— Mao Zedong, July 1930
In Sixth Moon, heavenly troops march to crush the rotten and vile,
With ten-thousand-foot long ropes to bind the giant Peng bird the while.
Beyond the Gan River, a red corner glows far and wide;
Our flanking force leans on General Huang Gonglue’s might and pride.
A million workers and peasants rise, full of zeal,
Sweeping Jiangxi, striking straight to Hunan and Hubei’s wheel.
One sad song of the Internationale we sing, loud and clear;
A raging storm descends from heaven for us, sweeping all near.
Note
Mao wrote this peom during the 1930 march from Tingzhou (Changting) toward Changsha under political directives.
In June 1930, the Third Army Group of the Red Army was ordered to attack Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, the Second to attack Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, the First under the command of Mao Zedong, to attack Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi Province. When the Third Army Group was in retreat, Mao was ordered to reinforce it, and he wrote this poem on the way from Tingzhou to Changsha.
The poet referred to the Red Army as “heavenly troops,” to the Kuomintang troops as “evil lords” with their “roes and whales,” and to the revolution as “a furious storm.” Huang Gonglue (1898-1931) was commander of the Third Army fighting along the River Gan, who laid down his life in Donggu, southeast of Ji’an in September 1931.
Cultural form: Dielianhua (Butterflies Love Flowers)
A classic cipai (tune pattern) in Chinese ci poetry, used here for heroic, sweeping narrative.
Tingzhou
Modern Changting, Fujian, core revolutionary base in western Fujian.
Heavenly troops
Metaphor for the Red Army as a righteous force fighting reactionaries.
Long ropes (chang ying)
Allusion to Hanshu · Biography of Zhong Jun: “I ask for long ropes to bind the King of Nanyue.” Symbolizes revolutionary power to subdue enemies.
Peng (Kunpeng)
From Zhuangzi · Xiaoyao You – a giant fish-bird. Here used ironically for huge reactionary forces.
Gan River red corner
Refers to the revolutionary base in southern Jiangxi led by Huang Gonglue (1898–1931), outstanding Red Army commander of the 6th Red Army (later 3rd Red Army).
Internationale
The anthem of international communism, expressing proletarian revolutionary faith.
Raging storm
Powerful metaphor for irresistible revolutionary tide.
蝶恋花·从汀州向长沙
毛泽东 · 一九三〇年七月
六月天兵征腐恶，
万丈长缨要把鲲鹏缚。
赣水那边红一角，
偏师借重黄公略。
百万工农齐踊跃，
席卷江西直捣湘和鄂。
国际悲歌歌一曲，
狂飙为我从天落。
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