National anthem of Manchukuo

Last updated

The National anthem of Manchukuo was one of the many national symbols of independence and sovereignty created to foster a sense of legitimacy for Manchukuo in both an effort to secure international diplomatic recognition and to foster a sense of nationalism among its inhabitants.

Contents

During Manchukuo's 13-year existence, two national anthems were used.

The National anthem of Manchukuo was widely taught in schools and used in ceremonies in Manchukuo. [1]

1932 proposed version

大滿洲國國歌(1932)
National anthem of Manchukuo 1932.jpg
Sheet music

Proposed anthem of Flag of Manchukuo.svg  Manchukuo
Lyrics Zheng Xiaoxu
Music Kosaku Yamada
AdoptedMay 1932
External audio
(Music only)
Nuvola apps arts.svg 最初の満州国国歌《大滿洲國國歌》The first national anthem of Manchukuo(1932)《大滿洲建國歌》(大同元年版)

It is unclear when Manchuria began its first national anthem production, but it seems that preparations had already begun around the Manchuria National Declaration on March 1, 1932. On May 21, 1932, the Manchuria Sports Association formally applied to the Organizing Committee of the Olympics to dispatch players to the Los Angeles Olympics (held in July 1932). The Organizing Committee urges the Manchuria country to apply to the International Olympic Committee as “participation is approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)” and informs the Organizing Committee to send the national flag and national anthem, they have done it. On the other hand, there is still a record that the Manchuria Sports Association sent a document stating that “the national flag and national anthem were sent to the organizing committee” to the secretary general of the Olympic organizing committee. Before May, the song was completed. [2]

However, the line "a country good at defense uses humaneness, a country bad at defense uses military force." upset the Kwantung Army, and the lyrics written in Classical Chinese were too difficult to be understood by the ordinary citizens, the drafted anthem was not favored. [3]

Traditional Chinese Pinyin English translation
地闢兮天開Dì pì xī tiān kāiThe universe created and opened up the heaven and ground
松之涯兮白之隈Sōng zhī yá xī Bái zhī wēiAlong the Songhua River and Changbai Mountain
我伸大義兮繩於祖武Wǒ shēn dàyì xī shéng yú zǔwǔThe righteousness we advocate can be traced to the ancestors
我行博愛兮懷於九垓Wǒ xíng bó'ài xī huái yú jiǔgāiThe fraternity we conduct to the nive levels of heaven
善守國兮以仁Shàn shǒu guó xī yǐ rénA country good at defense uses humaneness
不善守兮以兵Bùshàn shǒu xī yǐ bīngA country bad at defense uses military force
天不愛道地不愛寶Tiān bù ài dào dì bù ài bǎo(With that virtue) the heaven would present its principle and the ground would present its treasure
貨惡其棄於地兮獻諸蒼昊Huò wù qí qì yú dì xī xiàn zhū cānghàoGoods would be presented to the universe, instead of being left on the ground
孰非橫目之民兮視此洪造Shú fēi héngmù zhī mín xī shì cǐ hóng zàoIsn't the ordinary people who have witnessed this grand grace

1933 version

滿洲國國歌
National anthem of Manchukuo 1933.jpg
Sheet music

National anthem of Flag of Manchukuo.svg  Manchukuo
Lyrics Zheng Xiaoxu
MusicTakatsu Toshi, Sonoyama Minpei, Muraoka Gakudō [4]
AdoptedMarch 1, 1933
RelinquishedSeptember 5, 1942
Audio sample
National Anthem of Manchukuo

The first national anthem was declared by State Council Decree No.4, [5] dated 24 February Dàtóng 2 (1933) [5] but publicized on March 1. The lyrics were written by Manchukuo's first Prime Minister Zheng Xiaoxu, [6] [7] who was a devout Confucianist and Qing loyalist in addition to being an accomplished poet and calligrapher.

Traditional Chinese Pinyin English translation
天地內,有了新滿洲。Tiān dì nèi, yǒu liǎo xīn mǎnzhōu.(Now) on Earth, there is the new Manchuria,
新滿洲,便是新天地。Xīn mǎnzhōu, biàn shì xīn tiān dì.This new Manchuria is our new homeland.
頂天立地,無苦無憂,造成我國家。Dǐng tiān lì dì, wú kǔ wú yōu, zào chéng wǒ guójiā.Let us make our country upright and free of sadness.
只有親愛並無怨仇,Zhǐ yǒu qīn'ài bìng wú yuànchóu,With only love and without hatred,
人民三千萬,人民三千萬,Rénmín sān qiān wàn, rénmín sān qiān wàn, Thirty million people, thirty million people,
縱加十倍也得自由。Zòng jiā shí bèi yě dé zìyóu.at ten times more we would still be free.
重仁義,尚禮讓,使我身修;Zhòng rényì, shàng lǐràng, shǐ wǒ shēn xiū;With virtue and rite , rectified am I;
家已齊,國已治,此外何求。Jiā yǐ qí, guó yǐ zhì, cǐwài hé qiú.with the family in order and the state well-ruled, there is nothing else I want.
近之則與世界同化,Jìn zhī, zé yǔ shìjiè tónghuà,In the present, may we assimilate with the world;
遠之則與天地同流。Yuǎn zhī, zé yǔ tiāndì tóng liú.In the future, we shall resemble the Heavens and Earth.

