A poem by Mao following his 1971 southern inspection tour.

 

( Translator’s preface: Chinese poetry written in traditional forms often takes short-cuts with grammar and sentence constructions.  It is therefore difficult to translate, and at the risk of embarrassing myself, I have attempted a translation of this poem, written by Mao Zedong in August 1971 at the beginning of a tour of southern provinces. At that time, he openly rebuked Lin Biao for wanting to be state Chairman, and for trying to advance his own cause by extolling Mao’s “genius”. These remarks can be found here: Talks With Responsible Comrades At Various Places During Provincial Tour (marxists.org) . In case any native speaker of Chinese comes across this translation, I have included the Chinese original which itself is not widely available in China. It has not, as far as I can tell, been published there in any collection of Mao’s poems.  If someone proficient in Chinese can improve on my translation, please use the Comments box below to do so. I have also added footnotes as background to my translation.)

 

Inspection

-        to the tune of Music for Peace

August 1971

 

A Southern Tour[1] of Ten Thousand Miles.

I am reminded of the ancient emperors.

Their lingering prestige[2] is imposed on the four seas[3],

Qin Huang, Sui Yang and Kangxi.

 

This generation is for industry,

I now work hard for our country[4],

We will break through[5] the machinery of the officialdom[6]

We are fighting against the bourgeoisie.

………………………………

清平乐。视察

（1971年8月）

 

南巡万里，

不觉忆古帝。

威加海内有余风，

秦皇，隋炀，康熙。

 

彼辈工业为已，

我今操劳社稷，

踏破宫撩机器，

挥斥资产阶级。

……………………………..

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[1] Mao uses the term “Nan Xun” (南巡), a term associated throughout history with imperial tours. Qin Shihuang made five southern inspection tours of his newly unified China, dying on his way back from the last of them in 210 BC. Emperor Yang of Sui (569-618) toured the south and rebuilt the Sui Grand Canal. Emperor Kangxi made his tour in 1684 just after suppressing a rebellion — to project power and convince subjects far from the capital that he remained in control of the empire. In 1992, Deng Xiaoping made a secret, unofficial trip to the south to encourage Shenzhen to further its development along capitalist lines, to promote the opening of a stock exchange in China, and to revive his notorious “black cat, white cat” approach to the economy. When he was convinced that his tour had been successful, he adopted the term “Nan Xun” for it.  Not to be outdone, Xi Jinping had his own Southern Tour in 2012.

[2] The character 威 refers to prestige, 加 has a range of meanings, but “impose” seems to suit here, while 余风 refers to the lingering remnants of past customs.

[3] The ancient Chinese believed theirs was a continent at the centre of the earth, surrounded by four seas.

[4] Mao uses the term 社稷 which can be translated here as “the country, the state”, but literally means  “altars” – originally each ancient state had its altars to the gods of earth and grain, and a state remained independent and viable only so long as its ruler was able to maintain these altars.

[5] A closer translation would be “trample on”, but “break through” works to convey a new development.

[6] The term Mao uses refers to palace officials, but his well-known opposition to bureaucracy is obviously directed at Party and government officials.