian Bears . 7 .Plum blossoms: implying t he Chinese Communist Party . 8 .flies: opport unists who sneaked in to the communist ranks .

1 91

m n jing h ng -

h gu m ru t zh - ng

, xi o xi o hu n qi y g c u j ng y ng p ng b , w ng w ng jio , sh ng q j l sh ng ch q j -u

m y yu n hu ku d gu i p f h n sh t h n y

zh ng x lu y xi ch ngn f ng 1 92

f i m d ng

, du sh o sh - ; c ng li j

tin d zhu n gu ng y n p , y ni t i ji w n n zh zh ng zh x o -

s h f n t y shu n i ng n 6 2 3

w zh zh d ng f l -u n ng i j , y s ch y h r ch ng o o qi i n qu n w d ( ) 1 93

REPLY TO COM RADE GUO MOR UO 1

to the tune of River f ul Red Flies , 2 a few , dash themselves against the wall Of this globe small .3 Listen ! How they hum around the ball , Shrill with fears And sob in tears . Boasting, Ants deem their nest in the locust tree a big state, 4 So funy, mayflies all conspire to shake the tree gigantically great .5 Now in Chang- an6 the west wind scatters the fallen leaves down Like whistling arrows flying and gone .7 Things are too many indeed To be done in urgent need . Heaven and earth move around , 8
1 94

Time in greatest demand . Ten thousand years are too long to delay, Be sure to seize the night and day . Four seas rage with clouds and waters in anger , Five continents rock roaring the wind and thunder . To eradicate all pests on this small star , Mightily invincible we are !
( January 9 , 1963)
9

1 95

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .On the New Years Day of 1963 , Guo Moruo composed a ci-poem Feelings on t he New Year s Day of 1963 to the t une of Riverful Red . Guo sent t he poem to Mao Zedong and Mao wrote t he poem above as a reply . This poem was first published in t he 1963 edition of Poems of Chairm an M ao( Peoples Literature P ress , Peking, 1963) . 2 . flies: here mainly implying what Mao Zedong called Soviet revisionists . 3 .t his global small: t his small globe , t he earth .It is small when seen in the boundless space . 4 .An ts dee m their nest in t he locust tree a big state : According to The Governor of the Sout hern Tribu tary St ate by Li Gongzuo, a story- teller in the Tang dyansty , a man called Cun Yufen dreamed of a count ry called Big Locust Tree State and became t he son- inlaw of t he king ; he stayed in t he state as the governor of the Sou thern Tributary State for 20 years .One day he was sen t back to t he human world , awakening to find the state in w hich he had stayed was nothing but a big ant nest in the locust t ree .What had been called the Sout hern Tributary was only a tiny sou thern branch of t he tree .Mao uses the story to insinuate chauvinism . 5 .mayflies all conspire to shake t he tree gigantically great: The allusion comes from a poem Jokingly written to Zhang Ji 1 96

(768 ? -830) How ridiculous are t he mayflies / That conspire to : shake the gigan tic t ree .The big t ree here in t he poem is compared to the Chinese Communist Part y . 6 .Chang- an : t he capital of bot h the T ang and Han dynasties , now Xi-an in Shaanxi Province; here believed to symbolize the headquar ters of hegemonism . 7 .w histling arrows flying and gone : The w histling arrow is a weapon invented in the Han Dynasty by Huns , here signifying multiple, even self- cont radictory explanations: 1 ) arrows shot from behind against the Chinese Communist Part y ( Jour na l of the R iver and Sea , No .7 , 1964 ) ; 2 ) a signal given by t he Chinese Communist Party to attack revisionists; 3 ) the first at tack upon t he Chinese Communist Party ( Literat ure, History and Philosophy, No .1 , 1964 ) ; 4 ) a gust of cold wind ( Liberation Daily, October 1 , 1964) . 8 .Heaven and earth move around: The situation in the world is changing . 9 .Four seas: all over t he world .Ancien t Chinese believed that China was surrounded by t he four seas; here Four Seas may specifically refer to the Pacific Ocean , the Atlan tic Ocean , t he Indian Ocean and the Arctic Ocean .

1 97

: -- -
m n jing h ng , c ng h h ng li i f ng xi ch y ng xi b n s n ng , r li y n , ji qi tu n ji ng - ji n ch yu n z , ti n ku xi i q d l ng q sh y f zh p m zh , xi y ch ng bi hu n zh t ng ng j n -ng d -ng f ng b i 1 98

,
t i y ng ch ; b ng sh d n , zh n z j n i ? q xi o shu , y xi w n s ju n u ng w m j i n l , ji qu n f i y kn xi zh o o n ni r h w xio x i - , y ng d -ng f g zh n h ng q ng m ng qi k n ch n ( )

1 99

Guo Moruos Poem

to the tune of River f ul Red
I t is against t he anger of the wild sea That a heros mettle is shown to t he last degree . People, six hundred million s trong , If united as one , Wit h a principle abided by , Can hold up the falling sky ; If t he world goes as tray , They put it in a right way . Listen ! The cocks crow echoes t he world at nigh t , The eastern sky becomes white . Now out comes the sun , Melting icebergs anon , But melting not gold Wit h the pure quality told . Four volumes1 in the peoples hand Serve as a principled stand . Ridiculous is Jies dog barking at Yao , 2 V anishing into t he sea like a clay- made cow .3 Behold ! T he red flags in t he wind unfurledly fly ,
2 00

Red is t he eart h and heaven on high .

( January 1 , 1963) Translator Notes s 1 .four volumes: referring to Selected Works o f Mao Zedong, Vol .14 , published from 1951 to 1960 in succession . 2 .Jies dog barking at Yao: t he tyrant Jies dog yapping at t he sageking Yao ; a pack of hounds barking at a good man .The allusion is from Sima Qians The Record ings o f History , V .8 3 .Jie is said to be an tyrant in t he Xia Dynasty ( 1766 B . C . ? -1122 B .C . ?) while Yao a virt uous king legendarily ruling in the prehistoric period ( 2255 B .C . ? - 2207 B .C . ?) .Obviously , Jies dog could in no way bark at Yao, for t here was a time gap of about 440 years bet ween the two ages in w hich Jie and Yao lived respectively .It is therefore understood t hat Guo metaphorically uses it to hin t at the sit uation in which some revisionists sided wit h imperialism to attack the Communist Part y of China . 3 .clay-made cow : things easy to melt in to water ; an allusion from A Monk in Longshan Mountain of Tanzhou by Shi Daoyuan a scholar in t he Song Dynasty Dong Shan asked t he monk again , : What reason makes you live in t his moun tain ? The monk answered I have seen two clay- made cows struggle against each , ot her , vanishing in to the sea and never coming back .Here Guo refers to w hat is called reactionaries in t he world .

2 01

q l 2 0

di o lu hu n t zh r ng ng

d ng ni c sh ng f i j d n o h ng du m i xing w i j n l , ch ng zh ng b sh k n n n r zh n f ng w i d w t j n n 6 7 0

ch m w n q d ni o y n i k n xio lo y ng f i j ch ng , b x r sh j n j n ng l n -

?
( )

gu u y n n k w shu y n

2 02

A LAMENT FOR COM RADE LUO RONGHUAN 1

to the tune of Seven- Character L Shi Remember still those years when you bravely fought , Of many things in the Red Army we independently thought .2 Long March was never unbearable for me and you , The battle at Jinzhou3 was a matter of importance true . I t was heard that the quail often sneered at the roc , From time to time the eagle had to bear the hens mock .5 Alas , now you passed away , our sorrow beyond compare , Who else can I consult hereafter about the state affair ?
( Dece mber , 1963)
4

2 03

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 . Luo Ronghuan : ( 1902-1963 ) , a native of Hengshan , Hunan Province .After t he founding of the Peoples Republic of China, he was appointed Procurator- General of the Summit P rocurate, Director of the General Political Depart ment of the People s Liberation Army , Vice- Chairman of National Defense , member of the Political Bureau of t he Cent ral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party . This poem was first published in the People s Daily ( September 9 , 1978) . 2 .we independen tly t hough t : The original is obscure in meaning , suggesting possibly 1 ) often separated from each other ; 2 ) often had different opinions .In 1929 , t here arose heated dispute over a series of important issues between Mao Zedong and t he ot her Party leaders .Luo was said to have sided wit h Mao at the time . Later on , Mao Zedong was forced to resign from his leading post and separated from Luo to anot her place .Abou t four mont hs later in November of t he same year, Mao Zedong was restored to his original post .In October 1932 , however, Mao was again dismissed from his post by w hat is called Left oppor tunists headed by Wang Ming ; in Spring 1933 , Luo Ronghuan suffered a similar dismissal, and left t he First Red Army , t hus Mao and Luo separated from each ot her t he second time .It was not un til t he beginning of the Long March that Mao and Luo were again together . 2 04

3 .the battle at Jinzhou : In 1948 , before the Liaoshen Bat tle, Mao Zedong gave a directive to the North west Field A rmy t hat the first target of attack should be Jinzhou , yet , Lin Biao, the comm ander-in- chief of t he Field A rmy, hesitated to take action , intending to storm Changchun , t he capital of Jilin Province first . Luo Ronghuan , the t hen poiltical commissar of t he Nort hwest Field Army , tried to persuade Lin Biao to follow Maos strategical plan .Lin finally gave in and t he battle for Jinzhou was won .This victory opened up the way for t he fut ure victories , t herefore Mao deemed t he battle at Jinzhou a matter of great importance . 4 .t he quail often sneered at the roc: an allusion from Zhuang Zi: A quail sneers at a roc t hat flies high and far .T he quail and the roc are believed by cer tain scholars to insinuate the Soviet revisionist leaders and t he Chinese Communist Party respectively . 5 .the eagle had to bear the hens mock : an allusion from Fables of I van A ndreevich K rylov ( 1768 1844 ) : A hen mocks an eagle that happens to fly low . The eagle answers: An eagle indeed sometimes flies low , but a hen can never fly as high as an eagle does .The eagle and t he hen are believed to hint at t he Chinese Communist Party and t he Soviet revisionist leaders respectively .

