The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Near the city of Beijing" (Vozle goroda Pekina) the performer of the song "Vladimir Vysotsky"

Near the city of Beijing

The Red Guards are roaming free,

Searching high and low, you see,

For ancient paintings, bold and bright.

It’s not as if these Red Guard souls

Find beauty in these ancient scrolls,

They’d rather see these treasures fall

And urns stand tall within the hall,

A testament to their Cultural Revolution call.

And though I know quite well, it’s true,

How to pronounce their name anew,

A phrase, unseemly and uncouth,

Keeps rising to my waiting mouth:

“Hung-wei-bin.”

Their leader, Comrade Mao, decreed,

A novel game for them to heed:

“Don't go to school, children dear,

Instead, come out and spread some fear,

Root out the signs of dissent here!”

For how else to disrupt, you see,

The world's calm atmosphere so free?

We’ll show a giant fig, it’s true,

To both the US and USSR too!

And though I know quite well, it’s true,

How to pronounce their name anew,

A phrase, unseemly and uncouth,

Keeps rising to my waiting mouth:

(Listen closely)

“Hung-wei-bin.”

And though I know quite well, it’s true,

How to pronounce their name anew,

A phrase, unseemly and uncouth,

Keeps rising to my waiting mouth:

“Hung-wei-bin.”

Возле города Пекина

Ходят-бродят хунвэйбины

И старинные картины

Ищут-рыщут хунвэйбины

И не то чтоб хунвэйбины

Любят статуи, картины

Вместо статуй будут урны

"Революции культурной"

И ведь, главное, знаю отлично я

Как они произносются

Но чтой-то весьма неприличное

На язык ко мне просится

Хун-вэй-бины

Вот придумал им забаву

Ихний вождь товарищ Мао

Не ходите, дети, в школу

Приходите бить крамолу!

Чем еще уконтрапупишь

Мировую атмосферу

Мы покажем крупный кукиш

США и ССРу!

И ведь, главное, знаю отлично я

Как они произносются

Но чтой-то весьма неприличное

На язык ко мне просится

(Прислушайтесь:)

Хун-вэй-бины

И ведь, главное, знаю отлично я

Как они произносятся

Но чтой-то весьма неприличное

На язык ко мне просится

Хун-вэй-бины

In his song "Near the City of Peking," Vladimir Vysotsky sarcastically portrays the Red Guards, a youth movement used by Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976). Vysotsky mocks their destructive activities aimed at destroying cultural heritage.

The phrase "Red Guards roam and wander, searching high and low for ancient paintings" creates an image of chaotic movement gripped by destructive mania. The words "searching high and low" emphasize the fanaticism with which the Red Guards persecuted everything considered "old" and "counter-revolutionary."

Vysotsky ironically remarks that the Red Guards "don't really love statues and paintings," implying that their true goal is destruction. Mentioning urns as a replacement for statues reinforces the impression of the barbaric destruction of culture.

The phrase "Their leader, Comrade Mao, came up with a fun game for them: Don't go to school, children, come and fight sedition!" ridicules Mao Zedong's manipulation of youth. Vysotsky shows how, under the guise of fighting "sedition," the Red Guards were used to suppress dissent and destroy traditional values.

Mentioning "giving a big fig" to the USA and the USSR demonstrates Mao's desire to challenge the superpowers, including by using the aggressive rhetoric of the Cultural Revolution.

The recurring phrase "The funny thing is, I know perfectly well how it's pronounced, but something rather indecent keeps coming to my mind" is a subtle hint at the obscenity of what is happening. Vysotsky cannot openly criticize the actions of the Red Guards and Mao, but he uses wordplay and sarcasm to convey his attitude towards the Cultural Revolution.