CHANGSHA
-to the tune of Chin Yuan Chun

1925

Alone I stand in the autumn cold
On the tip of Orange Island,
The Hsiang flowing northward;
I see a thousand hills crimsoned through
By their serried woods deep-dyed,
And a hundred barges vying
Over crystal blue waters.
Eagles cleave the air,
Fish glide in the limpid deep;
Under freezing skies a million creatures contend in freedom.
Brooding over this immensity,
I ask, on this boundless land
Who rules over man's destiny?

I was here with a throng of companions,
Vivid yet those crowded months and years.
Young we were, schoolmates,
At life's full flowering;
Filled with student enthusiasm
Boldly we cast all restrains aside.
Pointing to our mountains and rivers,
Setting people afire with our words,
We counted the mighty no more than muck.
Remember still
How, venturing midstream, we struck the waters
And waves stayed the speeding boats?

YELLOW CRANE TOWER
-to the tune of Pu Sa Man

Spring 1927

Wide, wide flow the nice streams through the land,
Dark, dark threads the line from south to north,
Blurred in the thick haze of the misty rain
Tortoise and Snake hold the great river locked.

The yellow crane is gone, who knows whither?
Only this tower remains a haunt for visitors.
I pledge my wine to the surging torrent,
The tide of my heart swells with the waves.

CHINGKANGSHAN
-to the tune of Hsi Chiang Yueh

Autumn 1928

Below the hills fly our flags and banners,
Above the hilltops sound our bugles and drums.
The foe encircles us thousands strong,
Steadfastly we stand our ground.

Already our defence is iron-clad,
Now our wills unite like a fortress.
From Huangyangchieh roars the thunder of guns,
Word comes the enemy has fled into the night.

THE WARLORDS CLASH
-to the tune of Ching Ping Yueh

Autumn 1929

Sudden veer of wind and rain
Showering misery through the land,
The warlords are clashing anew-
Yet another Golden Millet Dream.

Red banners leap over the Ting River
Straight to Lungyen and Shanghang.
We have reclaimed part of the golden bowl
And land is being shared out with a will.

THE DOUBLE NINTH
-to the tune of Tsai Sang Tzu

October 1929

Man ages all too easily, not Nature:
Year by year the Double Ninth returns.
On this Double Ninth,
The yellow blooms on the battlefield smell sweeter.

Each year the autumn wind blows fierce,
Unlike spring's splendour,
Yet surpassing spring's splendour,
See the endless expanse of frosty sky and water.

NEW YEAR'S DAY
-to the tune of Ju Meng Ling

January 1930

Ninghua, Chingliu, Kueihua-
What narrow paths, deep woods and slippery moss!
Whither are we bound today?
Straight to the foot of Wuyi Mountain.
To the mountain, the foot of the mountain,
Red flags stream in the wind in a blaze of glory.

ON THE KUANGCHANG ROAD
-to the tune of Chien Tzu Mu Lan Hua

February 1930

The whole wide world is white,
Through the snow eagerly we press on.
Crags loom above our heads,
We cross the great pass, red flags waving in the wind.

Where are we bound?
To the snow-swept River Kan.
Yesterday the order was given,
One hundred thousand workers and peasants march on Kian.

MARCH FROM TINGCHOW TO CHANGSHA
-to the tune of Tieh Lien Hua

July 1930

In June Heaven's armies chastise the corrupt and evil,
Seeking to bind roc and whale with a league-long cord.
Red glows the far side of the Kan,
Thanks to our wing under Huang Kung-lueh.

A million workers and peasants rise up,
Sweeping Kiangsi straight towards Hunan and Hupeh.
To the Internationale's stirring strains
A wild whirlwind swoops from the sky.

AGAINST THE FIRST "ENCIRCLEMENT" CAMPAIGN
-to the tune of Yu Chia Ao

Spring 1931

Forests blaze red beneath the frosty sky,
The wrath of Heaven's armies soars to the clouds.
Mist veils Lungkang, its thousand peaks blurred.
All cry out in unison:
Our van has taken Chang Hui-tsan!

The enemy returns to Kiangsi two hundred thousand strong,
Fumes billowing in the wind in mid-sky.
Workers and peasants are wakened in their millions
To fight as one man,
Under the riot of red flags round the foot of Puchou!

AGAINST THE SECOND "ENCIRCLEMENT" CAMPAIGN
-to the tune of Yu Chia Ao

Summer 1931

The very clouds foam atop White Cloud Mountain,
At its base the roar of battle quickens.
Withered trees and rotten stumps join in the fray.
A forest of rifles presses,
As the Flying General descends from the skies.

In fifteen days we have marched seven hundred li
Crossing misty Kan waters and green Fukien hills,
Rolling back the enemy as we would a mat.
A voice is heard wailing;
His "Bastion at every step" avails him nought!

