"Stand up! We don't want to be slaves! "This lyric should be sung by many people because of its infectiousness, "March of the Volunteers" was already a popular movie theme song across the country before it became the national anthem.
Before the founding ceremony in 1949, after a rigorous selection process, the sixth group finally chose the "March of the Volunteers" as our national anthem.
After the manuscript of the March of the Volunteers was finalized, one of the lyrics raised questions. Although the lyricist Tian Han also believes that the lyrics should be revised, some people insist that the lyrics will lose their original meaning after being revised, so they want to keep the original words.
In this phase of constant controversy, ** strongly supports the retention of the original lyrics. So, among the lyrics of the national anthem that we are familiar with, which one has caused so much controversy?
Why do you insist so much on keeping the original lyrics? Tian Han, formerly known as Tian Shouchang, was born in 1898 in Changsha, Hunan, where Hunan opera flourished. In that era when entertainment projects were scarce, it was the happiest thing in his childhood to follow adults to walk more than ten miles to catch temple fairs and watch big plays.
As a child, Tian Han was deeply attracted by the life on the opera stage, which laid the groundwork for his future career in drama creation. His father died early, and his uncle Yi Meichen became an important support for him.
Yi Meichen was a democratic revolutionary who followed Sun Yat-sen and was close friends with Huang Xing. He loved his clever nephew very much and paid attention to his education. Tian Han lived up to expectations, excelled in school, and was especially keen on drama creation.
He loves to read drama works, and has also published many plays, and at the age of 13, he published "New Godson" adapted from the traditional drama "Three Niang's Godson" in "Changsha**", which attracted attention.
Tian Han's literary talent gradually emerged, but in his uncle's opinion, writing scripts was a "non-professional" thing, and he should focus on his studies.
Tian Han, a talented young man, was given the opportunity to study in Japan with the support of his uncle. In Japan, he joined the Juvenile China Society and met a group of international students who were keen on literary creation, and they often got together to create patriotic literary works, and Tian Han's unique insights always won everyone's appreciation.
In 1922, Tian Han, who had completed his studies, returned to his motherland, and while working hard in the teaching position of the school, he established the Society and the Drama Society, and made important contributions to the development of new Chinese drama with his outstanding literary talent.
During this period, Tian Han devoted himself to literary creation, without distractions, and insisted that literary creation should not be mixed with political factors, otherwise it would lose its purity. However, with the deterioration of the civil war situation, after experiencing the brutal artillery fire, his thinking has changed a lot, and he realized that his former self was too "narrow-minded", and the literary works he created did not really speak for the interests of the nation and the political landscape.
As a result, he began to change his creative concept, to shout for national liberation and speak for the interests of the people.
In the flames of war, Tian Han saw the suffering of the people and the crisis of the nation. In 1934, the invasion of foreign invaders and the atrocities of the reactionaries plunged the Chinese people into deep misery, coupled with the natural disasters of the great drought in the north and the flood in the south, the land was barren, the people were displaced, and countless lives were lost in the disaster.
The Chinese nation has reached the brink of life and death, and in order to protect the crumbling motherland, revolutionary aspirants have stepped forward and forged a line of defense to protect the people with their flesh and blood.
Tian Han witnessed all this, and his heart was full of anger and grief. He was determined to create a literary work that would give a voice to the nation and awaken people's resolve to fight.
It was at this time that Shanghai Dentsu approached him and asked him to write the script and theme song for the film he was preparing to make. The film is different in that it is based on the theme of the War of Resistance and aims to inspire the courage of the people of the whole country and encourage them to bravely resist the invasion.
Tian Han accepted the challenge, and with passion and blood, he created this film full of strength and determination. He hopes that through this film, more people can see the plight of the nation, stimulate their patriotic feelings, and inspire them to fight for the future of the nation.
Tian Han happily accepted the offer from Dentsu and devoted himself to the creation of the script. In the process of creation, he often recalls the past days, and the painful experience of being exploited by the enemy and the hardships of the people's life make him feel excited and moved.
