The national flag of the PRC is a red rectangle
emblazoned with five stars.
The red of the
flag symbolizes revolution; the stars are yellow so that
they will stand out brightly against the red ground. The
larger star represents the CPC and the four smaller ones,
the Chinese people. This expresses the great unity of the
Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC.
The national emblem of the PRC features
Tiananmen Gate beneath the five shining stars, encircled by
ears of grain and with a cogwheel at the bottom. The ears of
grain, stars, Tiananmen and cogwheel are gold; the field
within the circle is red, as are the ribbons festooning the
bottom of the circle. These two colors traditionally
represent auspiciousness and happiness.
Tiananmen symbolizes the unyielding spirit of
the Chinese people in their fight against imperialism and
feudalism; the cogwheel and ears of grain represent the
working class and the peasantry, respectively; the five
stars, as above, stand for the great unity of the Chinese
people under the leadership of the CPC.
The
national anthem was written in 1935, with lyrics by the
noted poet Tian Han and music by the famous composer Nie Er.
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 at their most
critical time,
Everybody must roar 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, was the theme song of the film,
Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm. The film tells the
story of those who went to the front to fight the Japanese
invaders in northeast China in the 1930s, when the fate of
the nation was hanging in the balance.
Moving
and powerful, the March of the Volunteers gave voice to the
Chinese people’s determination to sacrifice themselves
for national liberation, expressing China’s admirable
tradition of courage, resolution and unity in fighting
foreign aggression. It was for this reason that the CPPCC on
September 27, 1949 decided to adopt the song as the
provisional national anthem of the PRC, and the NPC on
December 4, 1982 officially decided to adopt the song as the
national anthem of the PRC.
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