The most ringing song is The East Is Red.

[GoodTaste]

Here's what I found in a Chinese website that sells old Chinese textbooks. The picture shows a page from a middle school English textbook used in Hebei Province during the Cultural Revolution.

Lesson One
Our Great Leader Mao Tsetung
The most ringing song is The East Is Red.
The greatest leader is Mao Tsetung.




I wonder whether "The East Is Red" is proper in English.

What it tried to depict is that the Sun rises from the east and at the time of sun rising, the east looks red (hence "the east is read"). The problem is that the word red doesn't appear to be always positive in English; it seems to be more negative than positive. So the translation might be a failure, I am not sure (The song was dedicated to Mao the dictator that touted him as the savior of China).

Does "The East Is Red" sound positive to you that conjures up admiration? Is it proper in English?

 

[Tarheel]

The word "red" is neutral to me, but it might not be intended that way by the writer. On a personal note, I have never seen a sunrise that looked red, but I have seen many sunsets that did look red.

PS. Say:

The sun rises in the east

 

[Tarheel]

What's problematic to me is "the most ringing song". I am guessing that's supposed to to have positive connotations. However, while that might mean something in Chinese, I don't think it translates well.

 

[probus]

What's problematic to me is "the most ringing song". I am guessing that's supposed to to have positive connotations. However, while that might mean something in Chinese, I don't think it translates well.

Not only is the song title "The East is Red" perfectly idiomatic English, it is probably the most famous pro-Marxist slogan frrom the Maoist era in China. I first heard it back in the early 1970s.

 

[Tarheel]

I understand perfectly well that "The East is Red" has to with Communism. In fact, I am quite sure that anybody of my generation would understand that.

What is interesting to me is calling Mao a dictator. I am fairly sure that would not have been considered acceptable while he was alive. Not if you were a resident of China that is. (I could be wrong.)

 

[5jj]

What is interesting to me is calling Mao a dictator.

Where?

 

[emsr2d2]

(The song was dedicated to Mao the dictator ...

@5jj - There. In post #1.

 

[probus]

@5jj - There. In post #1.

NOT.

 

[jutfrank]

I wonder whether "The East Is Red" is proper in English.

Yes, it's absolutely fine.

What it tried to depict is that the Sun rises from the east and at the time of sun rising, the east looks red (hence "the east is read").

The word red here refers to communism. This is ideological language. Sure, there's a double meaning, but the idea is a predominantly political one.

The problem is that the word red doesn't appear to be always positive in English; it seems to be more negative than positive.

The association is that red=communism. Whether that's positive or negative depends on what one thinks of communism.

Does "The East Is Red" sound positive to you that conjures up admiration? Is it proper in English?

This slogan, and that book by the looks of it, are tools of Maoist propaganda, pure and simple. That's not positive to me and I'm far from alone, to say the least! Yes, it's quite proper English, and very effective English at that, I'd say.

 

[Tarheel]

"The song was dedicated to Mao the dictator ...."

There!

 

[Tdol]

I wouldn't use it as a text for learning English.

 

[GoodTaste]

I wouldn't use it as a text for learning English.

Would you like to list some reasons to explain why? Political stiffness is one, which is a narrow field in English.

 

[emsr2d2]

Would you like to list some reasons to explain why? Political stiffness is one, which is a narrow field in English.

Well, we've seen only one page of the text but "The most ringing song ..." is nonsense. It means nothing at all. If that's any indication of the rest of the book, I wouldn't consider it a useful resource.