A Matching Couplet with the Elder of Wushilong[1]

(February 1934)

Locked in mist, the high mountain—which sharp peak can break through? (The Elder of Wushilong)

Ablaze in fire, the open plain—this red banner dares advance. (Mao Zedong)

[1] On January 16, 1934, the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic promulgated the "Regulations on the Saturday Obligation to Aid the Families of Red Army Soldiers." From the central government down to all levels of local government organs, everyone actively participated in Saturday voluntary labour. One Saturday in February 1934, Mao Zedong came to the fields of Wushilong, not far from Shazhouba where the central government was located, to help the family of a Red Army soldier with ploughing. Approaching noon, the Red Army family members and the peasants working on the spring ploughing in the fields all gathered to rest and drink tea under a large camphor tree by the roadside. At this moment, an elder, knowing Mao Zedong to be a man of learning, wished to seek his counsel. Gazing at the mist-wreathed peaks of Shazhou Mountain, the elder composed the first line of a couplet. After hearing this, Mao Zedong looked closely at the fields, saw the red competition banner planted at the field's edge, and, pointing to the red banner, composed the matching second line. The crowd, upon hearing it, cheered in unison.