1942 version

滿洲國國歌
Sheet Music of the National Anthem of Manchukuo 1942.jpg
Sheet music

National anthem of Flag of Manchukuo.svg  Manchukuo
LyricsThe national anthem committee
Music Kosaku Yamada, Kiyoshi Nobutoki
AdoptedSeptember 5, 1942
RelinquishedAugust 9, 1945
Audio sample
National Anthem of Manchukuo (Japanese)
External audio
Nuvola apps arts.svg National Anthem of Manchukuo (Chinese)

The national anthem was changed on 5 September Kāngdé 9 (1942), by State Council Order No. 201. [8] Prime Minister of Manchukuo Zhang Jinghui cited the 1933 version of the anthem was unsuitable for the current situations of the Empire [9] as the reason for the change. The new anthem, with Manchurian (i.e. Mandarin Chinese) and Japanese lyrics, was written by a committee, according to Zhang. [10] The 1933 anthem was renamed the Manchukuo Independence Song (滿洲國建國歌, pinyin: Mǎnzhōuguó jiàn guógē, Japanese Hepburn romanization: Manshukoku-kenkoku uta).

Lyrics

Traditional Chinese Pinyin English translation
神光開宇宙 表裏山河壯皇猷Shén guāng kāi yǔzhòu, biǎolǐ shānhé zhuàng huáng yóuWith the Universe created in God's Light, the vast land strengthens the Emperor's rule;
帝德之隆 巍巍蕩蕩莫與儔Dì'dé zhī lóng wēiwēi dàngdàng mò yǔ chóuSo full is His virtue, so wide that it is beyond compare
永受天祐兮 萬壽無疆薄海謳Yǒng shòu tiān yòu xī, wànshòuwújiāng bó hǎi ōuMay He always receive divine guidance, with his years surpassing the sea;
仰贊天業兮 輝煌日月侔Yǎng zàn tiān yè xī, huīhuáng rì yuè móu[Let us] worship the divine work, its glory equals the sun and moon.
Japanese Hepburn romanization English translation
おほひか天地あめつち滿Ōmi-hikari ametsuchi ni michiFilling the world with Divine light,
帝德ていとくたかたふとTeitoku wa takaku tōtoshiThe Emperor's virtue is noble and worshipped.
豐榮とよさか萬壽ばんじゆことToyosaka no banju kotohogiLet us salute him with long life and prosperity
あまわざあふまつらむAmatsu-miwaza aogimatsuranand we revere the Emperor's deeds

Official Interpretation

According to the official interpretation of the anthem issued on the same day of its adoption, the "God" in the first line of the Chinese version refers to Amaterasu , [11] the sun goddess in Shinto, referring to Manchukuo's adoption of State Shinto as its state religion in 1940. Also, God's Light is interpreted as Arahitogami , i.e. Emperor of Japan. The whole of the first line is interpreted as

with this Divine Light, the Universe is created, and the bright and peaceful (it used the kanji 昭和, cognate of Shōwa, for bright and peaceful.) Light fills and shines over our Manchurian land and rivers, and with that we have our independence and our successes after independence. His Majesty the Emperor (i.e. Kangde) received this Divine Light to rule our country and to love our citizens. The first line [...] is an ode to our state. [12]

"The Divine Work" in the fourth line came from Kangde's Imperial Rescript on the Tenth Anniversary of the Nation on 1 March 1942, in which he mentioned,

We should sharpen our mind and spirits to sacrifice to the holy Greater East Asia War and help in the Divine Work of our Parent Nation...

and hence interpreted as:

This line describes the determination of our citizens. The Imperial Message on March 1 stated "[to] help in the Divine Work of the Parent Nation," and the Divine Work of Japan, our Parent Nation, is to revitalize East Asia and to create the Co-prosperity Sphere[...] Our country is the pioneer in the prosperity of East Asia[...] Our citizens should revere this Divine Work of our Parent Nation and to help it in all our endeavors, to finalize the goal of our independence, to rebuild the world, and that the Divine Work maybe as large and permanent as the sun and the moon. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchukuo</span> 1932–1945 Japanese puppet state in China

