The East Is Red (song)

"The East Is Red" (simplified Chinese: 东方红; traditional Chinese: 東方紅; pinyin: Dōngfāng Hóng) is a song that was the de facto anthem of the People's Republic of China during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. The lyrics of the song were attributed to Li Youyuan, a farmer from northern Shaanxi, and the melody was derived from a local folk song. He allegedly got his inspiration upon seeing the rising sun in the morning of a sunny day.

The lyrics of The East is Red idealize Mao Zedong, and Mao's popularization of The East is Red was one of his earliest efforts to promote his image as a perfect hero in Chinese popular culture after the Korean War. In 1956 a political commissar suggested to China's defense minister, Peng Dehuai, that the song be taught to Chinese troops, but Peng opposed Mao's propaganda, saying "That is a personality cult! That is idealism!" Peng's opposition to The East is Red, and to Mao's incipient personality cult in general, contributed to Mao purging Peng in 1959. After Peng was purged, Mao accelerated his efforts to build his personality cult, and by 1966 succeeded in having The East is Red sung in place of China's national anthem.

The song was played through PA systems in every city and village at dawn and at dusk.^{[citation needed]} A broadcast show usually began with the song "The East Is Red", and ended with the song "The Internationale". Students were obliged to sing the song in unison every morning at the very beginning of the first class of the day. During this period, Tian Han, the author of the official anthem The March of the Volunteers, was imprisoned, and so that song was not used.

The tune was later merged into the famous Yellow River Piano Concerto in 1969 by Yin Chengzong, and the concerto was based on the Yellow River Cantata by Xian Xinghai.

Because of its associations with the Cultural Revolution, the song was rarely heard after the rise of Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s. Today in China the song is considered a somewhat unseemly reminder of the cult of personality associated with Mao and has largely been replaced by the "March of the Volunteers", whose lyrics mention neither the Communist Party nor Mao. "The East is Red" is still commonly heard in recordings played by electronic cigarette lighters bearing Mao's face that are popular with tourists.

The tune of The East Is Red is played in chimes every daylight hour from the Customs House clock tower on the Bund in Shanghai and from the Drum Tower in Xi'an. It is also heard at the top of every hour at the Beijing Railway Station.

Lyrics

Simplified Chinese	Traditional Chinese	Pinyin	English translation
东方红，太阳升， 中国出了个毛泽东。 他为人民谋幸福， 呼尔嗨哟，他是人民大救星！ 毛主席，爱人民， 他是我们的带路人， 为了建设新中国， 呼尔嗨哟，领导我们向前进！ 共产党，像太阳， 照到哪里哪里亮。 哪里有了共产党， 呼尔嗨哟，哪里人民得解放！	東方紅，太陽升。 中國出了個毛澤東。 他為人民謀幸福， 呼爾嗨喲，他是人民大救星！ 毛主席，愛人民， 他是我們的帶路人， 為了建設新中國， 呼爾嗨喲，領導我們向前進！ 共產黨，像太陽， 照到哪裡哪裡亮， 哪裡有了共產黨， 呼爾嗨喲，哪裡人民得解放！	Dōngfāng hóng, tàiyáng shēng, Zhōngguó chū liǎo ge Máo Zédōng, Tā wèi rénmín móu xìngfú, Hū'ěr-hei-yo, tā shì rénmín dà jiùxīng! (Repeat last two lines) Máo zhǔxí, ài rénmín, Tā shì wǒmén de dàilùrén Wèile jiànshè xīn Zhōngguó, Hū’ěr-hei-yo, lǐngdǎo wǒmén xiàng qiánjìn! (Repeat last two lines) Gòngchǎndǎng, xiàng tàiyáng, Zhàodào nǎlǐ nǎlǐ liàng, Nǎlǐ yǒu liǎo Gòngchǎndǎng, Hū‘ěr-hei-yo, nǎlǐ rénmín dé jiěfàng! (Repeat last two lines)	The east is red, the sun rises. China has produced Mao Zedong. He is the people's happiness, Hurrah, He is the people's great savior! (Repeat last two lines) Chairman Mao loves the people. He is our guide to building a new China Hu'er Haiyo, lead us forward! (Repeat last two lines) The Communist Party is like the sun, Wherever it goes, it is bright. There is the Communist Party, Hu'er Haiyo, there the people are liberated! (Repeat last two lines)

The original lyrics are from an old folk song from Shanxi about farming:

Sesame oil, cabbage hearts,
Wanna eat string beans, break off the tips,
Get really lovesick if I don't see you for three days,
Hu-er-hai-yo,
Oh dear, Third Brother mine.

In popular culture

The song title became the name of a 1970s wargame by Simulations Publications, Inc.

See also

• Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China
• Honglaowai

External links

• Morning Sun
• 1963 music video of the song