The "March of the Volunteers" is the national anthem of the People's Republic of China. Unlike previous Chinese state anthems, it was written entirely in vernacular Chinese, rather than in Classical Chinese.
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria saw a boom of nationalistic arts and literature in China. This song had its lyrics written first by the communist playwright Tian Han in 1934, then set to melody by Nie Er and arranged by Aaron Avshalomov for the communist-aligned film Children of Troubled Times (1935).The politics of songs: Myths and symbols in the Chinese communist war music, 1937–1949. CT Hung. Modern Asian Studies, 1996. It became a famous military song during the Second Sino-Japanese War beyond the Chinese Communist Party, most notably the Nationalist general Dai Anlan designated it to be the anthem of the 200th Division, who fought in Burma. It was adopted as the PRC's provisional anthem in 1949 in place of the "Three Principles of the People" of the Republic of China and the Communist "Internationale".
During the Cultural Revolution, Tian Han was criticized and placed in prison, where he died in 1968. The song was briefly and unofficially replaced by "The East Is Red", then reinstated but played without lyrics, restored to official status in 1978 with altered lyrics, before the original version was fully restored in 1982. In 2004, the March of the Volunteers was enshrined as the national anthem in the constitution. In 2017, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the National Anthem was adopted.
History
The lyrics of the "March of the Volunteers", also formally known as the National Anthem of the People's Republic of China, were composed by Tian Han in 1934Huang, Natasha N. East Is Red': A Musical Barometer for Cultural Revolution Politics and Culture, pp. 25 ff. as two stanzas in his poem "The Great Wall" (), () intended for a play he was working on at the timeRojas, Carlos. The Great Wall: A Cultural History, p. 132. Harvard University Press (Cambridge), 2010. .. The poem's stanzas were adopted into the song by Nie the composer while Tian was imprisoned. Then the song was chosen as part of the plot's climax in Diantong Company's upcoming film Children of Troubled Times or Sons and Daughters of the Storm. It first appeared in public in the May 1935 screening of the film at Jincheng Grand Theater, Shanghai and two months later in July with Pathé's (a subsidiary of EMI) record release.
The film is a story about a Chinese intellectual who flees during the Shanghai Incident to a life of luxury in Qingdao, only to be driven to fight the Japanese occupation of Manchuria after learning of the death of his friend. Urban legends later circulated that Tian wrote it in jail on rolling paper or the liner paper from cigarette boxes after being arrested in Shanghai by the Nationalists; in fact, he was arrested in Shanghai and held in Nanjing just after completing his draft for the film. During MarchLiu (2010), p. 154 . and April 1935, in Japan, Nie Er set the words (with minor adjustments) to music; in May, Diantong's sound director He Luting had the Russian composer Aaron Avshalomov arrange their orchestral accompaniment. The song plays in the film's concluding scene as the protagonists join the masses in taking up arms to oppose the invading Japanese. The song was performed by actors Gu Menghe and Yuan Muzhi, a future director, along with a small and "hastily-assembled" chorus; He Luting consciously chose to use their first take, which preserved the Cantonese accent of several of the men. On 9 May, Gu and Yuan recorded it in more standard Mandarin for Pathé Orient's Shanghai branch ahead of the movie's release, so that it served as a form of advertising for the film.
Originally translated as "Volunteers Marching On",Yang, Jeff & al. Once Upon a Time in China: A Guide to Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese Cinema, p. 136. Atria Books (New York), 2003. the English name references the several volunteer armies that opposed Japan's invasion of Manchuria in the 1930s; the Chinese name is a poetic variation—literally, the "Righteous and Brave Armies"—that also appears in other songs of the time, such as the 1937 "Sword March".
In May 1935, the same month as the release of Children of Troubled Times, Lü Ji and other leftists in Shanghai had begun an amateur choir and started promoting a National Salvation singing campaign,Liu Ching-chih. Translated by Caroline Mason. A Critical History of New Music in China, p. 172. Chinese University Press (Hong Kong), 2010. supporting mass singing associations along the lines established the year before by Liu Liangmo, a Shanghai YMCA leader.Gallicchio, Marc. The African American Encounter with Japan & China, p. 164. University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill), 2000. Although the movie did not perform well enough to keep Diantong from closing, its theme song became wildly popular: musicologist Feng Zikai reported hearing it being sung by crowds in rural villages from Zhejiang to Hunan within months of its releaseMelvin, Sheila & al. Rhapsody in Red: How Western Classical Music Became Chinese, p. 129 . Algora Publishing (New York), 2004. and, at a performance at a Shanghai sports stadium in June 1936, Liu's chorus of hundreds was joined by its audience of thousands. Although Tian Han was imprisoned for two years, Nie Er fled to the Soviet Union, only to die en route in Japan; and Liu Liangmo eventually fled to the U.S. to escape harassment from the Nationalists. The singing campaign continued to expand, particularly after the December 1936 Xi'an Incident reduced Nationalist pressure against leftist movements. Visiting St Paul's Hospital at the Anglican mission at Guide (now Shangqiu, Henan), W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood reported hearing a "Chee Lai!" treated as a hymn at the mission service and the same tune "set to different words" treated as a favorite song of the Eighth Route Army.Journey to a War, cited in Chi (2007), p. 225.
