|
Multimedia
In this section we feature some of
the cultural 'red noise' that created the unique atmosphere of the Cultural
Revolution era. Through the use of personal documents, we also seek to
provide rare insights into the mindset of individuals of the time.
Feature
Films | Modern
Beijing Operas and Revolutionary Ballets
Listen
to the Radio |
Watch TV |
Watch a Movie
In the revolutionary atmosphere of 1960s China, life
was suffused with the sights and sound of the state. On the Cultural
Revolution radio, you can hear (in Chinese, with translated English
text) some of the major songs of the period, including the Cultural
Revolution 'anthem', Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman,
a Mao poem put to music, as well as Mao 'quotation songs' (yulu
ge). On the TV you can see selections of mass rallies of the kind
that marked the progress of revolutionary time; On the movie page, you
can see short excerpts from a few of the films that we have collected
in our archive.
Artist
and Writer Huang Yongyu: A Can of Worms
This section introduces a bestiary by one of the most
original Chinese artists and writers whose 'animal crackers' —
playful and ironic animal epigrams with accompanying pictures —
were (unofficially) famous before the rise of the Red Guards in 1966.
Huang's quips, and pictures, can be seen in Chinese and English here.
Personnel
Files (geren dang’an)
Personnel Files reveal the inner, or rather hidden,
bureaucratic workings of the state before, during and after the Cultural
Revolution era. This
section draws from the secretive materials that formed the backdrop
to the lives of innumerable people during the high socialist era.
Ask
Chairman Mao for the Answers
A 'user's guide' to The Quotations of Chairman Mao,
illustrates how Mao Zedong Thought was supposed to be applied to everyday
situations.
The
Miracles of Chairman Mao: Two Films, "A Song of Triumph" and
"Youth"
The paired movies presented here show the treatment
of deaf-and-dumb children. A Song of Triumph (some
of which appears in Morning Sun), is a propaganda film
about the successes of PLA soldiers treating afflicted children; Youth
is a feature film made by Xie Jin in 1977 that features Joan Chen (Chen
Chong) in her first screen role.
English
Lessons: A Picture of Chairman Mao and A Black Boy in America
Even those who could speak had to parrot inanities;
those who studied English had to learn the simple lessons of Mao Thought
as applied to such topics as race relations in the US.
A
Soldier's Diary
This section provides excerpts (only in Chinese at this
stage) from the diary of a provincial soldier stationed in Beijing,
the heart of the Chinese revolution. His writings provide insights into
the daily dilemmas of a young man trying to put Mao Zedong Thought into
practice.
The East is Red
Transformation
of a Love Song — The East is Red
started out as a peasant love song, and here you can follow its progress
to becoming a call to arms in the Anti-Japanese War, and a paean extolling
Chairman Mao, the savior of the Chinese people.
A Song-and-Dance Epic — The East is Red
became the underlying theme (and title) of a song-and-dance epic produced
in 1964 that plays a key role in Morning Sun. Here
you can watch the entire production, divided into scenes with the original
Chinese songs and English translations.
Launching
a Satellite — When China launched
its first satellite in 1970, once more it was the song The East
is Red that rang out through the heavens; here you can see documentary
footage of the launching of the satellite, precursor to the October
2003 manned space-flight of Yang Liwei.
Feature Films and Stage
Productions from the Cultural Revolution era
As the old culture both of China and of socialist China
were swept away by revolutionary fervor (see some of the films
denounced by Jiang Qing), new works, revolutionary Beijing Operas
(geming xiandai jingxi) and ballets (geming xiandai baleiwuju),
were created and excerpts can be seen here. Cartoon films including the
popular story of the Monkey King (Sun Houwang; Sun Wukong), Great
Uproar in Heaven and others (Heroic Sisters on the Grassland,
The Ferry Port) are also accessible here.
Feature
Films
The
Gadfly | Dong
Cunrui | Song
of Youth | Lenin
in 1918 | Lei
Feng | Never
Forget | Storm
of Anger
Modern Beijing Operas
Red
Lantern | On
the Docks | Taking
Tiger Mountain by Strategy | Song
of the Dragon River | Shajiabang
| Azalea
Mountain | Raid
on White Tiger Regiment
Revolutionary Ballets
The
Red Detachment of Women | White-Haired
Girl
Animated Films
Great
Uproar in Heaven | Heroic
Little Sisters on the Grassland | The
Ferry Port
Music
Rent
Collection Courtyard Sculpture
A
New Long March
|