Poems by Mao Zedong

Poems by Mao Zedong Poems 1-7 by Mao Zedong

Changsha (1925)
Alone I stand in the autumn cold On the tip of Orange Island,
The Xiang flowing northward;
I see a thousand hills crimsoned through
By their serried woods deep-dyed,
And a hundred barges vying
Over crystal blue waters.
Eagles cleave the air,
Fish glide under the shallow water;
Under freezing skies a million creatures contend in freedom.
Brooding over this immensity,
I ask, on this bondless land
Who rules over man's destiny?
I was here with a throng of companions,
Vivid yet those crowded months and years.
Young we were, schoolmates,
At life's full flowering;
Filled with student enthusiasm
Boldly we cast all restraints aside.
Pointing to our mountains and rivers,
Setting people afire with our words,
We counted the mighty no more than muck.
Remember still
How, venturing midstream, we struck the waters
And the waves stayed the speeding boats?

Yellow Crane Tower (1927)
Wide, wide flow the nine streams through the land, Dark, dark threads the line from south to north. Blurred in the thick haze of the misty rain Tortoise and Snake hold the great river locked.
The yellow crane is gone, who knows whither? Only this tower remains a haunt for visitors. I pledge my wine to the surging torrent, The tide of my heart swells with the waves.

Jinggang Mountain (1928)
Below the hills fly flags and banners, Above the hilltops sounds bugles and drums. The foe encircles us thousands strong, Steadfastly we stand our ground.
Already our defence is iron-clad, Now our will unite like a fortress. From Huangyanggai roars the thunder of cannon, Word comes the enemy has run away in the night.

The Warlords Clash (1929)
Sudden veer of wind and rain Showering misery through the land, The warlords are clashing anew -- Yet another Millet Dream.
Red banners leap over Ting River Straight to Longyan and Shanghang. We have reclaimed part of the Golden Vase And land is being shared out with a will.

The Double Ninth (1929.10)
Man ages all too easily, not Nature; Year by year the Double Ninth returns. On this Double Ninth, The yellow blooms on the battle field smell sweeter.
Each year the autumn wind blow fierce, Unlike string's splendour, Yet surpassing spring's splendour, See the endless expanse of frosty sky and water.

New Year's Day (1930.01)
Ninghua, Qingliu, Guihua -- What narrow paths, deep woods and slippery moss! Whither are we bound today? Straight to the foot of Wuyi Mountain. To the mountain, the foot of the mountain, Red flags stream in the wind in a blaze of glory.

On the Guangchang Road (1930.02)
The whole wide world is white, Through the snow eagerly we press on. Crags loom above our heads, We cross the great pass, red flags waving in the wind.
Where are we bound? To the snow-swept River Gan. Yesterday the order was given, One hundred thousand workers and peasants march to Ji'an.


March from Tingzhou to Changsha (1930.07)
In June Heaven's armies chastise the corrupt and evil, Seeking to bind roc and whale with a league-long cord. Red glows the far side of the River Gan, Thanks to our wing under Huang Gonglyue.
A million workers and peasants rise up, Sweeping Jiangxi straight towards Hunan and Hubei. To the Internationale's stirring strains A wild whirlwind swoops from the sky.

