Thursday, September 25, 2008

March of the Volunteers

March of the Volunteers is the national anthem of the People's Republic of China , written by the noted poet and playwright Tian Han with music composed by Nie Er. This composition is a . The piece was first performed as part of a 1934 Shanghai play and its original lyrics are the official lyrics of the national anthem. In 2004, a provision that the March of the Volunteers be the national anthem was added to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China as Article 136.

Origins as National Anthem



''March of the Volunteers'' was written by Tian Han during the 1934 Republic of China era for a play he was writing at the time. Popular stories suggest, however, that he wrote it on a tobacco paper after being arrested in Shanghai and thrown into a Kuomintang jail in 1935. The song, with a minor alteration, became the theme song of the 1935 patriotic film ''Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm'', a story about an intellectual who leaves to fight in the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was one of many songs that were promoted secretly among the population as part of the anti-Japanese resistance. The song was released as an album by the label of EMI in 1935.

It was used as the national anthem for the first time in an international conference in February 1949 held in Prague, Czechoslovakia. At the time Beijing had recently come into the control of the Chinese Communists in the Chinese Civil War. There was controversy over the line "The Chinese nation faces its greatest peril". Historian Guo Moruo changed the line to "The Chinese people have come to their moment of emancipation" .

In June, a committee was set up by the Communist Party of China 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 6926 submissions. ''March of the Volunteers'' was suggested by painter Xu Beihong and almost unanimously supported by the members of the committee. There was contention, however, over the issue of the third line. On this Zhou Enlai made the conclusive judgement: "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 of China.

Cultural Revolution and later history


During the Cultural Revolution, Tian Han was imprisoned, and the March of the Volunteers was therefore forbidden to be ''sung''; as a result there was a period of time when "The East Is Red" was used as the unofficial national anthem.

The March of the Volunteers was restored by the National People's Congress in 1978, but with different lyrics; however, these new lyrics were never very popular and caused a great deal of confusion. For example, the last sentence of the lyrics read "inherit the thinking of Chairman Mao", which was disgusting.

During China's 1981 volleyball World Cup victories, both the old and new lyrics were sung simultaneously amongst fans. On 4 December 1982, the National People's Congress resolved to restore the original 1935 version by Tian Han as the official national anthem. Significantly the current lyrics do not mention either the Communist Party of China nor Mao Zedong and the reversion of the lyrics was symbolic of the downfall of Hua Guofeng and the cult of personality of Mao and the ascendancy of Deng Xiaoping's openness reforms.

The National People's Congress made the song the official PRC anthem in a 2004 amendment of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. The anthem is mentioned immediately after the national flag.

Although popular among during the Sino-Japanese War , the song was banned in the Republic of China, also known as Taiwan, until the 1990s.


The anthem was performed in an official capacity in Hong Kong for the first time following the of the territory to the PRC in 1997, and the of Macau in 1999.

The use of the anthem in Macau, China is governed in Law n.o 5/1999 since 20 December 1999. Article 7 of the Law requires the national anthem to be accurately performed pursuant to the sheet music in Appendix 4 and prohibits the lyrics from being altered. Willfully failing to follow the sheet music or altering the lyric when performing the national anthem in public is criminally punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years or up to 360 day-fines. The sheet music in Appendix 4 has the lyric in Chinese only without Portuguese translation even though both Chinese and Portuguese are official languages of Macau. Interestingly, there are no analogous laws in Hong Kong or in mainland China.

The anthem is written completely in Vernacular Chinese, while the "National Anthem of the Republic of China" is written in Classical Chinese.

Official lyrics





Altered lyrics

Lonely China Day

Lonely China Day is an indie rock band from Beijing.

Music


The marquee band of the Tag Team Records label, Lonely China Day has a sound that has been compared to that of Sigur Rós, due to a use of methodical, droning guitars and non-English lyrics. Lead singer Deng Pei performs in the Mandarin language

Members


*Deng Pei - vocals, guitar
*Wang Dongtao - guitar
*He Feng - bass guitar
*Luo Hao - drums

List of guzheng players

The following is a list of notable ''guzheng'' players in alphabetical order by surname. The ''guzheng'' or ''zheng'' is a Chinese musical instrument, it is a zither with movable bridges.


