The East Is Red (1965)

The East Is Red (simplified Chinese: 东方红; traditional Chinese: 東方紅; pinyin: Dōngfāng Hóng) is a 1965 Chinese film directed by Wang Ping. It is a "song and dance epic" dramatizing the history of the Chinese Revolution and the Communist Party under the leadership of Mao Zedong, from the beginnings of the Boxer Rebellion, to the Civil War against the Nationalists, to the victory of the Communists and the establishing of the People's Republic. The musical is commercially available today on both CD and video, as well as online with English subtitles.

The film is also known as The East Is Red: A Song and Dance Epic.

Synopsis

The musical depicts the history of the Communist Party of China under Mao Zedong from its founding in July 1921 to the establishment of "New China" in 1949. Detailed in the musical are several key events in CPC history such as the Northern Expedition (taken up by the Kuomingtang National Revolutionary Army with Chinese Communist and Soviet support), the KMT-led Shanghai massacre of 1927, the Nanchang Uprising and formation of the People's Liberation Army, the Long March, guerrilla warfare of the PLA during the Second United Front (during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression), the subsequent coup de grâce delivered to the Nationalist Republic of China administration of Mainland China by the PLA in the decisive phase of the Chinese Civil War, and the founding of the PRC on October 1, 1949.