Inscription for the Huangpi Couplet[1]

(August 1931)

In the Huanghu mountain cave bark the white dogs[2];

The Pi waters flow long, locking the jiaolong[3].

[1] On August 11, 1931, during the counter-campaign against the third "encirclement and suppression," Mao Zedong led his troops to surround the Kuomintang army division under Mao Bingwen stationed at Huangpi, annihilating four of its regiments. Mao Zedong cherished deep feelings for the people of Huangpi and its mountains and waters, and thus composed this name-embedded couplet. Huangpi is a small town in Ningdu County, Jiangxi Province.

[2] Huanghu (yellow tiger) is a metaphor for the heroic Red Army. White dogs is a metaphor for the Kuomintang army.

[3] Pi waters symbolize the strength of the revolutionary people. Jiao is a creature in ancient legends, popularly believed to be capable of causing floods. One account says it is a female dragon without horns. "Riding six jiao, writhing sinuously," from "Nine Longings: Preserving Will" in the Songs of Chu, with Wang Yi's annotation: "A dragon without horns is called jiao." Jiaolong is a metaphor for the Kuomintang army that harmed the people.