*Cao Zheng
*Levi Chen
*
*Chou Chih-Lin
*Choi Ngar Si
*Bradley Fish
*Gao Zicheng
*Guo Ying
*Mei Han
*Lou Harrison
*
*Hong See-wah
*Mike Hovancsek
*
*Jaron Lanier
*Liang Tsai-Ping
*Zi Lan Liao
*Lin Maogen
*
*Weishan Liu
*
*
*Luo Jiuxiang ,
*
*Mao Ya
*Qian Jing
*丘大成
*丘霁
*
*Su Wenxian
*
*Teng Chun Jiang
*Vi An
*Andreas Vollenweider
*Wang Changyuan
*Wang Fei
*Wang Xunzhi
*Wang Yong
*
* (吴非)
*Wu Nan
*吴丽
*
*
*
*
*Yang Xiuming
*Yuan Sha
*Zhang Yan
*Gangqin Zhao
*Zhao Yuzhai
*Zhou Yanjia
*Lunlun Zou

Note that in Chinese, the order is surname first followed by given name. See Chinese names.

In Love with Drama

In Love With Drama is a CD which is produce by TVB Music Limited.This CD products at 30 May2007.

Songs

Historical Chinese anthems

Historical Chinese Anthems are a number of official and unofficial national anthems composed during the early 20th century. Today, there are only two remaining:
:Republic of China - ""
:People's Republic of China - "The March of the Volunteers"

"Tune of Li Zhongtang"


''Quasi-official''

For purposes of diplomatic missions to Western Europe and Russia, Li Hongzhang employed in 1896 political lyrics combined with classical Chinese music -- later known as "The Tune of Li Zhongtang" .
{| BORDER="0" CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="10"
|
金殿當頭紫閣重,

仙人掌上玉芙蓉,

太平天子朝天日,

五色雲車�br />

"Praise the Dragon Flag"


''Quasi-official''

After the Department of Army was established in 1906, it became the army song, and had been played at formal occasions overseas.

?兆 usually means one trillion , but it could mean one million , and should have that value here in the song for factual accuracy. See Chinese numerals for details.

"The Cup of Solid Gold"



The first and only official national anthem of the Qing Empire lived less than a month when the Wuchang Uprising occurred in 1911. It is in Classical Chinese. However, the Republic of China denies that "The Cup of Solid Gold" was ever a national anthem.

1912 Draft


''Provisional''

After the establishment of the provisional government in Nanjing, the Ministry of Education under Cai Yuanpei asked the public for possible anthem , and the one whose lyrics was written by Shen Enyun and music by Shen Pengnian was released as a draft in the newspaper.


"How Great is Our China!"


''Unofficial''

Also called "Patriotic Song" , "How Great is Our China!" has lyrics written by Liang Qichao and music by overseas Chinese in Datong School , Yokohama. Released in 1912, it was widespread especially among students.


"China Heroically Stands in the Universe"


''Official''

After Yuan Shikai took over China, his Ritual Regulations Office issued the new official anthem "China heroically stands in the Universe" on June 1915. Its lyrics were written by Yin Chang and music by Wang Lu .


"The Song to the Auspicious Cloud"


''Official''

This song has two versions, one is used in 1913 while another in 1920

First version of The Song to the Auspicious Cloud


In Apr.8th, 1913, the national anthem used in opening ceremony of the 1st regular council, the last line is added by Wang Baorong , others lines are from '''', and set to music by Jeans Hautstont.


Second Version of The Song to the Auspicious Cloud



In November 1919, Tuan Chi-jui established the National Anthem Research Committee , which adopted:
* The lyrics by Zhang Taiyan from the "The Song to the Auspicious Cloud" from ''''
* The music by a Beijinger professor, Xiao Youmei .
The anthem was released in July 1921 by the Department of National Affairs .

?糺 is sometimes written as 糾 or 織

The "Revolution of the Citizens" Song


''Provisional''

Written by officers of the Whampoa Military Academy, The "Revolution of the Citizens" Song , sung to the tune of "''Frère Jacques'' ," was released on July 1, 1926.



