–Mao Zedong, August 1, 1963 Good Eighth Company, famed far and wide.Why so glorified? Strong will abide.Serve the people, side by side,Decades with pride.Resist corruption, never hide,Pure, undefied.Thus named: Good Eighth Company, far and wide.
–Mao Zedong, November 17, 1961 Since storm and thunder first swept o’er the earth,Sprung evil sprites from piles of bones of dearth.The monk, misled, may yet be taught his worth;But fiends and ghosts must bring destruction’s mirth.
–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.
Early in the Qing Dynasty, many people were incriminated in Yu Qi’s rebellion. People in Qixia and Laiyang counties suffered most. A few hundred people were captured each day and all of them were executed. Their blood painted the ground red and their skeletons were stacked in mountain-like piles. The authorities showed their leniency…
In Western Halloween traditions, pumpkins are carved into lanterns to ward off wandering spirits, symbolizing a fear or aversion to ghosts. Yet in Journey to the West, Chinese ghosts and underworld kings are depicted as fond of pumpkins—a curious contrast.