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Seven-Character Octave – Reply to a Friend [Mao’s Poems]
–Mao Zedong – 1961 Above Mount Jiuyi, white clouds fleet and fly,The imperial maidens ride the wind down from the sky.A speckled bamboo branch holds a thousand tears, nigh;Ten thousand rosy clouds form a hundred layers high.
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Seven-Character Quatrain – Inscription for a Female Militant’s Photo [Mao’s Poems]
–Mao Zedong, February 1961 Bright, brave, and keen with five-foot gun in hand,First light of dawn gilds the training ground.China’s sons and daughters hold lofty, bold command –They love arms, not rouge, their warrior hearts unbound.
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Seven-Character Octave – Ascending Lu Shan [Mao’s Poems]
–Mao Zedong, July 1, 1959 A peak thrusts up by the Great River’s side,We climb four hundred bends through green and wide.Cool eyes gaze out across the ocean’s tide,Warm winds bear rain o’er river skies abide.
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Seven-Character Octave – Arriving in Shaoshan [Mao’s Poems]
–Mao Zedong, June 1959 Faint dreams of old days curse time’s swift flowing tide,My homeland’s scenes recall thirty-two years’ pride.Red flags unfurl; serf’s halberds rise far and wide,Black hands hold high tyrant’s whips, cruel and applied.
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Two Seven-Character Octaves – Sending Off the God of Plague [Mao’s Poems]
–Mao Zedong, July 1, 1958 PrefaceReading People’s Daily (June 30): Yujiang County has eradicated schistosomiasis.My thoughts soar; I cannot sleep.Soft breeze caresses; rising sun gilds the window.Gazing south, I joyfully take up my brush.