–Mao Zedong, Summer 1954
Great rain pours on Youyan’s ancient land;
White waves surge high to touch the sky’s broad span.
Beyond Qinhuangdao, fishing boats once planned –
Now lost in one vast wild and watery band.
Where can they be, in this unending stand?
Past events leap a thousand years’ long chain;
Wei Wu wields whip, his grand campaigns to plan.
East to Jieshi Rock, he left his immortal reign:
A poem of the sea, where wild winds ran.
The same bleak autumn wind sweeps o’er the main –
Yet human world is changed, a new life began!
Note
In Summer 1954 at Beidaihe (a famous coastal resort near Qinhuangdao, Hebei), Mao watched the raging Bohai Sea during a heavy storm, recalled history, and contrasted ancient heroism with the new socialist China.
Lang Taosha (Ripples Sifting Sand / Sand-Sifting Waves):
A classic ci (lyric poem) form: 6 lines, fixed tonal pattern, rhyme scheme. Used for grand, reflective, or nostalgic themes.
Yong shi ci (Historical Lyric):
Poetic tradition of reflecting on past events/figures to comment on the present. Mao uses Cao Cao to highlight China’s transformation.
- Posthumously titled Emperor Wu of Wei. Warlord, poet, and founder of the Wei Kingdom (Three Kingdoms).
- 207 AD: Led army north to defeat the Wuhuan tribes; on his way back, climbed Mount Jieshi and wrote “Guan Cang Hai (Viewing the Vast Sea)”.
- Symbol of ambitious, militarily brilliant, culturally accomplished ruler in Chinese tradition.
Youyan
Ancient name for northern Hebei (old You Prefecture + Yan State). Evokes deep historical resonance.
Great rain pours on Youyan
- Literal: Storm over Hebei coast.
- Symbolic: Turbulent nature refers to China’s revolutionary upheaval.
White waves surge to heaven
Vast, violent sea refers to power of nature, sweep of history.
Fishing boats beyond Qinhuangdao
Small boats in endless ocean refers to common people amid great historical forces.
Lost in vast flood – where can they be?
Poetic question reveals concern for ordinary lives; mystery of fate.
Past events leap a thousand years
Time jump to 207 AD (Cao Cao’s time).
Wei Wu wields whip
Cao Cao on campaign: symbolization of heroic ambition, military leadership.
East to Jieshi Rock, he left his poem
Direct allusion to Cao Cao’s Guan Cang Hai:
“East I climb Jieshi Rock, to view the boundless sea…
Autumn wind sighs bleak; great waves rise high.”
The same bleak autumn wind blows again
Repeats Cao Cao’s line: nature unchanged; cycles of time.
Yet human world is changed
Climax: Nature repeats, but society/people transformed: from feudal past to new China.
浪淘沙-北戴河
大雨落幽燕，
白浪滔天，
秦皇岛外打鱼船。
一片汪洋都不见，
知向谁边？
往事越千年，
魏武挥鞭，
东临碣石有遗篇。
萧瑟秋风今又是，换了人间。
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