2 05

h x l n ng d sh

r yu n xi ng y bi n

zh g sh t m j u gu xi o sh ji r - , t ti zh ng l -ng f n hu y n , w w h sh c d i n i

( )

b gu ( sh ) qin h n r j , r sh f k i k xio n n n ng u - sh ng jing ch ng b w g c n -ng yu , li bi le n 2 06

ji o yu n xu

, y n d b t f i xu pi u , d n d n b di di j b n n n h ng ch n j j , w d sn hu ng sh n sh ng sh - pi le w y gu k n

y du sh f li r w u - o ng n , d zh zhu o ng ju li y h u g ng ch n w ng f n q hu hu ng yu

g w i j ng d -ng f ng b i ( ) 2 07

R EADING HISTORY 1
to the tune of Congratulating Bridegroom Ape and man bowed goodbye to disen-gage ; 2 The human beings childhood stage Was but a whetstone in the Stone Age .3 In stoves were burning the bronze, iron and steel , 4 When did man learn the smelting skill ? Thousands of years passed but hot and cold for a while . In the human world it is hard to find a grinning smile , Killing his own brethren was mans practice vile . Alas , the land so fair Is soaked in blood everywhere .
2 08

My hair now is st reaked with snow When a volume is read through , so I remember nothing but traces a few Of the past happenings unt rue . Of Five Emperors5 and Three Kings6 the recorded holy deeds Deceived countless people , now and then , of all breeds . How many genuine heroes were there in history after all ? Only, Zi the bandit7 and Jue the rebel8 Who should now deserve the fame without a fall And Chen the slavesking9 who once wielded The battle ax of bronze as a call . Now in the east breaks the day Before I finish this epic lay .
( Spring , 1964)

2 09

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .Reading History : This poem is a reflection upon the major phases of human development . The poem was first published in the People s Daily ( September 9 , 1978 ) . 2 . Ape and man bowed goodbye to disengage : Ape and man are believed by Charles Robert Dar win ( 1809-82 ) to be of t he same ancester ; or in another word , Dar win derives the human race from a hairy quadrumanous animal belonging to the great ant hropoid group, and related to t he progenitors of t he orang- utan , chimpanzee and gorilla .The evolution of man from ape has gone t hrough a period of about t hree million years . 3 .the Stone Age: t he initial developmen t of human beings spanning a period of about two or t hree million years during w hich mankind s productive tools were chiefly made of stone . 4 .In stoves were burning the bronze, iron and steel: referring to the ages of bronze and iron . 5 .Five Emperors: five legendary rulers in ancient China: Huang Di (2698 ? B .C . 2598 ? B .C .) , Zhuan Xu ( 2514 ? B .C .- 2436 ? B . C .) , Di Ku (2436 ? B .C . 2366 ? B .C .) , Yao( 2357 ? B .C . 2257 ? B .C .) , Shun( 2255 ? B .C .- 2207 ? B .C .) . 6 .Three Kings: 1 ) Fu Xi, Shen Nong , H uang Di; 2 ) the King of Heaven , t he King of earth , t he King of Man . 2 10

7 .Zi the bandit : the leader of the slave rebels at t he end of the Spring and Aut umn Period ( 770B .C . 476B .C .) .See t he chap ter Zi the Bandit in Zhunag Zi: Zi t he bandit . . .wit h his nine thousand followers , rode roughshod t hroughout t he country and outraged the dukes and nobles; and t he chapter Be Careful in Xun Zi: Zi the bandit enjoys a name as shining as t he sun and moon , and as lasting as the reputation of Shun and Yu . 8 .Jue t he rebel: the leader of t he slave rebellion t hat took place in t he State of Chu in t he Warring States Period ( 475B .C .- 221B . C .) 9 .Chen t he slaves king : Chen Sheng ( ? -208B . C .) , a native of Yangcheng( now Dengfeng of Henan Province ) , the leader of the slave uprisings t hat broke out at t he end of t he Qin Dynasty (221B .C . 207B .C .) . -

2 11

shu o g t di u ch ng sh ng g j ng ng sh n

, ji y ng y zh ul n ch ng sh ng g j ng ng sh n , qin i x g d l l n ji m bi x n y o n n

d ch y ng g y w o n , g ng yu ch n ch n li shu g r y du o l n n , gu le hu ng y ji ng 2 12

xi ch b x k n n

, ,

f l d ng i ng q f n j ng sh hu n r n

sn sh b ni gu q n t zh y hu n n ji ,

k sh ng ji tin yu l n

k xi w y ng zhu bi - - t xi o k g hu n n i , sh w n n sh sh ng zh y k n d ng p o n ( ) 2 13

R EASCENDING JINGGANG MOUN TAIN 1

to the tune of Prelude to Water Melody With a long- cherished clouds- reaching ideal , 2 I again visit Jinggang Mountain with zeal . Covering a thousand miles to view the old land , I see the former scene become newly grand . Everywhere swallows dance , orioles sing , And st reams splash and ring , A high way3 mounts to the clouds wing . The boundary of Huangyangjie4 is passed once , No other passes deserve a glance .5 Behold ! In this human world Wind and thunder6 are heard to roar ,
2 14

Flags and banners gaudily soar . Thirty- eight years are past , So quickly as if you snapped a finger fast .7 Up in the Ninth Heaven themoon ,
8

we can pluck

Down in the Five Oceans9 we may seize tur tles soon , In triumph we return with laughters and songs boon . In this world nothing is hard to do, T ry scaling the heights , success attend you !
( May , 1965)

2 15

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .Reascending Jinggang Moun tain : Mao Zedong and his men went to Jinggang Moun tains in October 1927 .Thir ty- eight years later on May 22 to 29 , 1965 , Mao revisited the place w hile he made an inspection tour of the regions south as well as nor th of the Yangzi River .See notes to Jinggang Mountain to t he t une of Moon over West River and Jinggang Mountain to t he tune of Charm of Maiden Niannu . This poem was first published in Poetry ( January 1976 ) . 2 .clouds- reaching ideal: a pun implying 1 ) lofty aspirations , great ambition; 2 ) a wish for a revisit to Jinggang Mountain w hich towers in to t he sky . History of La ter Han Dynasty , XXV III : Feng Yan often claimed himself to be one w ho possesses a cloudreaching ideal . 3 .A high way : a way built in the winter of 1960 , leading to Jinggang Mountain from Ningganglong of Jiangxi Province . 4 .H uangyangjie: See the note to Jinggang Moun tain to the t une of Moon over West River. 5 .The boundary . . .deserve a glance: metaphor , implying if one has gone t hrough the sor t of st ruggle waged in t he Jinggang Mountain , no ot her kind of difficult y deserves a mention . 6 . Wind and t hunder : metaphor, the revolu tion waged by the proletariat . 2 16

7 .as if you snapped a finger fast: as if you snapped a finger very quickly; a phrase of buddhism , meaning a flash of time . 8 .t he Nint h Heaven : the highest heaven . 9 .Five Oceans: the Pacific Ocean , t he Atlantic Ocean , t he Indian Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and t he Antarctic Ocean ; t he last one should be the Antarctic Con tinen t and may be regarded here as a kind of poetic licence .

2 17

ni n jio n nior w d n

, ,

k n p ng zh n ch w ji n l - f n d ng f y y ng jio o

b f q ng tin ch o xi k n i d sh jin ch ng gu -u r n

p hu li ti n o n , d n h n bi d n xi d o p ng ji n qu , z n me d o li 2 18

i y w y f i yu o

: qu d d r o

ji w q h ng n j n f

y xi n sh qi g u n ng , b ji qi ni qi yu n n n l ng d ng le sn ji ti yu o , h y ch i u de , t d sh u o sh le z ji ni r u i , b x p f ng - ( ) 2 19

sh tin d n f k n f

A DIALOGUE BE T WE EN TWO BIRDS 1

to the tune of Charm of Maiden N iannu Spreading his wings , the roc2 Soars ninety thousand li to shock The atmosphere into storms3 that unlock . Flying beneath the blue sky , looking down , He finds the human world covered by the city and town . The heaven- licking gunfire is heard, Shells everywhere render the earth laired , And a sparrow in the bush gets scared: 4

Oh , how terrible here to stay , I must at once fly away !

Tell me where your destination lies ? The sparrow replies :

2 20

To a fairieshill where jaded palaces rise .5 The autumn moon shone brighter two years ago When three sides signed a pact , don t you know ? There are also things to chew : Potatoes cooked well ,
7 With beef added , too . 6

No passing wind, you bird, Look , the heaven and the earth are upside down transferred .8
( Aut mun , 1965)

2 21

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .A Dialogue Between Two Birds: In 1960 s , t here among the communists throughout t he world arose the great polemics over some essential principles concerning Marxism and Leninism .Bot h the Communist Par ty of China and the Communist Part y of Soviet U nion plunged themselves in to t he debate and were ideologically and diamet rically opposed to each ot her . The roc in the poem stands for the Communist Party of China w hile the sparrow in the bush t he Soviet revisionists . This poem was first published in Poetry ( January 1976) . 2 .t he roc: one of t he two birds .See notes to From Tingzhou to Changsha to t he tune of Bu tterflies Love Flowers and A Lamen t for Comrade Luo Ronghuan. 3 .storms: storms of revolution in t he world . 4 . a sparrow in t he bush gets scared: revisionists in general; particularly referring to t hose who believe that a spark of dispute migh t give rise to a world war and even finally destroy t he w hole mankind . 5 .a fairies hill where jaded palaces rise : alluding to a theory of rendering t he world in to one wit hout troops , arms and wars . 6 . t hree sides signed a pact: referring to the convention on prohibition of nuclear experiment wit hin atmosphere, outerspace and under t he sea signed by Great Britain , t he U nited States and 2 22

Soviet U nion in Moscow in July and August, 1963 .Mao Zedong regarded the conven tion as a political fraud in tended to maintain t he monopoly of nuclear powers wit hin several coun tries w hile depriving t he rest of t he countries of t he righ t to experiment wit h nuclear weapons . 7 .Potatoes cooked well,/ Wit h beef added , too : On April 1 , 1964 , in a factory of Budapest , H ungary , Nikita khrushchev generalized what he called communism as a need for a good dish of potatoes well cooked wit h beef . 8 .the heaven and the ear th are upside down : On January 30 , 1962 , at an extended meeting of the Central Committee of t he Chinese Communist Part y held in Peking , Mao Zedong said : From now on , the period of about fifty years or one hundred years will be a great age, in which t he social systems of the world will see a thorough change and the heaven and the eart h will be upside down ; it will be an era t hat will come to pale any other periods in history .

