Participants of the campaign

6The participants in the Red culture campaign belonged to different generations. The categorization of the generations was based on the historical periods which corresponded to the interviewees’ formative years. Existing literature has identified four distinctive historical periods that constitute the formative experience of today’s Chinese people. They are “the Great Leap Forward”(1958-1960), “the Cultural Revolution” (1966-1976), the beginning of the economic reform in 1978, and “the societal transition” since 1992 (Bonnin, 2006). In this paper, I focus on two specific generations, i.e. the Cultural Revolution generation (those born roughly between mid-1940s to mid-1950s, and were likely to have retired when interviewed for this project), and the young generation (typically born at the end of the 1980s and in the early 1990s, and were enrolled in college when interviewed for this project).

Interpreting the notion of Red

7“Red” songs used to refer to propaganda songs that praised revolutions led by the CPC in China. Since the 1990s, the CPC has repackaged the revolutionary propaganda songs into Red songs as part of the mainstream culture (Steen, 2013). The notion of Red was given a new interpretation to be more inclusive. In the Red culture campaign in Chongqing, the official definition of Red songs included songs from all periods of the CPC’s history. “Red” referred not only to yesterday’s revolutionary martyrs but also celebrated today’s good life and denoted a positive outlook about the future. Therefore, songs produced in the formative years of the People’s Republic, such as “Ode to the Motherland” (《歌唱祖国》), and songs that paid tribute to the Reform era, such as “The Story of Spring” (《春天的故事》), were all counted as Red songs. What was interesting about “singing Red” in Chongqing was that even “La Marseillaise” and “Edelweiss” were defined as Red songs, for “they symbolize positive values”, according to Chongqing’s Minister of the Propaganda Department.

8The participants interviewed for this project, however, offered an interpretation of “Red” that differed from the official narrative. Most noticeably, the Red songs were not defined against “decadent” or “backward” culture, but conceptualized as opposed to “artistic songs” by both two generations. Red songs were understood to be concerned with “serious matters”, such as the revolutionary wars, the nation, and the Party. They were political in nature, and normally “did not concern love or friendship”. The artistic songs, on the other hand, were primarily about expressing private feelings. They were considered apolitical, and embraced anything that was beautiful. The Red songs were believed to be less sophisticated than the artistic songs. One’s voice needed to be loud, strong and sturdy when singing Red songs. To sing artistic songs, however, a higher level of singing technique was required. “There are many layers. An artistic song is rich, and it is totally different from singing Red songs. It is such a great pleasure,” explained one retiree who belonged to a community chorus. Students who had been professionally coached in singing echoed this appreciation for artistic songs : “I definitely prefer artistic songs… They require more techniques and musical literacy. Revolutionary songs are too simple. It is like chanting slogans. There are so few techniques required.”

Evaluations of singing Red

9Whilst the two generations of participants shared similar interpretations of the concept of Red (but different from the official narrative), they nevertheless held quite divergent opinions towards the program in general.

10The Culture Revolution generation made up the most active group of participants in singing Red. They sang Red songs in community-organized activities, or voluntarily in public parks. Despite the sporadic complaints about being physically drained by some of the performance assignments, this generation framed their experience with the Red culture campaign rather positively. They believed that singing was hugely beneficial to health, and the Red culture campaign had helped to change the outlook of their life. They experienced it as an opportunity to fulfill their interest in singing and dancing, a path taking them back to their nostalgic youth, and a chance to reclaim an honorable identity for their generation. One participant commented : “It is particularly appealing to people like us, retired people who love singing. It makes us feel fulfilled. I almost forget my age when singing.”

11In contrary to the retirees’ overwhelmingly positive framing of their experience of the Red culture campaign, the youth generation framed their experience mainly negative. They commented that participating in Red-themed activities was generally a waste of time, and the Red songs were detached from their true interests. Those students who were obliged to participate regularly in the campaign resented the fact that it was particularly time-consuming. At the height of the campaign, rehearsals were often held daily, during which performance obligations were assigned at short notice. Because many of the performances clustered around the examination period, many students, busy rotating around Redthemed shows, did not have time to revise for their exams, or even had to miss them. Moreover, singing Red was not “cool” enough. It was almost scandalous for young people to love singing Red songs. One student, who was humming the tune of a Red song that she had been practicing, was laughed at by her roommates in her dormitory. “They think I am nuts, to sing these songs outside of the rehearsals”.

Generational difference : nostalgia

13Grossberg argues that the emergence and popularity of rock and roll is contextualized by the fact that a whole generation growing up in the post-WWII American society (Grossberg, 1984). Similarly, the popularity of Red songs among the elder generation was critically conditioned by their past experiences of “living under the Red flag”. Some liked the songs simply because singing Red reminded them of the days when they were still young. One interviewee movingly recollected how he joined the Communist Party’s army when he was only 15 years old, how he learned the first song of his life – “The East is Red” (《东方红》) – in the army, and how he was singing the Red songs in the trenches of Korean War in 1952. One interviewee explained why he liked the Red songs : “My generation still feels for these songs. My blood rises and I feel excited. It reminds me of my childhood.” Nostalgic sentiments were particularly acute for the social group of former “educated youth,” who were sent from urban areas to the countryside during the Educated Youth movements from the 1950s to 1970s (Bonnin, 2006). The often-dramatic circumstances they had to face during these movements left a critical mark on their memories of the past. It was thus a particularly emotion-laden experience for them to review the most popular songs of their youthful years.

Empowering effect of the Red songs

14As Grossberg rightly points out, the power of music resides not merely in its ideological message, but mainly in its ability to draw boundaries that facilitate affective investments in specific kinds of pleasures and desires (Grossberg, 1984). In the case of singing Red songs, the Cultural Revolution generation liked the songs not necessarily because they identified with the ideological messages carried by the lyrics of the songs, but because the Red songs gave them symbolic power that enabled them to celebrate their social identity. Some of them had the chance to perform at high-class venues, such as the Chongqing Theatre and the People’s Hall of Chongqing. At times their performance was broadcasted on Chongqing’s satellite TV channel. Most of them felt very excited, proud and honoured. They felt properly recognized and respected by the larger society. As researchers have pointed out (Ouyang, 2004 ; Yang, 2003), the rekindling of nostalgic memories often signal discontent with the culture of the present. Many retirees involved in the Red culture campaign felt aggrieved that the culture and values of the past were being abandoned. Thus, they were particularly excited about the fact that their culture and values, having been deemed outdated for a long time, were now being “rectified”. “When the campaign started, I was thrilled ! I thought – it’s finally the time – the time for us to show the young people what good songs are like,” recollected one interviewee.

The youth generation in comparison

15The young people, however, were largely unfamiliar with the history embedded in the Red songs, thus feeling rather blasé towards this particular genre of music. To them, there were countless options for entertainment in which they were genuinely interested. Unsurprisingly, the young people liked pop music, blockbuster films, and spending time with their friends in karaoke lounges. In this sense, it was simply a generational difference. Unlike the retirees, who tended to intertwine their framing of the Red culture campaign with their personal memories of the past, the generation of young people were unable to emotionally connect to the music. Thus, the Red songs were more likely to have a personal appeal to the elder generation than the younger ones, even if both of the generation disliked the political allegiance of the campaign. Because of their detachment from the campaign, the youth generation were not able to form an “affective alliance” as the elder generation did. Although they did also use the music to draw boundaries between them and the others (mainly the older generation), they did not use it to organize possible sites of pleasures, thus did not experience empowerment by this particular genre of music.