Manchukuo was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostensibly founded as a republic, its territory consisting of the lands seized in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria; it was later declared to be a constitutional monarchy in 1934, though very little changed in the actual functioning of government. Manchukuo received limited diplomatic recognition, mostly from states aligned with the Axis powers, with its existence widely seen as illegitimate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Manchuria Railway</span> 1906–1945 Japanese company in China

The South Manchuria Railway, officially The South Manchuria Railway Company, Ltd., Mantetsu or Mantie for short, was a large National Policy Company of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operation of railways on the Dalian–Fengtian (Mukden)–Changchun corridor in northeastern China, as well as on several branch lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Manchukuo</span>

Manchukuo was a puppet state set up by the Empire of Japan in Manchuria which existed from 1931 to 1945. The Manchukuo regime was established four months after the Japanese withdrawal from Shanghai with Puyi as the nominal but powerless head of state to add some semblance of legitimacy, as he was a former emperor and an ethnic Manchu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacification of Manchukuo</span> 1931 Japanese military operations

The Pacification of Manchukuo was a Japanese counterinsurgency campaign to suppress any armed resistance to the newly established puppet state of Manchukuo from various anti-Japanese volunteer armies in occupied Manchuria and later the Communist Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. The operations were carried out by the Imperial Japanese Kwantung Army and the collaborationist forces of the Manchukuo government from March 1932 until 1942, and resulted in a Japanese victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Manchukuo</span> National flag

The flag of the Empire of Manchuria had a yellow field with four horizontal stripes of different colours in the upper-left corner. The colours of the flag were based on the colours on the Five Races Under One Union flags used by the Beiyang government, the Empire of China, and by the Fengtian clique. The flag was first established in Announcement of National Flag on 1 March 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asia Express</span> Express passenger train in Manchukuo

The Asia Express was a super express passenger train operated by the South Manchuria Railway (Mantetsu) from 1934 until 1943. This limited express, which began operation in November 1934 and was Mantetsu's most iconic train, operated in Manchukuo between Dalian and Changchun, and was extended to Harbin in 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Railways SL7</span> Class of 4-6-2 passenger steam locomotives

The China Railways SL7 class steam locomotive was a class of 4-6-2 express passenger steam locomotives operated by the China Railway. They were originally built for the South Manchuria Railway (Mantetsu) to pull the Asia Express - Mantetsu's signature train and most iconic locomotive, whose images were used on fliers, posters, postage stamps, and even children's school textbooks, as a symbol of technology and modernism in Manchukuo and was used to demonstrate the success of Japan's imperial project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lü Ronghuan</span>

Lu Ronghuan, was a politician in the early Republic of China who subsequently served in a number of Cabinet posts of the Empire of Manchukuo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchukuo Government</span> Claimed government-in-exile

The Manchukuo Government, commonly known as Manchuria, is an organization established in 2004 in Hong Kong. On its website, it claims to be the government in exile of Manchukuo, a Japanese puppet state with limited recognition which controlled Manchuria from 1932 to 1945; it seeks to revive the state and to separate it from the People's Republic of China, which controls its claimed territory. Journalists and internet users have expressed doubts about its authenticity and aims. On its website, it claims to have merged with other Manchu independence organizations as of 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gegenmiao massacre</span> 1945 massacre by the Soviet Red Army

The Gegenmiao massacre or the Gegenmiao incident was a war crime by the Red Army and a part of the local Chinese population against over half of a group of 1,800 Japanese women and children who had taken refuge in the lamasery Gegenmiao/Koken-miao (葛根廟) on August 14, 1945, during the Khingan–Mukden Operation in Soviet invasion of Manchuria.

The East Asian Games, also known as the Asian Development Games were multi-sport events organized by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAA). The games were meant to be a replacement to the cancelled 1938 Far Eastern Championship Games and 1940 Summer Olympics originally to be hosted by Japan, and also served as a propaganda tool for Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Railways JF6</span> 2-8-2 steam locomotive

The China Railways JF6 class steam locomotive was a class of 2-8-2 steam locomotives for freight trains operated by the China Railway. They were originally built in Japan and Manchukuo between 1934 and 1944 for the South Manchuria Railway (Mantetsu), the Manchukuo National Railway, and the North China Transportation Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Railways SL6</span> 4-6-2 steam locomotive

The China Railways SL6 class steam locomotive was a class of 4-6-2 superheated two-cylinder passenger steam locomotives operated by the China Railway. Originally built for the South Manchuria Railway (Mantetsu), the Manchukuo National Railway, the Central China Railway and the North China Transportation Company by several Japanese manufacturers between 1934 and 1940, they were the most numerous class of steam passenger locomotive in China, with 422 eventually built.

