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