2 23

P ar t T w o

q g sng zng y y ng d l -ng xng

y k h ng yu y n zh n i j

tin m f ng hu ng ch n sh l

ni sh zh ng r q ji c n o ng i sh chu q q zh n n c ng -ng c

xng w w f h g j n i o k n p ng l c ng zsh j ng

d ng ng xi ng shu zh ng li tin t n ch -ng m ng ji zh d j n -ng zh 2 26

,
w du s ch ti n ch u n n y x ng b d i -ng f chu ng w n l

zh ng f h sh y hu z ng i y jing y zh k n m o u t , c ng h h ng li n z i l sh f y h z sh n n l , gu n qu zji sh n y x n xi -ng zh -ng yu ch ng x n m r i , m ng sh w b ni y j n i n zh -ng ji y z g l l

p ng g l ng -ng qi yu y n du ch ng m du y i shu ng m d 2 27

,
d -ng y ng zhu yu sh ji n hu n w f zy q y n j n ( )

2 28

SEEING JU U ICHIRO 1 OF F TO JAPAN

to the tune of Seven- Character Ancient Odes Over Hengyue Mountain2 dark clouds disperse and cold current flees , Heavenly Horse and P hoenix Mountains3 are seen covered with spring trees . Here are bred outstanding scholars like Qu Yuan4 and Jia Yi5 , gifted and young , T he spirit and essence of mountains and rivers all here throng .6 For your leave- taking I now chant a hearty song, T he roc7 cleaves through the waves right from now on . T he waters of Dongting Lake8 and Xiang River rise into the sky, T he great steamship will soon in the sea
2 29
9

eastward ply . Anyhow the sky is full of grief your hear t cannot allay, T hanks to the east wind that scatters the grief ten thousand miles away . T here is nothing to worry about for a true man , I advise , Youd better regard the universe as tiny as a grain of rice . T he adverse current in the sea10 is but a mere trifle at all , Secular affairs in disorder should not your attention call . T ake care of the cultivation of your own body and mind, and do Keep the sun and moon in your heart beautiful and new . Just five hundred years past since the birth of the last great man , 11 All the other figures in powers now are of a mediocre clan . In front of the Pinglang House12 is shown
2 30

sincere friendship , T he Chongming13 and Tsushima Islands14 are separated only by a water strip When you are in Japan from you we ll be eager to hear , But lets say goodbye to you right now and here .
( Spring , 1918)

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .Ju Ichiro: alias of Luo Zhanglong( 1896- ?) , a native of Liu- yang Count y, H unan Province, Mao Zedong s classmate in No . 1 Associated Middle School of Changsha in 1915 .He was one of the initiators of t he organization of t he Chinese Communist Par ty in Peking .But in January 1931 , he was expelled from t he Part y for what was called t he Righ t opport unist splitting activities . 2 .Hengyue Mountain : Hengshan , wit h 72 peaks, sit uated in the middle of Hunan . 3 . Heavenly H orse and P hoenix Mountains: three mountains

belonging to t he Y uelu Mountain Ranges: t he Big Heavenly Horse Moun tain , the Small Heavenly Horse Mountain and the Phoenix Moun tain . 2 31

4 .Q u Yuan : also called Qu Ping ( 340B . C . 278B . C .) , a great Chinese poet and statesman in the period of the Warring States . Being out of favour with t he King of Chu and finding no way to realize his political ambition , he finally committed suicide by drow ning himself in the Mieluo River, leaving behind some poems such as Li Sao A Lamen t ) , usually regarded by many Chinese ( men of letters as t he greatest poetic efforts in classical Chinese literat ure . 5 .Jia Yi ( 200 B .C .- 168 B . C .) : a talen ted man of letters and a statesman in the Western Han Dynast y .He rose to fame w hen he was eigh teen years old . 6 .The line implies the place is noted for an abundance of men of talents . 7 .the roc: See notes to March from Tingzhou to Changsha, A Dialogue between the T wo Birds and A Lamen t for Comrade Luo Ronghuan . 8 .Dongting Lake : See note 6 to Reply to a Friend to t he t une of Seven- Character L Shi. 9 .Xiang River : See note 3 to Changsha to the t une of Spring Beaming in Garden. 10 .The adverse current in t he sea: t he great political chaos . 11 .Just five hundred years past since t he last great man : See the chapter Gongsun Chouin T he Book of Menci us , 4 .1 3 It is a : rule t hat a t rue Imperial sovereign should arise in t he course of 2 32

five hundred years, and t hat during that time there should be men illust rious in their generation .From t he commencement of the Zhou Dynasty till now , more than 700 years have elapsed . Judging numerically , t he date is past .Examining t he character of the present time, we migh t expect the rise of such individuals in it .B ut Heaven does not yet wish that the empire should enjoy tranquillity and good order .If it wished t his , w ho is t here besides me to bring it about ? How should I be other wise than dissatisfied ? 12 .Pinglang House: a palace of Taoism , located in Changsha . 13 .Chongming : the name of an island , situated in the north of Shanghai, the ent rance of t he Yangzi River to the East Sea . 14 .Tsushima Islands: t he name of islands of Japan .

2 33

x ng yu ji qi sh q y -u

, ji g j n o -ng n ng g mng - q h li d f t o n o u , ku ng y d b ng li l i t y xi ng xi o xi ng zh o j n

, d ch ng ch ng y p zh n ng m g g t ch u n ng

qi sh sh ji m y ch u -u n p y b o d l sh ng ng ( ) 2 34

THE AU T UMN HARVEST U PR ISINGS

to the tune of Moon over West R iver T he insurgent army of workers and peasants is our name , T he emblem of our banners is the sickle and ax in a frame . I n the district of Kuanglu we shall not stay , But press straight on to Hunan without delay . Landlords oppression is so heavey to bear T hat all the peasants hate it and roundly swear . Just in autumn harvest season when evening clouds pout , Like a thunderbolt from the sky the rebellion breaks out .
(1927)

2 35

li y n sh g p ng d i hu t zh i ng

sh g yu n k ng sh n n o l d z j n ng h ng ch b n -

shu g n h ng d m o l w i w p ng d jing ( jn )

2 36

TO COMRADE PENG DEHUAI 1

to the tune of Si x- Character Poetry Mountains high , roads long , and valleys deep , Mighty armies th rough Northern Shaanxi sweep . Who dare with sword drawn sharp stop his 2 steed ? Only Peng , our great general , indeed !
( October , 1935)

2 37

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 . Peng Dehuai: ( 1898-1974 ) , a native of Xiang tan , Hunan Province; commander of t he Fifth Red Army , Vice-Chairman of the Military Commission of t he Cen tral Committee of the Communist Par ty of China , Vice- Premier of the State Council, Minister of National Defense .At Lushan Meeting in 1959 , Peng Dehuai was unjustly criticised for what was called Righ t opportunism; later on he was more seriously persecuted by the gang of four he died in disgrace on November 29 , 1974 .See ; note 1 to Ascen t of Lushan Moun tain. This poe m was first published in Newspapers o f Com radesi n- Arms ( August 1 , 1947 ) sponsored by t he armies of HebeiShandong- Henan, and republished in Literat ure and Art of Peoples Liberation Ar my ( April, 1957 ) and in the 1986 edition of Selected Poems of Mao Zedong ( Peoples Literat ure Press , Peking , 1986) . 2 .Who dare wit h sword draw n sharp stop his steed : Who dare stop his steed with sword draw n sharp . O n October 19 , 1935 , the Cen tral Commit tee of the Chinese Communist Part y and AntiJapanese Vanguard Troops under the command of Peng Dehuai reached the Tow n of Wuqi, Shaanxi Province, w hen five K uomintang cavalry regiments were in hot pursuit . In order to preven t the cavalry regimen ts from en tering the revolutionary base area in nor thern Shaanxi, t he advance troops led by Peng Dehuai 2 38

fough t fiercely and wiped out one cavalry regiment at Damaoliang near t he Tow n of Wuqi .Because this was the first victory won by t he Red Army after it reached nort hern Shaanxi, Mao Zedong wrote a six- character- line poem ( t he only one in this form in Mao s collection of poems ) in praise of Peng Dehuais martial feat . Peng , on receiving the poem , modestly changed the last line into O nly our heroic red armies indeed and sent the revised version , to Mao Zedong .

