Chinese Literature Podcast5 Elo 2025

Mao Zedong - Soaked Garden in Spring - Snow

This episode, the podcast takes a look at a poem Mao Zedong wrote in February 1936, after he and his party had undergone the near-death experience of the Long March. Yet still, Mao has the gumption to imply in the poem that he would be the greatest ruler China had ever seen.

My Translation of the Poem:

Spring in a Soaked Garden - Snow

The north country scenery,

frozen over for a thousand miles,

snow floating for ten thousand miles.

I look inside and outside the Great Wall of China,

all that remains is boundlessness.

Up and down the Yellow River,

it has suddenly lost its surging vigor.

The mountains dance like silver snakes,

the plains gallop like white elephants,

I want to compete with Heaven and see which of us is taller.

I must wait for a clear day,

and look at the snowy landscape wrapped in red and white,

it's really bewitching.

The rivers and mountains, this land, is so pretty,

it has brought out countless heroes to compete and serve the nation.

Pity Qin Shihuang, the first Chinese emperor, and Han Wudi, the greatest Han emperor,

their writing ability ain't all that good.

Tang Taizong, the greatest Tang emperor, and Song Taizu, the greatest Song emperor,

they kinda lack style.

Those northern barbarian rulers,

like Genghis Khan,

all they knew how to do was shoot arrows at big eagles.

Those guys are all dead,

if you want to count the true badasses

look to today.

Original Poem:

沁园春·雪

北国风光，千里冰封，万里雪飘。望长城内外，惟余莽莽；大河上下，顿失滔滔。山舞银蛇，原驰蜡象，欲与天公试比高。须晴日，看红装素裹，分外妖娆。

江山如此多娇，引无数英雄竞折腰。惜秦皇汉武，略输文采；唐宗宋祖，稍逊风骚。一代天骄，成吉思汗，只识弯弓射大雕。俱往矣，数风流人物，还看今朝。

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