PureInsight | January 30, 2006
[PureInsight.org]
1. Music and Man
Music is more than just the notes and meodies on the surface. It can have profound meanings.
There is a story recorded in "The Biography of Confucius" in The Historic Records (史記) by Sima Qian (circa 145 – 90 B.C.) of the Han Dynasty. Confucius once took Chinese harp lessons from Shixiangzi. Confucius kept practicing the same music for ten days and didn't learn any new music. Finally Shixiangzi told him, "You may begin to learn to play new music." But Confucius replied, "Although I have learned to play the notes of this music, I have not mastered all the techniques required to play it perfectly."
After a while, Shixiangzi told Confucius again, "Now you have mastered the techniques. It is time for you to learn new music." But Confucius said, "But I have not grasped its connotations." After a while, Shixiangzi told Confucius for the third time, "You are ready for a new music." But Confucius said, "I am not able to feel the composer's character yet."
Shortly afterwards, Confucius became very quiet and solemn, as though he was contemplating something. Next he looked very relaxed, pleased, open-minded and hopeful. He told Shixiangzi, "Now I can feel the character of the composer. He is very tanned and tall with bright and penetrating eyes, as though he was a king reigning over dukes in four directions. He cannot be anyone else but King Wen of the Zhou Dynasty!"
Upon hearing these words, Shixiangzi got up from his seat and bowed twice to Confucius respectfully. He said, "My teacher told me that it was composed by King Wen."
A composer of lofty character imprints his high morality in his music. On the other hand, music composed by depraved men will bring disaster to the audience.
Shi Kuang (師曠), reportedly born in the times of Duke Ling of Jin State, was a government official in charge of music. During the reign of Duke Ping, Shi Kuang became a famous astronomer. He was devoted in his study of astrology, mathematics and music.
During the Spring and Autumn Period (722 – 481 B.C.), Duke Ling of Wei State once visited Jin State. It was already dark when they arrived in Pushui, so they decided to spend the night at an upscale inn in Pushui. In the middle of the night, Duke Ling heard drums and Chinese harp. He asked the servants about the music, but no one else had heard the music. Duke Ling then summoned the court musician Shi Juan (師涓) and said to him, "I heard the music of drums and harp, but no one else had heard it. It was though it was played by ghosts. Listen to it and write the score of the music for me." Upon receiving the order, Shi Juan went to the shore of Pushui with a harp and wrote down the score of the music. The next morning he reported to Duke Ling that he had written down the score of the music and asked for a night to practice it. On the third day, Shi Juan told Duke Ling that he was ready for perform the music.
After Duke Ling arrived at Jin State, Duke Ping of the Jin State held a banquet at Shihui to welcome him. When they were half drunk, Duke Ling said, "I heard a new piece of music on my way here. I will now ask my court musician Shi Kuang to play it for you." Duke Ping replied, "Let's hear it then." Duke Ping sat the famous musician and astronomer Shi Kuang next to Shi Juan. Before Shi Juan finished playing the music, Shi Kuang put his hand on the harp to stop him. He explained, "This music will lead a country to its ruin. You must stop playing it." Duke Ping asked, "Do you have any proof that this music will lead a country to its ruin?" Shi Kuang replied, "This music was composed by Shi Yan of the Shang Dynasty (1,600 – 1,046 B.C.). King Zhou, the last king of the Shang Dynasty, was a wicked man who favored lewd and decadent music. His court musician Shi Yan composed a lot of decadent music pieces to please King Zhou. Seeing that the Shang government was in a shambles, King Wu of the Zhou launched an attack along with many neighboring dukes. In the Battle of Muye, the Shang army was destroyed, and King Zhou set his palace on fire and burned himself to death. Shi Yan the court musician fled and drowned himself in Pushui. You have heard the music in Pushui. Those rulers that listen to the music will lead their states to their ruins." However, Duke Ping said, "I simply adore this music. I insist on hearing it from the beginning to the end." His court musician Shi Juan had no choice but to finish playing the music for him.
