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| English: National Anthem of the Republic of China | |
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 Sheet music | |
National anthem of theRepublic of China Party anthem of theKuomintang | |
| Lyrics | Sun Yat-sen, 1924[note 1] |
| Music | Cheng Maoyun, 1928 |
| Adopted | 1930 (in Mainland China) 1945 (in Taiwan) |
| Relinquished | 1949 (in Mainland China) |
| Audio sample | |
Instrumental version of the National Anthem of the Republic of China | |
| National Anthem of the Republic of China | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 The originalWhampoa Military Academy speech in Sun's handwriting. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中華民國國歌 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中华民国国歌 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Zhōnghuá Mínguó guógē | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Three Principles of the People | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 三民主義歌 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 三民主义歌 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Sānmín Zhǔyì Gē | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Three Principles of the People | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National anthems of China | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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The "National Anthem of the Republic of China", also known by itsincipit "Three Principles of the People", is thenational anthem of theRepublic of China, commonly called Taiwan, as well as the party anthem of theKuomintang. It was adopted in 1930 as the national anthem and was used as such in bothmainland China andTaiwan until 1949, when the Republic of China central governmentrelocated to Taiwan following its defeat by theChinese Communist Party in theChinese Civil War. It replaced the "Song to the Auspicious Cloud", which had been used as the Chinese national anthem before. The national anthem was adopted in Taiwan on October 25, 1945 after thesurrender of Imperial Japan. Mainland China, being governed by thePeople's Republic of China today, discontinued this national anthem for "March of the Volunteers".
The national anthem's words are adapted from a 1924 speech bySun Yat-sen in 1927. The lyrics relate to how the vision and hopes of a new nation and its people can be achieved and maintained.[1] Informally, the song is sometimes known as "San Min Chu-i" from its opening line, which references theThree Principles of the People (三民主義;sānmín zhǔyì;san1-min2 chu3-i4), but this name is never used on formal or official occasions. During flag-raising ceremonies, the national anthem is played at the start prior to flag-raising followed by theNational Flag Anthem of the Republic of China during actual flag-raising.
The text was a collaboration between severalKuomintang (KMT) party members:Hu Hanmin,Tai Chi-tao,Liao Zhongkai, andShao Yuanchong. The text debuted on 16 June 1924, as the opening of a speech bySun Yat-sen at the opening ceremony of theWhampoa Military Academy. After the success of theNorthern Expedition, the Kuomintang party chose the text to be itsparty anthem and publicly solicited for accompanying music.Cheng Maoyun won in a contest of 139 participants.[2]
On 24 March 1930, numerous Kuomintang party members proposed to use the speech by Sun as the lyrics to the national anthem. At the time, the national anthem of the republic was the "Song to the Auspicious Cloud". Due to opposition over using a symbol of apolitical party to represent the entire nation, the National Anthem Editing and Research Committee (國歌編製研究委員會) was set up, which endorsed the KMT party song. On 3 June 1937, theCentral Standing Committee approved the proposal, and in the 1940s, the song formally became the official national anthem of the Republic of China. For many Taiwanese, the anthem carries a number of meanings, often conflicting. Some Taiwanese reject the anthem outright as an anachronistic symbol of the vanquishedKMT dictatorship.[2]
| Traditional Chinese (withBopomofo) | Simplified Chinese (withHanyu Pinyin) | IPA transcription[a] |
|---|---|---|
三民主義，吾黨所宗； | 三民主义，吾党所宗； | [sán.mǐn ʈ͡ʂù.î ǔ tàŋ swɔ̀ t͡sʊ́ŋ] |
The lyrics are in classicalliterary Chinese. For example:
In this respect, the national anthem of theRepublic of China stands in contrast to thePeople's Republic of China's "March of the Volunteers", which was written a few years later entirely in modernvernacular Chinese.
As well as being written inclassical Chinese, the national anthem follows classical poetic conventions. The ancientFu style follows that of a four-character poem, where the last character of each line rhymes in-ong or-eng, which are equivalent.
The official translation by Theodore B. Tu[3] appears in English-language guides to the ROC published by thegovernment.
| Official | Literal |
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San Min Chu-i | TheThree Principles of the People |
| Cantonese (Yale) | Taiwanese Hokkien (Pe̍h-ōe-jī) |
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Sāam màhn jyú yih, ngh dóng só jūng, | Sam bîn chú gī, ngô͘ tóng só͘ chong, |
| Preceded by | Three Principles of the People 1943–1949 (inMainland China) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Three Principles of the People 1945–present (inTaiwan) | Succeeded by current |
