Tuesday 28 April 2009
Tune of the Day: March of the Volunteers
National anthem of the People's Republic of China
This tune has become somewhat famous during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. It was composed in 1935 by Nie Er, who was influenced by popular revolutionary songs of the time, including the Internationale.
The song honored soldiers and revolutionaries who were fighting the Japanese in northeast China in the 1930s. It was originally written as a theme song to a popular propaganda play and movie (Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm) that encouraged the Chinese people to resist the Japanese invasion.