Loyalty to the Country
"Loyalty to the Country" (simplified Chinese: 精忠报国; traditional Chinese: 精忠報國; pinyin: Jīngzhōng bàoguó) is a Chinese patriotic song paying tribute to the Han general Yue Fei, a popular Chinese folk hero. The name of the song refers to a phrase tattooed on the back of Yue Fei, and a mantra with which he is commonly identified. The lyrics of the song allude to the Jin–Song Wars, in which Yue Fei played a pivotal role.
Basis
The title Loyalty to the Country refers to a popular semi-historical legend surrounding Yue Fei. According to these accounts, Yue Fei had the Chinese characters jin zhong bao guo (simplified Chinese: 尽忠报国; traditional Chinese: 盡忠報國; pinyin: jìn zhōng bào guó; literally: "serve the country with the utmost loyalty") tattooed across his back by his mother to ensure his dedication to the state. According to The Story of King Yue Who Restored the Song dynasty (《大宋中興岳王傳》), one of the earliest Ming era works chronicling the general, Yue Fei would show the tattoo to soldiers when he detected that they wished to desert, and he implored a number of his men to have the characters tattooed on their backs. The legend has undergone a number of fictionalisations across its centuries long history, and remains a popular element of Chinese folklore today.
Lyrics
Simplified Chinese | Traditional Chinese | Pinyin | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
狼烟起江山北望 | 狼煙起江山北望 | láng yān qǐ jiāng shān běi wàng | When the fiery smoke rises I look at the vast land towards the north, |
See also
- Jin-Song Wars
- Yue Fei
- The Great Wall Ballad
- "Ode to the Motherland"
References
- v
- t
- e
1912–1949
- How Great is Our China!
- China Heroically Stands in the Universe
- Song of Five Races Under One Union
- Song to the Auspicious Cloud
- March of the Volunteers
- National Anthem of the Republic of China
- National Flag Anthem of the Republic of China
- 800 Heroes Song
- The Sword March
- Along the Songhua River
- The Great Wall Ballad
- Guerrillas' Song
- In the Taihang Mountains [zh]
- Marshal Training Soldier Song
- Song of the National Revolution
- Gong Xi Gong Xi
People's Republic of China
- March of the Volunteers
- Workers, Peasants and Soldiers, Unite [zh]
- The East is Red
- The Internationale
- Military Anthem of the Eighth Route Army
- Nanniwan
- Ode to the Motherland
- Song of the Military and Political University of Resistance Against Japan
- Three Rules and Eight Notices
- Unity Is Strength
- Osmanthus Flowers Blooming Everywhere in August
- The Sky Above the Liberated Zone
- When the Motherland Calls Upon Us
- Yellow River Cantata
- To the Rear of the Enemy
- I Love Beijing Tiananmen
- March of the People's Liberation Army
- I Love the Motherland's Blue Skies
- My Motherland
- Long Live Comrade Mao for Ten Thousand Years
- Red Star Shines
- Socialism is Good
- I Am a Soldier [zh]
- Learn from Comrade Lei Feng
- Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman
- Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China
- My Chinese Heart
- My People, My Country
- Bloodstained Glory
- Loyalty to the Country
- Story of Spring
- When That Day Comes
- Towards Revival
- I Love You, China
- On the Great Road
since 1949
- National Anthem of the Republic of China
- National Flag Anthem of the Republic of China
- Ode to the Republic of China
- The Plum Blossom
- 800 Heroes Song
- Night Raid [zh]
- Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Song
- Chiang Ching-kuo Memorial Song
- Go and Reclaim the Mainland
- Taiwan Is Good
- The Anti-Communist and Anti-Russian Aggression Song