TAPOTI
-to the tune of Pu Sa Man

Summer 1933

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet-
Who is dancing, waving this coloured ribbon against the sky?
The sun returns slanting after the rain
And hill and pass grow a deeper blue.

A furious battle once raged here,
The village walls, bullet-scarred,
Now adorn hill and pass
And make them doubly fair.

HUICHANG
-to the tune of Ching Ping Yueh

Summer 1934

Soon dawn will break in the east.
Do not say "You start too early";
Grossing these blue hills adds nothing to one's years,
The landscape here is beyond compare.

Straight from the walls of Huichang lofty peaks,
Range after range, extend to the eastern seas.
Our soldiers point southward to Kwangtung
Looming lusher and greener in the distance.

LOUSHAN PASS
-to the tune of Yi Chin O

February 1935

Fierce the west wind,
Wild geese cry under the frosty morning moon.
Under the frosty morning moon
Horses' hooves clattering,
Bugles sobbing low.

Idle boast the strong pass is a wall of iron,
With firm strides we are crossing its summit.
We are crossing its summit,
The rolling hills sea-blue,
The dying sun blood-red.

THREE SHORT POEMS
-to the tune of Shih Liu Tzu Ling

1934-1935

I

Mountains!
I whip my swift horse, glued to my saddle.
I turn my head startled,
The sky is three foot three above me!

II

Mountains!
Like great waves surging in a crashing sea,
Like a thousand stallions
In full gallop in the heat of battle.

III

Mountains!
Piercing the blue of heaven, your barbs unblunted!
The skies would fall
But for your strength supporting.

THE LONG MARCH
-a lu shih

October 1935

The Red Army fears not the trials of the Long March,
Holding light ten thousand crags and torrents.
The Five Ridges wind like gentle ripples
And the majestic Wumeng roll by, globules of clay.
Warm the steep cliffs lapped by the waters of Golden Sand,
Cold the iron chains spanning the Tatu River.
Minshan's thousand li of snow joyously crossed,
The three Armies march on, each face glowing.

KUNLUN
-to the tune of Nien Nu Chiao

October 1935

Far above the earth, into the blue,
You, wild Kunlun, have seen
All that was fairest in the world of men.
Your three million white jade dragons in fight
Freeze the sky with piercing cold.
In summer days your melting torrents
Flood the streams and rivers,
Turning men into fish and turtles.
Who has passed judgement on the good and ill
You have wrought these thousand autumns?

To Kunlun now I say,
Neither all your height
Nor all your snow is needed.
Could I but draw my sword o'ertopping heaven,
I'd cleave you in three:
One piece for Europe,
One for America,
One to keep in the East.
Peace would then reign over the world,
The same warmth and cold throughout the globe.

MOUNT LIUPAN
-to the tune of Ching Ping Yueh

October 1935

The sky is high, the clouds are pale,
We watch the wild geese vanish southward.
If we fail to reach the Great Wall we are not men,
We who have already measured twenty thousand li

High on the crest of Mount Liupan
Red banners wave freely in the west wind.
Today we hold the long cord in our hands,
When shall we bind fast the Grey Dragon?

SNOW
-to the tune of Chin Yuan Chun

February 1936

North country scene:
A hundred leagues locked in ice,
A thousand leagues of whirling snow.
Both sides of the Great Wall
One single white immensity.
The Yellow River's swift current
Is stilled form end to end.
The mountains dance like silver snakes
And the highlands charge like wax-hued elephants,
Vying with heaven in stature.
On a fine day, the land,
Clad in white, adorned in red,
Grows more enchanting.

This land so rich in beauty
Has made countless heroes bow in homage.
But alas! Chin Shih-huang and Han Wu-ti
Were lacking in literary grace,
And Tang Tai-tsung and Sung Tai-tsu
Had little poetry in their souls;
And Genghis Khan,
Proud Son of Heaven for a day,
Knew only shooting eagles, bow outstretched.
All are past and gone!
For truly great men
Look to this age alone.

THE PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY CAPTURES NANKING
-a lu shih

April 1949

Over Chungshan swept a storm, headlong,
Our mighty army, a million strong, has crossed the Great River.
The City, a tiger crouching, a dragon curling, outshines its ancient glories;
In heroic triumph heaven and earth have been overturned,
With power and to spare we must pursue the tottering foe
And not ape Hsiang Yu the conqueror seeking idle fame.
Were Nature sentient, she too would pass from youth to age,
But Man's world is mutable, sea become mulberry fields.

REPLY TO MR. LIU YA-TZU
-a lu shih

April 29, 1949

I still remember our drinking tea in Kwangchow
And your asking for verses in Chungking as the leaves yellowed.
Back in the old capital after thirty-one years,
At the season of falling flowers I read your polished lines.
Beware of heartbreak with grievance overfull,
Range far your eye over long vistas.
Do not say the waters of Kunming Lake are too shallow,
For watching fish they are better than Fuchun River.

