March of the Volunteers
"The March of the Volunteers" () is the
national anthem of the
People's Republic of China, written in the midst of the
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) by the noted poet and playwright
Tian Han) with music composed by
Nie Er). This composition is a
musical march.
March of the Volunteers was written by Tian Han in
1934 for a play he was writing at the time. Popular stories suggest, however, that he wrote it on a tobacco paper after being arrested in
Shanghai and thrown into a
Kuomintang jail in 1935. The song, with a minor alteration, became the theme song of the 1935 patriotic film
Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm), a story about an intellectual who leaves to fight in the
First Sino-Japanese War. It was one of many songs that were promoted secretly among the population as part of the anti-Japanese resistance. The song was released as an album by the
Pathe label of
EMI in 1935.
It was used as the national anthem for the first time in an international conference in February 1949 held in
Prague,
Czechoslovakia. At the time
Beijing had recently come into the control of the Chinese Communists in the
Chinese Civil War. There was controversy over the line "The Chinese nation faces its greatest peril". Historian
Guo Moruo changed the line to "The Chinese people have come to their moment of emancipation" ().
In June a committee was set up by the
Communist Party of China to decide on an official national anthem for the soon-to-be declared People's Republic of China. By the end of August the committee had received 6926 submissions.
March of the Volunteers was suggested by painter
Xu Beihong) and almost unanimously supported by the members of the committee. There was contention, however, over the issue of the third line. On this
Zhou Enlai made the conclusive judgement: "We still have imperialist enemies in front of us. The more we progress in development, the more the imperialists will hate us, seek to undermine us, attack us. Can you say that we won't be in peril?" His view was supported by
Mao Zedong and on
27 September 1949, the song became the provisional national anthem, just days before the founding of the People's Republic of China.
During the
Cultural Revolution, Tian Han was imprisoned, and the March of the Volunteers was therefore forbidden to be
sung; as a result there was a period of time when
The East is Red was used as the unofficial national anthem.
The March of the Volunteers was restored by the
National People's Congress in 1978, but with different lyrics; however, these new lyrics were never very popular and even caused confusion [
1]. On
4 December 1982, the National People's Congress resolved to restore the original 1935 version by Tian Han as the official national anthem. Significantly the current lyrics do not mention either the
Communist Party of China nor
Mao Zedong and the reversion of the lyrics was symbolic of the downfall of
Hua Guofeng and the
cult of personality of Mao and the asendancy of
Deng Xiaoping.
The
National People's Congress made the song the official PRC anthem in a
2004 amendment of the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China. The anthem is mentioned immediately after the national flag.
Although popular even among
Nationalists during the
Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), the song was banned in
Taiwan until the
1990s.
The anthem was officially performed in
Hong Kong for the first time [
2] following the handover of the territory to the PRC in
1997, and in
Macau following the handover in 1999.
|
Sheet music from Appendix 4 of Law n.o 5/1999 of Macau |
The use of the anthem in Macau, China is governed in Law n.o 5/1999 (
zh:第5/1999號法律) since
20 December 1999. Article 7 of the Law requires the national anthem to be accurately performed pursuant to the sheet music in Appendix 4 and prohibits the lyric from being altered. Willfully failing to follow the sheet music or altering the lyric when performing the national anthem in public is criminally punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 360 days. The sheet music in Appendix 4 has the lyric in Chinese only without Portuguese translation even though both Chinese and Portuguese are official languages of Macau.
The anthem is written completely in
Vernacular Chinese, while the "
National Anthem of the Republic of China" is written in
Classical Chinese.
Click to listen:*
Lyrics*
Music| Traditional | Simplified | Pinyin | English Translation [Official English translation of the PRC anthem from the PRC's official government webportal (www.gov.cn)] | 起來！不願做奴隸的人們！
把我們的血肉，築成我們新的長城！
中華民族到了最危險的時候，
每個人被迫着發出最後的吼聲。
起來！起來！起來！
我們萬眾一心，
'着敵人的炮火，前進！
'着敵人的炮火，前進！
前進！前進！進！起来！不愿做奴隶的人们！
把我们的血肉，筑成我们新的长城！
中华民族到了最危险的时候，
每个人被迫着发出最后的吼声。
起来！起来！起来！
我们万众一心，
'着敌人的炮火，前进！
'着敌人的炮火，前进！
前进！前进！进！Qǐlái! Búyuàn zuò núlì de rénmen!
Bǎ w'men de xuèròu zhùchéng w'men xīn de chángchéng!
Zhōnghuá Mínzú dào liǎo zùi w"ixiǎn de shíhòu,
Měigerén bèipò zhe fāchū zùihòu de h'ush"ng.
Qǐlái! Qǐlái! Qǐlái!
W'men wànzhòngyīxīn,
Mào zhe dírén de pàohu', Qiánjìn!
Mào zhe dírén de pàohu', Qiánjìn!
Qiánjìn! Qiánjìn! Jìn!Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves!
Let us amount our flesh and blood towards our new Great Wall!
The Chinese nation face their greatest peril,
The thundering roar of our peoples will be heard!
Arise! Arise! Arise!
We are many, but our hearts beat as one!
Braving the enemy's gunfire, march on!
Braving the enemy's gunfire, march on!
March on! March on! On!
| Traditional | Simplified | Pinyin | English Translation | 前進！各民族英雄的人民！
偉大的共"黨領導我們繼續長征。
萬眾一心"向共"主義明天，
建設祖國保衛祖國英勇地鬥爭。
前進！前進！前進！
我們千秋萬代
高舉毛澤東旗幟，前進！
高舉毛澤東旗幟，前進！
前進！ 前進！進！前进！各民族英雄的人民！
伟大的共产党领导我们继续长征。
万众一心"向共产主义明天，
建设祖国保卫祖国英勇地斗争。
前进！前进！前进！
我们千秋万代
高举毛泽东旗帜，前进！
高举毛泽东旗帜，前进！
前进！ 前进！ 进！Qiánjìn! Gè mínz" yīngxióngde rénmín,
Wěidàde gōngchǎndǎng lǐngdǎo w'men jìxù chángzh"ng.
Wànzhòng yīxīn b"n xiàng gōngchǎnzh"yì míngtiān,
Jiànshè z"gúo bǎowèi z"gúo yīngy'ngde dòuzh"ng.
Qiánjìn! Qiánjìn! Qiánjìn!
W'men qiānqīu-wàndài
Gāoj" Máo Zédōng qízhì, qiánjìn!
Gāoj" Máo Zédōng qízhì, qiánjìn!
Qiánjìn! Qiánjìn! Jìn!March on! People of all heroic nationalities!
Let us continue the Long March under the great Communist Party's guidance,
Millions with but one heart toward a communist tomorrow,
Develop and protect the country, fight bravely.
March on, march on, march on!
We will for generations,
Raise high Mao Zedong's banner, march on!
Raise high Mao Zedong's banner, march on!
March on! March on! On!
*
Historical Chinese anthems*
Download audio files in different formats*
China's National Anthem*
The March of the Volunteers, instrumental and then chorus.
*
Infozh-yue:義勇軍進行曲
