(Autumn 1965)
Kunpeng spreads its wings,
Nine myriad li,
Rising in spirals like horns of a ram.
With the blue sky on its back, it looks down
To see nothing but cities and towns of men.
Artillery fire lights up the heavens,
Bullet scars cover the ground,
Scaring even the lotus pond’s little bird into trembling.
How can this be? Alas, I long to soar!
May I ask, where are you bound?
[1]
Kunpeng, here refers to the great bird transformed from a giant fish, used in a complimentary sense.
[2]
Nine myriad li, rising in spirals like horns of a ram,
From “Zhuangzi: The Wanderer”: “When the roc migrates to the Southern Sea, it beats the water for three thousand li and, riding the whirlwind, ascends ninety thousand li.” “There is a bird called the roc; its back is like Mount Tai, its wings like clouds hanging from the sky. It soars ninety thousand li on the whirlwind and the horned gale, piercing through the clouds and bearing the blue sky upon itself, before setting its course southward, heading straight for the Southern Sea.” All these passages describe how the great roc, when flying toward the South Sea, uses the power of swirling winds to flap its wings and rise to a height of ninety thousand li. Both “fuyao” and “yangjiao” are names for powerful whirlwinds.
[3]
The lotus pond sparrow,
Refers to the “chi mi” sparrow in “Zhuangzi: The Wanderer.”

The sparrow replied:
There are fairy mountains and jade pavilions.
I have not seen last year’s bright autumn moon;
Three nations have signed a treaty.
[2]
There is also food—
Potatoes are cooked through,
With beef added.
[3]
No need to fart around;
Just watch as heaven and earth are turned upside down.
[1]
Jade pavilions and towers, where immortals dwell.
[2]
“The three nations have signed a treaty” refers to the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, Outer Space, and Under Water, signed in Moscow on August 5, 1963, by the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
[3] “Potatoes are cooked through, with beef added”—In April 1964, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev once said in a speech that “welfare communism” was “a fine dish of potatoes stewed with beef.”

Mao Zedong’s handwritten version of “Nian Nu Jiao: A Dialogue Between Birds.”