2 39

n ji ng xin l g i d ng ng t zh l ng

, b h ng q pi o lu zh o sh ng x m ju n g f ng n ch ng

b on r w y x n n sh

d ng zh -ng k i y n hu zh d ch o r o i l n - ? xi n b y shu y s zh sn qin m s b ng o j ng zh t k xi lng sh n d n i ng -ng 2 40

,
zu n w n xio ji ti r w jing j n j n ( )

2 41

TO COMRADE DING LING 1

to the tune of I m mortal at Ri verside The red flags over the wall2 fluttering in the setting sun , The west wind caressing the separate town , Now in Baoan3 county new heroes throng . An entertaining banquet is offered to hail A heroine who was just released from jail . What can be compared to her slender pen ? With Mauser- rifles4 three thousand picked men . Beyond north of Longshan5 our war plan is under way, A literary lady yesterday , Now a general in battle array .
(1936)

2 42

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .Ding Ling : also called Jiang Yiwen ( 1904-1986 ) , a native of H unan , communist writer . On May 14 , 1933 , Ding Ling was kidnapped by t he K uomintang special agents in Shanghai and was put under house arrest for t hree years .O n September 18 , 1936 , she made a successful escape wit h t he help of the Chinese Communist Par ty .In October of t he same year , she went to Xi- an in disguise and from there she went to the Bao an County , nort hern Shaanxi .Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhang Wen tian and Bo Gu gave her a warm welcome .When asked w hat she was going to do there in the base area, she answered To be an Red Army soldier.On Nove mber 22 , 1936 , t he first literary circle in the liberated area China s Literature and Art Association was founded . Ding Ling was elected Chairman of t he body . On December 30 , 1936 , Ding Ling received t he poem sent by Mao Zedong by telegram when she was in t he Red Army pressing on to sout hern China .Then at the beginning of 1937 , Ding Ling came to Yenan , and Mao Zedong rewrote the poem wit h a w riting brush , giving it again to Ding . This poem was first published in New Observation ( July , 1980 ) . 2 .t he wall: t he cit y wall of the Baoan County . 3 . Bao an : a town situated in t he nor thwest of Shaanxi, the headquar ters of the Chinese Communist Par ty t hen . 2 43

4 .Mauser- rifles: powerful repeating rifles invented by Paul Mauser ( 1838-1914) , a German inventor .Sun Yat- sen said on August 24 , 1922 , in his A T alk wit h the Newspaper It is often said that a : pen is mightier t han t hree t housand Mauser- rifles . 5 . Longshan : a moun tain situated in t he north west of t he Long County , Shaanxi Province . 6 .our war plan is under way: On December 12 , 1936 , Xi- an Incident took place ; t he main force of t he Red Army moved south ward to Xi- an wit h an intention to fight against the Kuo- mintang t roops , in cooperation with Nort heastern A rmy and Nor th western Army w hen Chiang Kai- shek was detained by his ow n subordinates Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng in Xi- an .Ding Ling , at the t hat time, was in the sout hward Red Army .

2 44

hu n xsh

[ ]

h li [ y z] xi n sh ng

, ,

y n ch q w ng g m ng qi n

du ni m d ku w bin - n o n r y j n so x yu n j n

, zux sh g ch ng zh r n o

zh ng h xi jiy n li qi n n n mio xi ng sh sh ng zh n q y n n ( )

2 46

REPLY TO MR .LIU YAZI 1

to the tune of Silk- W ashing S tream Yan Chu and King of Qi ordered each other to come on , 2 T he contradictions between them are deep for years long, 3 Now everything changes into a new age .4 What is the most pleasant is our poets loud song Echoing the victory news from the front , the battle stage . Look ! How bright are the war banners on Mount Myohyang .5
( Nove mber , 1950)

2 47

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .Reply to M r .Liu Yazi: On October 4 and 5 , 1950 , after watching t he opera Pigeon o f Peace, in Huai Ren Hall of Zhong Nan Hai, Peking, M r .Liu Yazi wrote a poem to t he tune of Silk- Washing Stream .The nex t month , Mao Zedong replied Lius poem to the same tune . This poem was first published in t he 1986 edition of Selected Poems of M ao Zedong( Peoples Literature Press, 1986) . 2 .Yan Chu and King of Qi ordered each ot her to come on : an allusion from Records o f the W arring Sta tes: When the king of Qi received Yan Chu , his subject , he said Come up to me, Chu . , Yan Chu also said Come up to me, my king .The King of Qi , was displeased .The ot her subjects said to the king Your Majesty , is t he king of all men ; Chu is only your subject .Is it appropriate for Chu to ask Your Majesty to come up to him w hen Your Majesty demands he come up to you ? To this , Chu answered I , come up to his Majesty only for flattering the power of king , but his Majesty comes up to me for his intention to approach wor thy subjects .It would be better for His Majesty to approach wor thy subjects t han for Chu to flatter the power of king . The King of Qi changed his colours angrily , questioning Who is nobler , king : or kings subjects ? Chu answered King is not noble, but kings : subjects are . Here Mao Zedong compares the King of Qi to Chiang Kai2 48

shek and Yan Chu to Liu Yazi: Chiang was not willing to be courteous to the wise or condescending to the scholarly while Liu was upright and never stooping to flattery . 3 .The con tradictions between the m are deep for years: Early in 1926 , Liu Yazi openly repudiated Chiang Kai- shek as a brand- new warlord; t hey had been at feud wit h each ot her for many years ever since . 4 .Now everyt hing changes into a new age: Everyt hing changes for the better after t he founding of the Peoples Republic of China . 5 .Mount Myohyang : Myohyang- Sanjulgi a mountain sit uated in the nort hwest of Korea; referring to t he Korean War .

2 49

q l

h zh sh o t zh -u zh ng

ch n ji ng h d ng z p hu o n i i y t c ng f w ng y n k i u ng

f q zh chu q ng l -u l ng y c ng q ng y sh ng sh i n l , z n qi t xio r y n n n ji y w ch ng sh i i j k 0 5 2

m t sh o hu r y n ng sh s ni r d h xt i n ng o ( ) 2 50

TO ZHOU SHIZHAO 1
to the tune of Seven- Character L Shi By the mighty spring river2 I linger erewhile with you , Then we ascend the jagged peaks to command a wider view . The wind from the green islet3 blows the waves without a stop , The rain over the emerald field now moistens the mountain top . At the feast we chat as before , our former selves restored, Pitiful are those chicken- and- worm affairs4 abroad . Don lament that time and youth too t quickly fly, Thir ty years later today5 we again gather at Hexitai .6
(1955) 2 51

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .Zhou Shizhao: See Maos Reply to a F riend to the t une of Seven- Character L Shi. In a letter to Zhou Shizhao, dated October 4 , 1955 , Mao Zedong says , I am interested in your poetic efforts and now I have replied to one of your L Shi poems; please dont stint your criticism . Zhou Shizhao was then the president of No .1 Middle School of H unan Province, and his poem was entitled Ascending Yuelu Moun tain with Chairman Mao . This poem was first published in t he 1983 edition of Selected Letters of M ao Zedong( Peoples Press , Peking , 1983 ) . 2 . spring river : referring to the Xiang River . See note 1 to Changsha. 3 .t he green islet: t he Orange Island in the Xiang River .See note 2 to Changsha. 4 . those chicken- and- worm affairs: alluding to Du Fu s poem Binding Chicken for Worms w hich Du Fu uses chicken- andin worm relationship as a metaphor to hint at t hose w ho are preying upon one anot her : worms are eaten by chickens and in t urn chickens are eaten by human beings .Lu Xun once w rote a poem An Elegy on Fan Ainong ( July 22 , 1912 ) , using the same metaphor to satirize the snobbish person He Jizhong, Fan Ainong s colleague, for his preying upon people in lower positions .One is ap t to be lured into t hinking of Hamlet s mad words in his 2 52

dialogue wit h King Claudius where the beggar( Hamlet ) eats fish , fish eats worms , worms eat king ( and Polonius ) , king ( and Polonius ) eats maggots, and finally maggots eat beggar ( Ha mlet, I V .iii .1 6-31) .So t he organic world in a sense exsists in a way of mutual production and destruction as all living things exist in a great chain of being .But here some scholars suggest t hat the metaphor is in tended by Mao Zedong to insinuate the power st rife wit hin t he Soviet revisionist leaders . 5 .Thirt y years later today : In Autumn of 1925 , Mao Zedong left Shaoshan , his native place , for Guangzhou , via Changsha w here he made a visit to Yuelu Mountain and places near t he moun tain ; he also w rote a poem Changsha to t he t une of Spring Beaming in Garden.Now in 1955 , just thirty years since t hen , he again came to t he same spot . 6 .Hexitai: a platform on top of t he Y uelu Mountain , built in 1528 .

2 53

ni n jio n

g j ng ng sh n

c tin w n m n

qin b i l

f i sh ng n n tin q yu , g d i h su ji ch ng l n du le l t i ng g u t

, ,

w b qi j ng i n

hu ng y ng ji sh ng ch z f i r yu - 2 54

ji ng sh r hu n

g d c ng y h i n i l , t zh sn sh b ni n n , r ji n bi le n n -

s tin yu f n f n

y u d j ng ni f hu n ng l ji s y r zu sh ng , du u h q y o ng ,

tin xu n m yu j ng f l p ng b ng i

y sh ng j ch ng 0 7 1

( ) 2 55

w n gu y xio y lu i n n

JINGGANG MOUN TAIN 1

to the tune of Charm of Maiden N iannu Amid millions of towering trees in age St retching hundreds of li , I fly Onto the top of a mountain so strange in the southern sky . Revisiting the old land what I have in view Are many pavillions and towers new . There Huangyangjie2 still lies , And the Five- Well Tablets3 rise , Past them my car quickly flies . Mountains and rivers are picture-like4 and sublime , But they are said to be a green sea in ancient time . As if with a snap of fingers
2 56

Past are thirty- eight years ; 5 Oh , how the human world changes its gown As heaven and sea are upside down !6 Remember still the war fires neigh And narrow escapes from death on our way Happen as if it were yesterday . Only, our sentiments and aspirations so high Are like the bright moon hanging in the distant sky Like the wind and thunder majestically sweeping by . Hear ! The cock now crows aloud, 7 All monsters disappear like vanished smoke and cloud .
( May , 1965)

2 57

TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .Jinggang Moun tain : See note 1 to Jinggang Moun tain to the t une of Moon over West River.For t he background information of t he poem , see note 1 to Reascending Jinggang Mountain to t he t une of Prelude to Water Melody. This poem was first published in t he 1986 edition of Selected Poems of M ao Zedong( Peoples Literature Press , 1986) . 2 .H uangyangjie: See note 2 to Jinggang Moun tain to the t une of Moon over West River. 3 .t he Five- Well Tablets: indicaters of five places in the Jinggang Moun tain area , i .e .the Large Well, the Small Well , t he U p Well, t he Middle Well, and t he Dow n Well . 4 .Mountains and rivers are picture- like: an allusion from t he poem Reflections at t he Red Cliff upon t he Ancien t Heroes to the tune of Charm of Maiden Niannu Su Shi ( Su Dongpo , 1036by 1101 ) , a great poet and scholar in the Nort hern Song Dynasty : Mountains and rivers are picture-like ,/ Reminiscent of t he heroes that thronged t he fleeting age . also reminds us of Mao Zedong It s own line in Snow to t he tune of Spring Beaming in Garden Wit h so much beaut y is t he land endowed ,/ So many : heroes t hus in homage bowed . 5 .Past are t hir ty- eigh t years: See note 1 to Jinggang Mountain to t he t une of Moon over West River. 2 58

6 .Heaven and eart h are upside down : Great changes have taken place in the human world . 7 . The cock now crows aloud : See Mao s Reply to Mr . Liu Yazi to the tune of Silk-Washing Stream At a crow of the : cock t he dark world is suddenly exposed to light .

