From America's Right:
A Melodic Side Effect of Weakness
January 23, 2011 by Jeff Schreiber
Filed under Assigned Reading
4 Comments
The Epoch Times: Chinese Pianist Plays Propaganda Tune at White House
Lang Lang the pianist says he chose it. Chairman Hu Jintao recognized it as soon as he heard it. Patriotic Chinese Internet users were delighted as soon as they saw the videos online. Early morning TV viewers in China knew it would be played an hour or two beforehand. At the White House State dinner on Jan. 19, about six minutes into his set, Lang Lang began tapping out a famous anti-American propaganda melody from the Korean War: the theme song to the movie “Battle on Shangganling Mountain.”
The film depicts a group of “People’s Volunteer Army” soldiers who are first hemmed in at Shanganling (or Triangle Hill) and then, when reinforcements arrive, take up their rifles and counterattack the U.S. military “jackals.”
The movie and the tune are widely known among Chinese, and the song has been a leading piece of anti-American propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for decades. CCP propaganda has always referred to the Korean War as the “movement to resist America and help [North] Korea.” The message of the propaganda is that the United States is an enemy—in fighting in the Korean War the United States’ real goal was said to be to invade and conquer China. The victory at Triangle Hill was promoted as a victory over imperialists.
Amazing, and simply a side effect of our perceived weakness across the globe. Hu Jintao, his government and his people see in us a nation in decline, both in terms of financial power and in terms of influence. That a Chinese pianist played an anti-American song at a state dinner is evidence of that.
Seeing that the song tells the tale of victory against American imperialism, however, President Obama probably loved it when he heard it, and loved it even more after receiving the translation. In essence, it was a melodic bow to the scariest nation on Earth.
A Melodic Side Effect of Weakness
January 23, 2011 by Jeff Schreiber
Filed under Assigned Reading
4 Comments
The Epoch Times: Chinese Pianist Plays Propaganda Tune at White House
Lang Lang the pianist says he chose it. Chairman Hu Jintao recognized it as soon as he heard it. Patriotic Chinese Internet users were delighted as soon as they saw the videos online. Early morning TV viewers in China knew it would be played an hour or two beforehand. At the White House State dinner on Jan. 19, about six minutes into his set, Lang Lang began tapping out a famous anti-American propaganda melody from the Korean War: the theme song to the movie “Battle on Shangganling Mountain.”
The film depicts a group of “People’s Volunteer Army” soldiers who are first hemmed in at Shanganling (or Triangle Hill) and then, when reinforcements arrive, take up their rifles and counterattack the U.S. military “jackals.”
The movie and the tune are widely known among Chinese, and the song has been a leading piece of anti-American propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for decades. CCP propaganda has always referred to the Korean War as the “movement to resist America and help [North] Korea.” The message of the propaganda is that the United States is an enemy—in fighting in the Korean War the United States’ real goal was said to be to invade and conquer China. The victory at Triangle Hill was promoted as a victory over imperialists.
Amazing, and simply a side effect of our perceived weakness across the globe. Hu Jintao, his government and his people see in us a nation in decline, both in terms of financial power and in terms of influence. That a Chinese pianist played an anti-American song at a state dinner is evidence of that.
Seeing that the song tells the tale of victory against American imperialism, however, President Obama probably loved it when he heard it, and loved it even more after receiving the translation. In essence, it was a melodic bow to the scariest nation on Earth.
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