Shortly afterwards, the Jin State suffered from a severe drought for three years. Thousands of acres of farming fields cracked. Duke Ping became terribly ill and bedridden.
2. "The Same Song" Used for Brainwashing
According to media reports, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is having "The Same Song" concerts outside of China, but "The Same Song" is a song used most frequently in the forced labor camps in China to brainwash Falun Gong practitioners.
Ms. Huang Boshen was only 19 years of age when she was imprisoned in China for practicing Falun Gong. She recalled, "My memory of some people and some sounds may fade with time, but 'The Same Song' is an exception. That was the first song I heard in prison, the first and also the most frequent. I heard it many times, with pain and numbness, even to the point of wanting to die. That was the first time in my life that I wanted to die."
In January 2006 Ms. Huang was overcome with shock as she learned that the CCP was going to launch a series of pop concerts featuring "The Same Song." Her memory took her back to the year when she was imprisoned in China. She was under the prison police's watch around the clock, subjected to searches in the nude in cold weather and repeated brainwashing. She tore up books defaming Falun Gong and refused to watch video programs defaming Falun Gong, but she could not shut her ears from the singing of "The Same Song."
Huang Boshen said, "They played, 'The Same Song' to me. They did this often, and I could not refuse to listen. Sometimes I wished I were deaf, but my hearing was good. I went to sleep to that song at night, and when I woke up in the morning, the song was often still playing. Sometimes I was not sure whether it was my illusion or the song was indeed coming from the player. They used the loud yet soft song to confuse me, used the same sound to wash my mind, and used the image of a shining stage to cause loneliness and suffering." [3]
Under long-term psychological torture, Huang Bosheng remained determined in her belief in Falun Gong. She was finally rescued out of China and to the United States. However, she was shocked when she heard that pop music stars from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan might perform at a music concert featuring "The Same Song." She said, "The 'Same Song' carried blood, tragedy, and tears. It tore open my scars."
Ms. Zhou Xuefei is a Falun Gong practitioner that was imprisoned and tortured in a women's forced labor camp in China for years before being rescued to the United States to reunite with her husband. She recalled, "The CCP presented flowers to the world, but underneath the beautiful flowers are hidden the blood and tears of Falun Gong practitioners."
"When I think of 'The Same Song," I seem to see my mother wailing and moaning painfully before my eyes because I was forced to be separated from her. It is as though I could see a young girl named Deng from Zhenjiang being dragged to the workroom and repeatedly slapped on the face by the depraved police. The repeated dragging and beating had even torn her thick insulated pants. It is as though I could see another fellow Falun Gong practitioner named Li on the hunger strike for many days shouting aloud at the time of the assembly, 'Fellow practitioners, you must be determined! Restore my teacher's good name! Restore Falun Gong's good name! Set me free!" She was dragged upstairs. Her mouth was stuffed with dirty rags. She was hung in the air by her wrists for a very long time…"
According to Ms. Zhou Xuefei, it was in 2001 when "The Same Song" became very popular in China's forced labor camps. "The Same Song" even came out in MTV videotape. Those gullible victims sang "The Same Song" in tears. A person with lesser will would be tricked by the pretentious sentiment. Those who have been brainwashed would start cursing fiercely, create trouble every chance they got, make sarcastic remarks or laugh and talk loudly. They make fools of themselves. Even those women who were in for taking drugs commented, 'They have become completely different people. In the past they would pick up fruit peels and litter from the floor on the way to the cafeteria. They used to be very disciplined and kindhearted people, but now they would tell on other people to the prison police all the time. They have become conceited and selfish after they were brainwashed."
Ms. Zhou Xuefei added, "What is behind the flashy red curtains on the stage? Who would sing for us in the forced labor camps? We faced the prison police's frantic attacks of stun batons. We were tied up and hung up for a long time. We were forced to provide endless slave labor. We were subjected to the torture of forced feeding. We were handcuffed for a long time until our wrists were swollen and the handcuffs cut into our wrists. We were forced to watch a large pile of brainwashing videotapes and read brainwashing materials several feet high. We were constantly cursed and scorned for no valid reason. We were constantly subjected to the police and the prison inmates' cold looks with hatred. Falun Gong practitioners are like pure lotus flowers in the muddy world. Who would speak up for my dear fellow Falun Gong practitioners for the injuries, wounds, tears and blood?!"