FOR EWORD
The poet w hom we are to read occupies a curious bu t assured position in t he history of 20t h cen tury Chinese literature .Curious , because he was one w ho t heoretically advocated wit h all his hear t the development of modern poet ry the free verse written in the

vernacular and even hopefully asserted that t he brigh t fut ure of Chinese poet ry lay right in the development of folk- songs , yet in practice, he himself never wrote poet ry in plain Chinese but in a completely t raditional and classical style; assured , because he composed t he poetry so well t hat, at his best , few modern Chinese poets can rival him . To western minds , he is a political gian t who, t hough shaking old China to its foundation , remains a debatable figure as to his contribu tion to t he creation of a better world .But w hat captures our attention here is Mao t he poet , not Mao the statesman; still politically a subject of cont roversy , at home and abroad, he is , however , almost universally acknowledged as a successful poet of rare talent , even , to a moderate degree, by his 1

sworn enemies . Needless to say , when we approach t his man called Mao Zedong( 1893 1976 ) , we will not forget he was t he leader of the People s Republic of China , a coun try teeming wit h the largest population in the world , as well as a son of a peasant family in Shaoshan , Hunan Province .True, as a poet he wrote in a tradition of t housands of years from the ages of T he Book of O des through Q u Yuan ( 340 B .C . 278 B .C .) , Li Po ( Li Bai, 701 762) , Du Fu ( Tu Fu , 712 770 ) to Su Dongpo ( Su Shi, 1037 1101 ) . He did , however, distinguish himself from his predecessors; and what par ticularly marks him out as a celebrated poet is, as many believe, his enormous bread th of mind , unbounded aspiration and his dauntless daring, w hich often go beyond t he commonly conceived poetic universe .And this alone , I make bold to say , is justification enough to rank Mao among t he poets of t he first order . Re member , too, t he fact that he was not one of t hose professional lyrical singers who spend all their lives improving t heir art , but a figh ter as well as a military commander charging and storming fort resses , composing a few lines here and t here between life and death .Each piece finished is believed to be a window in to his personality , an insigh t in to his w hole being , a mout hpiece of his spirit and soul . To do him justice, as a poet playing upon a traditional lyre, he sings occassionally out of the classical t une, but on the w hole , his rhymes sound so pleasan t to the ear that during the Cultural Revolution the whole China echoed his songs wit h a frantic ent husiasm so t hat he was more quoted than any other poet in any 2

other coun try in any other age . The great impact of Maos poet ry upon the con temporary Chinese culture , particularly , contemporary Chinese literat ure, is strongly felt everyw here in the east .And t his , as you may agree , justifies rendering Maos poetic efforts in to a foreign language . To say Maos poetry is characterized by an enormous breadt h of mind and an unbounded aspiration does not mean Mao writes wit h pure high- sounding slogans; instead , Mao seems deliberately to avoid revealing his ambitions in a st raigh tforeward way .Often , he favours t he technique that pu ts landscape and hum an emotion side by side so t hat the landscape becomes the exponent of his aspirations .Here are lines from his much- quoted Snow t hat surely make the reader spellbound and serve to exemplify my point : A thousand li of the earth is ice-clad aground Ten thousan d li o f t he sky is snow-bound . Behol d ! A t both sides of the Great W all A n ex panse o f wh iteness conquers all ; In the Yellow R iver , up an d dow n , T he surging waves are gone ! Like silver snakes the mou nta ins dance, Like wax elephants the high lands bounce, A ll try to be higher than heaven even once ! Never before has modern Chinese literat ure had a poet whose descrip tion of landscape can rival that of Mao in bread th and power ! The endless earth , t he unbounded sky , the longest wall, the largest river, the dancing moun tains , and boundless highlands , all are 3

submerged in an expanse of w hiteness snow and ice, and meanw hile, all come alive through t he strokes of Mao s painting brush , for it is a pict ure bot h poetically existing in t he mind of poet s eye and realistically seen on t his small globe realities and : illusions overlap and merge t hemselves , t hus one cannot tell w het her it is the grand scene t hat comes in the eye of poets mind , or the mind t hat gives birt h to t he grand scene .If we know that in Chinese rivers and mountainsusually is a metonymy for political power , we understand what Mao here drives at : All t ry to be higher than heaven even once a possible allusion to cruel strifes for state power : on the part of so- called heroes . Of course, the poet is not con ten t wit h just giving a majestic descrip tion of t he spatial view , further, his mind s eye penet rates t hrough t he heavy cur tain of time in to history gaping for the ambitious advent urers: W ith so m uch beauty is the land en dowed , So m any heroes thus i n hom age bowed . T he f irst ki ng o f Qin and t he seven th ki ng o f Han , Neither was a true literary m an; T he f irst ki ng o f Song and the second king of Tang , Neither was noted f or poetry or song . E ven the Proud Son of Heaven , f or a time, Called Genghis Khan , i n h is prime, Knowing only shooting eag les over his tent W ith a bow so bent . All those emperors and kings so illustrious and renowned once 4

in history are only wor thy of a casual mention ; according to Maos standard , t hey are not truly great men. Thousands of li of space and thousands of years of time t hus criss- cross under Mao s pen like a network of meridians and parallels .The poem begins wit h the majestic sweep of heaven and eart h , yet ends with a note of regret: A las , all no longer rema in ! For tru ly great men , One shoul d look w ithin th is ages ken . To draw a conclusion from t he ending lines t hat Mao entertains an imperial ambition is obviously at odds wit h Mao s ow n explanation that t ruly great men refer to the proletariat see note 8 ( to the poem in t he text ) , i .e . a group of great men , not only one . The point here is I hope t he asser tion will not be wide of the m ark that Mao himself never refused to claim to belong in the group .He deserves the name, and more . A similar note rings familiar in many of Maos other poems such as To Yang Kaihuiwhere t he poet is believed to attempt a revolution in the sou th of China: Just as Moun t K unl un sud den ly topp les dow n , Or the typhoon sweeps t he worl d adow n . or as Changshaw here the young scholar , standing in t he autumn chill under t he frost y and vaulted sky wit h feelings and , , t hough ts evoked to tongue , his cannot hel p asking the lan d so i m mensely w ide and long 5

W ho can hol d up or sink you down ? - We were young as school m ates , A ll in ou r prime withou t tain ts, I m bued with young scholars daring , We defied all restrain ts . We criticised t he sta te a f f airs then , W ith v igorous strokes of the pen , T o us , nothi ng bu t du ng were those big men ! or as March from Tingzhou to Changshaw here t he commander t rumpets a call: T o uproot the cor rup t and evil in June God sen ds ar mies strong T o bind roc and w hale with a cor d o f ten thousand feet long . or as Jinggang Mountainwhere Mao hails proudly : On ly, ou r sen timents and aspirations so high A re like the brigh t m oon hanging i n t he d istan t sky , Like the wind and thunder m ajestically s weep ing by . or as Moun t Liupanwhere the poet chan ts aloud : High on the peak o f Moun t Liupan , In the west wi nd red f lags f lap an d sound . We now hold the long cord in han d , W hen w ill the Dragon be bound ? 6

or as Seeing Ju Ichro off to Japanin w hich Mao brings his fellow men to attention : T ake care of the cu ltivation of you r body and m ind , and do Keep the sun and m oon in you r heart beau tif ul and new . Just five hun dred years past si nce t he birth o f t he last great m an , A ll the other f igures in power now are o f a med iocre clan . These lines were w ritten early in 1918 alluding to Mencius well-quoted prophesy: There must appear a great king every five hundred years .( See t he part ii of the chapter Gong Sunchouin T he Book of Mencius .) I t is t hough t inappropriate to call Mao a great king , bu t it is agreed in the communist world as proper and fitting to call him a great man .The greatness of such a great man must accordingly characterize his poet ry , thus the bread th of mind , t he great aspiration and t he daring in spirit become almost necessary attributes to the poetry of Mao Zedong , as if to confirm old Buffons dictum The style is t he man himself . : But it may do Mao Zedong injustice to think that his poet ry is merely characterized by boldness , breadt h of mind , or high aspirations .The bulk of his poetry t hat amounts to abou t 50 pieces does include t hose sounding in different notes; some are romantically tender , or even sentimental enough to coax us into tears .Read his To Yang Kaihui and you find how young lovers can be deeply 7

attached to each ot her and how they can be heart broken bearing an inevitable separation : Hands wavi ng f rom you of f I start, How can I bear to see you f ace me with an achi ng heart . Retelli ng me your sorrow s as we part . Grief is w ritten over you r brows and in your eyes; You w ink back the hot tears abou t to break ties . - In this worl d only you and I in each others hearts d well; For how can heaven tell I f man su f fers hell ? - W ith a sound of the w histle ou r hearts break and moan , Hencef orth I em bark on a jour ney to the worl ds end alone . So t his man of herculean build was not always a figh ter wit h a heart of stone but also one in w hose soul burnt an inner- most longing for t rue love and tenderness .This persistent love- longing st uck to the poet so strongly that even 34 years later in 1957 in a poem entitled Reply to Li Shuyi, to the t une of Butterflies Love Flowers Mao , still passionately lamen ted the loss of his wife Yang Kaihui, the 8

