Inscription for the Mourning Couplet for Yang Shisan[1]

(September 1939)

The nation is amid wind and rain, swaying and drifting[2]; for our generation, the burdens are especially increased;

Yan and Zhao have many men of fervent and tragic song[3]; in you, sir, we still see the model.

[1] On July 21, 1939, Yang Yumin, former director of the Political Department of the Eastern Hebei Anti-Japanese Allied Forces and a cadre at the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, passed away unfortunately due to prolonged campaigning and exhaustion from accumulated overwork. In September, the Eighth Route Army Headquarters held a memorial service. Mao Zedong wrote this mourning couplet. Yang Yumin (1889–1939), original name Yanlun, courtesy name Canru, also named Yumin, ranked thirteenth in his family. A native of Qian’an County, Hebei Province. Graduated from a higher industrial specialized school and studied in the United States. After returning to China, he served as a professor at the Hebei Provincial Institute of Technology for many years. He associated with patriotic and revolutionary figures and actively engaged in anti-Japanese national salvation activities. After the July 7 Incident, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, he participated in planning anti-Japanese work in eastern Hebei. In 1938, he was elected director of the Political Department of the Eastern Hebei Anti-Japanese Allied Forces. He passed away due to illness on July 21, 1939.

[2] Wind and rain, swaying and drifting, a metaphor for the nation’s turmoil and instability.

[3] Yan and Zhao have many men of fervent and tragic song, a phrase from Han Yu’s “Preface to Seeing Off Dong Shaonan” of the Tang dynasty: “Since ancient times, Yan and Zhao have been known for having many men of fervent and tragic song.” It means that the Yan and Zhao region was renowned in ancient times for having many heroic and righteous men who were impassioned and ready to defend justice.