Vague dreams of parting curse the flowing stream;  It is precisely through great sacrifice that lofty aspirations are kindled.   Thirty-two years have passed since my old home;  We dare to bid the sun and moon usher in a new age.   The red flag unfurls like a farmer-servant’s halberd;  How joyous to behold waves upon waves of ripening rice!   A black hand holds aloft the whip of the tyrant lord;  Heroes rise from every field as evening mists descend.

[Title Explanation]    Shaoshan is Mao Zedong’s hometown. In January 1925, Mao returned from Shanghai to his native village, established the Shaoshan branch of the Communist Party of China, and organized peasant associations. In 1927, while conducting an investigation into the peasant movement in Hunan, he once again visited Shaoshan. Owing to the busyness of revolutionary work, it was not until the tenth year after the founding of the People’s Republic that he had another opportunity to return to his hometown. After thirty-two years apart, the landscape of his birthplace had been completely transformed. Overwhelmed by present joys and past sorrows, he composed this poem.

[Notes]    (1) “Bie meng”: refers to bygone days.   (2) “Shichuan”: a metaphor for years gone by.   (3) “Heishou”: denotes reactionary forces.   (4) “Bazhu bian”: describes the oppressors’ brutal suppression of the peasantry.   (5) “Wei you”: because there is.   (6) “Xia xiyan”: workers returning home from their day’s labor as dusk settles.

[Appreciation]    The poem opens with “vague dreams of parting,” hinting at his return to his hometown, then broadens to encompass “thirty-two years ago”; it concludes with “how joyous to behold,” offering a direct, affirmative tribute. The opening curse contrasts with the closing joy, creating a natural balance. The two middle couplets alternate between negative and positive imagery—first one, then the other—thus systematically outlining thirty-two years of historical development: starting with lamentation and culminating in exultation, neatly tying together the ending. With genuine emotion and grand scope, the poem flows naturally and seamlessly; each line expresses heartfelt sentiment with perfect precision.