"On the Songhua River": Singing the history of blood and tears in the Northeast

"On the Songhua River" is a classic among the national salvation songs during the Anti-Japanese War. It is full of weeping and heroic emotions. The rhyme inspires people to share the same hatred with the enemy and fight against the national calamity.

After the September 18th Incident, the Japanese army occupied the Northeast, and batches of Northeasterners left their hometowns. There are a large number of Northeastern officers, soldiers and exiles on the streets of Xi'an. In 1936, Zhang Hanhui, an underground party member who taught in Xi'an No. 2 Middle School, heard and witnessed the tragic experiences of his exiled compatriots, which inspired him to compose songs. He artistically transformed the cries of northern women into the melody of "On the Songhua River".

This patriotic, homesick and anti-Japanese song was first sung in Xi'an No. 2 Middle School of Shaanxi Province, and then quickly spread throughout the Great Wall and beyond.

"March of the Broadsword": The anti-war song that best relieves hatred

"Big Sword - chop off the heads of the Japanese!" The last word in the lyrics of "March of the Broadsword" is "Kill!" The characters fully express the deep-seated hatred of the Chinese military and civilians towards the Japanese invaders.

In 1933, the Japanese army invaded various entrances to the Great Wall, and Song Yuanzhe led the 29th Army to resist. Since the weapons and equipment lagged far behind the Japanese army, the 29th Army established the "Big Sword Team". In hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, the "Big Sword Team" severely damaged the Japanese army and became famous.

When the July 7th Incident broke out, the 29th Army guarding the Marco Polo Bridge showed its power again with a broadsword. Mai Xin, who participated in the anti-Japanese and national salvation movement in Shanghai, was deeply shocked by the "Big Sword Team", so he wrote hard, wrote the lyrics in one go, and composed an impassioned melody. Thus, "The March of the Big Sword" was born.

"March of the Volunteers": the song resounds throughout the Republic of China

Tian Han's lyrics, Nie Er's music, composed in April 1935, are the theme of the feature film "Children of the Storm" The song expresses the unyielding spirit of the Chinese people who are united as one and fight against Japan one after another.

Before being arrested, Tian Han wrote the lyrics on a piece of tin foil wrapped in cigarettes, and Xia Yan gave them to Nie Er. Nie Er quickly finished composing the song and titled it "March of the Volunteers" Published in China Daily. With the release of "Children of the Storm", this shocking war song quickly spread across the country. Later, the famous black American singer Robertson sang and recorded it, making this war song famous all over the world.

On September 27, 1949, the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference passed a resolution to designate this song as the national anthem; on December 4, 1982, the People's Communist Party of China and the National The Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress passed a resolution to designate it as the national anthem of the Republic of China.

"Yellow River Cantata": the epic of the national spirit

After the fall of Wuhan in November 1938, the famous poet Guang Weiran crossed the Yellow River from Hukou, Shaanxi to the east, and experienced the dangerous gorges of the Yellow River on the way. In the rapids, turbulent waves and whirlpools, I witnessed the scene of the boatmen fighting against the strong wind and waves, and listened to the long and deep boatmen's chants. After returning to Yan'an in the spring of 1939, he composed a long recital poem "Yang of the Yellow River". Xian Xinghai, a musician who also lived in Yan'an, was inspired to write this piece of music - "Yellow River Cantata".

Batches of anti-Japanese soldiers and patriotic students sang "The wind is roaring and the horses are braying" and marched to the forefront of the Anti-Japanese War.