These emotional waves provided him with a steady stream of creative inspiration, so that he quickly completed the outline of the script of the "Children of the Storm" movie. He knows that the theme song of the movie is very important to convey the spirit of the movie, and a good theme song can add a lot of color to the movie, so he pays special attention to the creation of the theme song.
To accompany a long poem depicting the Great Wall in the film, he decided to create a theme song set on the Great Wall.
Children of the Storm is a film that shows the integrity of the nation, and by depicting the history and reality of the Great Wall, it implies the tenacity and determination of the Chinese nation. Although the Great Wall was once a symbol of resistance to foreign invasion, today it is a "low wall" trampled by enemies.
The Chinese who do not want to be slaves will build a new Great Wall with their own flesh and blood, and as long as everyone is united, victory will eventually belong to the people. The song "March of the Volunteers" was composed by Tian Han, and the lyrics were impassioned and generous, but because Tian Han was arrested by the Kuomintang reactionaries, he could not complete the creation of the later stage of the film.
Xia Yan was in a dilemma at this time, because although there were lyrics, the score had not yet been completed, and the theme song was still incomplete. However, this did not stop the Chinese people from resisting, and they will sing this song with their own actions to show the tenacity and indomitability of the Chinese nation.
When Xia Yan was in trouble, a sudden visit brought him a turnaround. This person is Tian Han's friend, Nie Er, who already has a certain amount of composition ability. Xia Yan's eyes lit up when he saw Nie Er's appearance, and he immediately handed him the lyrics of "March of the Volunteers".
However, the composing process was not all smooth sailing. The lyrics that Nie Er got were incomplete, and some of the words were illegible due to water stains on the paper. To make matters worse, Tian Han was behind bars and couldn't check it himself.
In this case, Nie Er can only rely on his understanding of the meaning of the words and the rhythm of the melody before and after, as well as his talent, to do his best to complete the missing words without changing the original meaning of the lyrics.
In the process of adding rhythm and emotion to the song, Nie Er made meticulous adjustments to the lyrics. For example, the lyrics of "marching forward in the face of enemy fire", Nie Er repeatedly scrutinized, although the melody has been adjusted in many ways, but always felt that it could not fully mobilize emotions, and finally added a word "advance" after "advance", and the lyrics became "advance in the face of enemy fire", this change immediately gave the song a magnificent momentum, showing the spirit of the Chinese people who are fearless and courageous.
In addition, there are some long sentences in the lyrics, generally speaking, such sentences are difficult to show the surging momentum, Tian Han also believes that it needs to be modified when composing the music, but Nie Er can keep the original meaning of the lyrics unchanged, so that the rhythm is faster and the syllables are more powerful, fully demonstrating his profound creative skills.
After the premiere of "Children of the Storm", "March of the Volunteers" resounded in the sky all over the country, and major newspapers reported it enthusiastically, and everyone on the streets and alleys sang it.
At this time, Tian Han was released on bail because his literary works caused great repercussions across the country. Full of joy, he hopes to share this joy with his friend Nie Er.
However, to his surprise, Nie Er drowned in Japan not long ago, and his life at the age of 23 was like a bright meteor, dazzling but fleeting.
And "March of the Volunteers" became the last collaboration between these two outstanding artists, leaving an eternal swan song. During this period, the reactionaries imposed a severe economic, military, and national blockade on the whole country.
Ironically, during that period of the Anti-Japanese War, people could not freely discuss the issue of the Anti-Japanese War, and even the word "Anti-Japanese War" was taboo. The ingenuity of "March of the Volunteers" lies in the fact that although the whole text inspires the people to resist the war, the word "war of resistance" is never used.
This is also an important reason why this song can be *** widely disseminated.
March of the Volunteers: A song that evokes the resonance of hundreds of millions of people The song "March of the Volunteers" has been sung more widely than people imagined. Whether it is in the streets and alleys, or in the mountains, whether it is a student in the school or a soldier in the army, as long as the melody sounds, people can't help but sing "Get up!"