Against the First "Encirclement" Campaign (1931)
Forests blaze red beneath the frosty sky, The wrath of Heaven's armies soars to the clouds. Mist veils Longgang, its thousands peaks blurred. All cry out in unison: Our van has taken Zhang Huizan!
The enemy returns to Jiangxi two hundred thousand strong, Fumes billowing in the wind in mid-sky. Workers and peasants are wakened in their millions To fight as one man, Under the riot of red flags round the foot of Buzhou Mountain!
Against the Second "Encirclement" Campaign (1931)
The very clouds foams atop White Cloud Mountain, At its base the roar of battle quicken. Withered trees and rotten stumps join in the fray. A forest of rifles presses, As the flying General descends from the skies.
In fifteen days we have marched seven hundred li Cross misty Gan waters and green Fujian hills, Rolling back the enemy as we would a mat. A voice is heard wailing; His "Bastion at every step" avail him nought!
Dabodi (1933)
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet -- Who is dancing, waving this coloured ribbon against the sky? The sun returns slanting after the rain And hill and pass grow a deeper blue.
A furious battle once raged here, The village walls, bullet-scarred, Now adorn hill and pass And make them doubly fair.
Huichang (1934)
Soon dawn will break in the east. Do not say "You start too early"; Crossing these blue hills adds nothing to one's years, The landscape here is beyond compare.
Straight from the walls of Huichang lofty peaks, Range after ranges, extend to the eastern sea. Our soldiers point southward to Guangdong Looming lusher and greener in the distance.
Loushan Pass (1935)
Fierce the west wind, Wild geese cry under the frosty morning moon. Under the frosty morning moon Horses' hooves clattering, Bugles sobbing low.
Idle boast the strong pass is a wall of iron, With firm strides we are crossing its summit. We are crossing its summit, The rolling hills sea-blue, The dying sun blood-red.
Three Short Poems (1934-35)
Mountains! I whip my swift horse, glued to my saddle. I turn my head startled, The sky is three foot above me!
Mountains! Like great wave surging in a crashing sea, Like a thousand stallions In full gallop in the heat of battle.
Mountains! Piercing the blue of heaven, your barbs unblunted! The skies would fall But for you strength supporting.
←Poems 8-14. Poems by Mao Zedong Poems 15-21 by Mao Zedong Poems 22-28.→

The Long March (1935)
The Red Army fears not the trials of the Long March, Holding light ten thousand crags and torrents. The Five Ridges wind like gentle ripples, And the majestic Wumeng roll by, globules of clay. Warm the steep cliffs lapped by the water of Jinsha, Cold the iron chains spanning the Dadu River. Min Mountain's thousand li of snow joyously crossed, The three Armies march on, each face glowing.
Kunlun (1935.10)
Far above the earth, into the blue You, wild Kunlun, have seen All that was fairest in the world of men. Your three million white jade dragons in flight Freeze the sky with piercing cold. In summer days your melting torrents Flood the streams and rivers, Turning men into fish and turtles. Who has passed judgement on the good and ill You have wrought there thousand autumn?
To Kunlun now I say, Neither all your height Nor all your snow is needed. Could I but draw my sword overtopping heaven, I'd cleave you in three: One piece for Europe, One for America, One to keep in the East. Now a world in peace, sharing together The same warmth and cold throughout the globe.
Mount Liupan (1935.10)
The sky is high, the clouds are pale, We watch the wild geese vanish southward. If we fail to reach the Great Wall we are not men, We who have already measured twenty thousand li.
High on the crest of Mount Liupan Red banners wave freely in the west wind. Today we hold the long cord in our hands, When shall we bind fast the Grey Dragon?
Snow (1936.02)
North country scene: A hundred leagues locked in ice, A thousand leagues of whirling snow. Both side of the Great Wall One single white immensity. The Yellow River's swift current Is stilled from end to end. The mountains dance silver snakes And the highland charge like wax-hued elephants. Vying with heaven in stature. On a fine day, the land, Clad in white, adorned in red, Crows more enchanting.
This land so rich in beauty Has made countless heroes bow in homage. But alas! Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi Were lacking in literary grace, And Tang Taizong and Song Taizu Had little poetry in their souls; That proud son of Heaven, Genghis Khan, Knew only shooting eagles, bow outstretched. All are past and gone! For truly great men Look to this age alone.
The PLA Captures Nanjing (1949.04)
Over Zhong Mountain swept a storm, headlong, Our mighty army, a million strong, has crossed the Great River. The city, a tiger crouching, a dragon curling, outshining its ancient glory; In heroic triumph heaven and earth have been overturned. With power and to spare we must pursue the tottering foe And not ape Xiang Yu the conqueror seeking idle fame. Were Nature sentient, she too would pass from youth to age, But man's world is mutable, seas become mulberry fields.

