China Flag and Anthem
The flag of the People’s Republic of China has evolved over the last several centuries into its current model, which is characterized by a red banner and five golden stars. It is representative of the Communist revolution and the stars stand for the unity of the people under the communist party. The national anthem, on the other hand, is known as The March of Volunteers, and it was composed in 1932 as a song adapted for the movie, Children of Hard Times in 1935 (Lee and Guobin 217). Its premise is that the Chinese people must stand firm against their enemies and should never surrender, but instead keep marching ahead whatever the case for the sake of their country.
Essentially, the song implies that the Chinese people are patriotic hence, the term volunteers and they are willing to risk their lives for the country’s sovereignty (Lee and Guobin 217). Both the anthem and flag are relevant to a series of events in China’s history dating as far back as the mid-19th century. China’s unity is a key theme in both national symbols, especially because between 1840 and 1940 the country’s stability was threatened by the incursion of foreign powers. These were mostly European occupiers such as Britain and Germany, who according to the communist party, humiliated and attempted to divide China. Besides, the occupation of the Japanese in the Manchuria region motivated a flag and anthem that explicitly demonstrate China’s readiness to take aggressive action against anyone trying to compromise their hard-earned freedom.
Taiwan Flag and Anthem
The Taiwan flag is a red banner, much like the Chinese one, with a blue canton embossed with a white sun from which there emerge 12 rays, each representing hours of the day and months of the year (Guy 98). Unlike the Communist party flag, the red does not represent violent struggle but rather the color of earth. Blue stands for nationalism, while the white engenders democracy and equality in the republic, two notions that are notably absent in the communist party’s flag. Lu Hao-tung, a Republican martyr, is credited for the blue, which is used to show the regeneration of China’s inauguration, that took place on 21 February 1895. After its adoption as the KMT’s formal ensign, it was updated to include the red “earth” that was incorporated into the flag by Yat-Sen in 1906.
The national anthem is called the Three Principles of the People, and its major thematic concern is the protection of the nation and the democracy of its citizens through one unity (Guy 98). The anthem bears some similarity to the PRC one alluding to the strong historical links between the two nations, despite the radically different ideologies that govern them. Given that, Taiwan or the ROC, shared in the violence and occupation of China by foreign powers in the mid-19th century, one can interpret its flag and anthem as symbols of defiance against future threats. Taiwan may have suffered even more than mainland China since its territory had been taken over by the Japanese and was only reinstated in the ’40s, and even then, it was later occupied by European powers. The political separation of ROC from PRC is particularly evident in the flag since, while they share a similar background, their divergent principles and symbolism make it clear that ROC is not under PRC governance.
Works Cited
Guy, Nancy. “” Republic of China National Anthem” on Taiwan: One Anthem, One Performance, Multiple Realities.” Ethnomusicology (2002): 96-119.Print.
Lee, Ching Kwan, and Guobin Yang, eds. Re-envisioning the Chinese revolution: the politics and poetics of collective memories in reform China. Stanford University Press, 2007.Print.