Get up! Lyrics. The song has even caused a sensation abroad, and has been used by Malaysian anti-Japanese guerrillas and Hollywood anti-Japanese war movies in the United States.
In a blink of an eye, the time came to 1949, the Liberation War was about to end, and it was decided to hold a grand founding ceremony on October 1 to officially announce the birth of New China to the world.
In order to ensure the smooth progress of the founding ceremony, the preparatory work was divided into six categories, and six teams were set up to be responsible for each of them. The sixth group, namely the national anthem, national emblem and national flag design team, is headed by Ma Xulun and Mao Dun as the deputy leader, and its members include well-known people from all walks of life, such as Tian Han and Guo Moruo.
The design work was carried out through a national call for papers, and as soon as the call for papers was issued, the sixth team received hundreds of submissions from all over the country every day. After several rounds of screening and repeated discussions, the image of the national flag was finally determined.
But there were difficulties in choosing the national anthem, and the songwriting needed inspiration, but the inspiration was elusive. The time for the call for papers is tight and the task is heavy, and it is difficult for even excellent songwriters to create national lyrics that can represent the country in a short period of time.
Faced with a large number of lyrics and lyrics, Group 6 did not find a satisfactory work in just a few months, and everyone felt deeply guilty and stressed. At this difficult moment, Xu Beihong recalled the creation process of the French national anthem "La Marseillaise", he had studied in France and knew the history of "La Marseillaise" very well.
He pointed out that the Marseillaise was not originally created specifically as a national anthem, but was a widely circulated battle song that was later identified as the national anthem.
Therefore, why don't we look for a suitable national anthem from a large number of excellent songs sung during the Anti-Japanese War?
At that special moment, Xu Beihong suddenly thought of "March of the Volunteers". This idea has been supported by a lot of people, but there are also people who have questioned it.
They believe that this song was created in the context of a special era and represents the special emotions of the Chinese people. However, with the imminent founding of New China and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, whether the phrase "the Chinese nation has reached the most dangerous time" is still applicable has become an issue of concern to everyone.
In this case, Tian Han, as a lyricist, decided that we needed to make some changes to the lyrics to fit the theme of the new era. However, Liang Sicheng and Zhang Xiruo and others disagreed, arguing that the lyrics and score of "March of the Volunteers" had been sung for many years and had long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and that any modification could destroy the integrity of the song, so it was not recommended to revise it.
1.In old China, the times were changing, but history could not be forgotten, and the national anthem represented the national spirit. **And *** have a deep understanding of this. ** believes that although the War of Resistance has ended, the spirit of the Chinese people who are strong and unyielding and resist aggression should be perpetuated, so he strongly supports the retention of the original lyrics.
**It is also believed that the national anthem is a symbol of the national spirit and the original lyrics should be retained. 2.Although New China has been founded, various international and domestic crises have not been completely resolved, and the Chinese nation is still facing great dangers.
**and*** deeply understand this, they believe that "people should remember history, be prepared for danger in times of peace, and work hard". Therefore, they strongly support the retention of the March of the Volunteers as the national anthem of the People's Republic of China.
3.On October 1, 1949, at the founding ceremony, when the passionate melody resounded in the sky, the people of the whole country were excited. This is because they feel the wisdom and foresight of *** and ***, and they have demonstrated their respect for history, adherence to the national spirit, and expectations for the future with their own practical actions.
It is worth mentioning that on March 5, 1978, the national anthem was revised again. The words "people who do not want to be slaves" in the original lyrics were replaced with "heroic people of all ethnic groups", and this change was approved at the first session of the Fifth National People's Congress.
However, due to the deep roots of the original lyrics, the revised lyrics were never as widely sung as the original. Whenever that familiar melody sounds, many people will still subconsciously hum the phrase "Arise, you who do not want to be slaves".
The new version of the national anthem was implemented for only four years, and finally the original lyrics were restored in 1982 at the strong demand of the people. The lyrics of "March of the Volunteers" are stirring and powerful, and for decades, it has been inspiring the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation to fight bravely.