Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Jimu Langge

Old Society

The sky is a black sky
The earth is a black earth
Chinese people are thus
everyone knows

Many foreigners come to China
They are taller than the Chinese
They are more powerful than the Chinese
They also have more money than the Chinese
Mainly stolen from the Chinese
But there also some good foreigners
like Norman Bethune

The old society’s night is really black
Gun shots often roar across the night sky
Guerillas are often on the move
Heroes accompanied by music
usually die under a pine tree

Revolution requires weapons
Why don’t the warlords have a mind for revolution?
I think it’s because they’re rebelling
If the warlords also wanted revolution,
they wouldn’t have become warlords

Duan Qirui! Duan Qirui!

The Chinese people of the old society labored constantly
And never had enough to eat
The point was that they couldn’t catch their breath
Not until the day of liberation
did the Chinese people finally take a deep breath

旧社会

旧社会

天是黑沉沉的天
地是黑沉沉的地
中国人民究竟如何
大家都知道

有很多外国人来到中国
他们个子比中国人高
他们权利比中国人大
他们钱也比中国人多
主要是从中国人手里抢的
不过在外国人当中也有好人
比如白求恩

旧社会的夜晚真黑
枪声时常滑过夜空
游击队时常转移
英雄随着音乐
一般死在松树下

革命需要武器
那些军阀为什么没有革命的头脑
我想是由于他们反动
假如军阀也要革命
就不成其为军阀了

段祺瑞啊段祺瑞

旧社会中国人民一直劳动
一直吃不饱
关键是喘不过气来
直到解放的那天
Close

Old Society

The sky is a black sky
The earth is a black earth
Chinese people are thus
everyone knows

Many foreigners come to China
They are taller than the Chinese
They are more powerful than the Chinese
They also have more money than the Chinese
Mainly stolen from the Chinese
But there also some good foreigners
like Norman Bethune

The old society’s night is really black
Gun shots often roar across the night sky
Guerillas are often on the move
Heroes accompanied by music
usually die under a pine tree

Revolution requires weapons
Why don’t the warlords have a mind for revolution?
I think it’s because they’re rebelling
If the warlords also wanted revolution,
they wouldn’t have become warlords

Duan Qirui! Duan Qirui!

The Chinese people of the old society labored constantly
And never had enough to eat
The point was that they couldn’t catch their breath
Not until the day of liberation
did the Chinese people finally take a deep breath

Old Society

The sky is a black sky
The earth is a black earth
Chinese people are thus
everyone knows

Many foreigners come to China
They are taller than the Chinese
They are more powerful than the Chinese
They also have more money than the Chinese
Mainly stolen from the Chinese
But there also some good foreigners
like Norman Bethune

The old society’s night is really black
Gun shots often roar across the night sky
Guerillas are often on the move
Heroes accompanied by music
usually die under a pine tree

Revolution requires weapons
Why don’t the warlords have a mind for revolution?
I think it’s because they’re rebelling
If the warlords also wanted revolution,
they wouldn’t have become warlords

Duan Qirui! Duan Qirui!

The Chinese people of the old society labored constantly
And never had enough to eat
The point was that they couldn’t catch their breath
Not until the day of liberation
did the Chinese people finally take a deep breath
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère