Although there were various war flags in ancient China, there was never a formal national flag. After the Opium War, Western powers invaded, and China began to deal with modern Western countries. Later, in the process of interacting with Western countries, Li Hongzhang, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, discovered that all countries in the world had their own national flags, but the Qing Empire did not have a national flag of its own, so he asked the court to develop a national flag to represent the Qing Empire. In the 1880s, the Qing government formulated China's first national flag, also known as the Yellow Dragon Flag. The flag is yellow, a symbol of imperial power. The flag is painted with a pattern of a flying dragon playing with a pearl. The dragon is cyan, the pearl is red, and the dragon's head is raised to the upper left.
Sun Yat-sen led the Revolution of 1911 and needed to formulate a national flag of his own. Before the first Guangzhou Uprising in 1895, Sun Yat-sen’s friend Lu Haodong made the Blue Sky and White Sun Flag. Later, Sun Yat-sen added a red background to the Blue Sky and White Sun Flag. It became the "blue sky, white sun and all the ground red" flag. During the ten armed uprisings he led, the blue sky, white sun and all the ground red flag was used as the flag of the insurrectionary army. However, the blue sky, white sun and red flag used by Sun Yat-sen did not receive unanimous approval from the revolutionaries. Huang Xing opposed the use of the blue sky, white sun and red flag as the future Chinese flag. He believed that the blue sky, white sun flag and red flag were similar to the Japanese sun flag. He himself A flag with the word "well" was designed and produced to symbolize the well field system in ancient China. Sun Yat-sen insisted that the blue sky and white sun and the red flag on the ground should be the future national flag of the Republic of China. For this reason, he and Huang Xing had a fierce dispute and even had a disagreement over this.
After the success of the Wuchang Uprising in 1911, there was an urgent need to formulate a national flag. The revolutionaries at that time designed various national flags, the main ones being the eighteen-star flag and the five-color flag. The eighteen-star flag symbolizes the eighteen provinces inhabited by the Han people and contains the narrow ideas of Han chauvinism, while the five-color flag symbolizes the harmony of the five ethnic groups of Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui and Tibetan. Therefore, it was finally decided to use the five-color flag as the flag. The national flag, the eighteen-star flag is the army flag, and the blue sky and white sun flag is the navy flag. Sun Yat-sen was still in the United States during the Wuchang Uprising. When he returned to China, the national flag issue had been decided. Although he opposed it, he had nothing to do.
After Chiang Kai-shek’s Northern Expedition in 1927 and the capital Nanjing, he decided to use the blue sky, white sun and red flag on the ground as the national flag of the Republic of China.
On the eve of the founding of New China, on June 16, 1949, at the first preparatory meeting of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, it was decided to establish a group to draft the national flag, national emblem, and national anthem, and a call for submissions was issued nationwide. Within one month, 1,920 domestic and foreign submissions were received, including 1,992 designs.
The national flag proposals that applied also have their own characteristics. For example, the national flag designed by Tan Kah Kee is a sickle and ax flag; the national flag designed by Guo Moruo is two long strips, symbolizing the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, the birthplace of the Chinese nation; the national flag designed by Zhu De is on the upper left The corner is a blue rectangle with a red five-pointed star embedded in it, symbolizing a clear sky. These patterns were carefully selected, and 38 patterns were selected and distributed to CPPCC representatives for everyone to comment. The pattern No. 32 with the compound character was finally determined, which was reviewed and approved by Mao Zedong and officially adopted as the national flag of the People's Republic of China at the first plenary session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on September 27.
The designer of this flag, Zeng Liansong, is an ordinary economic worker in Shanghai. The moral of the national flag is: a big star leads in front, and several small stars surround it, forming a pattern of stars competing against each other. The big star is the Communist Party of China, and the small stars represent the Chinese people, and the party and the people are united. Fight, from victory to victory. When determining the number of small stars, he thought of what Chairman Mao said in "On the People's Democratic Dictatorship": "The people include four classes, namely the working class, the peasant class, the petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie." So he decided The four small stars represent the broad masses of the people.
