English translation

CHANGSHA
--to the tune of Chin Yuan Chun
1925
毛泽东《沁园春·长沙》

独立寒秋，湘江北去，
橘子洲头。
看万山红遍，层林尽染。
漫江碧透，百舸争流。
鹰击长空，鱼翔浅底，
万类霜天竞自由。
怅寥廓，
问苍茫大地，谁主沉浮。

携来百侣曾游，
忆往昔，峥嵘岁月稠。
恰同学少年，风华正茂。
书生意气，挥斥方猷。
指点江山，激扬文字，
粪土当年万户侯。
曾记否，
到中流击水，浪遏飞舟。

Alone I stand in the autumn cold
On the tip of Orange Island,
The Hsiang flowing northward;
I see a thousand hills crimsoned through
By their serried woods deep-dyed,
And a hundred barges vying
Over crystal blue waters.
Eagles cleave the air,
Fish glide in the limpid deep;
Under freezing skies a million creatures contend in freedom.
Brooding over this immensity,
I ask, on this boundless land
Who rules over man's destiny?

I was here with a throng of companions,
Vivid yet those crowded months and years.
Young we were, schoolmates,
At life's full flowering;
Filled with student enthusiasm
Boldly we cast all restraints aside.
Pointing to our mountains and rivers,
Setting people afire with our words,
We counted the mighty no more than muck.
Remember still
How, venturing midstream, we struck the waters
And waves stayed the speeding boats?


YELLOW CRANE TOWER
--to the tune of Pu Sa Man
Spring 1927
毛泽东《菩萨蛮·黄鹤楼》

一九二七年春

茫茫九派流中国，沉沉一线穿南北。
烟雨莽苍苍，龟蛇锁大江。

黄鹤知何去？剩有游人处。
把酒酹滔滔，心潮逐浪高！

Wide, wide flow the nine streams through the land,
Dark, dark threads the line from south to north.
Blurred in the thick haze of the misty rain
Tortoise and Snake hold the great river locked.
The yellow crane is gone, who knows whither?
Only this tower remains a haunt for visitors.
I pledge my wine to the surging torrent,
The tide of my heart swells with the waves.


CHINGKANGSHAN
--to the tune of Hsi Chiang Yueh
Autumn 1928
毛泽东《西江月·井岗山》

一九二八年秋

山下旌(jing1)旗在望，山头鼓角相闻。
敌军围困万千重，我自威然不动。

早已森严壁垒，更加众志成城。
黄洋界上炮声隆，报道敌军宵遁。

Below the hills fly our flags and banners,
Above the hilltops sound our bugles and drums.
The foe encircles us thousands strong,
Steadfastly we stand our ground.
Already our defence is iron-clad,
Now our wills unite like a fortress.
From Huangyangchieh roars the thunder of guns,
Word comes the enemy has fled into the night.

THE WARLORDS CLASH
--to the tune of Ching Ping Yueh
Autumn 1929
毛泽东《清平乐·蒋桂战争》

一九二九年秋

风云突变，
军阀重开战。
洒向人间都是怨，
一枕黄梁再现。

红旗跃过汀江，
直下龙岩上杭。
收拾金瓯一片，
分田分地真忙。

Sudden veer of wind and rain
Showering misery through the land,
The warlords are clashing anew--
Yet another Golden Millet Dream.

Red banners leap over the Ting River
Straight to Lungyen and Shanghang.
We have reclaimed part of the golden bowl
And land is being shared out with a will.


THE DOUBLE NINTH
--to the tune of Tsai Sang Tzu
October 1929
毛泽东《采桑子·重阳》

一九二九年秋

人生易老天难老，
岁岁重阳，今又重阳，
战地黄花分外香。

一年一度秋风劲，
不似春光，胜似春光，
寥廓江天万里霜。

Man ages all too easily, not Nature:
Year by year the Double Ninth returns.
On this Double Ninth,
The yellow blooms on the battlefield smell sweeter.

Each year the autumn wind blows fierce,
Unlike spring's splendour,
Yet surpassing spring's splendour,
See the endless expanse of frosty sky and water.


