TRAVEL NOTES

CHINA: TRAVEL PICTURES

CHINA: FLAG, EMBLEM, NATIONAL ANTHEM

The National Flag, National Emblem and National Anthem of the People's Republic of China

(Obtained from http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/8987 )

The national flag of the People's Republic of China is red in colour, rectangular in shape, with five stars. The proportion between the length and height of the flag is three to two. The five five-pointed yellow stars are located in the upper left corner. One of them, which is bigger, appears on the left, while the other four hem it in on the right.

The red colour of the flag symbolizes revolution; the stars take on the yellow colour in order to bring out their brightness on the red ground. The larger star represents the Communist Party of China (CPC), while the four smaller ones, the Chinese people. The relationship between the stars means the great unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC.

The national emblem of the People's Republic of China is Tiananmen in the centre illuminated by five stars and encircled by ears of grain and a cogwheel. The ears of grain, stars, Tiananmen and cogwheel are painted golden, and the inner part of the circle and hanging ribbons are painted red because these two colours are traditional Chinese colours representing auspiciousness and happiness.

Tiananmen symbolizes the unyielding national spirit of the Chinese people in their fight against imperialism and feudalism; the ears of grain and cogwheel represent the working class and the peasantry; and the five stars stand for the great unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC.

The national anthem was created in 1935, the lyrics by Tian Han, a famous poet, and the music by Nie Er, a famous composer. The lyrics are as follows:

  Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves;
  With our very flesh and blood
  Let us build our new Great Wall!
  The peoples of China are in the most critical time,
  Everybody must roar his defiance.
  Arise! Arise! Arise!
  Millions of hearts with one mind,
  Brave the enemy's gunfire,
  March on!
  Brave the enemy's gunfire,
  March on! March on! March on, on!

This song, originally named March of the Volunteers, is the theme song of the film, Young Heroes and Heroines in Stormy Years. The film describes the people who went to the front to fight against the invaders in the 1930's when Japan invaded northeast China and the fate of the Chinese nation was hanging in the balance.

March of the Volunteers, inspiring and forceful, expresses the determination of the Chinese people to sacrifice themselves for national liberation, and their fine tradition of bravery, firmness and unity in their fight against aggression. It was for this reason that the CPPCC on September 27, 1949 decided to adopt the song as the national anthem of the People's Republic of China.

(If your computer has a sound card and the Media Player software (comes with Windows), you can download the anthem and listen to it now.)