One of the Greats: The Journey of Mao Zedong (Excerpt): The Journey of Mao Zedong

Author: Ke Yan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-02-01
Features: This book selects the most outstanding, vivid, and reliable parts from vast materials, reflecting the revolutionary struggle of Mao Zedong throughout his life: from a rural child in Shaoshan to a youthful scholar full of vigor; from founding the New People's Society and establishing the Communist Party of China to leading the Autumn Harvest Uprising and heading to Jinggang Mountains; from the five anti-"encirclement" campaigns and the Zunyi Conference to laying the foundation for the Long March in Yan'an; from fighting in northern Shaanxi to strategizing and liberating the entire country; from the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China and the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea to the three major transformations of agriculture, handicrafts, and capitalist industry; from the Cultural Revolution to the later years warning against the "Gang of Four." It comprehensively and systematically presents the vision, demeanor, and wisdom of this 20th-century Chinese giant in establishing the party, army, nation, and state.
1. The Son of the Peasantry in the Land of Hibiscus
Shaoshan, in Xiangtan County, Hunan Province, is the hometown of Mao Zedong. On the southern bank of the vast Yangtze River lies China's largest lake—the Dongting Lake. The lake is vast and boundless, known as the "Eight Hundred Li of Dongting." To the south of the lake stretches a land of over 210,000 square kilometers, which is why the province is named Hunan. In 1961, Mao Zedong wrote a poem titled "Seven-Character Poem in Response to a Friend" for his early schoolmate Zhou Shichao, in which he described his hometown Hunan as follows:
Nine-Cliff Mountain, white clouds fly,
Emperor's daughter rides the wind down the green mist.
A single bamboo shoot drips a thousand tears,
Ten thousand rosy clouds wear layered robes.
Dongting waves surge like snow connecting the sky,
Changdao people sing songs that shake the earth.
I wish to dream of this boundless land,
In the land of hibiscus, all dawns shine bright.