Reply to Mr. Liu Yazi (1950.10)
The night was long and dawn came slow to the Crimson Land. For a century demons and monsters whirled in a wild dance, And the five hundred million people were disunited.
Now the rooster has crowed and all under heaven is bright, Here is music from all our peoples, even from Yutian, And the poet is inspired as never before.

Beidaihe (1954)
A rainstorm sweeps down on the northern land, White breakers leap to the sky. No fishing boats off Qinhuangdao Are seen on the boundless ocean. Where are they gone?
Nearly two thousand years ago Wielding his whip, the Emperor Weiwu Rode eastward to Jieshi; his poem survives. Today the autumn wind still sighs, But the world has changed!

Poems by Mao Zedong Poems 22-28

Swimming (1956.06)
I have just drunk the waters of Changsha And come to eat the fish of Wuchang. Now I am swimming across the great Yangtze, Looking afar to the open sky of Chu. Let the wind blow and waves beat, Better far than idly strolling in courtyard. Today I am at ease. It was by a stream that the Master said -- "Thus do things flow away!"
Sails move with the wind. Tortoise and Snake are still. Great plans are afoot: A bridge will fly to span the north and south, Turning a deep chasm into a thoroughfare; Walls of stones will stand upstream to the west To hold back Wushan's clouds and rain Till a smooth lake rises in the narrow gorges. The mountain goddess if she is still there Will marvel at a world so changed.

Reply to Li Shuyi (1957.05.11)
I lost my proud Poplar and you your Willow, Poplar and Willow soar to the Ninth Heaven. Wu Gang, asked what he can give, Serves them a laurel brew.
The lonely moon goddess spreads her ample sleeves To dance for these loyal souls in infinite space. Earth suddenly reports the tiger subdued, Tears of joy pour forth falling as mighty rain.

Farewell to the Plague Spirit (1958.07.01)
So many green and blue hills, but to what avail? This tiny creature left Hua Tuo powerless! Hundreds of villages choked with weeds, men wasted away; Thousands of homes deserted, ghosts chanted mournfully. Motionless, by earth I travel eighty thousand li a day, Surveying the sky I see a myriad Milky Ways from afar. Should the Cowherd ask tidings of the Plague Spirit, Say the same griefs flow down the stream of time.
The spring wind blows amid profuse of willow wands, Six hundred million in this land all equal Yao and Shun. Crimson rain swirls in waves under our will, Green mountains turn to bridges at our wish. Gleaming mattocks fall on the Five Ridges heaven-high; Mighty arms move to rock the earth round the Three Rivers. May we ask Mr. Plague: "Where do you want to go?" Paper barges aflame and candle-light illuminate the sky.

Shaoshan Revisited (1959.06)
Like a dim dream recalled, I curse the long-fled past -- My native soil two and thirty years gone by. The red flag rouse the serf, halberd in hand, While the despot's black talons held his whip aloft. Bitter sacrifice strengthens bold resolve Which dares to make sun and moon shine in new skies. Happy, I see wave upon wave of paddy and beans, And all around heroes home-bound in the evening mist.

Ascent of Lu Mountain (1959.07.01)
Perching as after flight, the mountain towers over the Yangtze; I have overleapt four hundred twists to its green crest. Cold-eyed I survey the world beyond seas; A hot wind spatters raindrops on the sky-brooded waters. Clouds cluster over the nine streams, the yellow crane floating, And billows roll on to the eastern coast, white foam flying. Who knows whither Prefect Tao Yuanming is gone Now that he can till fields in the Land of Peach Blooming?

