(December 1963……)
I recall those days when we darted across the grass,
Constantly at odds within the Red Army, each with our own views.
The Long March was no trial to bear;
It was the Battle of Jinzhou that posed the real challenge.
[I]
In December 1963, the date attributed to this poem upon its publication in 1978 was determined based on the recollections of a comrade who had served as a medical attendant to Mao Zedong and had once helped him preserve his poetic manuscripts.
[2]
“I recall those days when we darted across the grass” borrows a line from Huang Chao’s “Self-Portrait” from the Tang dynasty. “Darting across the grass” refers to the Red Army’s swift movements during wartime.
[3]
“Each with our own views” signifies frequent debates arising from differing opinions.
[4]
“The Long March was no trial to bear; it was the Battle of Jinzhou that posed the real challenge.”
After the Zunyi Conference in January 1935, Mao Zedong led the Central Red Army on a series of迂illary maneuvers through Guizhou and Sichuan provinces, crossing the Chishui River four times, unexpectedly threatening Guiyang before turning into Yunnan, and successfully fording the Jinsha River, thereby breaking free from the encirclement of several hundred thousand enemy troops. During these maneuvers, the troops often had to undertake forced marches. In May of the same year, on the eve of a Politburo meeting convened by Lin Biao in the suburbs of Huili City in southern Sichuan, Lin wrote to the Central Revolutionary Military Commission, arguing that such “circuitous routes” would “exhaust the army” and demanding a change in the leadership of the Military Commission. This request was completely rejected by the Politburo. Resolving this issue did not present significant difficulties. “The Battle of Jinzhou” refers to the assault on Jinzhou in September and October 1948, which was the first and pivotal major battle of the Liaoshen Campaign. On September 7, Mao Zedong had already drafted a telegram for the Central Military Commission addressed to Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, and others, meticulously outlining the immense importance of capturing Jinzhou and comparing the pros and cons of attacking Changchun first. Nevertheless, Lin Biao continued to offer various excuses to repeatedly oppose the plan. Luo Ronghuan, however, firmly supported the implementation of the Central Military Commission’s strategic decisions and Mao Zedong’s directives, which is why he is specifically mentioned in the poem.

The magpie, whenever it hears of bullying the great bird,
The pheasant long laughs, saying the eagle is no true eagle.
Now you, unfortunately, have left this world;
With doubts remaining, whom can we now consult?
Seven-Character Regulated Verse: Elegy for Comrade Luo Ronghuan
[1]
“The magpie, whenever it hears of bullying the great bird”—the magpie, or rather the sparrow, can only fly a few feet above the ground. As recorded in Zhuangzi’s “Free and Untrammeled Wanderings,” the magpie mocks the roc for soaring too high, claiming that its own flight among the bushes represents the ultimate form of soaring.
[2]
“The pheasant long laughs, saying the eagle is no true eagle”—the pheasant, according to ancient texts, refers to either the peacock-pheasant or the black grouse, a large species of chicken. As stated in the “Erya·Explanation of Livestock”: “A chicken three chi tall is called a ji.” In Krylov’s Russian fable “The Eagle and the Chicken,” the eagle is ridiculed by chickens for flying too low, being deemed no different from them. The eagle retorts that while it may sometimes fly as low as a chicken, a chicken can never soar as high as an eagle.

also
/dr
IV
AAt
must
ten thousand
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knife
wait
Sichuanγ
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right
V
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life
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7 years 7p two boxes three in,
fly beg much)~ make meritorious service
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son{7 ;;f'i( precious person）
gas civil support
…
general;［bean rubble） village］~.＆：{! 0--0 a
1~＿ ~~chaos and hair gone in ；two.
i~！ ~~1P person valuable magazine
him）＇~ l~）unfortunately
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Mao Zedong’s handwritten copy of “Seven-Character Regulated Verse: Elegy for Comrade Luo Ronghuan.”

Archival photo: On December 17, 1963, Party and state leaders including Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Dong Biwu, and Deng Xiaoping, along with senior military commanders, visited the hospital to pay their final respects to Luo Ronghuan’s remains.