The Pathé recording of the march appeared prominently in Joris Ivens's 1939 The 400 Million, an English-language documentary on the war in China. The same year, Lee Pao-chen included it with a parallel English translation in a songbook published in the new Chinese capital Chongqing; this version would later be disseminated throughout the United States for children's musical education during World War II before being curtailed at the onset of the Cold War. The New York Times published the song's sheet music on 24 December, along with an analysis by a Chinese correspondent in Chongqing. In exile in New York City in 1940, Liu Liangmo taught it to Paul Robeson, the college-educated polyglot folk-singing son of a runaway slave.Liu Liangmo. Translated by Ellen Yeung. "The America I Know". China Daily News, 13–17 July 1950. Reprinted as "Paul Robeson: The People's Singer (1950)" in Chinese American Voices: From the Gold Rush to the Present, pp. 207 ff. University of California Press (Berkeley), 2006. Robeson began performing the song in Chinese at a large concert in New York City's Lewisohn Stadium. Reportedly in communication with the original lyricist Tian Han, the pair translated it into EnglishLiang Luo. "International Avant-garde and the Chinese National Anthem: Tian Han, Joris Ivens, and Paul Robeson" in The Ivens Magazine, No. 16 . European Foundation Joris Ivens (Nijmegen), October 2010. Accessed 22 January 2015. and recorded it in both languages as ("Arise!") for Keynote Records in early 1941.Chi, Robert. "'The March of the Volunteers': From Movie Theme Song to National Anthem" in Re-envisioning the Chinese Revolution: The Politics and Poetics of Collective Memories in Reform China, pp. 217 ff. Woodrow Wilson Center Press (Washington, DC), 2007. Its 3-disc album included a booklet whose preface was written by Soong Ching-ling, widow of Sun Yat-sen,Deane, Hugh. Good Deeds & Gunboats: Two Centuries of American-Chinese Encounters, p. 169. China Books & Periodicals (Chicago), 1990. and its initial proceeds were donated to the Chinese resistance. Robeson gave further live performances at benefits for the China Aid Council and United China Relief, although he gave the stage to Liu and the Chinese themselves for the song's performance at their sold-out concert at Washington's Uline Arena on 24 April 1941.Gellman, Erik S. Death Blow to Jim Crow: The National Negro Congress and the Rise of Militant Civil Rights, pp. 136 . University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill), 2012. . Following the attack on Pearl Harbor and beginning of the Pacific War, the march was played locally in India, Singapore, and other locales in Southeast Asia; the Robeson recording was played frequently on British, American, and Soviet radio; and a cover version performed by the Army Air Force OrchestraEagan, Daniel. America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, pp. 390 f. Continuum International (New York), 2010. appears as the introductory music to Frank Capra's 1944 propaganda film The Battle of China and again during its coverage of the Chinese response to the Rape of Nanking. The song appeared in the Katharine Hepburn-starred film Dragon Seed in 1944, which was about the resistance against Japanese invaders.
Allied radio broadcasts used the song to represent China throughout World War II.
The "March of the Volunteers" was used as the Chinese national anthem for the first time at the World Peace Conference in April 1949. Originally intended for Paris, French authorities refused so many visas for its delegates that a parallel conference was held in Prague, Czechoslovakia.Santi, Rainer. "100 Years of Peace Making: A History of the International Peace Bureau and Other International Peace Movement Organisations and Networks" in Pax Förlag . International Peace Bureau, January 1991. At the time, Beijing had recently come under the control of the Chinese Communists in the Chinese Civil War and its delegates attended the Prague conference in China's name. There was controversy over the third line, "The Chinese nation faces its greatest peril", so the writer Guo Moruo changed it for the event to "The Chinese nation has arrived at its moment of emancipation". The song was personally performed by Paul Robeson.
In June, a committee was set up by the Chinese Communist Party 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 632 entries totaling 694 different sets of scores and lyrics. The March of the Volunteers was suggested by the painter Xu BeihongLiao Jingwen. Translated by Zhang Peiji. Xu Beihong: Life of a Master Painter, pp. 323 f. Foreign Language Press (Beijing), 1987. and supported by Zhou Enlai. Opposition to its use centered on the third line, as "The Chinese people face their greatest peril" suggested that China continued to face difficulties. Zhou replied, "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.Resolution on the Capital, Calendar, National Anthem, and National Flag of the People's Republic of China. 1st Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (Beijing), 27 September 1949. Hosted at Wikisource. The highly fictionalized biopic Nie Er was produced in 1959 for its 10th anniversary; for its 50th in 1999, The National Anthem retold the story of the anthem's composition from Tian Han's point of view.
Although the song had been popular among Nationalists during the war against Japan, its performance was then banned in the territories of the Republic of China until the 1990s.