Chinese Poetry...

[mbhenty]

I saw your post Franz, the little booklet you posted about Chinese Love Poems. That exact book is on eBay.....along with a couple of others. Fifteen dollars buy it now on eBay...including poems by Chairman Mao, though I can't imagine the word "Mao" and "Love poem" in the same sentence.

Also listed are a couple of other books of Chinese poetry. Most can be had for 20 dollars or less.

[Franz]

WOW, mbhenty, thank you so much for your post. The books seem all lovely.

Yes, you are right. it's very funny to find a poem of Mao in this anthology. In his poem (very famous indeed and many Chinese can recite by memory) our great leader praised the love of the young female generation for the uniform instead of beautiful garment. Here is the text translated in English:

Early rays of sun illumine the parade grounds
and these handsome girls heroic in the wind,
with rifles five feet long.
Daughters of China with a marvellous will,
you prefer hardy uniforms to colourful silk. (p.88)

LOL!

[debbiediablo]

WOW, mbhenty, thank you so much for your post. The books seem all lovely.

Yes, you are right. it's very funny to find a poem of Mao in this anthology. In his poem (very famous indeed and many Chinese can recite by memory) our great leader praised the love of the young female generation for the uniform instead of beautiful garment. Here is the text translated in English:

Early rays of sun illumine the parade grounds
and these handsome girls heroic in the wind,
with rifles five feet long.
Daughters of China with a marvellous will,
you prefer hardy uniforms to colourful silk. (p.88)

LOL!

Thank you for sharing, Franz. The Woman as Warrior fascinates me. These are the words of Triệu Thị Trinh who led a Vietnamese army against the invading Chinese in the 3rd century. She is speaking to her brother: "I only want to ride the wind and walk the waves, slay the big whales of the Eastern sea, clean up frontiers, and save the people from drowning. Why should I imitate others, bow my head, stoop over and be a slave? Why resign myself to menial housework?" And also,"I'd like to ride storms, kill sharks in the open sea, drive out the aggressors, reconquer the country, undo the ties of serfdom, and never bend my back to be the concubine of whatever man."