The East Is Red

"The East Is Red" is a Chinese Communist Party revolutionary song that was the de facto national anthem of the People's Republic of China during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. The lyrics of the song were attributed to Li Youyuan (李有源), a farmer from Shaanbei (northern Shaanxi), and the melody was derived from a local peasant love song from the Loess Plateau entitled "Bai Ma Diao" (《白马调》, White Horse Tune), also known as "Zhima You" (《芝麻油》, Sesame Oil), which was widely circulated in the area around Yan'an in the 1930s. The farmer allegedly got his inspiration upon seeing the rising sun in the morning of a sunny day.

History