–Mao Zedong, January 9, 1963 So small this earthly ball –A few flies dash at walls.They buzz and brawl,Some shrill and squall,Some whimper, appall.
–Mao Zedong, September 9, 1961 Amid dusk’s haze stands the strong pine,Through wild cloud surges, calm it doth shine.A cave of immortals by nature’s design –All grandest sights on perilous peak align.
–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.
–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.
–Mao Zedong, May 11, 1957 I lost proud Yang; you lost brave Liu,Their souls like willow-catkins soar to heaven’s height anew.We ask Wu Gang: “What have you?”He brings sweet osmanthus wine, pure and true.
Version 1 (Oct 1950 – National Day) Long night shrouded China’s dark, unbroken sky;A century of fiends ran wild, passed by.Five hundred million people torn, denied.One cock’s crow bursts – day breaks, all darkness flies;From every land, sweet songs from Khotan rise.Poets’ joy soars high, unmatched, unties.
Mao Zedong – April 1949 O’er Purple Mountain, storms surge sudden, wild and gray;A million mighty troops cross the great Yangtze.Like tiger crouched, dragon coiled, the city shines todayFar brighter than past days; earth turns, heaven realigns –Hearts swell with joy, with triumph’s grand designs.Strike on with leftover might, chase the routed foe;Don’t fish…
–Mao Zedong – October 1935 The sky so high, clouds thin and light,We watch wild geese fly south out of sight.None but a hero reaches the Great Wall;We count – twenty thousand li we’ve hauled.On Six Coiled Mountain’s crest so tall,Red flags stream wide in western wind’s call.Long cords in our hands today we…