The very interesting poetry of Mao
Mao was a fine enough poet that despite his legacy in China, his poetry probably would still be remembered today. If a book on 20 th Century Chinese Poetry was written, he would have been mentioned. I will not talk about Mao’s poetic presence in the greater sense of Chinese History. I do not have that skillset. Reading Mao’s poetry today in my view really brings out the man himself. As he was China’s leader for so long, his poetry is a useful tool into how Mao believed his destiny would unfold. This is a post I’ve been wanting to write for maybe 3 years now. We keep checking off the boxes folks. Let’s go: Some of Mao’s poetry is brutally……sensitive. As China’s leader, his poetry is even more read of course. Posters, movies, classrooms. His poetry is China’s. By that I mean it is a poetry that could only be written by a patriotic Chinese, during revolut...