In 1949, on the eve of the founding ceremony, the collection of the national flag and national emblem was completed, but the choice of the national anthem became a problem. The Sixth Group of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held a meeting in Zhongnanhai to discuss the issue of the national anthem. The participants included 16 people, including Ma Xulun, Zhang Lan, Guo Moruo, Shen Yanbing, Chen Jiageng, Tian Han, and Qian Sanqiang. However, although the group has received more than 600 copies of the national anthem score and nearly 700 manuscripts of lyrics through the solicitation process, these manuscripts do not meet the expectations and cause headaches for the group members. Why is the national anthem so difficult to choose?Looking back at history, we find that before the Qing Dynasty, China's foreign exchanges were not frequent, so there was not much concept of the national anthem. China's national anthem first appeared in 1896, when Li Hongzhang, the minister of Beiyang, visited Western European countries as a diplomatic envoy. Diplomatic regulations at the time required countries to play their own national anthem during visits, but China did not have a national anthem, so Li Hongzhang had to improvise one.
This improvised song was later called "Li Zhongtang Music" and was used in Qing diplomacy for more than 10 years. After the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, the Xinhai Revolution broke out, and the Nanjing Provisional ** re-collected songs in the newspapers and selected a song called "Five Banners Republic Song" as the temporary national anthem, but this song reflected the bourgeois ideal of statehood. In the decades that followed, China's national anthem was changed several times, but it was never possible to choose a song that truly represented the Chinese people. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to choose a suitable national anthem. ** and other national leaders also came to the meeting to listen to the opinions of the panelists, and everyone expressed their ideas one after another, and the discussion was intense. In the end, they unanimously agreed on the requirements for the selection of the national anthem, that is, the national anthem should be both popular and solemn, reflecting the national spirit of the country and being a symbol of the country. The group members selected the most suitable songs and compared the strengths and weaknesses of these songs.
At this moment, Xu Beihong, who had been silent, stood up and proposed "March of the Volunteers" as the national anthem. After Xu Beihong put forward his proposal, all members unanimously agreed. However, when they conducted an in-depth study of the lyrics, someone proposed: "The phrase 'the Chinese nation has reached the most dangerous time' is no longer suitable for the current situation, and it is recommended to revise the lyrics." The crowd began to discuss whether the lyrics should be changed, but in the end they could not reach an agreement, so they had to turn to *** and *** for advice. After a moment of contemplation, he replied, "I think the original lyrics are good." His remarks immediately attracted everyone's attention, and everyone awaited the Prime Minister's next speech. ** continued: "Although we are now at peace and the Chinese nation is no longer in the most dangerous moment, we must not forget the critical moment at that time, and we should always remember those profound revolutionary years.
Xu Beihong also said after hearing ***'s speech: "When I was studying in France, I heard the French national anthem "La Marseillaise", which expressed the tragic and heroic scene of revolutionaries in the face of enemy aggression, and they charged into battle regardless of danger. He continued: "The people should not forget the struggle of the past in the midst of victory, and it is most appropriate to use the national anthem to continue the revolutionary spirit of the martyrs, and we should always be vigilant." After learning about *** and Xu Beihong's suggestion, ** was very happy, and applauded without hesitation: "* and Xu Painter is right, we should not forget that period of history, vigilance is also a revolutionary spirit!."Well, it's decided, the lyrics of "March of the Volunteers" will never change!”。As a result, the "March of the Volunteers" became the national anthem and remained as it was. After the meeting, all the staff stood up and sang the "March of the Volunteers".
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon of October 1, all the preparations for the founding ceremony were successfully completed, and the People's Republic of China was successfully established. Then, press the button next to you, and the national anthem and flag are unfurled at the same time. With the majestic national anthem, the national flag was slowly raised, the masses in the square stood up and sang, waving the national flag in their hands, the red sea resounded with majestic and magnificent singing, and the whole Beijing city was filled with a passionate atmosphere.