Since then, the five-star red flag has officially become the national flag of the People's Republic of China.
The birth of the national emblem
We all know that the national emblem is the symbol of the country, and the "Constitution of the People's Republic of China" also specifically provides for the national emblem. So do you know how the national emblem was born? In July 1949, the Preparatory Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference announced to the whole country a plan to solicit scores for the national flag, national emblem and national lyrics. For various reasons, it was not adopted. Therefore, the national emblem plan was not announced at the first plenary session of the CPPCC National Committee in September 1949. In early 1950, commissioned by the Party Central Committee, Tsinghua University and the Central Academy of Fine Arts established national emblem design groups. The two groups of comrades designed their own plans based on consulting a large amount of information at home and abroad. On the evening of June 20, 1950, Premier Zhou personally presided over a meeting of the National Emblem Review Group of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference to discuss the national emblem plan for the last time. After repeated comparisons and discussions, everyone finally decided to adopt the plan designed by Tsinghua University. On September 20, 1950, Chairman Mao Zedong of the Central People's Government issued an order to issue the national emblem to the whole country. From then on, the national emblem was born.
The national anthem is a symbol of national sovereignty and dignity and can reflect the voice and will of the nation. In addition to the national anthem "March of the Volunteers" that we sing, there have been 6 other national anthems in Chinese history.
1. In 1896, the Qing government of our country sent Li Hongzhang, the governor-general of Beiyang and Zhili, as a special diplomatic envoy to Western Europe and Russia for a courtesy visit. The national anthem of the visitor was played at the welcome ceremony. The corrupt and incompetent Qing government did not know the meaning of the national anthem at all at that time. In terms of meaning and function, there is no such thing as a national anthem.
So I temporarily found a Qijue poem that suited the taste of the Qing government, adapted it, set it with an ancient tune, and used it temporarily as the national anthem. The lyrics are:
"The golden palace is in front of the purple pavilion (chóng), (Looking up to see the overlapping glorious palaces)
The jade hibiscus on the cactus, (like the jade lotus in the hands of the gods) Blooming)
The Emperor of Peace is facing the sky, (In this peaceful and prosperous time, the Emperor comes out of the palace to worship the sky)
Six dragons are riding on the five-color cloud chariot. Pull)
(Note: This is one of the poems "Gong Ci" written by Wang Jian of the Tang Dynasty)
Because Li Hongzhang was the first to use this song, it was later renamed "Li Zhongtang Yue". This is the earliest national anthem of old China.
2. Before 1900, our country had not officially used a national anthem determined by law. After the foreign colonists invaded China, they waved their own national flags, sang their own national anthems, and ran rampant on Chinese territory. The Chinese people are deeply angry and humiliated. Out of diplomatic needs, in 1911 the Qing government followed the example of Western countries in declaring "constitutionality" and promulgated the national anthem in legal terms. The song was called "Gong Jinou" and the lyrics were:
"Gong Jinou (Consolidate the Great People's Republic of China)" Rivers and mountains)
Chengtian Gui (dào covering) (to receive God’s favor)
People’s Tiefuzao (the people unswervingly and joyfully support the dynasty)
Happy compatriots (joyed for compatriots)
The Qing Dynasty was prosperous (the Qing Dynasty coincided with the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty)
Zhenxi howl (háo call) (the world is peaceful and auspicious)
p>The sky of the empire is preserved (the territory of the country will remain intact forever)
The sky is high (just like the sky does not change)
The sea is rolling " (The blue sea will remain forever!)
Because this song did not conform to the national conditions and public opinion, it was not sung for a day. Only one month after it was promulgated, the Revolution of 1911 broke out, and "Gong Jinou" became the funeral song of the Qing Dynasty. This is the second national anthem in Chinese history.
