Mao Zedong Poetry Dictionary

Author: Chen Shaowei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: The Mao Zedong poems in this dictionary are based on The Collected Poems of Mao Zedong (compiled by the Documentation and Research Center of the CPC Central Committee, reprinted by the Central Documentation Press in December 2003). The entries are arranged in the order of the 67 poems in the "Main Collection" and "Supplementary Collection." Other published works and folk-tradited "Mao Zedong poems" that are yet to be verified for authenticity or are not strictly original poetic works are not included in this dictionary. "Poems" include the original texts and record the dates of composition; "Brief Analysis" does not provide line-by-line explanations but focuses on overall evaluations of the ideological content and artistic characteristics. "On Poetry," based primarily on Selected Letters of Mao Zedong (compiled by the Documentation and Research Center of the CPC Central Committee, first published by the Central Documentation Press in November 2003) and Mao Zedong on Literature and Art (compiled by the Documentation and Research Center of the CPC Central Committee, first published by the Central Documentation Press in April 2000), includes selected introductions, self-notes, annotations, and letters on poetry with brief explanations. Disparate remarks by Mao Zedong on poetry from historical and literary sources are not included in this dictionary. "Editions" are divided into "Poem Publication" and "Collected Works Publication." "Poem Publication" records the first disclosure and official publication of each poem, as well as its inclusion in formally published collections, and compiles major variant texts (excluding folk-copied manuscripts). "Collected Works Publication" focuses mainly on formally published collections of Mao Zedong's poems and calligraphy (excluding appreciation editions), while also providing an overview of the international publication of Mao Zedong's poems. For collected works, brief introductions to their editions are provided.