"I ask, on this boundless land, who rules over man's destiny?"
Mao Zedong (1893-1976), Chang Sha, to the Melody of Qin Yuan Chun
It's December 26th 2006, and the Chinese media is remembering the 113th anniversary of Mao's birth. Even when the Chinese are celebrating cultural and economic phenomena such as Super Girls (超女) and twenty-something high-tech entrepreneurs (八十年代后), the nation still seems sensitive about this date. After all, the date is ingrained within this generation like no other. However, it's maybe more about sentiment than political expression nowadays. Mao's poems and calligraphy works are reviewed, and his character and personal life discussed. Advertisers compete for his name as keywords on search engines. And the use of his images on items such as hanging decorations, bags, T-shirts, and lighters are as creative as they are prevalent. |
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沁园春 长沙 1925
Recited by Fang Ming |
独立寒秋，湘江北去，橘子洲头。
看万山红遍，层林尽染；漫江碧透，百舸争流。
鹰击长空，鱼翔浅底，万类霜天竞自由。
怅寥廓，问苍茫大地，谁主沉浮。 |
携来百侣曾游，
忆往昔峥嵘岁月稠。
恰同学少年，风华正茂；书生意气，挥斥方遒。
指点江山，激扬文字，粪土当年万户侯。
曾记否，到中流击水，浪遏飞舟。 |
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Changsha
Alone I stand in the autumn cold
On the tip of Orange Island,
The Xiang River 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 boundless 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? |
| More poems of Mao Zedong |
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| Historic Photos 16 photos |
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| Mao in Cultural Revolution 18 photos |
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| Mao in Today 12 photos |
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| Mao in Western Media 4 photos |
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