Chinese chanted in the past six decades four songs which in relay depicted key stories of the world's most populous country.

The rise of China from one of the world's poorest countries in 1949 to the world's third largest economy has been accompanied by the four songs.

On the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Beijing managed Thursday a gigantic military parade followed by a mass pageant.

Together with four huge portraits showing helmsmen of the four generations of leadership, the four songs were part of the hour-long pageant.

Late Chairman Mao Zedong's portrait was accompanied by "The East Is Red," a song with a melody borrowed from local ballads of northwestern China, where the Communist Party of China (CPC) fought both Japanese invaders and the Kuomintang-led army in the 1930s and 1940s.

The song, eulogizing Mao as "the people's great savior" and a "guide to build a new China," shot to fame in the 1960s and 1970s.

A week after the People's Republic of China launched its first man-made satellite in April 1970, Mao joined many of his countrymen to tune into a radio to listen to "The East Is Red," beamed back to earth from the satellite.

The same radio broadcast is expected to be replayed Thursday evening as the Big Ben-like time bell on top of the downtown Beijing Telegraph Building rings to begin the 60th National Day evening gala.

Red was also the color of the plastic cover of more than one billion "little books" printed with "Quotations from Chairman Mao," a pocket must for each Chinese for everyday perusal in the 1960sand 1970s.

Mao was later commented in official documents as having made mistakes, particularly in the chaotic period from 1966 to 1976 (the Cultural Revolution), but he is still respected and honored as the primary founding father of the People's Republic.

Many cab drivers throughout the country hang miniature portraits of Mao above their dashboards to bless themselves, as most claim, for safe daily driving.

After the first three decades of PRC history when "The East Is Red" was in fashion, China took a reformist stance that triggered a rapid transformation.

Chinese people have gained wealth and freedom as a result of the pragmatic policies initiated by Mao's close associate Deng Xiaoping from the late 1970s -- an epic which was a dozen years later condensed into a pop song "The Story in Spring."

The song summarized two springs in both 1979 and 1992, with its lyrics telling "In spring of 1979, an old guy spotted an area in southern coastal China," and "In another spring of 1992, an old guy created an epic in southern coastal China."

The old guy refers to Deng, an energetic and tenacious man who was often called the "general architect" of China's reform and opening up, whereas both the years of 1979 (or 1978) and 1992 are landmarks to signal an economic take-off and an emboldened push by Deng towards the market economy, respectively.

Jiang Zemin, the first top leader in PRC history to be able to benefit from a formal university education, carried on Deng's reform. Under his guidance, China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. In 1997 and 1999, China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong and Macao, two colonies taken in unfair treaties.

Jiang, a former Shanghai mayor who speaks English and Russian, was described in the song, "Into the New Era," as "a forerunner who links past and future and leads us into the new era."

The song also briefly recorded that Mao and his colleagues founded New China and Deng's policies allowed the Chinese to be better off.

Jiang Kairu, a self-trained lyricist who wrote both "The Story in Spring" and "Into the New Era," said in an interview with Xinhua, "The ancient 'Book of Rites' reads 'A public spirit will rule all under the sky when the great way prevails,' for which generations of Chinese elites have striven but mostly failed.

"All the Chinese are now sharing the big economic and social benefits that were accelerated by the reform and opening up," the 74-year-old lyricist said.

A new song was played several times during the 60th National Day pageant, once resonating to a verbatim original voice of President Hu Jintao, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, at a CPC National Congress in 2007.

Hu's voice went as, "(We) work hard to achieve new victories in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and write a new chapter of happy life for the people."

The newly-composed "Steering China" sings "1.3 billion people work harmoniously (in the same boat) to paddle in same beats," as well as praises "the forthgoer who steers China is wise and amiable."

Hu, backed by China's rising power and supported by his top team, has played a key global role in international negotiations on the financial crisis, climate change, non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament.

Not only announcing the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games in2008, President Hu, also commander-in-chief of the Chinese armed forces, oversaw China's first manned space mission in 2003 and the first space walk in 2008.

"Chinese often use songs to express happiness, sadness or indignation," said the songwriter Jiang.

He offers footnotes to the popularity of "March of Broadswords" in the 1930s when Chinese militia fought Japanese invaders, as proof; "The Sky of the Liberated Areas" in the 1940s when the CPC troops fought Kuomintang forces; "Song of Voluntary Army" in the 1950s when the Chinese battled Americans on the Korean Peninsula; "My Wonderful Hometown" in the 1960s when people were proud of achievements made by the fledgling socialist country; "Ode to Beijing" which glorified the Chinese central leadership in the 1970s; and "The Song of Toast" which expressed the jubilation of Chinese who had just stepped out of the political and social turmoil of the late 1970s.

Xu Yi, a Beijing college senior majoring in musical conducting, said she, as the only female conductor in the 60th National Day parade, felt greatly honored to lead her drum band in playing "Steering China."

After at least 500 rehearsals in a quarter of a year, she said, "I have recited every drumbeat of the music."

(Xinhua News Agency October 1, 2009)