Mao Zedong, leader of the revolution and absolute chairman of the People's Republic of China, was also a calligrapher and a poet of extraordinary grace and eloquent simplicity. The poems in this beautiful edition (from the 1963 Beijing edition), translated and introduced by Willis Barnstone, are expressions of decades of struggle, the painful loss of his first wife, his hope for a new China, and his ultimate victory over the Nationalist forces. Willis Barnstone's introduction, his short biography of Mao and brief history of the revolution, and his notes on Chinese versification all combine to enrich the Western reader's understanding of Mao's poetry.

Mao Zedong, leader of the revolution and absolute chairman of the People's Republic of China, was also a calligrapher and a poet of extraordinary grace and eloquent simplicity. The poems in this beautiful edition (from the 1963 Beijing edition), translated and introduced by Willis Barnstone, are expressions of decades of struggle, the painful loss of his first wife, his hope for a new China, and his ultimate victory over the Nationalist forces. Willis Barnstone's introduction, his short biography of Mao and brief history of the revolution, and his notes on Chinese versification all combine to enrich the Western reader's understanding of Mao's poetry.

Mao Zedong, leader of the revolution and absolute chairman of the People's Republic of China, was also a calligrapher and a poet of extraordinary grace and eloquent simplicity. The poems in this beautiful edition (from the 1963 Beijing edition), translated and introduced by Willis Barnstone, are expressions of decades of struggle, the painful loss of his first wife, his hope for a new China, and his ultimate victory over the Nationalist forces. Willis Barnstone's introduction, his short biography of Mao and brief history of the revolution, and his notes on Chinese versification all combine to enrich the Western reader's understanding of Mao's poetry.

Dragon in Ambush opens up Mao Zedong’s poems to a radically new interpretation as the corpus of his political ideology to reveal his grand design for total domination of the Communist Party and of China itself. Mao laid out his poems in a systematic and carefully schematized blueprint to assure that his ideas and aims would be followed long after his own lifetime. This work is indispensable in understanding Mao’s thinking and his relationship to the People’s Republic of China.

Mao Zedong (1893-1976), the first Chairman of the Communist Party of China and leader of the People's Republic of China for nearly 30 years, wrote poetry, starting in the 1920s, during the Red Army's epic retreat during the Long March of 1934-1936, and after coming to power in 1949. In spite of Mao's political radicalism he was artistically conservative, opting to use traditional Chinese forms.Like most Chinese intellectuals of his generation, Mao immersed himself in Chinese classical literature. His style was deeply influenced by the "Three Lis" of the Tang Dynasty: poets Li Bai, Li Shangyin, and Li He. He is considered to be a romantic poet, in contrast to the realist poets represented by Du Fu.Mao's poems are frequently quoted in popular culture, literature and daily conversations. Some of his most well-known poems are "Changsha" (1925), "The Double Ninth" (1929.10), "Loushan Pass" (1935), "The Long March" (1935), "Snow" (1936.02), "The PLA Captures Nanjing" (1949.04), "Reply to Li Shuyi" (1957.05.11), and "Ode to the Plum Blossom" (1961.12).CONTENTSPOEMS:CHANGSHAYELLOW CRANE TOWERCHINGKANGSHANTHE WARLORDS CLASHTHE DOUBLE NINTHON THE KUANGCHANG ROADNEW YEAR'S DAYMARCH FROM TINGCHOW TO CHANGSHAAGAINST THE FIRST "ENCIRCLEMENT" CAMPAIGNAGAINST THE SECOND "ENCIRCLEMENT" CAMPAIGNTapotiHUICHANGLOUSHAN PASSTHREE SHORT POEMSTHE LONG MARCHKUNLUNMOUNT LIUPANSNOWTHE PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY CAPTURES NANKINGREPLY TO MR. LIU YA-TZULIU YA-TZU'S POEM: MY THOUGHTS PRESENTED TO CHAIRMAN MAOREPLY TO MR. LIU YA-TZULIU YA-TZU'S POEMPEITAIHOSWIMMINGREPLY TO LI SHU-YIFAREWELL TO THE GOD OF PLAGUESHAOSHAN REVISITEDASCENT OF LUSHANMILITIA WOMENINSCRIPTION ON A PHOTOGRAPHREPLY TO A FRIENDTHE FAIRY CAVE INSCRIPTION ON A PICTURE TAKEN BY COMRADE LI CHINREPLY TO COMRADE KUO MO-JOINSCRIPTION ON A PICTURE TAKEN BY COMRADE LI CHINKUO MO-JO'S POEM: ON SEEING THE MONKEY SUBDUES THE DEMONODE TO THE PLUM BLOSSOMLU YU'S POEM:ODE TO THE PLUM BLOSSOMWINTER CLOUDSREPLY TO COMRADE KUO MO-JOKUO MO-JO'S POEMREASCENDING CHINGKANGSHANTWO BIRDS: A DIALOGUEILLUSTRATIONS:Illustration 1 Mao, ca. 1910Illustration 2 Mao, ca. 1920Illustration 3 Portrait in Wuhan 1927Illustration 4 In northern Shensi 1936Illustration 5 With eldest son Anying at the Fragrant Hills 1949Illustration 6. Delivering report at Second Plenary of the Central Committee of the CPC 1949Illustration 7. At Chingkangshan 1965Illustration 8. At the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China 1966Illustration 9. Reviewing the army of the great Proletarian Cultural Revolution from Tien An Men Gate August 18, 1966Illustration 10. Mao working in a rice fieldIllustration 11. "Chairman Mao in his Study" (woodcut by Chang-Chiang) date unknownIllustration 12. "The Red Flag Round the Serf, Halberd in Hand" (traditional painting) date unknown

Mao Zedong was not only a great strategist and politician, but also a poet, a philosopher, and calligrapher. As early as the 1940s Mao's poetry was earning critical and popular acclaim. This book makes all of Mao's extant poems available for the first time in English.