Another year has passed since I arrived in Hongdu;
Frost at my temples has turned to waste and debris.
But Zu Sheng’s resolute strike of the oar is still told today.
The rosy clouds abide, and a new heaven ever dawns.

Long have I listened, at cockcrow, to the southern rains;
Year after year, each wave pushes on the one before it.
Once I rode high on horseback, wielding my whip across the northern lands.
By riverbanks, grasses and flowers bloom fresh everywhere.

[Title Explanation]
Hongdu is an old appellation for the former Nanchang Prefecture, here referring to the city of Nanchang. This is a political poem expressing the poet’s aspirations, composed by Mao Zedong in the summer of 1965 during his tour of the Jiangnan region.

[Notes]
(1) Southern Rains: Refers to the life of combat in the south.
(2) Wielding the Northern Whip: Refers to the life of combat in the north.
(3) Frost at the Temples: White hair at the temples.
(4) Rosy Clouds: Symbolize the truth of Marxism-Leninism.
(5) Fresh Everywhere: The splendid future of our country’s rivers and mountains.

[Appreciation]
At that time, filled with the lofty spirit of returning to Jinggangshan, the poet was touring the vast lands from north to south. Arriving in Nanchang—the birthplace of the “August First” Uprising and the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army—he naturally recalled, in relation to himself, the historical tale of Zu Ti striking the oar upon the river and vowing to serve his country. Through this, he offered a highly artistic summation of his long years of revolutionary struggle. The third couplet takes a sudden turn: what appears to be the unyielding resolve of a hero in his twilight years is, in fact, a vision and hope for the nation’s future. The poem’s artistic conception is grand and majestic, its imagery sweeping and profound, imbued with deep meaning.