(October 7, 1961)
A myriad households, gaunt faces, overgrown with weeds and brambles—
Who dares to raise a song, a lament that shakes the earth?
My heart’s concerns stretch vast and boundless, linking the wide firmament,
Where sound is absent, listen for the startling thunder.
A poem by Lu Xun. Written by Mao Zedong on October 7, 1961, and presented to the Japanese friends visiting China.
[I]
On October 7, 1961, the Japan-China Friendship Association delegation to China, headed by Kuroda Hisao, and the delegation of non-governmental educators, headed by Mishima Hajime, arrived in China. Mao Zedong met with them at Zhongnanhai and inscribed this poem.