Shades of Mao: The Posthumous Cult of the Great Leader (58 page)

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Authors: Geremie Barme

Tags: #History, #Asia, #China, #Literary Criticism, #Asian, #Chinese, #Political Science, #Political Ideologies, #Communism; Post-Communism & Socialism, #World, #General, #test

BOOK: Shades of Mao: The Posthumous Cult of the Great Leader
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Page 192
The Red Sun:
Singing the Praises of Chairman Mao:
China Record Company
The following translations are of songs on Side A of the cassette/CD
The Red Sun
that became a MaoCraze hit in 1992. It is left to the reader's imagination to sense what these mindnumbingly simple but heartfelt Cultural Revolution paeans to Mao sound like when sung to a saccharine Canto Pop beat.
1
From the early 1990s many similar collections, imitations and sequels to the original
The Red Sun
tape were produced
2
as were karaoke versions of the songs with such titles as
Sweet Sweet Red Sun.
3
Karaoke adaptations produced on video and laser disk utilized documentary footage of Mao as well as MTV-like montages of young people who, among other things, wander around wistfully thinking of the late Chairman.
In 1993, as part of the Mao centenary, tapes of speeches by Mao were also released. They featured such utterances as Mao's announcement of the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, as well as longer speeches made on such occasions as the Preparatory Meeting of the Chinese National People's Political Consultative Congress on 15 June 1949.
4
The Red Sun
Odes to Mao Zedong Sung to a New Beat
Singers: Li Lingyu, Sun Guoqing, Tu Honggang and Fan Linlin
With Li Li, Jing Gangshan, Zhu Hua, Wu Ming, Zhao Li and Li Xiaowen
Music Conducted by Jin Wei
5
Accompaniment: Beijing Choral Orchestra
China Record Corporation,
Shanghai, China, 1992
(Compact disc digital audio)

 

Page 193
The Sunshine is the Warmest, Chairman Mao the Dearest
The Sunshine is the warmest, Chairman Mao the dearest,
Your glorious Thought will forever shine in my heart.
The sun is the reddest, Chairman Mao the dearest,
Your glorious Thought will forever navigate my course.
The Bright Red Sun in the Sky
The Sun in the sky is red, burning burnished bright,
The sun in our hearts is Mao Zedong.
He led us to achieve Liberation,
The people stood up and became the masters.
Yi-ya-yi-zi-you-wei-ya-ya-zi-you-a.
The people stood up and became the masters.
The Red Sun Shines Over the Frontiers
(In the style of a "Korean minority" folk song)
The Red Sun shines over the frontiers,
The green mountains and clear waters are bathed in the morning
light.
The fruit trees stand in rows at the foot of the Changbai Mountains,
6
The rice on the banks of the Ganglan River is so fragrant.
Rend wide the mountains
and they will offer up their treasures.
Stop the rivers and build dams,
bringing the water up into the hills.
A-you . . .
The fighting spirit of the borderlands' people is high,
the army and the people on the frontiers are united to carry out
construction.
Chairman Mao is leading us forward
in the direction of victory.
The Golden Sun in Beijing
(In the style of a Tibetan folk song)
7
From that Golden Mountain in Beijing
the suns rays shoot out to illuminate the four directions.
And Chairman Mao is that Golden Sun.
How warm, how beatific,
bringing light to the hearts of the liberated serfs [of Tibet].
We are now walking on the great socialist highway of good
fortune!

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