Ms. Wang Huimin is a Falun Gong practitioner that has been rescued out of China in 2005. According to Ms. Wang, it sent chills to her bones when she saw the poster of "The Same Song" concert in New York City's Chinatown because this familiar song reminded her of the nightmares she went through in a forced labor camp in China.
Ms. Wang Huimin used to be an editor of Huacheng Publishing House in Guangzhou. On December 31, 2001, Ms. Wang Huimin went to Beijing to appeal to the Chinese Communist regime for the end of its persecution of Falun Gong. As a result, she was sentenced to one year in Cuotou forced labor camp in Guangzhou. During the illegal detention, she was subjected to brainwashing and other forms of torture including being handcuffed and shackled for long periods and being beaten repeatedly by clubs. As one of the brainwashing measures, the forced labor camp forced Falun Gong practitioners to sing "The Same Song" and "There is No New China without the Chinese Communist Party." Because Ms. Wang refused to sing, she was locked in a single cell where she was deprived of sleep and forced to sit on a small bench continuously for many days until her buttocks festered. Because of the incessant physical and mental torment, Ms. Wang Huimin nearly collapsed. The most unbearable thing to her was when the singing of "The Same Song" traveled into her cell in the midst of the hellish torture that made her feel as though each second were as long as a year. Tragically, the singing came from those Falun Gong practitioners that have already been "transformed" or forced to give up their spiritual belief and conscience. In the hell of the forced labor camp, acceptance of a human being's most fundamental essence of kindness and dignity was completely destroyed.
Mr. Chen Gang is a Falun Gong practitioner that has been rescued from China after having suffered from the most savage torture in the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp in Beijing, China. Mr. Chen Gang was illegally imprisoned for practicing Falun Gong. In order to force him to give up his belief in Falun Gong, the prison police and several inmates under the police's order tied Mr. Chen's hands behind his back, tied up his legs and tied his torso to his legs. Next they stuffed him under the bed and had several inmates sit on the bed, pressing down Mr. Chen's body. Mr. Chen succumbed to the terrible agony and renounced Falun Gong in writing. Because of the torture, Mr. Chen was wounded and injured all over his body, especially his lower back. When he was paralyzed in bed, feeling better off dead, he heard singing of "The Same Song" by the prison police that were celebrating the fact they had "transformed" him.
3. The Poisonous Brainwashing Song
Why did the CCP use "The Same Song" for its brainwashing work?
Zhong Yue (pseudonym) is a Falun Gong practitioner studying in Europe. According to Ms. Zhong, "The Same Song" is one of the many means the CCP uses to systematically destroy the minds of Falun Gong practitioners. Back in China when she finished singing "The Same Song," she cried for several hours. The terrible agony frightens her even to this day. Ms. Zhong Yue has a master's degree from a prestigious college in China. After graduation, she was assigned to work at an organization directly under the supervision of the Chinese Central government. In 2000, she was illegally sentenced to one year in Xin'an Women's Forced Labor Camp in Beijing because she wrote a letter to Jiang Zemin to explain the truth about Falun Gong. Later she succumbed to the torture and was "transformed."
Ms. Zhong Yue added, "Later I met several government officials in charge of Falun Gong issue at the Chinese Central government. During our chatting, I learned that the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong is well planned and systematic. The CCP has organized a large number of psychology experts and scholars to apply the results of psychological research on transforming Falun Gong practitioners. "The Same Song" is part of the CCP's system of brainwashing."
"There are basically four steps in the process of transformation: first, physical torture. Only when a person's body is tortured to the extreme will his mind collapse. Second, attack a person psychologically with distorted theories after he has suffered extreme physical torture. Third, apply physical isolation and psychological implications. Sometimes they would repeat the first three steps until a person's mind collapses. The fourth step is to make the victim to sing "The Same Song" to declare the success of the brainwashing and to reinforce the result of the transformation."
