Three Poems of Sixteen Words [1]

(1934–1935)

I

Mountains!

I whip my swift horse, not dismounting, and look back, startled.

The sky is three feet three above! [Author’s original note]

II

Mountains!

Like great surging waves in a sea overturned, a river inverted. [2]

Swiftly galloping,

ten thousand horses locked in fierce battle.

[1] Three Poems of Sixteen Words: These three poems all depict the precipitousness of the mountain ranges Mao Zedong traversed during the march.

[2] Great surging waves: The rolling of great waves here and the “ten thousand horses” galloping below are both metaphors for the undulating mountain ranges.

III

Mountains!

Piercing the blue sky, the blade [1] unblunted.

The sky would fall

but for the mountains supporting [2] it.

Mao Zedong’s original note

A Hunan folk ballad: “Above is Skeleton Mountain, below is Eight-Face Mountain, three feet three from the sky. A man must bow his head to pass, a horse must dismount.”

[1] Blade: the edge of a knife, the tip of a sword.

[2] Supporting: propping up.

But for the mountains supporting it.
Four Mountains
I whip my swift horse, not dismounting.
Ten thousand fathoms deep
Heaven and earth overturned
Mao Zedong’s handwritten “Three Poems of Sixteen Words.”

“Three Poems of Sixteen Words” (poetic painting)

“I Whip My Swift Horse, Not Dismounting” (poetic painting)

“All Smiles — The Reunion at Wuqi Town” (oil painting)