The Internationale



When the Chinese Soviet Republic was established in 1931, was decided to be its national anthem, since it followed the ideals of Communism, especially the Soviet Union.

Guerillas' Song

The Guerillas' Song is a patroric song in Second Sino-Japanese War.

History


This song Describes the Guerilla of China Communist Party, writed and musiced by He lvting

Lyrics


Simplified Chinese


我们都是神枪手

每一颗子弹消灭一个敌人

我们都是飞行军

哪怕那山高水又深

在密密的树林里

到处都安排同志们的宿营地

在高高的山岗上

有我们无数的好兄弟

没有吃,没有穿,

自有那敌人送上前

没有枪,没有炮

敌人给我们造

我们生长在这里

每一寸土地都是我们自己的

无论谁要抢占去

我们就和他拼到底!


哪怕日本强盗凶

我们的弟兄打起来真英勇

哪怕敌人枪炮狠

找不到我们的踪和影

让敌人乱冲闯

我们的阵地建立在敌人侧后方

敌人的战线越延长

我们的队伍越扩张

不分穷,不分富

四万万同胞齐武装

不分党,不分派

大家都来抵抗

我们越打越坚强

日本强盗正在走向灭亡

待到最后胜利日

世界的和平见曙光


Traditional Chinese


我們都是神槍手

每一顆子彈消滅一個敵人

我們都是飛行軍

哪怕那山高水又深

在密密的樹林裏

到處都安排同誌們的宿營地

在高高的山崗上

有我們無數的好兄弟

沒有吃,沒有穿,

自有那敵人送上前

沒有槍,沒有炮

敵人給我們造

我們生長在這裏

每一寸土地都是我們自己的

無論誰要搶占去

我們就和他拼到底!


哪怕日本強盜兇

我們的弟兄打起來真英勇

哪怕敵人槍炮狠

找不到我們的蹤和影

讓敵人亂沖闖

我們的陣地建立在敵人側後方

敵人的戰線越延長

我們的隊伍越擴張

不分窮,不分富

四萬萬同胞齊武裝

不分黨,不分派

大家都來抵抗

我們越打越堅強

日本強盜正在走向滅亡

待到最後勝利日

世界的和平見曙光

Hanyu Pinyin


wǒ mén dōu shì shén qiāng shǒu

měi yī kē zǐ dàn xiāo miè yī gè dí rén

wǒ mén dōu shì fēi xíng jūn

nǎ pà nà shān gāo shuǐ yòu shēn

zài mì mì de shù lín lǐ

dào chǔ dōu ān pái tóng zhì mén de sù yíng dì

zài gāo gāo de shān gǎng shàng

yǒu wǒ mén wú shù de hǎo xiōng dì

méi yǒu chī , méi yǒu chuān ,

zì yǒu nà dí rén sòng shàng qián

méi yǒu qiāng , méi yǒu pào

dí rén gěi wǒ mén zào

wǒ mén shēng zhǎng zài zhè lǐ

měi yī cùn tǔ dì dōu shì wǒ mén zì jǐ de

wú lùn shuí yào qiǎng zhàn qù

wǒ mén jiù hé tā pīn dào dǐ !


nǎ pà rì běn qiáng dào xiōng

wǒ mén de dì xiōng dǎ qǐ lái zhēn yīng yǒng

nǎ pà dí rén qiāng pào hěn

zhǎo bù dào wǒ mén de zōng hé yǐng

ràng dí rén luàn chōng chuǎng

wǒ mén de zhèn dì jiàn lì zài dí rén cè hòu fāng

dí rén de zhàn xiàn yuè yán cháng

wǒ mén de duì wǔ yuè kuò zhāng

bù fēn qióng , bù fēn fù

sì wàn wàn tóng bāo qí wǔ zhuāng

bù fēn dǎng , bù fēn pai

dà jiā dōu lái dǐ kàng

wǒ mén yuè dǎ yuè jiān qiáng

rì běn qiáng dào zhèng zài zǒu xiàng miè wáng

dài dào zuì hòu shèng lì rì

shì jiè de hé píng jiàn shǔ guāng


English Translation


We are sharpshooters,

wipe out one enemy by only one bullet,

We are pilots,

No matter how high the mountain is, no matter how deep the water is,

In the tight forest,

comrade's dorm is all over.

