--- Notes



I once conducted a thorough study of the ci poem “Lou Shan Pass.” At first, I believed it described events that transpired within a single day. Later, however, I came to think otherwise: that it actually recounts two separate engagements—one in the opening section and another in the second.  At a literary symposium held in Guangzhou [2], I expressed my view favoring the interpretation that the poem depicts two distinct occasions, dismissing the notion that it portrays a single day’s events. Yet I was mistaken. It was the author himself [3] who set me straight.

Following the Zunyi Conference of the Party in January 1935, the Red Army launched its first assault on Lou Shan Pass [4] and emerged victorious. The plan was then to advance through southern Sichuan, cross the Yangtze River to the north, move into western Sichuan, march directly on Chengdu, annihilate Liu Xiang [5], and establish a base area in that region. However, reality fell short of these aspirations, as the Red Army encountered formidable resistance from the Sichuanese forces.

Pressing westward from Lou Shan Pass, the Red Army fought its way through the counties of Gulin and Gusong until it reached a tri-border region where Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou provinces meet—a place known as “Where Chickens Crow Across Three Provinces.” There, they suddenly encountered powerful opposition from Yunnanese troops and found themselves unable to proceed.

The Central Political Bureau convened a meeting and promptly decided to reverse course, retaking Zunyi by surprise with a swift counterattack—an operation carried out in February of that year. Departing before dawn from a location several dozen li short of Lou Shan Pass, while the moon still hung in the sky, the troops arrived at the pass between two and three o’clock in the afternoon. In a single decisive battle, they captured the position, destroying an entire enemy division. By this time, dusk was already falling.

Seizing the momentum, they pursued the fleeing enemy into Zunyi under cover of night, wiping out yet another enemy division. In total, two enemy divisions were destroyed, and Zunyi was recaptured.

The poem was composed retrospectively. On that day, the troops had marched over a hundred li while simultaneously directing operations; there simply would have been neither the time nor the energy to compose verses. Many provinces in southern China experience winters without snow—sometimes for years on end—characterized instead by frost. The clear skies are often graced by flocks of wild geese, and the morning sun is not particularly cold, much like late autumn in the north. Such are the conditions prevailing in the provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan.

According to the author, the lines “The gray mountains stretch like a sea; the dying sun glows like blood” reflect years of accumulated observations of natural scenery during wartime. It was only upon encountering the fortuitous convergence of a military victory at Lou Shan Pass and the striking beauty of the surrounding landscape that these now-famous lines took shape, a result the author regarded as quite successful.

Thus, it becomes evident that my earlier remarks at the Guangzhou symposium were indeed incorrect. This serves as a telling illustration of the challenges inherent in interpreting poetry.

Printed according to Mao Zedong’s manuscript.

Notes [1] In 1962, People’s Literature magazine planned to publish six of Mao Zedong’s ci poems in its May issue. At the journal’s invitation, Guo Moruo wrote an essay titled “Delighted to Read Chairman Mao’s ‘Six Ci Poems’” on May 1. On May 9, Guo submitted a proof copy of the article to Mao for review and revision. After reading it, Mao deleted entirely the passage concerning the historical background of “Yi Qin E: Lou Shan Pass” and rewrote that section himself.

[2] Refers to a poetry symposium held in Guangzhou in early February 1962.

[3] Refers to Mao Zedong.

[4] Historically, it was commonly believed that the Zunyi Conference took place on January 9, 1935. Subsequent scholarly research, however, has established that the conference was actually held from January 15 to 17, 1935. Consequently, the Red Army’s first attack on Lou Shan Pass must have occurred prior to the Zunyi Conference, rather than afterward.

[5] Liu Xiang (1888–1938), a native of Dayi County in Sichuan. In 1933, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the Nationalist Army’s Sichuan Pacification Headquarters; in 1934, he also assumed the post of Governor of Sichuan Province under the Nationalist government.