proud Poplar : You lost you r darling W illow and I m y Pop lar prou d , Both Poplar and Willow soar gracef ully above the cloud . Perhaps it needs to be poinetd out that w hat differentiates Mao from other poets in t reating t he love theme is Maos efforts to avoid an u tter indulgence in love s illusions bordering on sentimen tality . Often , his songs end in a spirited tone or merry mood t hat helps bot h t he author and the reader exert t hemselves for loftier aspirations; t hus in Reply to Li Shuyiwe read T he lonely goddess of the moon spreads her sleeves long , T o console t he loyal souls she dances in the sky with a song . Suddenly t he news abou t the tiger subdued comes f rom the earth , A t once t he rai n pours dow n f rom our darli ngs tears of m irth . Similarly in To Yang Kaihui, the poet does not allow himself to be a slave to sadness of separation for long ; t he ending couplet again echoes t he aut hors usual militant spirit . Sometimes , Mao tends to invest his lines wit h a touch of philosophical meditation .For instance, in The Immortals Cave , Mao concludes t hat T he un m atched beau ty d wells on the lof ty and perilous peak . This seems to suggest t hat superb victory must be accompanied 9

by a lot of hardships and setbacks and t hat God prefers to pu t the best things w here people do not frequent . In The People s Liberation Army Captures Nanking Mao declares , not wit hout a , note of pride , that The change of seas into lands is mans worlds t rue way . In Reading History one of the masterpieces in Mao s , collection of poet ry , we are deeply impressed by Mao s genuine concern for mans destiny and by his view of mans history : In the hu m an world it is hard to f in d a grin ni ng sm ile; Killi ng his ow n bret hren w as mans practice vile . A las , t he land so f air Is soaked in blood everyw here . The lament is soul- shaking ; the mankind s history is one of suffering, blood and deat h .The fair land is put in sharp cont rast to t he ugly side of hum an nature: men have kept slaugh tering each other for t housands of years . Comparatively speaking , t here are not so many classical allusions in Mao s poetry as in t he outpourings of the most t raditional singers .Bu t Mao surely never deliberately avoids using t hem ; whenever he feels it necessary he always makes use of t hem properly and successfully . For example , in Against t he First Encirclement Campaign Mao gives a note to the proper name , Moun t Buzhou which a legendary figure Gong Gongis referred in to as a hero who can even turn t he heaven and the ear th upside dow n .A careful reader migh t notice t hat in Chinese Gong in the name Gong Gongand the Gongin t he name Gong Chan Dang 10

( the Communist Party ) are t he same both in spelling and pronunciation, thus he can easily relish Maos pun : Gong Gong in t he 24 th - 23 th cent ury , B .C .is compared to Gong Chan Dang the ( Communist Par ty of China ) in the 20 th century , A .D . . Anot her example is the use of t he historical figure Xiang Yu ( 232 B .C . 202 B .C .) in t he poem The Peoples Liberation Army Capt ures Nanking Ape not King Xiang for a fame of mercy in a lucky : hour .Xiang Y u was a leader of nobles of t he Qin Dynasty , who, like Liu Bang , was later a rebel leader rising in arms against the Qin Dynast y . After the dow nfall of t he Qin Dynasty , Xiang Y u was supposed to be t he strongest of t he rebel leaders , yet , for a name of playing fair with ones opponent , Xiang Y u gave up two chances to kill Liu Bang .And , as foreseen by Xiang Bo, Xiang Yus military advisor, Liu Bang later on , by going back on his promise, staged a surprise attack upon Xiang Yu and finally dest royed his powerful t roops .With Mao, t he allusion is related to a suggestion made by some people at home and abroad that the Chinese Communist Par ty could come to terms with the Kuomintang governmen t before the Peoples Liberation Army crossed t he Yangzi River on condition t hat C .P .C . be t he master of t he land nort h of t he Yangzi River w hile K .M . T . be t he ruler of t he land sou th of t he River .Mao refuses such suggestions by adroitly employing the allusion above w hich clearly visualizes his viewpoint more convincing than any other long article: Chiang Kai- shek is Liu Bang and C .P .C . is not going to be Xiang Yu or to be destroyed by a possible breach of the peace t reaty on t he par t of K .M .T . .Allusions of t he kind are many in Maos poet ry ; a close examination of t hem will bring to light what 11

lies beneat h t he surface of the poetic diction . This sort of examination has been made in translators notes to each poem . To appreciate Maos poetry, one needs to know somet hing about Mao s aesthetic view of the poetic creation .In a let ter to ChenYi, Mao firmly main tains t hat poetry conveys ideas through images ( See Appendices A Let ter to Chen Yi abou t Poet ry .And ) in practice , Maos reliance on concrete imagery is eviden t; t his can be furt her attested by his ex tensive use of rhetorical figures such as similes, metaphors , personification and metonymy .One of t he most distinguishing feat ures of Maos poetry t hat Chinese scholars have so far failed to point ou t, is t hat , Mao never put in to his traditionalstyled poems such words as Soviet Revisionism , U .S .Imperialism , feudalism , bourgeoisie , Marxism , Leninism , the Communist Party , Japanese invaders, w hich , as is often t he case, appear in most works of the other communist writers or poets , with a frequency so high as to dampen the readers ent husiasm for relishing a literary work . Literature, after all, is an art , speaking in the form of emotion , imagery or plot , not merely in a set of concep ts or terms .As a poet, Mao did know his line , much better than many Chinese con temporary poets , say , Guo Moruo , w ho has been frow ned upon by some readers for using too many slogans and technical terms in his t rad tional- styled poems , highly vernacular as well as undisguisedly flattering .I t does not mean t hat Maos poet ry is immune to political propaganda; on t he con trary , many scholars clearly perceive that each piece penned by Mao in t he collection is highly political .One should remember Mao s noted essay T alks at t he Yenan Forum on Literature and Art May 1942) in w hich Mao asser ts that literature ( 12

and art are bound to , and must , serve politics .Maos poetry is the very exponent of his ow n literary theory ; the poin t is that in poetic wording Mao tends to poetize politics rather t han politicalize poetry , at least on t he surface . Thus we experience a strange or unique literary phenomena, i .e .Maos highly political poetry does not sound political at all while some so- called love poems by modern Chinese poets often read like political demagogy or moral sermons .A foreign reader may , at a glance, feel puzzled over some recurring words in Mao s poems like thunder and storm, red dragon w hich , , often, though not always , symbolize revolution , t he Red Army forces , Chiang Kai- shek , etc ., respectively .T ake Win ter Clouds for example, where winter clouds stands for the grim political situation in 1962 for C .P .C; flowers Marxist parties in t he world cold for ; wavesfor the revisionist t rend of thought ; warm breezefor the gradual rising of t he Marxist organizations and parties; heroes for t he proletariate headed by t he communist parties; leopards and tigersfor imperialists; wild bearsfor Soviet revisionists; plum blossoms for t rue Marxist parties and organizations , or in par ticular, the Chinese Communist Part y; and flies for sham Marxists , opport unists , traitors and so on .T hus it is reasonable for t he reader to t hink t hat , without the knowledge of t his sort of background information , ones understanding of Mao s poet ry is bound to incur a danger of being vague and discursive .But t he logic could be a bit flexible .As we have mentioned before, Maos poetry , t hough usually highly political, is never a mechanically didactic sermon; instead , it is often astonishingly original and beautiful in form and expression , i .e .always conveying ideas t hrough concrete 13

images . And images , as is know n , can evoke aesthetic associations of m any kinds; and each aest hetic judgement , in my opinion , is valuable to the reader . Therefore , a western reader can , on one hand, ignore all t hat concerns political background , and take for granted Maos poetry , or in ot her words , take t hem at face value, simply as a close text of pure poetic creation independent of t he aut hor ; he might as well calmly receive whatever comes to mind w hen he first bumps in to those pieces , enamoured of t heir beautiful images , words , phrases, ideas , themes or sounds , paying no atten tion to the aut hors original implication , allusions or so on . On t he other hand , t he same western reader , if he pleases , can also try to grasp Maos poetry at a cultural, political, or economic level by looking into the t ranslators notes which provide necessary background information . Certain images , words or phrases that frequently occur in Mao s poems may call for detailed studies on t he part of t he expert .Here are some examples .Of about 50 poems by Mao, 30 poems include 40 places t hat refer to moun tains . This is surely not an acciden tal phenomenon ; the frequency, rat her , is an evidence of Maos affinity wit h mountains , and also is an revelation and expression of Maos background as a peasan t son whose childhood was spent in his native place Shaoshan where moun tains were a daily sigh t, and as an army commander whose t races covered t he greater par t of the mountainous dist ricts of China .No wonder Mao Zedong t he strategist w ho most vehemently upheld t he st rategy of encircle t he cities from t he rural areas and t hen cap ture them seldom described cities or towns in fairly concise and visionary images as he did mountains in manifold and varied shapes and colours . Statistics show Mao s poems are 14

