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The East Is Red Wikipedia

"The East Is Red" (Chinese language|Chinese: 东方红, pinyin: Dōngfāng H?ng) is a song that was the de facto anthem of the People's Republic of China during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. During this period, Tien Han, the author of the official anthem "The March of the Volunteers," was imprisoned, and so that song was not used. It is also a musical theater|musical promoting socialism and Communism, especially Maoism. The tune comes from the classical 'Yellow River Cantata', which itself was derived from traditional Northern Chinese folk music.

Because of its associations with the Cultural Revolution, the song has been 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cult of personality associated with Mao and has largely been replaced by the March of the Volunteers which mentions neither the Communist Party or Mao.

It is also the name of a series of China's space program|Chinese satellites. China's first satellite, Dong Fang Hong I consisted of a transmitter broadcasting this song.

media:The East is Red.au|Click to listen

Last Modified:   2005-04-13