An Objective Evaluation of the Flaws in Mao Zedong's Poetry (Part Five)

Girl Who Likes Mathematics

Below, let us analyze one of Mao Zedong's seven-character regulated verses in detail:

The Red Army fears not the trials of a long campaign; ten thousand rivers and thousand mountains are taken as nothing.
The Five Ridges wind and roll like slender waves; vast Wumeng strides by like a lump of mud.
Gold Sand waters slap warm cloud-cliffs; Dadu Bridge lies across with iron chains cold.
Better still, Minshan's thousand miles of snow; after the three armies pass, all faces break into smiles.

First, the character "han" (cold) falls outside the prescribed rhyme group. In strict seven-character regulated verse, this is impermissible. Additionally, the characters "shui" (water), "shan" (mountain), and "qian" (thousand) all appear as repeated characters across alternating lines, which is equally impermissible in seven-character regulated verse. The two middle couplets are very loosely paralleled -- barely passable at best. More importantly, the imagery of these two couplets is extremely repetitive. Of course, as a news chronicle this is no problem. As poetry, however, it seems somewhat off. Some may invoke extra-poetic justifications, which is all fine, but one can only say this cannot be considered a good seven-character regulated verse. As a song lyric it might pass, and as a rhymed historical record there is certainly no issue, but these have nothing to do with poetry itself.

For comparison, this next poem, also about a historical event, is considerably better:

On Purple Mountain wind and rain rise in yellow dusk; a million mighty troops cross the Great River.
Tiger crouched and dragon coiled, today surpasses yesterday; heaven and earth overturned, solemn and impassioned.
We should use our remaining courage to chase the beaten foe; never sell reputation cheap by imitating the Hegemon King.
If heaven had feelings, heaven too would age; the righteous way in the human world is the change of ages.

Although the character "jiang" (river) also falls outside the prescribed rhyme group, the repeated-character problem is gone. The two middle couplets are much better paralleled than in the previous poem, and there is no longer the plodding repetition between them -- there is flow. The best parts of this poem are the opening and the closing. Although it borrows a line from Li He, the borrowing is appropriate. And there is a hint of lingering resonance rare in Mao Zedong's seven-character regulated verse. Combined with the above, this counts as the best among Mao Zedong's seven-character regulated verses. Frankly, what makes the whole poem work is precisely the borrowed line from Li He -- "If heaven had feelings, heaven too would age" -- which tempers what might otherwise have devolved into coarseness. So this borrowing is rather apt.

Below are three more of Mao Zedong's better seven-character regulated verses:

Drinking tea by the Guangdong sea, I could not forget; seeking lines in Yuzhou as leaves turn yellow.
After thirty-one years I return to my old country; in falling-flower season I read splendid chapters.
Too much grievance can break the gut, beware; landscapes and affairs should always be viewed with broad eyes.
Do not say Kunming Pool is shallow; watching fish there surpasses the Fuchun River. (Minor regret: "jiang" falls outside the rhyme group)

One mountain shoots up by the great river; leaping up through four hundred lush turns.
With cold eyes facing the ocean, I look on the world; warm wind blows rain and scatters it over river and sky.
Clouds stretch across nine waterways, floating Yellow Crane; waves descend through the Three Wu, raising white mist.
Where has Magistrate Tao gone, no one knows; in Peach Blossom Spring, can fields still be tilled? (Could the closing couplet have been better?)

Over Nine-Doubt Mountain white clouds fly; imperial daughters ride the wind down emerald slopes.
One spray of mottled bamboo, a thousand drops of tears; ten thousand red clouds, a hundred layered robes.
Dongting's waves surge like sky-linked snow; on Long Isle people's songs move earth like poetry.
I wish by this to dream vast and boundless; in the Hibiscus Land all is morning radiance. (Minor regret: "shi" (poetry) falls outside the rhyme group)