As a kid growing up in Tibet under China, the first song that I learned was The East Is Red. It was one of the most popular ‘red songs’ praising Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party (the CCP). This was adapted — like most Communist propaganda songs — from a traditional farming folk song from China’s Shaanxi province. My father, who could read Tibetan, taught the words to my mother so that she could recite them when the commune leader made random checks to test if the villagers had memorised the lyrics.
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| Mao - the 'new sun' |
‘The east is red, the sun is rising.
China has brought forth a Mao Zedong.
He has brought happiness to the people.
Hurrah, He is the people’s great saviour!’
