Couplet with an Old-Style Private School Teacher[1]

(February 1934)

A mere trickling stream can hardly make waves. (the old-style private school teacher)

A single spark from a star can start a prairie fire. (Mao Zedong)

[1] One day in February 1934, Mao Zedong went to Wushilong, not far from the Central Committee’s base, to help a Red Army family plow their fields. During a break, he chatted with an elderly man. Just then, an old-style private school teacher passing by saw the lively scene and stopped to rest there as well. Unable to contain his excitement, he said to everyone: “I will give you the first line of a couplet for you all to match.” The teacher pondered for a moment, and inspired by a small stream flowing by the roadside, he came up with the first line. After hearing it, none of the people present responded. Many in the crowd turned their eyes toward Mao Zedong, meaning for him to answer. Mao fully understood their wish. Looking at the tiny sparks on the matches the people were using to light their cigarettes, inspiration struck, and he gave the matching line in reply. Upon hearing it, the old-style private school teacher praised it, exclaiming: “Brilliant! Brilliant!”