Three. On January 1, 1912, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of China headed by Sun Yat-sen promulgated the national anthem of the Republic of China, with lyrics written by Shen Enyou and music composed by Shen Pengnian. The lyrics are:
"East Asia civilized China early (China pioneered The trend of innovation in East Asia)
Follow the United States and Europe to build new countries (learn from the United States and Europe to build new powerful countries)
Flying the five-color flag and the glory of the country (flying the glorious five-color national flag)
The beautiful mountains and rivers are shining brightly (the beautiful mountains and rivers are shining brightly)
My compatriots inspire civilization (the compatriots come together to revitalize Chinese culture)
World peace will last forever. " (* **Together we defend the beautiful peace of the world)
The tune is high-spirited and smooth, and the lyrics are popular and concise. This is our country’s third national anthem.
Four. In 1915, Yuan Shikai usurped the provisional power of the Chinese Revolution, abandoned the national anthem promulgated by Sun Yat-sen, and used "China Dominates Heaven and Earth" as the national anthem. The lyrics are:
"China looms supreme between heaven and earth (China stands proudly in the world). between heaven and earth)
Corridor (shān) (the Eight Directions Great Wall is a corridor)
Huazhou has always been at the top of Kunhua (the Chinese spirit has reached its peak since ancient times)
The mighty rivers and lakes Shanjinlian (mountains on the vast territory stretch like splendid embroidery)
Xunhua (the honorific title for the two emperors Yao and Shun) donated to Yaotian (the wise king dedicated himself and created a prosperous country)
Billions of Years " (Forever, Forever)
Although this song is short and concise, its purpose is to cheer for Yuan Shikai to restore the monarchy. It was drowned by the rolling wave of democratic revolution as soon as it appeared. .
Five. Yuan Shikai stepped down in 1916. In 1920, the Ministry of Education under the Duan Qirui government solicited a collection of national anthems. Xiao Youmei, a composer from the Music Transmission Institute of Peking University, selected "Qing Yun Ge" from "Shang Shu" as the lyrics and composed the music. The whole song has only four sentences and 16 words. The lyrics are:
"The clouds are brilliant (how brilliant the auspicious clouds are!)
Slim and delicate (spreading in the sky in various forms!)
The brilliance of the sun and moon (the sun and the brilliance of the moon)
"The sun shines on the world day after day"
(The above four sentences are all from "The Biography of Yu Xia", the last sentence is (The origin of the name of Fudan University)
It was ordered by the Ministry of Education to be sung nationwide in July 1921. This song glorified and glorified the old China where warlords fought, and was spurned by the people.
PS This happens to be the origin of the name of Fudan University
The first two lines of Fudan’s school song are: Fudan, Fudan, Fudan, the sun and the moon are brilliant
Six. The sixth national anthem in Chinese history was the "Kuomintang Party Song" composed by the Kuomintang government in 1930 based on Sun Yat-sen's instructions at Huangyu Military Academy in 1924 and composed by Cheng Maoming.
The lyrics are:
"Three People's Principles (Three People's Principles)
What our party stands for (the purpose of our party)
To build the Republic of China (to build the country based on this)
p>
To build great harmony (to build a paradise)
To build a peaceful world (to rely on everyone’s bravery)
To be a vanguard for the people (to serve as a pioneer for the people)
< p> Work hard day and night (Never let up day and night)Obey the doctrine (obey the Three People's Principles)
Be diligent and courageous (Swear to be diligent and brave)
Must Be loyal (resolutely honest and loyal)
Be single-minded and one-minded (everyone is of one heart and one mind)
Carry it out from beginning to end (always be firm in execution)
Due to the prominent theme of the lyrics. , the content is rich, so it is widely circulated.
7. After the founding of New China on October 1, 1949, there was a national anthem that truly represented the voice and will of the working people - "March of the Volunteers", which is the movie "March of the Volunteers". The theme song in "Children of the Storm" was composed by the famous poet and playwright Tian Han while he was in a Shanghai prison in 1935, and the music was composed passionately by the people's musician Nie Er.
Whenever I sing this song, I remember the hardships of the country and the nation, and think of Lugou Bridge, Pingxingguan, Yanhe River, and Yimeng Mountain
In fact, the "March of the Volunteers" was revised more than 20 years ago. Once the word was written, the last sentence was changed to "Hold high the banner of Mao Zedong Thought, move forward, move forward, move forward!" The original word was restored after the Cultural Revolution~~