Empires of Tedium

親敵背盟戰無休
天選之子有奇謀
川皇如今罵不得
像是明日蒞神州

‘Befriending enemies, betraying allies in tireless war,
the Chosen One then came up with a canny ploy:
Since it’s now verboten to slag off King Trump,
looks like he’s about to visit our Holy Land’.

Lines from Dasheng Liu Chan’s tongue-in-cheek poem about US President Donald Trump’s imperial progress, a welcome diversion from a disastrous war. The calligrapher notes that his doggerel verse was inspired by an official ban on online criticisms of the American head of state for the duration of his China trip.

— Geremie R. Barmé
Editor, China Heritage
13 May 2026

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