Poems
of
Mao
Tse-tung
Utilized
by the Labor Camp Orchestra
(Selection
assembled in September 2006)
-
- -
New
YearŐs day
Where
are we going?
The
road is narrow. Deep in the forest the moss is slippery
as
we leave Ninghua, Ching, and Kweihua behind.
We
head for the foot of the tea slope of Wuyi.
Below
the mountain below the mountain,
wind
blows our banners like a painting.
January
1930
-
- -
Reply
To Comrade Guo Moruo
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 of great-nation swagger
And
mayflies lightly plot to topple the giant tree.
The
west wind scatters leaves over ChangŐan,
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 waters raging,
The
Five Continents are rocking, wind and thunder roaring.
Our
force is irresistible,
Away
with all pests!
November
1961
-
- -
Three
Songs
1
Mountain.
I
whip my quick horse and donŐt dismount
And
look back in wonder.
The
sky is three feet away.
2
Mountain.
The
sea collapses and the river boils.
Innumerable
horses race
Insanely
into the peak of battle.
3
Mountain.
Peaks
pierce the green sky, unblunted.
The
sky would fall
But
for the columns of mountains.
1934-1935
-
- -
Militia
Women
Early
rays of sun illuminate the parade grounds
and
these handsome girls heroic in the wind,
with
rifles five feet long.
Daughters
of China with a marvelous will,
you
prefer hardy uniforms to colorful silk.
February
1961
-
- -
Winter
Clouds
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.
December
1962
-
- -
The
Fairy Cave
(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.
September
1961
-
- -
Jinggangshan
Low
on the mountain our flags and banners
and
on the peak an echo of bugles and drums.
Around
us a thousand circles of enemy armies
yet
we are rock.
No
one cracks through our forest of walls,
through
our fortress of wills joined as one.
From
the front lines at Huangyang the big guns roar
saying
the enemy army fled in the night.
Fall
1928
-
- -
Mount
Liupan
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?
October
1935