The East is Red (Dongfang Hong, 东方红) originally was a folk song. In the 1930s it was popular among the communists in Yan'an, with lyrics about the anti-Japanese struggle. In the early 1940s the text was rewritten again, to become a hymn to Mao Zedong: "The east is red, the sun is rising China has brought forth a Mao Zedong. He works for the people's welfare. Hurrah, He is the people's great savior." During the Cultural Revolution the song was played everywhere, all the time, and in fact replaced the official anthem of the People's Republic.
