DATE=7/9/99
TYPE=NEWS FEATURE
NUMBER=5-43833
TITLE=CHINESE SONG PROPAGANDA
BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS THE CHINESE COMMUNIST
PARTY WAS ABLE SPREAD ITS MESSAGE DURING ITS REVOLUTIONARY
STRUGGLE WAS THROUGH SONG. V-O-A BEIJING CORRESPONDENT STEPHANIE
HO RECENTLY TRAVELED TO THE CHINESE COMMUNIST ARMY'S FORMER BASE
CAMP AT YAN'AN (YAN-AN) AND REPORTS THAT MANY PEOPLE THERE ARE
STILL ABLE TO REMEMBER MANY OF THESE POLITICAL TUNES.
TEXT: THROUGHOUT CHINESE HISTORY, MUSIC HAS PLAYED AN IMPORTANT
ROLE -- BOTH IN RITUALS AND IN DAILY LIFE. THEREFORE, WHEN THE
CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY WAS TRYING TO ATTRACT SUPPORTERS IN THE
1930'S, MUSIC WAS A USEFUL TOOL TO WIN THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF
THE MASSES.
// MOVIE MUSIC FROM "YELLOW EARTH" -- FADE IN, EST, FADE OUT //
THAT WAS FROM THE MOVIE, "YELLOW EARTH," MADE IN 1984. IT
DEPICTED A SOLDIER FROM YAN'AN WHO TRAVELS AROUND NORTHERN
SHAANXI [SHAN-SHE] PROVINCE COLLECTING FOLK SONGS.
IN ONE SCENE, THE SOLDIER TEACHES A YOUNG PEASANT BOY NEW,
REVOLUTIONARY WORDS TO AN OLD FAMILIAR TUNE.
// SINGING FROM "YELLOW EARTH" -- FADE IN, EST, FADE OUT //
THE COMMUNIST PARTY ALSO USED FOLK TUNES FOR PROPAGANDA
PURPOSES.
ONE OF COMMUNIST CHINA'S BEST KNOWN SONGS IS "THE EAST IS RED" --
A TRIBUTE TO FORMER CHAIRMAN MAO ZEDONG. AT ONE OF MAO'S FORMER
HOMES IN YAN'AN, 21-YEAR-OLD TOUR GUIDE LIU LINA SAYS "THE EAST
IS RED" WAS ORIGINALLY A POPULAR FOLK SONG CALLED "RIDE A WHITE
HORSE."
// LIU SINGING "RIDE A WHITE HORSE" -- FADE IN, EST, FADE OUT //
THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY ALSO TOOK THE LINES FROM CHAIRMAN
MAO'S POETRY AS NEW REVOLUTIONARY LYRICS FOR TRADITIONAL FOLK
MUSIC. CHINESE PEOPLE SAY THEY HAD TO MEMORIZE THESE POEMS --
WHICH THE COMMUNIST PARTY MADE EASIER BY SETTING THE WORDS TO
MUSIC.
ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS POEMS WAS MAO'S "THE LONG MARCH" -- WHICH
GLORIFIED THE COMMUNIST ARMY'S EPIC FLIGHT FROM CHINESE
NATIONALIST TROOPS IN THE MID 1930S. THE RETREAT TOOK THEM
THROUGH 96-HUNDRED KILOMETERS OF WASTELAND. AT THE END OF THE
LONG MARCH, THE COMMUNISTS ENDED UP IN YAN'AN.
FORTY-EIGHT-YEAR-OLD YAN'AN RESIDENT, WANG WENHAI, IS A DEVOTED
FAN OF CHAIRMAN MAO. NOT ONLY HAS HE MADE MORE THAN ONE THOUSAND
MAO STATUES, HE CAN ALSO SING HIS FAVORITE HERO'S VERSES.
// WANG SINGING "THE LONG MARCH" -- FADE IN, EST, FADE OUT //
MR. WANG SINGS THAT THE COMMUNIST RED ARMY DOES NOT FEAR THE
TRIALS OF THE LONG MARCH. THE MAO POEM, SET TO MUSIC, DESCRIBES
NOT ONLY THE HARDSHIPS DURING THE JOURNEY, BUT ALSO THE SENSE
OF TRIUMPH THAT SHOWED ON THE FACES OF THE SOLDIERS AND
REVOLUTIONARIES.
MR. WANG'S UNADORNED RENDITION OF THIS SONG IS SIMPLE. BUT IT
HAS ALSO BEEN UPDATED TO APPEAL TO A NEW GENERATION. HERE IS THE
SAME TUNE SET TO MUSIC THAT MIGHT BE MORE AT HOME IN A CHINESE
DISCO.
// LOUDSPEAKER MUSIC -- FADE IN, EST, FADE OUT //
EDGAR SNOW'S BOOK, "RED STAR OVER CHINA" IS A FAMOUS ACCOUNT OF
THE COMMUNIST FORCES STRUGGLES AGAINST CHINESE NATIONALISTS. THE
AMERICAN JOURNALIST TRAVELED THROUGH COMMUNIST-HELD AREAS AROUND
YAN'AN IN 1936. IN AN ANECDOTE FROM HIS BOOK, MR. SNOW RECALLS AN
INTERVIEW WITH A SOMBER CHINESE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER WHO WAS
DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING MAO'S FORCES. BUT THE ONLY CRITICISM THE
EARNEST YOUNG MAN HAD FOR HIS FELLOW COMMUNISTS WAS HE THOUGHT
THEY SPENT TOO MUCH TIME SINGING.
// LIU SINGING "THE EAST IS RED" -- FADE IN, EST, FADE OUT //
(SIGNED)
NEB/HO/JO
09-Jul-99 3:50 AM EDT (0750 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
