The origin of National Day
The term "National Day" originally refers to the national festive event, and was first seen in the Western Jin Dynasty. In the article "On the Five Classes of Princes", Lu Ji, a writer from the Western Jin Dynasty, recorded that "the benefits of the National Day are the only ones, and no one can harm them", the feudal era of our country, and the joyful events of the country are the emperor's ascension to the throne and birth (the Qing Dynasty called the emperor's birthday the Long Live Festival), etc. Therefore, in ancient my country, the emperor ascended the throne and his birthday were called "National Day". Today, the anniversary of the founding of the country is called National Day.
1949 is the anniversary of the founding of New China. It should be explained here that in many people's impression, on October 1, 1949, the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China was held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians participating. In fact, this impression in people's minds is not accurate. Because, the ceremony held in Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949 was the grand ceremony of the founding ceremony of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, not the founding ceremony. In fact, the "founding" of the People's Republic of China, that is, the founding of the People's Republic of China, was announced a week before October 1 of that year. At that time, it was not called the "Founding Ceremony", but it was called the "Founding Ceremony". The time was September 21, 1949. On this day, Mao Zedong, director of the Preparatory Meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, announced the birth of New China in his opening speech at the first session of the CPPCC.
So what happened to the National Day on October 1st? At the first meeting of the First National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Xu Guangping spoke: "Messenger Ma Xulun cannot come for leave. He asked me to say that the founding of the People's Republic of China should have a National Day, so I hope that this association will decide to set October 1 as National Day." Mao Zedong said, "We should make a proposal, suggest to the government, and make a decision." On October 2, 1949, the Central People's Government passed the "Resolution on the National Day of the People's Republic of China", which stipulates that October 1 is the National Day, and this day is used as the day to declare the founding of the People's Republic of China.
From then on, October 1 of each year has become a grand festival for people of all ethnic groups across the country.
The origin of the national flag
The national flag is a symbol of a country, and the national anthem is the embodiment of the national spirit of a country. Every morning, in Tiananmen Square, accompanied by the first ray of sunrise, the five-star red flag rises slowly in the solemn national anthem. Now, this cycle of fixed procedures has become a symbol of the country and a holy landscape in the hearts of every Chinese.
On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong, then President of the State, raised the national flag symbolizing the birth of New China with his own hands. People were excited, but they did not know much about the twists and turns of the birth of the first five-star red flag.
national flag pattern "Pick one in a thousand"
In June 1949, the preparatory meeting of the new political consultation meeting was established in Beijing. The first task was to formulate the national flag for the upcoming New China. In July, the preparatory meeting released the inspiration for soliciting national flag patterns in newspapers such as the People's Daily. As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused a strong response. In just over a month, the preparatory meeting received 2,992 national flag patterns. Commander-in-chief Zhu De, historian Guo Moruo, and poet Ai Qing also personally designed the national flag pattern.
"National Flag Pattern Reference Materials"
The sixth group under the preparatory meeting was responsible for formulating the national flag of New China. The team leader was the famous educator Ma Xulun, and the deputy team leader was Ye Jianying and Shen Yanbing; other members include famous people from all walks of life such as Tian Han, Guo Moruo, and Chen Jiageng. After repeated and careful selection, 38 relatively good patterns were selected from nearly 3,000 patterns of recruited national flags, and compiled into "National Flag Pattern Reference Materials" and submitted to the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference for a discussion.
Five-Star Red Flag Original author is just an ordinary financial officer
After repeated consideration, the national flag pattern recommended by the sixth group to the representatives of the CPPCC are the patterns of Fuzi No. 3 and Fuzi No. 4 in the picture album. The basic characteristics are red base, yellow star plus a yellow strip; red symbolizes revolution, five-pointed star symbolizes the Communist Party of China and the People's Liberation Army, and yellow stripes symbolize the Yellow River.Some people believe that China is not just the Yellow River, so two other drafts were derived: the second yellow strip represents the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, and the third yellow strip represents the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Pearl River. However, Zhang Zhizhong told Mao Zedong that the yellow strips divide the red land, just like the country is divided, and another work should be selected.
