red star

1) The second-best recognized symbol of Communism, after the hammer and sickle. The red star has its origins in the green star, which is the symbol of the Esperanto world-language. The green star had 5 points because only 5 continents were considered to exist in the late 1800's. Leon Trotsky copied the symbol after he noticed a green star on the lapel of Nikolai Krylenko, who was an Esperantist. Admiring its internationalist symbolism, Trotsky made a red star the symbol of the Red Army. Red is the color of communism because all human beings - men, women, black, white, rich, poor - have red blood. It also symbolizes the blood shed in the ancient struggle to liberate all oppressed peasants and workers. 2) A cheap 112-proof Chinese rum distilled from sorghum, popular among Beijing workers. It is available in the US for about $10 a bottle at your local Chinese supermarket. Beware, it has high levels of ethanol (paint thinner).