Seven-character Quatrain: A Revision of Mei Bai's "Climbing the Loquat Hill in Chongqing at Night"

(1958)

I come to a high place, longing to ride the wind,
The dusky haze stretches boundless in a single gaze.
A million silver lamps sway their reflections,
The Jialing River seems a crystal palace.

[1] In 1958, Mao Zedong inspected the Three Gorges, with Mei Bai accompanying him. Mao saw a seven-character quatrain written by Mei Bai, "Climbing the Loquat Hill in Chongqing at Night," and, quite intrigued, revised Mei Bai's poem. The main revisions are as follows: (1) "dusky haze" — the original poem had "brilliant." (2) "a million" — the original poem had "tens of thousands." (3) "sway their reflections" — the original poem had "flow their reflections." (4) "seems" — the original poem had "compares to."