Militia Women (1961.02)
Inscription on a Photograph
How bright and brave they look, shouldering five-foot rifles On the parade ground lit up by the first gleams of day. China's daughters have high-aspiring minds, They love their battle array, not silks and satins.

Reply to a Friend (1961)
White clouds are sailing above the Mountain Jiuyi; Riding the wind, the Princesses descend the green hills. Once they speckled the bamboos with their profuse tears, Now they are robbed in rose-red clouds. Dongting Lake's snow-topped waves surge skyward; The long isle reverberates with earth-shaking song. And I am lost in dreams, untrammelled dreams, Of the land of hibiscus glowing in the morning sun.

Poems 29-35 by Mao Zedong

The Fairy Cave (1961.09.09)
Inscription on a Picture Taken by Comrade Li Jin
Amid the growing shades of dusk stand sturdy pines, Riotous clouds sweep past, swift and tranquil. Nature has excelled herself in the Fairy Cave, On perilous peaks dwells beauty in her infinite variety.

Reply to Comrade Guo Moruo (1961.11.17)
A thunderstorm burst over the earth, So a devil rose from a heap of white bones. The deluded monk was not beyond the light, But the malignant demon must wreak havoc. The Golden Monkey wrathfully swung his massive cudgel, And the jade-like firmament was cleared of dust. Today, a miasmal mist once more rising, We hail Sun Wukong, the wonder-worker.

Ode to the Plum Blossom (1961.12)
Wind and rain escorted Spring's departure, Flying snow welcome Spring's return. On the ice-clad rock rising high and sheer A flower blossom sweet and fair.
Sweet and fair, she craves not Spring for herself alone, To be the harbinger of Spring she is content. When the mountain flowers are in full bloom She will smile mingling in their midst.

Winter Clouds (1962.12.16)
Winter clouds snow-laden, cotton fluff flying, None or few the unfallen flowers. Chill waves sweep through steep skies, Yet earth's gentle breath grows warm. Only heroes can quell tigers and leopards, And wild bears never daunt the brave. Plum blossoms welcome the whirling snow; Small wonder flies freeze and perish.

Reply to Comrade Guo Moruo (1963.01.09)
On this tiny globe A few flies dash themselves against the wall, Humming without cease, Sometimes shrilling, Sometimes moaning. Ants on the locust tree assume a great-nation swagger And mayflies lightly plot to topple the giant tree. The west wind scatters leaves over Chang'an, And the arrows are flying, twanging.
So many deeds cry out to be done, And always urgently; The world rolls on, Time presses. Ten thousand years are too long, Seize the day, seize the hour! The Four Seas are rising, clouds and water raging, The Five Continents are rocking, wind and thunder roaring. Our force is irresistible, Away with all pests!

Reascending Jinggang Mountain (1965.05)
I have long aspired to reach for the clouds And I again ascend Jinggang Mountain. Coming from afar to view our old haunt, I find new scenes replacing the old. Everywhere orioles sing, swallows dart, Streams babble And the road mount skyward. Once Huangyanggai is passed No other perilous place calls for a glance.
Wind and thunder are stirring, Flags and banners are flying Wherever men live. Thirty-eight years are fled With a mere snap of the fingers. We can clasp the moon in the Ninth Heaven And seize turtles deep down in the Five Seas: Nothing is hard in this world If you dare to scale the heights.

Two Birds: a Dialogue (1965)
The roc wings fanwise, Soaring ninety thousand li And rousing a raging cyclone. The blue sky on his back, he looks down To survey Man's world with its towns and cities. Gunfire licks the heavens, Shells pit the earth. A sparrow in his bush is scared stiff. "This is one hell of a mess! Oh I want to flit and fly away."
"Where, may I ask?" The sparrow relies, "To a jewelled palace in elfland's hills. Don't you see a triple pact was signed Under the bright autumn moon two years ago? There will be plenty to eat, Potatoes piping hot, beef-filled goulash." "Don't farce any more! Look, the world is being turned upside down."