Mao Zedong: Winter Clouds…& so forth
Posted: January 9, 2012 Filed under: Chinese (Mandarin), English, Mao Zedong Comments Off on Mao Zedong: Winter Clouds…& so forth
Winter Clouds
– a lu shi
(1962)
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.
Militia Women – Inscription on a Photograph
– a jue ju
(1961)
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.
Guo Moruo’s Poem
On Seeing The Monkey Subdue The Demon
– a lu shi
Confounding humans and demons, right and wrong,
The monk was kind to foes and vicious to friends.
Endlessly he intoned “The Incantation of The Golden Hoop”,
And thrice he let the White Bone Demon escape.
The monk deserved to be torn limb from limb;
Plucking a hair means nothing to the wonder-worker.
All praise is due to such timely teaching,
Even the pig grew wiser than the fools.
Zócalo Poets 