5 Five Star Red Flag Original Designer Zeng Liansong
The final preparation meeting unanimously selected the modified pattern No. 32 of the Fuzi, while the original designer Zeng Liansong was just an ordinary financial officer, and even a painter had never done it.
On September 27, 1949, at the first plenary session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, based on the opinions of the representatives, the national flag description was further modified and the national flag was officially named: Five-Star Red Flag. On October 1, the first five-star red flag of New China flew high at the Tiananmen Founding Ceremony.
The flag of the People's Republic of China is a red symbol of revolution. The five five-pointed stars on the flag and their mutual relations symbolize the great unity of the revolutionary people under the leadership of the Communist Party. The five-pointed star is yellow to show light on the red ground. The four small five-pointed stars each have a corner facing the center point of the big star, indicating unity around a center. On June 28, 1990, the 14th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress passed the "National Flag Law of the People's Republic of China". The law came into effect on October 1 of that year.
The origin of the national emblem
In July 1949, the National Political Consultative Conference Preparatory Meeting also published a notice on the national emblem conquering the national emblem in the People's Daily, and clearly put forward the requirements for the design of the national emblem: A must have Chinese characteristics; B must have political characteristics; C must have solemn and magnificent form.
People from all walks of life across the country have devoted themselves to the national emblem design. At the same time, the National Emblem Design Group, which was ordered by the Central Committee, and the National Peking Art College (replaced into the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1950), which were responsible for soliciting national emblem artworks, both established national emblem design groups. As of August 20, 1949, a total of 112 national emblem manuscripts and 900 patterns were received at home and abroad. However, for various reasons, it was not adopted. Therefore, at the plenary meeting of the CPPCC in September 1949, only the national flag plan and the national anthem lyrics were passed, and the national emblem plan was not announced.
Later, the first committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference decided to invite the Department of Normal School Construction and the Central Academy of Fine Arts to organize human resources to design competitions for the national emblem plan. In order to hang the new national emblem on the National Day in 1950, the experts and scholars of the design team carefully considered and studied various ideas and ideas repeatedly. Mr. Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin even participated in the design work while they were sick.
On the evening of June 20, 1950, Premier Zhou personally presided over the National Emblem Review Group Meeting of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and finally decided to adopt the plan designed by Tsinghua University: use gears, wheat and rice ears, five stars and ribbons as themes, which are reflected in the Workers' and Peasants' Alliance regime under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the great unity of the people of the whole country.
On September 20, 1950, Chairman of the Central People's Government Mao Zedong issued an order to announce the national emblem to the whole country. From then on, the solemn and beautiful national emblem of our country was born.
my country's Constitution stipulates: "The national emblem of the People's Republic of China, with five stars in the middle, surrounded by ears of grain and gears."
The national emblem of the People's Republic of China is a circular shape, and the center part of the national emblem is the Tiananmen Gate Tower under the five stars. In the middle of the tower are four small golden five-pointed stars surrounding a golden five-pointed star in a semi-arc shape. Around the national emblem are two golden ears of wheat and rice; at the intersection below the wheat and rice pole, there is a golden circular gear; the center of the gear is intertwined with red belts, which hangs down to the left and right, dividing the gears into two parts. The gears and ears of grain in the national emblem symbolize the alliance between workers and peasants under the leadership of the working class, and the five stars represent the great unity of the people of the whole country under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.
The meaning of the national emblem of the People's Republic of China is: symbolizes the new democratic revolutionary struggle of the Chinese people since the May Fourth Movement and the birth of a new China based on the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class based on the alliance of workers and peasants.
Four small five-pointed stars surround a big five-pointed star, symbolizing the great unity of the people of the whole country under the leadership of the Communist Party of China; gears and wheat and rice ears symbolize the alliance of workers and peasants under the leadership of the working class; Tiananmen embodies the revolutionary tradition and national spirit of the Chinese people, and is also a symbol of Beijing, the capital of our great motherland. Because Tiananmen is the birthplace of the May Fourth Movement, it is also the place where the founding ceremony of New China was held and the first five-star red flag was raised.
The national emblem uses regular red and gold red to contrast each other in color, reflecting the unique national color and tradition of the Chinese nation, which is solemn and magnificent.