NEW YEAR'S DAY
--to the tune of Ju Meng Ling
January 1930
毛泽东《如梦令·元旦》
一九三零年冬

宁化、清流、归化，
路隘林深苔滑。

今日向何方，
直指武夷山下。

山下山下，
风展红旗如画。

Ninghua, Chingliu, Kueihua--
What narrow paths, deep woods and slippery moss!

Whither are we bound today?
Straight to the foot of Wuyi Mountain.

To the mountain, the foot of the mountain,
Red flags stream in the wind in a blaze of glory.


ON THE KUANGCHANG ROAD
-- to the tune of Chien Tzu Mu Lan Hua
February 1930
毛泽东《减字木兰花·广昌路上》

一九三零年冬

漫天皆白，雪里行军情更迫。
头上高山，风卷红旗过大关。

此行何处？
赣江风雪迷漫处。
命令昨颁，
十万工农下吉安。

The whole wide world is white,
Through the snow eagerly we press on.
Crags loom above our heads,
We cross the great pass, red flags waving in the wind.
Where are we bound?
To the snow-swept River Kan.
Yesterday the order was given,
One hundred thousand workers and peasants march on Kian.

MARCH FROM TINGCHOW TO CHANGSHA
--to the tune of Tieh Lien Hua
July 1930
毛泽东《蝶恋花·从汀洲向长沙》

一九三零年夏

六万天兵征腐恶，
万丈长缨要把鲲鹏缚。
赣水那边红一角，
偏师借重黄公略。

百万工农齐踊跃，
席卷江西直捣湘与鄂。
国际悲歌歌一曲，
狂飙(biao1)为我从天落。

In June Heaven's armies chastise the corrupt and evil,
Seeking to bind roc and whale with a league-long cord.
Red glows the far side of the Kan,
Thanks to our wing under Huang Kung-lueh.
A million workers and peasants rise up,
Sweeping Kiangsi straight towards Hunan and Hupeh.
To the Internationale's stirring strains
A wild whirlwind swoops from the sky.

AGAINST THE FIRST "ENCIRCLEMENT" CAMPAIGN
--to the tune of Yu Chia Ao
Spring 1931
毛泽东《渔家傲·反第一次大“围剿”》

一九三一年春

万木霜天红灿漫，
天兵怒气冲霄汉。
雾满龙岗千嶂暗，
齐声唤，前头捉了张辉瓒。

二十万军重入赣，
风烟滚滚来天半。
唤起工农千百万，
同心干，不周山下红旗乱。

Forests blaze red beneath the frosty sky,
The wrath of Heaven's armies soars to the clouds.
Mist veils Lungkang, its thousand peaks blurred.
All cry out in unison:
Our van has taken Chang Hui-tsan!
The enemy returns to Kiangsi two hundred thousand strong,
Fumes billowing in the wind in mid-sky.
Workers and peasants are wakened in their millions
To fight as one man,
Under the riot of red flags round the foot of Puchou !*


AGAINST THE SECOND "ENCIRCLEMENT" CAMPAIGN
--to the tune of Yu Chia Ao
Summer 1931
毛泽东《渔家傲·反第二次大“围剿”》

一九三一年夏

白云山头云欲立，
白云山下呼声急，
枯木朽株齐努力。
枪林逼，飞将军自重霄入。

七百里驱十五日，
赣水苍茫闽山碧，
横扫千军如卷席。
有人泣，为营步步嗟何及！

The very clouds foam atop White Cloud Mountain,
At its base the roar of battle quickens.
Withered trees and rotten stumps join in the fray.
A forest of rifles presses,
As the Flying General descends from the skies.
In fifteen days we have marched seven hundred li
Crossing misty Kan waters and green Fukien hills,
Rolling back the enemy as we would a mat.
A voice is heard wailing;
His "Bastion at every step" avails him nought!


Tapoti
Summer 1933
毛泽东《菩萨蛮·大柏地》

一九三三年夏

赤橙黄绿青蓝紫，
谁持彩练当空舞？
雨后复斜阳，
关山阵阵苍。

当年鏖战急，
弹洞前村壁。
装点此关山，
今朝更好看。


Red, orange, yellow, green,
blue, violet, indigo:
Who is dancing with these
rainbow colours in the sky?
Air after rain, slanting sun:
mountains and passes turning blue
in each changing moment.
Fierce battles that year:
bullet holes in village walls.
These mountains so decorated,
look even more beautiful today.