mostly written with reference to Hunan , its scenery , its cultural t radition, its natives and so on . The fact may be explained by an artistic demand t hat a successful poet must write about what he feels most familiar wit h ; that Muses sing bet ter in t heir own native tongues .A view that is prevalen t among Chinese literary circles is t hat Maos poet ry is vivid , concrete and an exact representation of Mao Zedong Thought .In a sense, it stands to reason .However , I feel like to remind the reader of t he version of the fact t hat Mao is here presented first of all as a poet , not as a philosopher , a military commander, a political leader , nor as a scholar or moral didact .He surely played all t he roles , but as au thor of a collection of poetry , he should be done justice by being treated mainly as a poet , or we fall in to t he romantic convention that criticism of poet ry often completely relapses into criticism of t he character and way of life of t he poet , so far as t hese would be inferred from his out puts .We read him chiefly to appreciate the beautiful, t he feeling of the agreeable, t he inheren tly pleasan t, not a set of moral rules or philosophical doctrines w hich , if we like, can be acquired by persuing his prose works . Many others insist that Mao s poet ry embodies the w hole process of the Chinese proletarian revolution .Of t his I ven ture to voice a different opinion .Since t he poetry was written in different periods and arranged in an ant hological order , it cer tainly reflects some aspects of the Chinese social changes during a period of about 50 years , but to say it reflects the whole process of t he Chinese proletarian revolution is insignifican t and inappropriate as far as the historical trut h is concerned . Insignificant , because Mao was not 15

writing a history of the Chinese revolu tion composed of detailed facts but w riting poetry mainly aiming to give himself and others aesthetic pleasure or serve to boost the peoples morale; his lyrical production , t herefore, no matter how minu te in its description , can only fragmentarily record some historical happenings which do not chiefly exist for the sake of history itself but rat her for t he sake of poetry ; as far as t he precision , bulk and objectivity are concerned , compared wit h the historical facts recorded in t hose formal history books of the Chinese revolution , t he detailed descriptions provided by t he poems , after all, are insignifican t; inappropriate , because some impotant historical phases are missing in t he poems, e . g . the War of Resistance against Japan waged in China for eight years has not been men tioned even once ! So the poems are far from being a complete record of t he whole process of the modern Chinese revolution .The point is , Maos poetry can be of epic element , bu t is not necessarily in tended or explained as a history of any social changes . For years , interpretations of Mao Zedongs poetry had been offered in a somewhat exaggerated mode .Critics or scholars in the field tended to focus on what was called the political purpor t .Mao was described as a Jesus- like sain t who had only the salvation of human beings in mind yet never thought of tender feelings such as love or fat herly affection . He was supposed to be bent on using poetry as a powerful weapon to expound Mao Zedong Thought , to conquer enemies , to criticise what he called imperialism, revisionism and reactionaries .But today , as his con temporaries , we know through our common sense t hat he was never a superman nor a god bu t an ordinary man living among us sharing wit h 16 us his poetic

out pourings .We understand him not because of his ex traordinariness but because of his very ordinariness . Or in ot her words , we understand Mao t he man not t hrough his images of eart h- shaking heroism but through t hese harmonious and overpowering numbers now gat hered here in this collection . All t ranslation must unavoidably involve an act of in terpretation .T he principle that guides my interpretation is never adhering to only one single principle .Poetry , in its essence , defies monistical understanding and explanation .Very often , interpretations are multiple as well as valuable t hough not of t he same validit y .A wise in terpreter is inclined to be open- minded to any artistic product , because any interpretation can be right w hen judged from different angles .Thus pluralistic points of view are usually preferred w hen I observe an aest hetic object .In a broad sense , every one of us is a qualified appraiser of poet ry .It may be pleasant for the 20 t h cent ury reader to muse on t he fact t hat beauty in modernized society is no longer t he priviledged luxury favouring only what was called great artists , poets , connoisseurs and aesthetists; rat her , it is liberated from t he grip of the beaut y- monopolist, say , from t he trap of Hegels aest hetic system .Now any work of ar t can , on one hand , be subject to criticism from t he professional aesthetic critics or t heorists , and , on t he other , more often be evaluated , appreciated or condemned by t he reader s response . The old attemp t to be the aut horit y of in terpretation of literary works seems to be scorned as an illusion . H uman cult ure in its en tiret y today faces up to an inevitable trend of decent ralization .All t his may sound true .Bu t, w hen modernists or post- modernists are busy with revolting against 17

t he past ,

t hey are making more grave mistakes t han t heir

predecessors ever made in t he past , because they do not understand if m an exists , he instinc- tively needs a focus for his existence; if man wants to progress , he needs a point of departure so that he is able to start .That star ting- poin t internally as well as externally moulds his way of future action ; he has to be one-sided , one- dimensional .Or in other words , man has to choose .The key point here I want to make is that man should make choices yet without prejudice against the other possibilities .It is t he same case wit h my in terpretation of Mao Zedongs poetry .On one hand , I deem all the explanations valuable; on the other , I more often stick to one .I respect all, but I have my choice .Thus t he reader will find in translators notes some points are given more t han one explanation listed as 1 ) , 2 ) , 3 ) . . .etc ., but in more cases , a single explanation is given . Juggling wit h the often conflicting goals of literalness and literacy , fidelit y and felicity , can never be done to everyone s satisfaction .Traditionally speaking , Maos poems in t his collection have all been composed in fairly strict rhyme patterns w hich , to the understanding of any one w ho knows more or less about classic Chinese poetry , cont ribute much not only to t he musicality of poet ry but also sometimes to t he conception of original ideas or imagery , for , as J . Peletier remarks la con trainte de la rime favorise l invention et la cr ation( H .Weber , L a Cr ation Po tique au 16 e S cle en France, I , 155 ) ; or as Xie Zhen ( 1495 1575 ) , a noted i poet and poetic theorist in t he Ming Dynast y, says, rhymes can invite poetic ideas a single rhymed word sometimes generates a and w hole line .( T he Com plete W orks of S im ing Shanren , Vol .22 , 18

Chapter 24 ) . What wit h t he need for an implication that Maos poetry is rhymed and what with the consideration as above, a rhymed version of Maos poetry is naturally required though ot her sorts of versions , say , versions wit hout rhyme, are certainly also needed to fur ther a combined effort of rendering Maos work into English in its totalit y of bot h artistic forms and ideological connotation .Thus in doing t he t ranslation , I have been cau tiously on tip toes not because of Maos impor tance of being head of more t han one t housand million Chinese people but because of his being a unique poet like others deserving an equal treat ment on the part of t he translator to retain the original word order and spareness of diction w hile still producing a reasonably fluen t and rhymed English version allowing it to stand , as much as possible, on its ow n . The earliest poem written by Mao can be traced back to 1918 , and during t he following 47 years, Mao Zedong as one can expect, must have written many poems , but un til now only a small percen tage of t hem has seen publication .Generally speaking, Maos poems are grouped in to Part One and Part Two .Part One includes 42 poems which were all revised by Mao himself and were formally published in newspapers , journals or selections of Maos poetry in different periods of time when Mao was still alive .Part T wo includes 7 poems w hich were appeared in various publications in recent years wit hout the au thors approval and revision ; some of t hem were once explicitly mentioned by Mao as unsatisfactory and he blun tly refused to publish them eit her for the sake of political consideration or for t he sake of ar tistic blemish . However , t hey have now become so current in many Chinese publications that their absence in the 19

present edition of t he English version would be a great pit y especially for those English- speaking readers w ho wish to read Maos poet ry in its entirety .Fort unately , the quite manageable size of Maos corpus approximately 50 poems , makes it comparatively easy for a t ranslator and annotator to gain an insight in to the sum of his poetic world .But in China , the poet ry of Mao Zedong has been t he subject of extensive critical studies in literary circles ever since the publication of the first selection of Maos poems (18 in all ) in 1957 . Cont roversies over many points were so perplexing and in tricate that occasionally Mao Zedong himself had to be invited to offer certain explanations . The t ranslator and annotator has set great store by t hese explanations which , w henever possible , have been carefully quoted in t he t ranslators notes .However, in doing so, t he annotator also keeps in mind t hat poetry w riting and poetry appreciation are not always the same thing ; it often happens that a poet does not understand his ow n production better t han someone else . Thus taking for granted Mao s every word about his poet ry is not sagacious , the case being more so when certain special factors such as Maos unique position and other subsequent political sub tleties are taken in to account .And t his also implies that no matter how hard and carefully t he translator and annotator may try to tackle his job , he can never expect his attempt to be one of perfection ; thus he feels only too ready to bow to any criticism from any scholars , experts and readers in general . A nother t hing wort h men tioning is t hat , for the sake of convenience of foreign readers , all t he English versions of Mao s poetry have been given their Chinese originals with Chinese phonetic 20

symbols . Moreover , the original Chinese characters have all been prin ted in their complex forms rather than in their simplified equivalents .This arrangemen t is made in t he belief that the original Chinese complex characters , being pictographs ( hieroglyphs ) to a considerable extent , can conjure up in our minds more pict uresque associations, t hus more condusive to conceiving poetic associations t han simplified characters .But , of course, t his does not mean that the aut hor t hinks of the complex form as being superior to the simplified one in a general sense . Every value has its particular usage : the simplified form , for instance, is as good or better t han the complex one as far as its merit of being written easily is concerned . Again , t he arrangement of the Chinese characters and t heir phonetic symbols is unconventional eit her .The editor in charge of t he book , main tains t hat t he reason phonetic symbols have not been placed righ t under each of the characters is chiefly based on a consideration that too much space between the characters migh t damage t heir aest hetic effect w hile t he presen t design serves to retain t he original flavour of the conven tional Chinese character arrangement; after all, phonetic symbols are only auxiliary to the Chinese characters . Perhaps , at the first glance, readers might find it strange, but they will soon get used to it and learn which phonetic symbol is for which character . Last but not least , completing a book of t his magnitude requires not only t he sustained engagement of the translator and annotator , but also t he guidance, encouragement , support and criticism from various people whom I should like to acknowledge wit h heartfelt gratit ude .My t hanks first go to Professor Li Fu- ning of Depart ment 21

of English , Peking University , for his brillian t guidance and st udied perusal of my manuscripts; to P rofessor Fredric Jameson of Duke U niversity of t he U nited States , for his cordial encouragement ; to Professor Xu Y uanzhong of Peking U niversity for his valuable idea of how to render a version of classical Chinese poetry beautiful in t hough t , sound and form ; to Professor Luo Jingguo of Departmen t of English, Peking University , for his intelligen t advice on certain poetic t reatmen t; to Mr .George Whiteman , the well- known owner of Shakespeare & . Company, Paris , for his clever polishing of my work ; to Mr .Morgan God win , editor and writer , Paris, for his witty comment on my foreword ; to Professor Claude Fischer of Oxford U niversity of Great Britain for his const ructive opinion of my first draft; to Professor Jonathan Turner of U NESCO ( Paris ) for his timely help in providing me wit h his private store of necessary books . Thanks also go to Professor Hu Shuangbao , the editor in charge of t he book , for his competence and great efforts in bringing t he volume to fruition ; to David Porter , doctoral candidate of Stanford U niversit y of the U nited States for his kind help and suggestions; finally , to Zhao Hong , my wife, doctoral candidate of Peking U niversity , for her good counsel and laborious proof- reading of the whole book .