The East Manchuria Railway was a railway company in Manchukuo headquartered in Hunchun, Jilin Province. Its mainline ran from Hunyung in Korea on the South Manchuria Railway's (Mantetsu) North Chosen East Line to Panshi on the Manchukuo National Railway's Fenghai Line via Hunchun. From the mainline there were branchlines to Gangouzi and to Dongmiaoling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchukuo National Railway</span> 1933–1945 railway now in Northeast China

The Manchukuo National Railway was the state-owned national railway company of Manchukuo. Generally called the "國線", it was controlled by the Manchukuo Ministry of Transportation and had its lines primarily in the central and northern parts of the country. In local newspapers it was simply referred to as "國鉄". It was built, operated and managed by the South Manchuria Railway, a state-owned national railway company of the Empire of Japan, of which the Kwantung Army frequently intervened in its affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Railways SL3</span> 4-6-2 steam locomotive

The China Railways SL3 class steam locomotive was a class of 4-6-2 passenger steam locomotives operated by the China Railway. They were originally built for the South Manchuria Railway, the Manchukuo National Railway and the North China Transportation Company by several Japanese manufacturers between 1934 and 1940. They were designed in 1933 based on the design of the first Pashisa class locomotives ; the first order was placed by Mantetsu in March of that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Railways SL8</span>

The China Railways SL8 class steam locomotive was a class of 4-6-2 express passenger steam locomotives operated by the China Railway. They were originally built for the South Manchuria Railway (Mantetsu) and the Manchukuo National Railway between 1937 and 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boy Scouts of Manchukuo</span>

The Boy Scouts of Manchukuo was a Scouting association of Manchukuo. The Japanese military seized Manchuria in 1931, created the puppet government of Manchukuo in 1932, and controlled it until 1945. The Manchukuo government also set up Japanese-style Scouting in schools, which included para-military training.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renkyō Line</span> Railway line in China

The Renkyō Line was the primary trunk line of the South Manchuria Railway from 1907 to 1945. The 701.4 km (435.8 mi) line ran between Dalian (Dairen) and Changchun (Xinjing).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese settlers in Manchuria</span> 1931–1945 immigration

The Japanese settlers in Manchuria were the Japanese immigrants who came to Manchuria after the Russo-Japanese War and settled in zones of Japanese interests.

References

  1. "School children practicing national anthem". Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  2. "近代日本における植民地体育政策の研究(第3報) : 帝政への移行と日満ファシズム体育体制の強化". Archived from the original on 2022-09-08. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  3. (Japanese) "王道楽土の交響楽 満洲-知られざる音楽史" by Iwano Yuichi(岩野裕一), 1999, ISBN 4276211247
  4. 『王道楽土の交響楽 満洲-知られざる音楽史』(岩野裕一著、1999年、 ISBN   4276211247
  5. 1 2 Page 9, Manchukuo Government Notices Extra, March 1, Tatung 2 (1933)
  6. Chinese wikipedia
  7. http://david.national-anthems.net/mch.htm david.national-anthems.net
  8. Page 1, Manchukuo Government Notices No. 2493, September 5, Kangde 9 (1942). Reprinted 1990 by Shenliao Publishing House, Shenyang.
  9. Page 3, Annex, Manchukuo Government Notices No. 2493, September 5, Kangde 9 (1942). Reprinted 1990 by Shenliao Publishing House, Shenyang.
  10. The Prime Minister Talks About the Composition of the National Anthem, Page 3, Annex, Manchukuo Government Notices No. 2493, September 5, Kangde 9 (1942). Reprinted 1990 by Shenliao Publishing House, Shenyang.
  11. Explanation of the National Anthem, Head of the Propaganda Office of Manchukuo, Page 3, Annex, Manchukuo Government Notices No.2493, September 5, Kangde 9(1942). Reprinted 1990 by Shenliao Publishing House, Shenyang.
  12. Explanation of the National Anthem, Head of the Propaganda Office of Manchukuo, Page 3, Annex, Manchukuo Government Notices No.2493, September 5, Kangde 9(1942). Reprinted 1990 by Shenliao Publishing House, Shenyang.
  13. Explanation of the National Anthem, Head of the Propaganda Office of Manchukuo, Page 4, Annex, Manchukuo Government Notices No.2493, September 5, Kangde 9(1942). Reprinted 1990 by Shenliao Publishing House, Shenyang.