1954 Yangtze floods
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From June to September 1954, the Yangtze River Floods were a series of catastrophic
Casualties
Partly as a result of this flood, the pressure to build new dams, the Gezhouba Dam and the Three Gorges Dam, in the upper reach of Yangtze river, gained considerable momentum.
Commemoration
In 1969, a large stone monument was erected in the riverside park in Hankou (City of Wuhan, Hubei) honoring the heroic deeds in fighting the 1954 flood. Among the carvings on the monument is a calligraphic inscription by Mao Zedong, dedicated to the people of Wuhan:[2]
We must still be prepared to do battle against and overcome similarly severe floods that may occur in the future.
Below, is his poem "Swimming"[3] (1956), envisioning future bridge and dam construction on the Yangtze:[4]
I have just drunk the waters of Changsha
And come to eat the fish of Wuchang.
Now I am swimming across the great Yangtze,
Looking afar to the open sky of Chu.
Let the wind blow and waves beat,
Better far than idly strolling in a courtyard.
Today I am at ease.
"It was by a stream that the Master said -
"Thus so things flow away!""
Sails move with the wind.
Tortoise and Snake are still.
Great plans are afoot:
A bridge will fly to span the north and south,
Turning a deep chasm into a thoroughfare;
Walls of stone will stand upstream to the west
To hold back Wushan's clouds and rain
Till a smooth lake rises in the narrow gorges
The mountain goddess if she is still there
Will marvel at a world so changed."
On the sides of the monument's pedestal are reliefs depicting heroic people of Wuhan fighting the flood, raising banners and placards with quotations from Mao Zedong.
Comparison
Compared to the
References
- ^ “一不怕苦,二不怕死”
- ^ "Inscription on the triumph of the people of Wuhan over the flood", in: The Writings of Mao Zedong, 1949-1976. Book by Michael Y. M. Kau, John K. Leung, Tse-tung Mao; M. E. Sharpe, 1986. 778 pgs. Page 511.
- ^ "Swimming" by Mao Zedong
- ^ Imperial Tours - Three Gorges Dam