(July 1, 1958)
Reading the People’s Daily of June 30th, I learned that Yujiang County had eradicated schistosomiasis. My thoughts surged, and I could not sleep through the night. A gentle breeze caressed me, and the rising sun shone through the window. Gazing toward the southern sky, I happily took up my pen.
I
Green mountains and clear waters are but an empty wealth;
What can a great physician do against this tiny worm!
In a thousand villages, brambles overgrow where people once lived,
And ten thousand households lie desolate, haunted by ghostly songs.
Sweeping Away the Plague God: This refers to banishing the deity of plague from superstitious legends. It signifies that by combining the mobilized strength of the masses with scientific knowledge, it may be possible to completely eradicate schistosomiasis, which has long plagued vast populations across many provinces south of the Yangtze River in China.
Yujiang County is located in the northeastern part of Jiangxi Province.
My mind was filled with endless associations.
What can a renowned physician like Hua Tuo do when faced with such a small parasite? Hua Tuo was a famous doctor at the end of the Han dynasty. Here, “the small worm” refers to the schistosome. The line suggests that without mobilizing the masses to eliminate it, even a celebrated healer would be powerless.
In a thousand desolate villages, brambles have overtaken former homes; people defecate uncontrollably, nearing death.

Ten thousand households stand empty, while ghosts seem to sing.
Though seated, one travels eighty thousand li each day;
Surveying the heavens from afar, one beholds a thousand rivers.
I
The Cowherd wishes to inquire about the affairs of the Plague God,
Yet joys and sorrows alike follow the passing waves.
II
In the spring breeze, willows stretch out myriad branches;
Six hundred million people across China are all as wise and virtuous as Shun and Yao.
Rainbow-colored petals fall freely, turning into surging waves;
The green hills deliberately transform themselves into bridges.
Where the Five Ridges meet the sky, silver hoes descend,
Though we remain seated, we travel eighty thousand li each day; gazing far into the heavens, we see countless galaxies. People dwell upon the Earth, and due to its rotation, they unknowingly traverse eighty thousand li every day. The Earth’s equatorial circumference is forty thousand kilometers, equivalent to eighty thousand li. As the planet spins through space, those who live upon it are, in essence, “touring the thousand rivers of the cosmos,” a metaphor for the numerous star systems in the universe.
The Cowherd is a figure from Chinese mythology. Legend has it that the star Altair in the constellation Aquila was once a cowherd on Earth who was transformed into a celestial being.
Joy and sorrow alike drift away with the passing tides—those fleeting currents serve as a metaphor for time gone by. Before liberation, prior to the Chinese Communist Party’s mobilization of the masses to combat schistosomiasis, the situation remained much as it had been in the days of the Cowherd: some mourned, others rejoiced, and so the years slipped by like flowing water.
All six hundred million Chinese people (the approximate population at the time) are as sage and benevolent as Emperors Shun and Yao. Shun and Yao were legendary “sage rulers” of the Tang and Yu dynasties in ancient history.

The earth trembles as three great rivers shake their iron arms.
One asks: Where shall the Plague Lord flee?
Paper boats and bright candles [2] are burned high to illuminate the heavens.
Three Rivers generally refers to the regions of Hedong, Henan, and Henan during the Han dynasty (as recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter on Commerce), originally denoting parts of present-day southwestern Shanxi and western Henan along both banks of the Yellow River. Here, however, it broadly represents the northern areas. In contrast, “Five Ridges” denotes the southern regions.
Paper boats and lit candles were traditional customs used in rituals to send off spirits. In this context, they symbolize how, amidst the vigorous efforts of six hundred million people, the Plague God (the “Plague Lord”) has nowhere left to hide and must depart from the human world.

I~？ ~If
经z
t幻均二三
λ玩，以ll飞
~~~：~1,1乡？
如何
Handwritten by Mao Zedong: Two Seven-Character Regulated Verse Poems—Sending Off the Plague God.

－~ n可
j、（：访仰1
♀o ：乡咐矿（俨惯！乡1巧
~j
1~1 ｛卢似j
L乌飞户》气化号
伊巧纯6J
J~
.
Handwritten by Mao Zedong: Two Seven-Character Regulated Verse Poems—Sending Off the Plague God.