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About the song in China's heart
By Victoria Fei |
July 11, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
The National Anthem Gallery in Yangpu District explains how the theme of a patriotic movie became the national anthem, "The March of the Volunteers." Victoria Fei reads the score.
Chinese hearts swell with pride when the national anthem, "The March of the Volunteers," is played and though most people can sing it, few know its origin.
The National Anthem Gallery on Jingzhou Road in Yangpu District is the place to learn all about the anthem.
The location near the northern Bund is of great significance. It is where the film "Feng Yun Er Nu" ("Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm") was filmed in 1935. The movie was about young intellectuals joining the frontlines in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945).
Powerful and inspiring, the movie's theme song, "The March of the Volunteers," was written by Tian Han (1898-1968), a famous modern writer and lyricist; the music was composed by Nie Er (1912-1935), a revolutionary composer.
It became an immediate hit across the country when the movie was released and became the national anthem in September 1949.
"It is a song that not only united the nation to fight during the war but also cheered the world," says Shen Xiongfeng, curator of the gallery.
Li Guocai from the district's Party history research office, says that the national anthem has been rooted deep in the nation and will be immortal.
"Once an overseas Chinese student told me that every time he hears the familiar melody, he feels homesick," Li says. "Actually, almost all overseas Chinese have the same nostalgia. In their hearts, national anthem has the most beautiful melody."
Opened on October 1, 2009, for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the gallery is the centerpiece of the National Anthem Memorial Square, which is dominated by an abstract sculpture of the Chinese national flag.
As a center for patriotic education, the hall exhibits documents, photos, art and memorabilia related to the anthem. It is filled with powerful paintings, strong visuals, multimedia and interactive exhibits. All revolve around the story of the birth of the anthem in tumultuous times.
The exhibitions in the two-story hall cover every aspect of the music and its lyrics, going back to 1934. It presents different versions, history of the writer and composer and details about how it came to be selected as China's most important song.
Exhibitions include explanations and subtitles in English and Chinese.The first-floor section features historical background, film studio scenes, song-recording scenes and the song's premiere.
Lyrics are carved into the walls. Paintings depict how it was sung and how it inspired Chinese people during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
It was sung at live-or-die moments of the struggle. Visitors can see scores by composer Nie and the script of the film "Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm" while an old gramophone plays the original recording.The origins of the national flag are also explained.
The second floor features a wall 30 meters in length, presenting 12 "paintings" that are related to the anthem. They appear to be covered with dust, a kind of virtual dust; when visitors sweep it away with their hands, a fresh picture emerges and an audio clip tells the story.
The highlight is a 360-degree cinema with 48 soundtracks of different performances of the song.
Fifty video screens show descendants of the composer and the writer, celebrities and ordinary people telling their own stories and describing how the anthem makes them feel.
There's a special touch-screen world map; when a visitor touches that country, its national anthem is played. An e-book provides the lyrics, stories about the anthem sand national customs related to singing them.
Open: Monday-Saturday, 9-11:30am, 1:30-4pm (Monday for tour groups only)Address: 151 Jingzhou Rd
Admission: FreeNo audio guides, all signs bilingual
Chinese hearts swell with pride when the national anthem, "The March of the Volunteers," is played and though most people can sing it, few know its origin.
The National Anthem Gallery on Jingzhou Road in Yangpu District is the place to learn all about the anthem.
The location near the northern Bund is of great significance. It is where the film "Feng Yun Er Nu" ("Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm") was filmed in 1935. The movie was about young intellectuals joining the frontlines in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945).
Powerful and inspiring, the movie's theme song, "The March of the Volunteers," was written by Tian Han (1898-1968), a famous modern writer and lyricist; the music was composed by Nie Er (1912-1935), a revolutionary composer.
It became an immediate hit across the country when the movie was released and became the national anthem in September 1949.
"It is a song that not only united the nation to fight during the war but also cheered the world," says Shen Xiongfeng, curator of the gallery.
Li Guocai from the district's Party history research office, says that the national anthem has been rooted deep in the nation and will be immortal.
"Once an overseas Chinese student told me that every time he hears the familiar melody, he feels homesick," Li says. "Actually, almost all overseas Chinese have the same nostalgia. In their hearts, national anthem has the most beautiful melody."
Opened on October 1, 2009, for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the gallery is the centerpiece of the National Anthem Memorial Square, which is dominated by an abstract sculpture of the Chinese national flag.
As a center for patriotic education, the hall exhibits documents, photos, art and memorabilia related to the anthem. It is filled with powerful paintings, strong visuals, multimedia and interactive exhibits. All revolve around the story of the birth of the anthem in tumultuous times.
The exhibitions in the two-story hall cover every aspect of the music and its lyrics, going back to 1934. It presents different versions, history of the writer and composer and details about how it came to be selected as China's most important song.
Exhibitions include explanations and subtitles in English and Chinese.The first-floor section features historical background, film studio scenes, song-recording scenes and the song's premiere.
Lyrics are carved into the walls. Paintings depict how it was sung and how it inspired Chinese people during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
It was sung at live-or-die moments of the struggle. Visitors can see scores by composer Nie and the script of the film "Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm" while an old gramophone plays the original recording.The origins of the national flag are also explained.
The second floor features a wall 30 meters in length, presenting 12 "paintings" that are related to the anthem. They appear to be covered with dust, a kind of virtual dust; when visitors sweep it away with their hands, a fresh picture emerges and an audio clip tells the story.
The highlight is a 360-degree cinema with 48 soundtracks of different performances of the song.
Fifty video screens show descendants of the composer and the writer, celebrities and ordinary people telling their own stories and describing how the anthem makes them feel.
There's a special touch-screen world map; when a visitor touches that country, its national anthem is played. An e-book provides the lyrics, stories about the anthem sand national customs related to singing them.
Open: Monday-Saturday, 9-11:30am, 1:30-4pm (Monday for tour groups only)Address: 151 Jingzhou Rd
Admission: FreeNo audio guides, all signs bilingual
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