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National Flag, Emblem & Anthem

China National Flag

China National Flag

The national flag of China was adopted at the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference held in September 1949, shortly before the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The flag of the People's Republic of China is red in color and it has five yellow stars. The color red symbolizes the spirit of the revolution, and the five stars signify the unity of the people of China under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. The flag first went up in Tiananmen Square on October1, 1949, upon the formal announcement that People's Republic of China was founded.

China National Emblem

China National Emblem

The design of the national emblem of the People's Republic of China, published by the Central People's Government on September 20, 1950, shows Tiananmen under the light of five stars, and it is framed with ears of grain and cogwheel. Tiananmen is the symbol of modern China because the May 4th Movement of 1919, which marked the beginning of the new-democratic revolution in China, was launched there. It is also the place where the inauguration of the People's Republic of China was held. The cogwheel and the ears of grain represent the working class and the peasantry respectively, and the five stars symbolize the solidarity of the various nationalities of China. The emblem clearly indicates that People's Republic of China is a socialist state led by the working class and based on the alliance of the workers and the peasants.

National Anthem

The words for the national anthem were written by Tian Han, and the music was set by Nie Er in 1935. Originally known as the March of the Volunteers, it was the theme song of The Sons and Daughters in Times of Turmoil, a film that depicted how Chinese intellectuals marched bravely to the front in the War of Resistance Against Japan during the Second World War.

Sonorous, militant and inspiring, the song describes the wrath of the Chinese people against imperialist aggression and their determination to protect their motherland against foreign, invaders. During the Second World War it was also sung by people of other countries who sympathized with the Chinese people in their anti-Japanese struggle. In 1949 it was appropriately chosen to be the national anthem of the People's Republic of China.

The lyrics of the national anthem are as follows:

Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves;
With our very flesh and blood
Let us build our new Great Wall!
The Peoples of China are in the most critical time,
Everybody must roar his defiance.
Arise! Arise! Arise!
Millions of hearts with one mind,
Brave the enemy's gunfire,
March on!
Brave the enemy's gunfire,
March on! March on! March on, on!