A Southern Tour1 of Ten Thousand li,
I cannot help but recall the ancient emperors.
Their might and influence remain throughout the land:
Qin Shi Huang2, Sui Yang3, Kangxi4.

They pursued their own achievements,
while I now work for the country,
breaking the bureaucratic machine,
and denouncing the bourgeoisie.

1 During August and September 1971, Mao Zedong toured southern China and held numerous conversations
with local Party, government, and military leaders along the way, pointing out Lin Biao's ambitions. Mao refers
here to his southern tour of inspection as Nánxún 南巡, a term almost exclusively applied to imperial tours,
especially those of the early Qing emperors, who used these journeys to gather information and promote
imperial authority. Not to be outdone, Deng Xiaoping conducted a Nánxún in 1992, following a November 1989
resolution by the CCP Central Committee stating that the pace of reforms was too fast, and deciding to review
the changes. Although no longer General-Secretary of the CCP, Deng used the tour to launch a counter-attack,
urging that “[the Shenzhen government] should be bolder in carrying out the Reforms and Opening-up, dare to
make experiments and should not act as women with bound feet”. Immediately after he took office in
December 2012, Xi Jinping conducted his own Nánxún, repeatedly emphasising "pushing forward reforms and
insisting on opening up."
2 Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China. He reunified China by conquering the other 6 warring states in
10 years and then establishing the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC). He gave himself the title “Huangdi” or
“Emperor”, which remained in use for the next 2,000 years. He standardised weights, measurements and
coinage. Mao Zedong approved of his suppression of Confucianism in favour of a new doctrine of Legalism. His
tomb outside Xi’an is the site of the famous Terra-Cotta Army
3 Emperor Yang of Sui (569-618) was the second emperor of the Sui dynasty (reigned 604-618). During his
reign, he rebuilt the Sui Grand Canal, built Luoyang (the eastern capital), moved the capital to Luoyang, and
changed the state to a county; he changed the weights and measures to the ancient style; he waged frequent
wars, which, together with the abuse of the people's power and extravagance, led to a massive peasant
uprising.
4 The Kangxi Emperor (1654 –1722) was the longest-reigning emperor in Chinese history and one of the
longest-reigning rulers in history. He is considered one of China's greatest emperors. His reign brought about
long-term stability and relative wealth after years of war and chaos. His court also accomplished such literary
feats as the compilation of the Kangxi Dictionary, the Complete Tang Poems poetry anthology, and the
Complete Classics Collection of Ancient China.