LIU YA-TZU'S POEM
MY THOUGHTS PRESENTED TO CHAIRMAN MAO
-a lu shih

You excel as the marker of a new epoch!
Hard it was for me to laud Light in dark times.
Lecturing on classics, I am no time-serving scholar
And, to my sorrow, have met with no warm reception.
Remorse fills me at the thought of my misspent life,
Yet my heart will remain true to the end,
O for glad tidings from the southern expedition!
Lake Fenhu will then be my hermit resort.

REPIY TO MR.LIU YA-TZU
-to the tune of Wan Hsi Sha

October 1950

At a song and dance performance during the National Day celebrations of 1950, Mr. Liu Ya-tzu wrote an impromptu poem to the tune of Wan Hsi Sha, to which I replied, using the same rhyme sequence.

The night was long and dawn came slow to the Crimson Land.
For a century demons and monsters whirled in a wild dance,
And the five hundred million people were disunited.

Now the cock has crowed and all under heaven is bright,
Here is music from all our peoples, from Yutien too,
And the poet is inspired as never before.

LIU YA-TZU'S POEM
-to the tune of Wan Hsi Sha

On October 3, I attended a soirée in Huai Jen Tang. Performances were given by ensembles from the various nationalities in the Southwest, Sinkiang, Yenpien in Kirin Province, and Inner Mongolia. At Chairman Mao's request, I composed the following poem to celebrate the great unity of the nationalities.

Displays of fiery trees and silver flowers, a night without darkness.
Brothers and sisters skip by gracefully in dance.
The strains of The Full Moon* rise with joyful swell.

But for one man's wise leadership,
How could the hundred nationalities assemble?
This merry eve's festive gathering surpasses all!

*LIU YA-TZU'S NOTE:
There is a Kazakh folk song in Sinkiang called The Full Moon.

PEITAIHO
-to the tune of Lang Tao Sha

Summer 1954

A rainstorm sweeps down on this northern land,
White breakers leap to the sky.
No fishing boats off Chinwangtao
Are seen on the boundless ocean.
Where are they gone?

Nearly two thousand years ago
Wielding his whip, the Emperor Wu of Wei
Rode eastward to Chiehshih; his poem survives.
Today the autumn wind still sights,
But the world has changed!

SWIMMING
-to the tune of Shui Tiao Keh Tou

June 1956

I have just drunk the waters of Changsha
And come to eat the fish of Wuchang.
Now I am swimming across the great Yangtze,
Looking afar to the open sky of Chu.
Let the wind blow and waves beat,
Better far than idly strolling in a courtyard.
Today I am at ease.
"It was by stream that the Master said-
'Thus do things flow away!'"

Sails move with the wind.
Tortoise and Snake are still.
Great plans are afoot:
A bridge will fly to span the north and south,
Turning a deep chasm into a thoroughfare;

Walls of stone will stand upstream to the west
To hold back Wushan's clouds and rain
Till a smooth lake rises in the narrow gorges.
The mountain goddess if she is still there
Will marvel at a world so changed.

REPLY TO LI SHU-YI
-to the tune of Tieh Lien Hua

May 11, 1957

I lost my proud Poplar and you your Willow,
Poplar and Willow soar to the Ninth Heaven.
Wu Kang, asked what he can give,
Serves them a laurel brew.

The lonely moon goddess spreads her ample sleeves
To dance for these loyal souls in infinite space.
Earth suddenly reports the tiger subdued,
Tears of joy pour forth falling as mighty rain.

FAREWELL TO THE GOD OF PLAGUE
-two lu shih poems

July 1,1958

When I read in the Renmin Ribao of June 30,1958 that schistosomiasis had been wiped out in Yukiang County, thoughts thronged my mind and I could not sleep. In the warm morning breeze next day, as sunlight falls on my window, I look towards the distant southern sky and in my happiness pen the following lines.

I
So many green streams and blue hills, but to what avail?
This tiny creature left even Hua To powerless!
Hundreds of villages choked with weeds, men wasted away;
Thousands of homes deserted, ghosts chanted mournfully.
Motionless, by earth I travel eighty thousand li a day,
Surveying the sky I see a myriad Milky Ways from afar.
Should the Cowherd ask tidings of the God of Plague,
Say the same griefs flow down the stream of time.

II
The spring wind blows amid profuse willow wands,
Six hundred million in this land all equal Yao and Shun.
Crimson rain swirls in waves under our will,
Green mountains turn to bridges at our wish.
Gleaming mattocks fall on the Five Ridges heaven-high;
Mighty arms move to rock the earth round the Triple River.
We ask the God of Plague:" Where are you bound?"
Paper barges aflame and candle-light illuminate the sky.

Source: Mao Tsetung Poems, Foreign Languages Press, Peking, 1976