Home » Opinion » Book review
'Red' songs v. material girls
By Wang Yong |
August 20, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ONCE at a Christmas party in London, actor Charles Laughton (1899-1962) professionally recited Psalm 23 to warm applause.
Then an elderly woman recited the same psalm: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want..." She recited it sincerely, but unprofessionally. When she finished, everyone was in tears.
On why she struck a stronger chord with the audience, Laughton explained: "I know the psalm; she knows the Shepherd."
This is a message evangelical pastor John C. Maxwell conveys in one of the many great stories in his 2010 book, "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently." The contrast between a professional actor and an amateur speaker serves to illustrate Maxwell's point that only sincerity "sells."
Which reminds me of an ongoing campaign in China to have people sing "red songs" - songs dedicated to revolutionary romanticism and patriotism - as a way to fight vulgar materialism. Many "red songs" are moving indeed, and I remember how as a child I loved to listen to Guo Lanying (1929-), a folk song star, sing "My Motherland." It was a song about China's natural beauty and bounty and her determination to defend herself against imperialist invasions.
I love many "red songs" as I love any other great melody that satisfies more than the ear - that satisfies the heart. Whenever I hum "I Love Tian'anmen Square in Beijing," I feel closer to the late Chairman Mao Zedong who, despite his many mistakes, created a fairer and cleaner China.
Nowadays, few singers, especially those born in the 1980s and after, strike me as sincere when they are organized to sing "red songs."
While years ago Guo sang from her heart, many today sing from their lips. For them, revolutionary romanticism and patriotism are part of a performance, not of life.
Once off the stage, many of those female singers patronize LV stores or BMW showrooms as usual - the very materialistic way of life that contrasts with the spirit of "red songs."
While he focuses on personal communication skills, pastor and author Maxwell really has a lot to teach the world of politics across the globe - the biggest problem for apparatchiks who talk the talk is lack of sincerity.
People's Daily commented last year that many a corrupt official has preached about frugality before he was caught for giving or accepting bribes.
"On the stage, they preach about clean politics, their faces not a bit flushed (for being insincere). Off the stage, they take bribes like mad without a stir in the soul," said the commentary titled "What's Behind Corrupt Officials' Open Talks of Anti-Corruption."
Maxwell's ideas are not novel, even less earth-shattering, but he reminds us all - as private persons or public figures - of a time-worn wisdom: You live well if you live what you say.
Maxwell: "As time goes by, the way people live outweighs the words they use." Well said.
Then an elderly woman recited the same psalm: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want..." She recited it sincerely, but unprofessionally. When she finished, everyone was in tears.
On why she struck a stronger chord with the audience, Laughton explained: "I know the psalm; she knows the Shepherd."
This is a message evangelical pastor John C. Maxwell conveys in one of the many great stories in his 2010 book, "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently." The contrast between a professional actor and an amateur speaker serves to illustrate Maxwell's point that only sincerity "sells."
Which reminds me of an ongoing campaign in China to have people sing "red songs" - songs dedicated to revolutionary romanticism and patriotism - as a way to fight vulgar materialism. Many "red songs" are moving indeed, and I remember how as a child I loved to listen to Guo Lanying (1929-), a folk song star, sing "My Motherland." It was a song about China's natural beauty and bounty and her determination to defend herself against imperialist invasions.
I love many "red songs" as I love any other great melody that satisfies more than the ear - that satisfies the heart. Whenever I hum "I Love Tian'anmen Square in Beijing," I feel closer to the late Chairman Mao Zedong who, despite his many mistakes, created a fairer and cleaner China.
Nowadays, few singers, especially those born in the 1980s and after, strike me as sincere when they are organized to sing "red songs."
While years ago Guo sang from her heart, many today sing from their lips. For them, revolutionary romanticism and patriotism are part of a performance, not of life.
Once off the stage, many of those female singers patronize LV stores or BMW showrooms as usual - the very materialistic way of life that contrasts with the spirit of "red songs."
While he focuses on personal communication skills, pastor and author Maxwell really has a lot to teach the world of politics across the globe - the biggest problem for apparatchiks who talk the talk is lack of sincerity.
People's Daily commented last year that many a corrupt official has preached about frugality before he was caught for giving or accepting bribes.
"On the stage, they preach about clean politics, their faces not a bit flushed (for being insincere). Off the stage, they take bribes like mad without a stir in the soul," said the commentary titled "What's Behind Corrupt Officials' Open Talks of Anti-Corruption."
Maxwell's ideas are not novel, even less earth-shattering, but he reminds us all - as private persons or public figures - of a time-worn wisdom: You live well if you live what you say.
Maxwell: "As time goes by, the way people live outweighs the words they use." Well said.
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