Seven-Character Quatrain: A Playful Revision of Li Panlong’s “Longing for Mingqing”
(1971)

Gazing west from Yuzhang amid colored clouds — ba
The nine-branched Yangtze, the ninefold mountain — jiu
Lying high, there is no need to peep into the stone mirror — zhou
The autumn wind rages upon the face of the traitor — jiu

[1] Li Panlong (1514–1570), a native of Licheng, Shandong (now part of Jinan). His courtesy name was Yulin and his literary name was Cangming. He passed the jinshi examination in the twenty-third year of the Jiajing reign (1544). Inheriting the legacy of Li Mengyang, He Jingming, and the other “Earlier Seven Masters,” he advocated archaism. Together with Xie Zhen, Liang Youyu, Zong Chen, Wang Shizhen, Xu Zhongxing, and Wu Guolun, they were called the “Later Seven Masters,” and he was the leader of the “Later Seven Masters.” He authored The Cangming Collection.

[2] Yuzhang: an ancient place name, originally referring to the region between the Huai River and the Yangtze River. During the Han dynasty, the name was transferred to an area south of the Yangtze, where a commandery was established under Yang Province. Its jurisdiction roughly covered present‑day Jiangxi Province. After the Sui dynasty conquered Chen, it was made a county under Hong Prefecture, its jurisdiction gradually shrinking, and its seat was located in present‑day Nanchang. It is therefore used to refer to Jiangxi or Nanchang. “amid colored clouds”: From the Tang dynasty poem “Setting Out Early from Baidi City” by Li Bai: “At dawn I leave Baidi amid colored clouds.”

[3] “Nine branches”: refers to the section of the Yangtze River north of Jiujiang in Jiangxi. Here the river divides into nine tributaries, hence it is called the “nine branches.” “Ninefold Mountain”: one of the scenic spots of Mount Lu in Jiangxi, also known as the Ninefold Screen; here it refers to Mount Lu. “The nine‑branched Yangtze, the ninefold mountain”: Li Panlong’s poem means that, gazing toward the Jiangxi region from afar, he pictured the nine branches of the Yangtze and the ninefold screen of Mount Lu, expressing his remembrance of Wu Guolun. Mao Zedong here borrows the image to refer to Mount Lu in Jiangxi.

[4] “Lying high”: resting with a high pillow and a calm mind, a metaphor for living in seclusion and refusing to serve in office. “Stone mirror”: a mountain rock so bright and clear that it can reflect a person’s image.

[5] Here Mao Zedong is saying that Lin Biao was fit only for “lying high” in slumber, with no need to peer into the stone mirror, because his conspiracy to usurp leadership of the Party and state, attempted at the Lushan Conference, had already been exposed. In the bleak autumn wind, that angry, humiliated expression must have been very ugly to behold—a pungent satire of Lin Biao’s traitorous features.