Mao Zedong

      An Elegiac Address in Honor
           of the Yellow Emperor
                 (April 5, 1937)

The Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic has sent a special
delegate to honor the tomb of the Yellow Emperor and hold a national tombsweeping ceremony. The Soviet Government, on behalf of all citizens within the
soviet areas and for the purpose of paying respect to the first ancestor of the
Chinese nation, and expressing its resolute determination to be forerunners in
fighting to resist Japan and save the nation from perishing, and to strive for the
realization of national unity, has specially sent a delegate on the 5th to take part
in the ceremony. The original text of the elegiac address is recorded below:

On April 5, the twenty-sixth year of the Republic of China, the chairman of
the Soviet Government, Mao Zedong, and the commander-in-chief of the
People's Anti-Japanese Red Army, Zhu De, have reverently delegated Lin Zuhan
to memorialize in the traditional manner with flowers and silks at the tomb of the
Yellow Emperor, our Chinese nation's first ancestor.

      You, our illustrious ancestor,
      founded our nation of China;
      how numerous your descendants and prosperous your state,
      how lofty the mountains and vast the rivers.
      Full of intelligence and far-sighted wisdom,
      your glorious reign reached even the barren lands;
      you have built this great nation,
      standing grandly in the East.
      Changes in the world have come over time,
      and leaders stumble and fall;
      after several thousand years,
      our powerful neighbor disdains virtue.
      The Ryukyus and Taiwan have been lost,
      Korea lies in ruins;
      Liaoning, Rehe, northern and southern Hebei,
      are overrun with Chinese traitors!

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 5, pp. 67–68, where it is reproduced from Xin Zhonghua bao, April 6, 1937.

We have offered land to our enemies,
but will they ever be satiated?
Others hold whips in their hands,
we have become their slaves.
How exemplary you were, our ancestor,
a hero of your generation;
having fought hard at Zhuolu,
you pacified the whole region.
How is it that your descendants
fail to fight back in this way,
and let this proud and glorious country
fall into the hands of knaves?

Although we lack capability,
my comrades and I are eager to rise up and fight;
tens of thousands of rugged miles we have marched,
giving our all for the sake of the nation.
For many years we’ve struggled hard,
endured countless perils;
before the enemy barbarians are destroyed,
how can we return home?
Let all parties and all circles
firmly unite as one;
be they soldier or civilian,
whether poor or rich.
The national united front
is the remedy to save our nation;
four hundred million people
will firmly resist to the very end.
A democratic republic,
reform of domestic politics;
hundreds of millions united in one mind,
are bound to win the battle.
Restoring our territories,
defending our national sovereignty;
these goals and aspirations
we shall never forget.
We have mustered our forces and gathered our armies,
to report to you, our illustrious ancestor;
give us your careful inspection,
emperor of heaven, empress of earth.
May we offer up our sacrifices!