Tiananmen 20 years on: A real "Party" song

[Editor's note: June 4th is the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. For more GlobalPost coverage, read what Chinese dissidents think about the event, how a leading Chinese artist thinks about his country, the thoughts of a former student protest leader now in Taiwan, and how one museum fits into China's patriotic landscape, below.]

BEIJING — The massive museum, a modern structure of grey bricks and white-painted cement, stands a little abruptly, halfway up Xiayun Mountain. Welcome to the "Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China Museum," dedicated entirely to a revolutionary song.

On a recent sunny afternoon, when a friend and I made our way to this western outskirt of the capital known as "the roof of Beijing," the spacious parking lot was empty. Yiaotangshang, a quiet mountain village, isn’t on any tourist map. Now it is poised to go down in history as the birthplace of the most famous revolutionary song in China.

By the foot of the mountain, three national flags flapped in the chill wind. In the main hall, staves of the song’s music, in gold, glared on a red wall, behind a golden hammer and sickle. As someone who grew up in China and knows the lyrics by heart, I couldn’t help but start singing aloud, to the amusement of the museum staff. In the revolutionary spirit and against the market economy trend, entrance is free.

The museum is made up of three separate parts. Here photos, documents, and wax figures enlighten visitors to the song’s history, its composer Cao Huoxing and the glorious history of the Chinese Communist Party. The museum also houses a 400 square meter stage. To liven things up, there’s even an animated slide show, recounting the story how Cao composed the song.

In October, 1943, Cao, a young member of the "Iron Blood" propaganda troupe, was traveling through the village. The troupe had been staging performances in the countryside to mobilize the masses to join in the revolution and fight the invading Japanese. In responding to the Nationalists’ claim that “without the Nationalists, there would be no China,” Cao penned the music and composed these lyrics:

The Communist Party works hard for the people and strives to save China.

It’s pointed people the path to liberation.

It’s led China to a bright future.

It’s fought against the Japanese for more than eight years.

It’s improved people’s living standards.

It’s established guerrilla bases behind enemy lines.

It practices democracy and has brought along many good things.

Without the Communist Party, there would be no China.

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