Ms. Zeng Zheng, a Falun Gong practitioner that was once imprisoned in the same forced labor camp as Ms. Zhong Yue, shared similar feelings. She said, "I heard of 'The Same Song' in a labor camp, many times. Before discussing 'The Same Song,' I have three conclusions that I would like to share. The first is that the persecution of Falun Gong is genocide. That being the case, then what is the difference between this persecution and other persecutions humans have suffered before, such as the crimes committed during WWII? The difference is that it is a crime of eliminating you spiritually. My second conclusion is that 'The Same Song' has played a shameful role in this spirit-cide. The last conclusion I have is that, as the crimes of persecuting Falun Gong are revealed one by one, that seemingly touching song will eventually be nailed to its role of shame by history and, just like the Nazi flag, become a symbol of shame and evil. Humans in the future will never sing this song and whenever the song is mentioned, it will be associated with blood and evil." [8]
This is Ms. Zeng Zheng's description of the persecution she has experienced and witnessed at a women's forced labor camp in Beijing:
"I will give you an example to illustrate what 'first tight, then loose' means. The first step for everyone sent to a labor camp is to be placed in a 'Dispatching Center' where they are subjected to extremely high pressure. They put you under pressure 24 hours a day. Starting at 6:30 in the morning, you are given two minutes to handle washing, brushing, and going to the bathroom. Just like that, it made all the simple details and basic necessities of your life like face washing, teeth brushing and going to the bathroom extremely tense. These methods were used to make it impossible to fulfill your basic physiological needs. Then, many other methods were added on top to create for you an environment where your spirit was on the verge of collapse." [8]
"Later, after being transferred to a forced labor camp, there would suddenly be a relatively 'relaxed' environment. While in the 'Dispatching Center,' you were made to 'lower and hold the head' and look at your toes 24 hours a day as long as you were awake. There was not one second of time where you were allowed to raise your head and look at the police. Before going to the bathroom, you had to report it out loud. Before taking food from the kitchen to your table, you had to shout out, 'Reporting to the Chief: the reeducation labor personnel X requests to receive food.' Let's just say that they thoroughly crush all your personal dignity and basic life needs." [8]
"At the forced labor camp, they suddenly gave you some slack. They no longer asked you to bend your head down and hold it with your hands. You could raise your head and level your eyesight to look at the police. You were given a set of clothes to change into, while at the 'Dispatching Center' all you had was what you wore. The time for brushing teeth and washing your face was extended to 5 minutes. Through the tightening and relaxing, they generated a psychological effect on you using the contrast. Under this contrast, they pretended to be nice to you and began engaging in so called 'political ideology work,' basically to 'transform' you." [8]
"When one first arrives at the 'Dispatching Center', you are forced to sing 'reforming songs.' These are songs specifically composed for labor camp inmates. They degrade the person and advocate 'reforming to become a new person in socialist society.' They force you to sing as loud as you can, while forbidding you to sing any other songs." [8]
"At the forced labor camp, one could sing songs that normal people sing, such as 'The Same Song.' When a person was just released from being extremely pressured and restricted and was treated 'nice' in a 'relaxed' environment, a mental soft spot might be generated in him. Unwittingly he might feel grateful to the police who 'treated him nice.'" [8]
"Basically, if, after having been treated kindly, you still don't 'transform,' then an environment and conditions that try to convince a Falun Gong practitioner that 'there is no way out' ensue. Sometimes, in order to save time and increase efficiency, even the 'nice treatment' step is skipped and they go directly to the strategy of hopelessness." [8]
"For example, they lock you up in a small room. You are up with your nose pressed against the wall, forced to stand there for 24 hours and not permitted to close your eyes. If they do close, you will be beaten and shocked with electric batons. Since you see nothing but the white wall during a long period of standing, afterwards not only you would feel extremely dizzy, but could also have some delusions. When you reach the limits of endurance, you would be told that practicing Falun Gong is a dead-end road, just like this." [8]
