Alone in the chill autumn,
the Xiang River flows northward,
at the head of Orange Isle.
I gaze upon ten thousand mountains ablaze with red,
every tier of forest dyed to its very core;
the vast river runs crystal clear,
hundreds of boats vie with one another as they race upstream.
Eagles cleave the long sky,
fish glide through the shallow depths,
and all creatures under heaven’s frosty expanse strive for freedom.
With a sense of vast emptiness and melancholy,
I ask this boundless earth:
who shall decide the rise and fall of nations?

Once I brought along many comrades, we used to roam here together,
recalling those vigorous years of the past.
Just then, as young students,
we were at the height of our youthful bloom;
filled with the spirit of scholars,
our energy surged forth unrestrainedly.
We would point out the land’s contours,
stir up writing with passionate fervor,
despising the wealthy lords of old as mere dust and dung.

Do you remember
how we once plunged into the river’s midstream to beat the waves,
so that the very waves would stay our swift-moving boat?



## Commentary on the Title
In January 1925, Mao Zedong returned to Hunan and organized the Society for Avenge National Humiliation, the precursor to the Peasant Association. That winter, reactionary forces plotted to arrest him. Consequently, Mao headed south to Guangzhou to direct the Peasant Movement Training Institute. This ci was composed on the eve of his departure from Changsha.



## Notes
(1) Cold Autumn: Deep autumn, late autumn.
(2) Orange Isle: A sandbank in the Xiang River, west of Changsha city.
(3) Ge: Boat.
(4) All Creatures: Refers to every form of life.
(5) Frosty Sky: Autumn.
(6) Many Companions: Describes an abundance of partners or peers.
(7) Just Then: At the very moment, precisely.
(8) Unrestrained: Boisterous, free-spirited.
(9) Utmost: The farthest reach.
(10) Stir Up: To cleanse the murky and uplift the pure.
(11) Lords of Ten Thousand Households: Personal fame and fortune.
(12) Midstream: The middle of the river current.