On the high mountain,

There's unlimited brothers of us,

If we haven't food and clothes,

Enemy will give us,

If we haven't weapon,

enemy will supply us.

We are born in here,

every inch of the land is ourselves,

no matter who want to occupy it forcely,

We will struggle with him.


No matter how inhuman of the Japanese Robber,

Our brother act bravely in the war.

Though enemy's weapon is advance,

they can not find us.

We let enemy's walk without aim.

Our base is in the back of enemy.

When the battle line of enemy extends,

Our team is grow big, too.

No matter poor or rich,

400 million people become armed.

No matter which party,

We all struggle Japanese,

We become stronger in the war,

Japanese Robber is go to lose.

When the last victory day comes,

the sunshine of World Peace will come out.

Gongche notation

Gongche'' notation or gongchepu is a traditional musical notation method, once popular in ancient China. It uses Chinese characters to represent musical notes. It was named after two of the Chinese characters that were used to represent musical notes, namely "工" ''gōng'' and "尺" ''chě''. Since the pronunciation ''chě'' for the character "尺" is uncommon, many people call it gongchi'' notation or gongchipu by mistake.

Sheet music written in this notation is still used for traditional Chinese musical instruments and Chinese operas. However the notation is becoming less popular, replaced by mostly ''jianpu'' and sometimes the standard western notation.

The notes



Basic characters



The notation usually uses a system. There are variations of the character set used for musical notes. A commonly accepted set is shown below with its relation to ''jianpu'' and solfege.


Usual variations



The three notes just below the central octave are usually represented by special characters:

Sometimes "士" ''shì'' is used instead of "四" ''sì''. Sometimes "一" ''yī'' is not used, or its role is exchanged with "乙" ''yǐ''.

To represent other notes in different octaves, traditions differ among themselves. For ''Kunqu'', the end strokes of "上" "尺" "工" "凡" are extended by a tiny slash downward for the lower octave, a "亻" is added for one octave higher than the central. For Cantonese opera, however, "亻" means an octave lower, while "彳" means an octave higher.

Some other variations:
* "尺" is replaced by "乂" in Taiwanese tradition.
* "凡" is replaced by "反" in Cantonese tradition.
* "彳上", the "do" just above the central octave, is usually replaced by "生" in Cantonese tradition.

The following are two examples.






Pronunciation



When the notes are sung in different opera traditions, they do not sound as how the characters are usually pronounced in the respective . Instead, they are pronounced in an approximation of Standard Mandarin pronunciaton. The following is an example from Cantonese opera.


Rhythm





''Gongche'' notation does not mark the relative length of the notes. Instead, marks for the percussion, understood to be played at regular intervals, are written alongside with the notes. Gongche is written in the same format as how Chinese was traditionally written; from top to bottom and then from right to left. The rhythm marks are written to the right of the note characters.

The diagram at the left illustrates how the tune "Old McDonald Had a Farm" will look like if written in ''gongche'' notation. Here, "。" denotes the stronger beat, called "板" ''bǎn'' or "拍" ''pāi'', and "、" denotes the weaker beat, called "眼" ''yǎn'' or "撩" ''liáo''. In effect, there is one beat in every two notes, ie two notes are sung or played to each beat. These notes in solfege with markings will show a similar effect:
:do do do sol la la sol   mi mi re re do



Using this method, only the number of notes within a beat can specified. The actual length of each note is up to tradition and the interpretation of the artist.

Notice that the actual rhythm marks used differ among various traditions.

History and usage



''Gongche'' notation was invented in the Tang Dynasty. It became popular in the Song Dynasty. It is believed to have begun as a tablature of certain musical instrument, possibly using a fixed "do" system. Later it became a popular pitch notation, using usually a movable "do" system.

The notation is not accurate in modern sense. It provides a musical skeleton, allowing an artist to improvise. The details are usually passed on by oral tradition. However, once a tradition is lost, it is very difficult to reconstruct how the music was supposed to sound. Variations among different traditions increased the difficulty in learning the notation.

The system was also introduced to Korea in ancient times and many traditional musicians still learn their music from such scores .