"Extreme fatigue and eye-strain can result in unpleasant psychological effects, sometimes even horrible delusions. Just as your mind is at the point of breaking, 'The Same Song,' a 'tender' song that stirs up your emotions is played; you feel like collapsing right then and there. Since there is no other way out at this point, singing 'The Same Song' might let you feel that you suddenly found your 'spiritual home.'" [8]
"I strongly sensed that cruel and insidious factors were infused into the seemingly harmless 'The Same Song' when it is used to 'transform' Falun Gong practitioners in labor camps. Due to these factors, as well as its deceptive nature, 'The Same Song' became a favorite song among the labor camps. In turn, it produced 'unparalleled' effects in 'transforming' Falun Gong practitioners." [8]
"There is an old saying that 'If you kill someone with an invisible knife there will be no stain on the blade.' 'The Same Song' is horrific because it is an 'invisible knife.' When a person tries to kill you with a real knife, you will be able to see it and take precautions. But if someone offers you a delicate chocolate candy with poison inside, you will say, 'Thanks!' and eat it. After swallowing it, you still think it was a chocolate, but your mind is completely reversed and you are not yourself at all. Similarly, 'The Same Song' is a delicious chocolate offered to you when you most desire it, yet you cannot see or know what is poisoning you. Is there anything more terrifying in this world?" [8]
Ms. Zeng Zheng cited the case of Ms. Zhu Xia to illustrate the cruelty of the CCP's persecution. Since Ms. Zhu Xia was imprisoned in Nanmusi Women's Forced Labor Camp, they repeatedly and brutally tortured Ms. Zhu in different ways to force her to give up her belief in Falun Dafa. Because she refused to give up her belief in Falun Gong, she was often subjected to brutal beatings until she was severely bruised.
A malicious police officer named Zhang Xiaofang instructed drug users to stuff her mouth full of dirty rags, then drag her along the rough, gritty floor, scraping her back, hips, and legs. Zhang Xiaofang also told drug users to place a long bench on the ground with bricks on top, and force Zhu Xia to sit on the bricks; they then placed bricks on Zhu Xia's legs and made someone sit on these bricks, rocking back and forth. Meanwhile, they had stuffed her mouth so tightly that her pitiful screams could not be heard. Zhang Xiaofang grabbed Ms. Zhu's hair and smashed her head against the wall. After Zhang got tired, other criminals took her place. While beating her, Zhang sneered, "I will smash your head till you pass out or go mad." Other common torments perpetrated on Ms. Zhu included forbidding her to use the restroom, to shower or do any kind of washing, including her clothing; forbidding her to replace feminine hygiene products during her menstrual cycle; instigating others to humiliate her; exposing her to the summer heat and to the winter chill; only allowing her to sleep for 5 hours a day or sometimes allowing no sleep at all; forcing her to stand against a wall, sit in military postures, and forbidding her to even blink her eyes.
In 18 months in the forced labor camp and 10 months of brainwashing, Ms. Zhu Xia, 32, a young and beautiful Falun Gong practitioner from Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, has been severely beaten, forcefully brainwashed, and constantly deprived of sleep. The prison officials labeled Ms. Zhu a criminal and paraded her around the streets to humiliate her. The abuse that she went through devastated Ms. Zhu both mentally and physically. By the time she was released on April 2, 2004, Ms. Zhu had started to suffer a mental breakdown.
"Ms. Zhu now often has hallucinations, and she tosses about restlessly all the time and cannot sit still. Ms. Zhu now cries, laughs, swears at people and bangs on doors and windows constantly and unpredictably. She also urinates and has bowel movements in her pants uncontrollably. She removed her blanket's cover and sleeps in the cotton fibers. Ms. Zhu often puts her arms around her head as if protecting herself from being beaten, and with a terrified voice she screams, 'Are you going to rape me?' Based on this behavior, it is likely that Ms. Zhu was raped in the brainwashing center, which led to or aggravated her mental disorder." [10]
Ms. Zeng Zheng thinks, "In the CCP's inhuman, unethical and wicked persecution, 'The Same Song' functions as a means to lure the victims' mind and deprive them their most prized possessions --- spirit, dignity and the ability to think freely."
