Monday, January 18, 2010

China National Anthem

I chose the Chinese national anthem from 1911-1912 this was the first ever national anthem and it was used for a short amount of time. Although it was officially adopted on October 4, 1911, it was used centuries before. It was created by Bo Tong, officer from the Imperial guard, and Yan Fu, commander of the Qing Navy. The anthem speaks of happiness, and celebration with Qing rulers. Throughout the anthem they call the empire the golden and enlightened empire which shows their pride in their country. They believe their empire to be great and in a way holy because they mention the will of heaven. However something that threw me off a bit was when they say "all of mankind will be filled with happiness."(You can see this in the translation below) Is it truly all of mankind that will be happy when Qing is in rule? Or is mankind in their belief just the Chinese? I do not know how to interpret this but in all I understand that they believe happiness, and prosperity comes with the Qing ruling. Encouraging people to believe and support the Qing Empire.

Lyrics:
Gong jin'ou,
Cheng Tiandao,
Minwu xin fuzao,
Xi tongbao,
Qing shi xingzao.
Zhen xi hao,
Diguo cangqiong bao.
Tian gaogao,
Hai taotao.

Translation:
Solidify our golden empire,
Follow the will of Heaven,
All of creation will celebrate,
All of mankind will be filled with happiness,
As long as the Qing rules.
May the enlightened empire,
And its vast boundaries be protected.
The sky is high,
The sea is turbulent.

http://www.nationalanthems.info/cn-12.htm

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