The military song of China is a Chinese patriotic song that dates back to the formation of the New Armies of the late Qing Dynasty. The succeeding Chinese regimes recycled the music and changed the lyrics.
In urban legend, the music was taken from the Prussian March of the Emperor Wilhelm II which can' be found in Armeemarschsammlung. The original Qing lyrics were commissioned by Zeng Guofan for the Xiang Army. The same lyrics were used during the Yuan Shikai regime and known as the Soldier's Training Song.
After the Xinhai Revolution, the lyrics were changed again and continued to be used by the Chinese military. A well known variant was the National Revolution Army Song.
The Communists reworded the song into the Land Revolution Is Successful. A further modification transformed the song into Three Rules and Eight Notices, which is the best known form today. The latest lyrics is an extension of Zeng Guofan's version, adding additional rules to further inspire soldiers' discipline.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the music was used in the presence of representatives of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China.
Famous quotes containing the words military and/or china:
“My faith is the grand drama of my life. I’m a believer, so I sing words of God to those who have no faith. I give bird songs to those who dwell in cities and have never heard them, make rhythms for those who know only military marches or jazz, and paint colours for those who see none.”
—Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992)
“Riot in Algeria, in Cyprus, in Alabama;
Aged in wrong, the empires are declining,
And China gathers, soundlessly, like evidence.
What shall I say to the young on such a morning?—
Mind is the one salvation?—also grammar?—
No; my little ones lean not toward revolt.”
—William Dewitt Snodgrass (b. 1926)