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–Mao Zedong, Spring 1931 Trees blaze red in frosty sky, a brilliant sight;Heavenly troops’ wrath soars high, piercing heaven’s height.Fog shrouds Longgang, dark peaks loom in the gray;A cry breaks out: “Zhang Huizan’s captured, ahead we lay!”
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— 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.
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Tao Yuanming (365–427CE) was a poet of the Eastern Jin dynasty. Also known as Tao Qian, with the courtesy name Yuanliang, he was given the posthumous private honorific title “Jingjie.” He was from Chaisang, Xunyang (in present-day southwestern Jiujiang, Jiangxi). He held several official posts, including Chief Sacrificial Wine Officer of Jiangzhou, Military Advisor…