U NESCO Paris, France A pril , 1993 22

Gu Zhengkun

23

Appendices

24

: , ! , , , - , , , , , ; , - , , , , , , , , , !

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A L E T T ER ABOU T POE T RY
Comrade Kejia and ot hers , Sor ry not to have replied sooner to your letter which I have received in early time ! Here are enclosed , at your request , 18 traditional-styled poems ( including t he eigh t which you sen t to me) copied from my memory on separate sheets of paper ; please examine them and do what you deem fitting about them . I have been reluctant to publish t hese stuffs wit h a fear t hat , being in traditional style , if inappropriately diseminated , they migh t do young people harm , and , what is more , t hey are not so poetic and unique . Since you t hink t hat t hey can be published , and t hat , in addition , t he publication helps a cor rection of copying errors in a few poems already in circulation , you may act according to your own opinion . The publication of Poet ry is a good thing ; I wish t he magazine would grow and develop . As for poetry creation , t he main st ream certainly should be free verse in vernacular ; poetry in traditional style can be tried to a limited degree ,
2 67

but it is improper to encourage the attempt among t he young, because it is a bondage of t hough t as well as a difficult thing to learn . These words are only for your reference . Wit h comradely greetings ! Mao Zedong January 12 , 1957

2 68

: - , , ? , , , , , , -, ,

2 70

A LE T T ER TO COMRADE H U QIAOMU
Comrade Qiaomu , Enclosed here are two poems ; please send them to comrade Guo Moruo for a check so that all possible faults in t hem be duly cor rected ; it is essentially importan t . T he subject matter is good , but it is not poetic enough , with only a few lines such as Clouds sail over the nine streams wit h t he Yellow Crane in fligh t sounding fairly good . Poetry composition is a difficult job ; he who has experienced it knows t he hot and cold just as fish drink water . I really have little about it to reveal to the outsiders . Mao Zedong September 7 , 1959

2 71

: , , , , ( ) , , C 6 8 C 6 8 , , , , , - , ,

, , , , , , , , , , ,
2 72

 , , ; , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ? !

2 73

A LE T T ER TO COMRADE CHEN YI ABOU T POE T RY

Comrade Chen Yi , You asked me to polish your poems , but I am unable to because I have never learn t how to compose five- characterline poetry , neither have I published any in t hat form . Your mas terpiece is of power and range excep t that it does not sound metrically quite a L Shi1 , at least on t he surface . L Shi , as is known , is bound up wit h tonal patterns ; without which a poem is not to be called L Shi . It seems you , like me , are not disciplined enough in this respect . I have written a few seven-character-line L Shi accidentally , but none of t hem satisfies me .Just as you are good at writing free verse , I know a little Ci2 of long- and- short lines . Jianying3 is good at seven-character-line L Shi , and old comrade Dong 4 at five- character-line L Shi .If you want to learn t hese two forms well , you may ask them for advice .

Journeying Westward
For ten thousand li west war d I speed , Crossi ng the space I ri de the wi nd like a steed .
2 74

Bu t for the rocs wi ngs that spread an d display , How cou ld man traverse the bi rds distan t w ay . The sea below fer ments a thousan d cups of wi ne, An d mountains like on ions roar in to heaven nine . The w ind and thu nder sweep the great earth , An d there we f ind good f r iends of great wort h . I have polished only one of your poems as above , being not satisfied with t he result ; I am afraid I cannot con tinue polishing the rest . By t he way , poet ry calls for images to convey ideas and should not communicate in a s traigh t- forward way as in prose ; t hus a poet must resort to t he means of Bi ( similes and metaphors ) and Xi ng ( assocations of images ) . T he technique of Fu ( direct narration ) may be also employed as in Du Fu( Tu Fu) Northern Journey which may be said s , to narrate in a straight- forward way but even here one , can find t hat both Bi and X ing are used Bi means to . compare one object to anot her X ing means to men tion ; somet hing else to lead up to what a poet really has in mind.Han Yu5 writes poetry by using prose techniques , t herefore he is criticised as knowing not hing about poetry ; but t he criticism is going too far , for , some of his poems such as Rocks Hengyue Mountains , and To Mr .Zhang t he Prefectural Offical on t he Fifteent h Day of t he Eigh th
2 75

Moonare acceptable, after all .T his fully shows that poetry writing is not an easy job .Most poets of the Song Dynasty , being at odds wit h the tradition of Tang Poetry , do not understand t hat poetry conveys ideas t hrough images ; t he result being that t hey write very dry poems .T hese random remarks above all refer to classical poetry .To write modern poetry, we must use images to convey ideas in order to reflect class st ruggle and the struggle for production . Classicism must be excluded .It is a pity that for scores of years , attempts at poetry in the vernacular have never been successful .Nevertheless , some folk-songs are quite good ; it is very likely that the future trend of poetry is to draw nourishment and adopt new forms from the folk-song and develop a new type of poetry which will appeal to t he general reading public .By t he way , Li Bai( Li Po) has only a few L Shi to his name ; Li He ( Li Ho) never wrote sevencharacter-line L Shi except several five- character-line ones . Li He is well wort h reading .I wonder if you are interested in him . With bes t wishes , Mao Zedong July 21 , 1965

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TRANSLATOR NOTES S

1 .L Shi: a traditional form of classical Chinese poetry, wit h st rict tonal patterns and rhyme schemes .I t has eigh t lines with five or seven characters in each ; ext remely popular in t he T ang Dynasty . 2 .Ci: a verse form originating in t he Tang Dynasty .I t is sung to t unes each of w hich prescribes a fixed number of lines of a standardized varying lengt h . 3 . Jianying : Ye Jianying , the late Vice- Chairman of t he Cent ral Military Committee of t he Chinese Communist Party . 4 .old comrade Dong : Dong Biw u , a communist statsm an , Mao s colleague . 5 .Han Y u ( 768 824 ) : a noted prose writer and poet of the Tang Dynast y .

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, , , - , , , , - , ( , 8c , 1993) , ( , 1993 ) , ( , 1993 ) , ( , 1993) , ( ) ( , 1986 ) , 8 6 3 ( , 1990 ) , ( , 8 6 3 , , 1992) , ( , 1990) , ( , , 1993) , ( , 1989 ) , ( , , 1985) , ( , 1991 ) , ( , 1992 ) . 100 , , - , - - 1993 ( )-

About the T ranslator and Annotator

Gu Zhengkun , P h . D . of Depart ment of English of Peking U niversity, presiden t of Peking University Literature and Translation Society , director of Shakespeare Cen tre, member of the Governing Council of International Society for Poet ry , guest professor of Foreign Languages Departmen t of Shenzhen U niversity . He is also the winner of many honours and awards such as t he First Prize for Academic Achievement awarded by t he au thority of Peking U niversity( 1991 ) , Social Siences Award for the Middle- aged College Teachers offered by t he Educational Bureau of the Cit y of Peking ( 1992 ) , t he National Translation Theory Prize ( 1989 ) and the National Gold Key Book Award( 1991 ) .He is t he author of S tud ies in Shakespeare ( in Eng lish , 1993 ) , Appreciation of 300 Masterpieces in Worl d Poetry ( 1993 ) , A ppreciation o f 300 Masterpieces in Classical Chi nese Poetry ( 1993 ) , Selected Poems of Gu Zhengku n( 1993 ) ; translator of Hi ghlights of the Y uan Dynasty Lyrics ( i nto English , 1986 ) , T he T h ird Cen ury ( 1990 ) , A Collection o f Abraha m Lincoln s Speeches and Letters ( Vol .1 ) (1993) ; editor- in- chief of A Com pan ion to M asterpieces in World Poetry ( 1990 ) , Highligh ts o f English Rom antic Prose ( 1989 ) , Highligh ts of A merican Literat ure ( 1985 ) , Highights of 20 th Cent ury Chi nese Lyrics(1990 ) , Highligh ts of Zhang A ili ns Prose ( 1992 ) .He has published more than 100 articles at home and abroad eit her in English or in Chinese . He has been teaching Peking U niversity postgratuate students Shakespeare, Poetry , Translation Theory and Practice , History of Greek and Roman Literature .He is currently the editor- in- chief of S t udies in W orl d Litera tu re and Translation .He knows well English , French , Old Greek , Latin and Esperan to . In 1993 , he was invited by U NESCO ( Paris ) as a t ranslator .

T his book includes 45 poems by Mao Zedong , with rhymed English versions and lucid , matter-of- fact annotations .T he translation is superbly done , faithful to the original in con ten t , beau tiful in form and diction ; the annotations are detailed and inst ructive , enlightening the reader wit h regard to allusions , t hemes and general background Maos poet ry .T he book is thus praised as a version of rare quality ever produced bot h at home and abroad .Morever , a long introduction is given, offering a general survey of Maos poet ry wit h regard to its ideological content, artistic style , imageries, language and so on . T hree letters of Mao discussing poetry are provided in t he Appendices , helping t he reader gain an insight in to Maos aesthetic view of poet ry .In addition , t he original, as a con trast to the E nglish version , is printed in the traditional complex form of Chinese characters along with t heir phonetic symbols .

, , , - - ,

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ISBN 7- 301-02313- 8/ A 10 ISBN 7- 301-02314- 6/ A 11 9 50 : . 18 00 : . :

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