1
In June 1930, the Central Red Army marched from Tingzhou (Changting) in Fujian Province
into Jiangxi. In July, it advanced from Jiangxi into Hunan, preparing for a second attack on
Changsha, but ultimately failed. Given the relative strength of the enemy at the time, the
enemy was well prepared, and attacking Changsha would have been a mistake. However, due
to the chaotic fighting between Chiang Kai-shek, Feng Yuxiang, and Yan Shimin in Henan
Province, the southern provinces of Hunan and Jiangxi were largely free of strong enemy
forces for six months, with the exception of Changsha and Nanchang. The Red Army seized
this opportunity to capture large areas, expand its forces, and prepare the conditions for
crushing the first enemy "encirclement and suppression" campaign. Persuaded by Comrade
Mao Zedong, the cadres of the Central Red Army finally changed their strategy and divided
their forces to capture Chaling, Youxian, Dengling, Pingxiang, Ji'an, Xiajiang, and Xinyu,
significantly strengthening the Red Army's strength and the peasants' struggle for the
Agrarian Revolution. This poem captures the Red Army's heroic spirit during the advance. [2]
2
Okay.
3
Read,
Return to Qiaomu.

[1] On April 5, 1966, Hu Qiaomu, alternate secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central
Committee and Mao Zedong's secretary, wrote to Mao Zedong, saying, "There are two or
three important issues in the annotated version of Chairman Mao's poems that require your
guidance." (1) Based on the suggestions of several comrades from the General Political
Department, I have added a caption to the poem "Dielianhua: From Tingzhou to Changsha."
I refer to the "Resolution on Certain Historical Issues" and its annotations. I wonder if it is
appropriate. Please approve it.” This section contains Mao Zedong's revisions to this caption.
The text printed in italics contains the text he added and revised. (2) The line "A bridge soars
across the sky, transforming the north and south into a thoroughfare" in the poem "Shui

Tiao Ge Tou: Swimming" remains as "A bridge soars across the north and south,
transforming the sky into a thoroughfare," according to Comrade Yuan Shuipai's opinion to
the Chairman. (3) Regarding the phrase "Thousands of villages have been chopped off by
weeds, and people have left their remains" in the poem "Seven-Character Verse: Farewell to
the God of Plague," according to readers' letters and references to relevant texts,
"Thousands of villages have been chopped off by weeds, and people have left their
remains." I'm unsure whether the above two passages in the main text are correct. Please
provide your instructions.” Mao Zedong wrote a comment after these two passages, which is
the second part of this passage. The third part of this passage was written on the envelope
of Hu Qiaomu's letter to Mao Zedong.
[2] This note was revised in the Selected Poems of Mao Zedong, published by the People's
Literature Publishing House in 1986. Further revisions were made to some of the text in the
Selected Poems of Mao Zedong, published by the Central Literature Publishing House in
1996. The current text reads: "In June 1930, the First Corps of the Red Army (initially called
the First Route Army) marched from Tingzhou (Changting) in Fujian Province into Jiangxi
Province. In August, it advanced from Jiangxi towards Hunan, where it met up with the Third
Corps of the Red Army led by Peng Dehuai northeast of Liuyang. They decided to form the
First Front Army of the Red Army. In September, the First Front Army attacked Changsha but
failed. The defending enemy was strong and well-prepared, so the Red Army did not pursue
a direct offensive. That summer, due to the chaotic battles between Chiang Kai-shek, Feng
Yuxiang, and Yan Xishan in Henan and other areas, for several months, Jiangxi and Hunan
were free of any strong enemy forces, except for large and medium-sized cities like Changsha
and Nanchang. Consequently, Mao Zedong persuaded the cadres of the First Front Army to
change their adventurous strategy, as directed by the Party Central Committee and the then-preferential Li Lisan line, to seize the capitals of Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces.
Instead, they divided their forces to capture Chaling, Youxian, Culing, Pingxiang, Ji'an,
Xiajiang, and Xinyu (now Xinyu). They occupied a large area, expanded their forces, and
prepared to crush the enemy's first offensive." "This poem describes the heroic spirit of the
Red Army during its advance in June and July."