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Chinese Pianist Plays Propaganda Tune at White House

Lyrics to My Motherland...

My Motherland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a great river, its waves are wide and calm
The wind blows through the rice flowers, bearing fragrance to either shore
My home is right there by the water
I am used to hearing the punters' whistle
and seeing the white sails on the boats

Solo

This is a great river, its waves are wide and calm
The wind blows through the rice flowers, bearing fragrance to either shore
My home is right there by the water
I am used to hearing the punters' whistle
and seeing the white sails on the boats

Chorus

This is the beautiful motherland
The place where I grew up
In this expansive stretch of land
Wonderful landscape can be seen everywhere

2.

Solo

Young ladies are like flowers
Young men have a big heart and grand visions
In order to construct a new realm
They have woken the sleeping mountains
And made the rivers change their appearance

Chorus

This is the motherland of heroes
The place where I grew up
In this stretch of ancient land
There is youthful vigour found everywhere

3.

Solo

Great mountains, great rivers and an amazing place
Every road is flat and wide
When friends are here, there is fine wine
But if the wolves come
What greets it is the hunting gun

Chorus

This is the strong motherland
The place where I grew up
On this stretch of warm and friendly land
The sunshine of peace is everywhere

I see nothing about hunting down and killing the American jackels. Did I miss a line?
 
Lyrics to My Motherland...

My Motherland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


I see nothing about hunting down and killing the American jackels. Did I miss a line?

You missed context and innuendo. This song has been appropriated for use in anti-American propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party in the same way the Nazi's appropriated the works of Richard Wagner to advance their propaganda.
 
Tell me folks, are we not supposed to play the Star-Spangled Banner now when Obama goes to the U.K.?
 
Why is it so many people have forgotten, or incapable of understanding symbolic messages anymore? This pianist should be run out of the country, but so many foolish people just ignore the insult.

Sad really.
 
Why is it so many people have forgotten, or incapable of understanding symbolic messages anymore? This pianist should be run out of the country, but so many foolish people just ignore the insult.

Sad really.

New America is a subject of scorn worldwide.
 
What makes people think this song didn't have an implied meaning?
 
Either the song was chosen deliberately as a subtle "**** you," or it was a simple expression of nationalistic patriotism. I really can't judge without knowing Lang Lang's thought process.
 
It's a patriotic Chinese song, about a specific battel in Korea. How is it propaganda?

The lyrics are anti-American IN THE EXTREME!!! All Korean War era propoganda is extreme. I remember seeing old Korean War movies replace NBA basketball games on TV in May 1999 after the U.S. accidently bombed the Chinese embassy in the then-Yugoslavia...
 
Very clever of the pianist. Slip the knives in when we aren't looking. Make us look the fools.

But what was President Obama supposed to do about it? What did you expect? There's no reason to expect the President to be familiar with Chinese propaganda; if he was, that'd just be another reason for you to call him a Socialist. And even if he'd recognized the piece, there would have been no graceful way to stop the pianist; any reaction at all would have been graceless and classless and would have shown our country in an even poorer light.

Sometimes you have to let the little people take their shots and satisfy yourself with being the better man.

He shouldn't have given them a state dinner to begin with...
 
Chorus

A great river flows, its waves are wide and calm
The wind blows through the rice flowers, bearing fragrance to either shore
My home is right there by the water
I am used to hearing the punters' whistle
and seeing the white sails on the boats



Solo

A great river flows, its waves are wide and calm
The wind blows through the rice flowers, bearing fragrance to either shore
My home is right there by the water
I am used to hearing the punters' whistle
and seeing the white sails on the boats



Chorus

This is my beautiful motherland
The place where I grew up
In this expansive stretch of land
Wonderful landscape can be seen everywhere

2.


Solo

Young ladies's beauty are like flowers
Young men's hearts are big and determined
In order to usher in a new era
They've woken the sleeping mountains
And changed the face of the river



Chorus

This is my heoric motherland
The place where I grew up
In this stretch of ancient land
There is youthful vigour found everywhere

3.


Solo

Great mountains, great rivers and an amazing land
Every road is broad and wide
When the friends come, fine drink is offered
But if the wolves come
What greets them are the hunting rifles



Chorus

This is my strong motherland
The place where I grew up
On this stretch of warm and friendly land
The sunshine of peace is everywhere

Some Chinese acknowledge this song as anti-american.

What is to be derived from this?
 
The lyrics are anti-American IN THE EXTREME!!! All Korean War era propoganda is extreme. I remember seeing old Korean War movies replace NBA basketball games on TV in May 1999 after the U.S. accidently bombed the Chinese embassy in the then-Yugoslavia...

Not that I disagree with you, but Whovian posted the lyrics and I fail to find any reference to America in the lyrics. If the lyrics in the song are extreme and anti-American, I would guess that they are implicit, subtle and metaphoric? Unless of course Whovian posted the lyrics to the wrong song...
 
Tell me folks, are we not supposed to play the Star-Spangled Banner now when Obama goes to the U.K.?

Why am I not surprised the resident ChiCom supporter has chimed in...

Not the same... and the U.S. and U.K. have great relations today. The Chinese government has and still does regard the U.S. with disdain. I was living in China when the bombing of the embassy in Yugoslavia occurred and the anti-American propoganda (which this song played a part) that went on for weeks on end. Do you remember the Chinese reaction to the U.S. EP=3 recon plane that the Chinese illegally forced down which landed and was held in Hainan Province??? Do you remember the propoganda the Chinese government used??? Do you READ Chinese? Do you understand Mandarin?!?!? GET REAL!!!
 
Why am I not surprised the resident ChiCom supporter has chimed in...

Not the same... and the U.S. and U.K. have great relations today. The Chinese government has and still does regard the U.S. with disdain. I was living in China when the bombing of the embassy in Yugoslavia occurred and the anti-American propoganda (which this song played a part) that went on for weeks on end. Do you remember the Chinese reaction to the U.S. EP=3 recon plane that the Chinese illegally forced down which landed and was held in Hainan Province??? Do you remember the propoganda the Chinese government used??? Do you READ Chinese? Do you understand Mandarin?!?!? GET REAL!!!

Not so much "illegally forced down" as much as the dumb fighter jock had such balls that he ended up colliding with it. But I agree that the CCP are some of the greatest propagandists in human history.
 
I can certainly see how the "wolves" being "greeting with hunting rifles" could be construed as anti-American. Certainly not the most diplomatic of choices for a song. But, as has been observed above, the role of a good host was to simply grin and bear it. Some of the histrionics about this betray a tremendous lack of understanding of international relations.

He shouldn't have given them a state dinner to begin with...

Let me offer you some of your own advice:

GET REAL!!!
 
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Anybody care to tell us what is actually anti-American about the song itself?
 
Some Chinese acknowledge this song as anti-american.

What is to be derived from this?

Second this thought. Ludahai, can you elaborate on the meaning of the lyrics and how exactly they are anti-American in the extreme?
 
Not that I disagree with you, but Whovian posted the lyrics and I fail to find any reference to America in the lyrics. If the lyrics in the song are extreme and anti-American, I would guess that they are implicit, subtle and metaphoric? Unless of course Whovian posted the lyrics to the wrong song...

The symbolic nature of the language and the song would be lost on those not familiar with it

note: just noticed someone posted the part about 'wolves' You simply don't understand the importance of this song in Chinese anti-America propoganda... I heard it several times in May 1999 following the bombing of the embassy...
 
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