The Music of the Cultural Revolution
As its name suggests, the Cultural Revolution was
about reforming the culture of Communist China so it would be more fitting to
Mao’s agenda, and its music was no exception. Like all art in the Revolution,
most songs and pieces of music had (not very subtle) political meanings. Have
you ever gotten a song stuck in your head and you just couldn’t get it out no
matter how hard you tried? If the doctrine is in the music, then people just
can’t get it out if that’s all they have to listen to. Their whole purpose was
to bring the glory of the Communists to a wider audience. They made music for
adults, the men with buff, low voices, and the women with sharp, piercing tones;
and music for the Red child, featuring singers with very high,
innocent-sounding voices. Embedded in the songs were loaded words, like Red,
East, Revolt, People, Dare, Chairman Mao, Sacrifice, Blood, and Banner to evoke images of a glorious
Communist China. It often blended Russian (and therefore Communist) classical
music with Chinese folk music and Chinese opera. For Mao, classical music meant
all parts, all instruments working together for the benefit of the whole, just
like Communism itself.
Western music, such as jazz, rock, soul,
blues, country, reggae, South African pop, anything
was strictly banned. It was called bourgeois, music the xenophiles listen to,
increasing their loyalty to America and turning them traitor to their homeland.
Plus, their rebellious rhythms, instrumentations, and metres were nothing short
of scandalous. Mao loved classical music, but even he wouldn’t play it if it
was from Britain, Germany, or even Russia, at a time in which he was trying to
get China to break away from Russian Communism and establish a new system. In
short, this music was part of one of the largest censorships the world has ever
seen.
Even so, the Chinese came up with some . . . unusual compositions. From the stirring
‘The East is Red’ to ‘Long Live Chairman Mao’ which just sounds ridiculous,
Cultural Revolution music has a lot to give. There is a big list of it at the
link below. Listen and get your own opinions.
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