The origin of the national anthem
On New Year's Day in 1912, the Provisional Government of the Republic of China headed by Sun Yat-sen published a draft of the national anthem written by Shen Enfu and composed by Shen Pengnian in the communiqué. However, Yuan Shikai, the representative of the reactionary forces, immediately usurped the fruits of the victory of the Xinhai Revolution.
1915, the Yuan Shikai government's political affairs hall established "China's dominance between heaven and earth" as the national anthem. The knowledgeable people at that time thought that the lines of this song exuded the stench of Emperor Yuan Shikai's self-righteousness, and they boycotted it because they refused to sing it.
In November 1919, in order to formulate a new national anthem, the Ministry of Education of the Beiyang government established a national anthem research association. It is said that according to Zhang Taiyan's suggestion, the association decided to add the "Qing Yun Song" written by Shun in ancient times with music as the national anthem, and it was announced and passed by the State Council of the Beiyang Government in January 1922. During the Kuomintang's rule, the Kuomintang government used the Kuomintang party song as the national anthem.
In the spring of 1934, playwright Tian Han decided to create a movie script "Shenyun Children" with the theme of anti-Japanese and national salvation. Unfortunately, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Kuomintang reactionaries as soon as he completed the story summary and the lyrics of the theme song. At this time, my friend Xia Yan took over and wrote the story outline into a movie script, and Nie Er took the initiative to compose the theme song "March of the Volunteers". What they didn't expect was that this song would eventually become the national anthem of the People's Republic of China.
Tian Han himself can't remember where the lyrics were originally written. There is a folk saying that it is written on a cigarette carton, but Xia Yan clearly denied this statement in the 1980s. Xia Yan said that Tian Han’s poem “In Prison” was written on the backing paper of a pack of cigarettes. Before he was imprisoned, Tian Han had already handed the script summary to the crew, so the lyrics of "The March of the Volunteers" were written on the last page of the script summary manuscript of "The Storm and the Clouds".
"March of the Volunteers" composer: Nie Er (left), lyricist: Tian Han (right)
Nie Er, who got the lyrics, completed the first draft of the music score at an astonishing speed. Later, the final draft of the music was completed while avoiding the pursuit of the Kuomintang government. This revolutionary war song that embodies the roar of the Chinese people "not being slaves of the country to be destroyed" was born like this. But it was Nie Er's last work in his short life.
Nie Er's manuscript
After the birth of "March of the Volunteers", it was immediately sung. Accompanied by the student movement of the "January 9th" movement, the huge waves of the national salvation movement, the beacons of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the smoke of the War of Liberation, all over the country, inside and outside the Great Wall. As World War II is about to end, "The March of the Volunteers" is among the songs of the Allies' victory and triumphant success.
On September 25, 1949, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai presided over a consultation symposium on the national flag, national emblem, national anthem, calendar, and national capital in Fengzeyuan, Zhongnanhai. Ma Xulun and others advocated the temporary use of the "March of the Volunteers" as a proxy for the national anthem, and many other members expressed their approval. Guo Moruo and others suggested modifying the lyrics of the lyrics "The Chinese nation is at its most dangerous time". However, Zhang Xiruo and Liang Sicheng believed that the song was a historical product. In order to maintain its integrity, it is best not to modify the lyrics and music, and cited the French "Marseille" as an example. Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai agreed.
On September 27, 1949, on the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference resolved: Before the national anthem was officially formulated, the "March of the Volunteers" composed by Tian Han and Nie Er was the national anthem.
At the founding ceremony on October 1, 1949, "The March of the Volunteers" was performed nationwide for the first time as the national anthem.
During the Cultural Revolution, Tian Han died in prison. "The March of the Volunteers" has basically stopped singing, and "Oriental Red" is basically used as the national anthem in some formal occasions. Until December 4, 1982, the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress solemnly passed the decision to restore the "March of the Volunteers" as the national anthem of the People's Republic of China.
In October 2003, at the Third Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the national anthem of the People's Republic of China, was written into the Constitution. After review and approval by all representatives of the Second Session of the 10th National People's Congress, the constitutional amendment formally gave the national anthem a constitutional status.
(Article source: Sohu)