Usually when a victim is extremely despairing and then suddenly hears "The Same Song" and is treated "kindly" by the torturers, he would burst into tears and would be anxious to return to a group where he would be identified so that he could get rid of the torture environment. It is a way to destroy to a human being's dignify and most fundamental values of good and bad.
For the past five years since July 20, 1999, the CCP has been treating "The Same Song" concert as an important political mission. "The Same Song" has been spread and promoted in every forced labor camp in China in order to brainwash Falun Gong practitioners. The function of "The Same Song" is designed under the circumstances. Although its lyrics do not make any direct reference to Falun Gong, its meaning has been twisted for the purpose of brainwashing Falun Gong practitioners.
4. Summary
In China's forced labor camps, those Falun Gong practitioners who refuse to sing "The Same Song" are considered "enemies of the CCP." The CCP regime has been using all kinds of torture methods, include rape, against Falun Gong practitioners in order to force them to give up their beliefs in Falun Gong. When a Falun Gong practitioner succumbs to the torture and gives in, the first thing he is required to do is to sing "The Same Song" with the prison police. Even the prison inmates know a Falun Gong practitioner has been "transformed" when they hear the singing of "The Same Song."
The CCTV used Ms. Wang Bo and her parents, Mr. Wang Xinzhong and Ms. Liu Shuqin, in its program, Focus Interview, for the CCP's propaganda against Falun Gong. After the three of them were released, they each revealed the truth in writing.
With respect to the past several years when she was deceived, brainwashed and used for the CCP's propaganda against Falun Gong, Ms. Wang Bo wrote, "It is not until now that I realize that the CCP is most vicious when they lie to you with a smile. I would have been able to identify them as bad guys if they were mean and violent to me. But they were always smiling at me while playing dirty games with my mind. They would design plots based on my weaknesses and my fears. If they see that you worry about your father, they will exploit upon it to attain their vicious goal."
"One generation of Chinese died deceived and another generation continues to be cheated. This is the biggest sorrow of the Chinese people, the most unfortunate aspect of the Chinese nation." (From "Part 1: On What the Communist Party Is" in "The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.)
At present, the CCP is dumping a lot of money and resources to spread "The Same Song," a song used for brainwashing, around China and the world. The purpose is to create an illusion of peace in China, to cover the CCP's crimes, to deceive the world and obtain tacit agreement with the CCP's crimes. Since its establishment, the CCP has never stopped deceiving or brainwashing the people of China. At present the CCP is launching a series of concerts featuring "The Same Song" for the same purpose --- deceiving and brainwashing the whole world.
References:
[1] http://www.zhengjian.org/music/articles/8/24532.html (Chinese)
[2] http://www.zhengjian.org/music/articles/7/22176.html (Chinese)
[3] A Girl's Memories of "The Same Song," First Heard at the Age of 19
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-1-22/37237.html (English)
[4] A Psychiatrist Reveals the Plot Behind "The Same Song"
http://dajiyuan.com/gb/6/1/20/n1197408.htm (Chinese)
[5] Ms. Zhou Xuefei: The Truth behind "The Same Song"
http://dajiyuan.com/gb/6/1/12/n1187893.htm (Chinese)
[6] Blood and Tears Behind "The Same Song"
http://www.dajiyuan.com/gb/6/1/16/n1191417.htm (Chinese)
[7] Hearing "The Same Song" Traumatizes the Brainwashing Victims Again
http://dajiyuan.com/gb/6/1/17/n1192698.htm (Chinese)
[8] The Same Song and the Nazi Symbol
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-1-23/37271.html (English)
[9] Ms. Wang Bo Tells the True Story Where She Was Deceived, Brainwashed and Used by the Evil CCP
http://big5.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/12/13/116203.html (Chinese)
[10] Practitioner Ms. Zhu Xia Suffers Mental Breakdown After Abuse and Probable Rape as a Part of Official Brainwashing (Photos)
http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/8/10/51211.html(English)
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2006/1/23/35381.html
