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–Mao Zedong, Spring 1964 Apes and men once bowed and took their leave;A few stones ground, our infancy weave.Furnaces flared with copper and steel’s bright sheen –When dawned that age? No guess is keen,But a thousand winters and summers green.
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–Mao Zedong, October 1955 The spring river vast and wide awhile doth stray;We climb tiered peaks, our vision cleared, far away.Wind from green isles bears surging waves astray;Rain from wild fields ascends the hills to stay.By wine cups, we laugh and talk – old friends still gay;Abroad, trivial strife like chicken–worm fray.Mourn not how…
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–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?