–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.
–Mao Zedong, 1935 The west wind rages high;Wild geese cry ‘neath frosty dawn and sky.Frosty dawn and sky –Hoof beats scatter low;Bugles moan and die.
A frog inhabiting a crumbling well boasted to an ocean turtle: “Behold my paradise! I leap upon mossy ledges, bathe in sun-warmed waters, rest in crevices — no creature rivals my joy! Would you not enter my domain?”