Selected Poems of Mao Zedong

A thematic collection of Mao Zedong's poetry. It was edited by the Party Literature Research Office of the Central Committee of the CPC and published by the Central Literature Publishing House in 1996. It was compiled and revised on the basis of Selected Poems of Mao Zedong, which was edited by Hu Qiaomu and published by the People's Literature Publishing House in 1986. The book contains 67 poems written in the old style by Mao Zedong between 1915 and 1966. It is the edition with the largest number of his poems and the most detailed commentary. The book was also revised and reprinted in 2003.

The Selected Poems of Mao Zedong is divided into two volumes: the first and the second. The 42 poems in Volume 1, 39 of which were published by Mao Zedong during his lifetime and the other 3 were published by the decision of the Central Committee of the CPC after his death, establishes his historical status as a great poet. Of the 25 poems in the other volume, 10 were published publicly for the first time. The collection basically follows the commentary of the 50 poems included in Selected Poems of Mao Zedong, but it had been carefully revised and also some new notes had been added. At the same time, brief notes were provided for the 17 newly added poems. Plus, in the appendix part, a number of letters, criticisms, quotations, postscripts and conversations by Mao Zedong about his poems are also included.

Mao Zedong's poetry is diverse in subject matter, and most of his works are art-blended records of his revolutionary career. He felt at ease with the poetic style of the verses and tonal patterns and rhyme schemes of the classical Chinese classical poetry besides he was adept at creating new poetic meanings by using allusions, myths and fables, allegories as well as xing technique, fugue technique, simile technique, and other techniques. Most of his works are majestic, combining majestic scenery and bold and majestic mood, showing the author's lofty vision, broad-mindedness, fantastic imagination, outstanding talent and sincere feelings, and many of the structures also have the spirit of revolutionary epics.