The Internationale in Chinese
The Internationale in Chinese (simplified Chinese: 国际歌; traditional Chinese: 國際歌; pinyin: Guójìgē) is literally the International Song. It has several different sets of lyrics.
Mandarin versions
Qu Qiubai's version
The most common and official Chinese version is the de facto anthem of the Communist Party of China.[1] It was first translated on 15 June 1923 from the Russian version by Qu Qiubai (Chinese: 瞿秋白),[2] a leader of the Communist Party of China in the late 1920s. His translation has transliterated the Internationale as Yīngtènàxióngnài'ěr (simplified Chinese: 英特纳雄耐尔; traditional Chinese: 英特納雄耐爾) when singing the phrase in Standard Chinese. When the Chinese Soviet Republic was established in 1931, it was decided to be its national anthem.[3] As he was executed by the Kuomintang in 1935, his Chinese translation is in the public domain wherever the duration of copyright is an author's lifetime plus up to 70 years, including Chinese-speaking Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan (lifetime plus 50 years in these places), and Singapore (lifetime plus 70 years). The three Chinese lyrics roughly correspond to the three Russian lyrics by Arkady Yakovlevich Kots and the first, second, and sixth French lyrics by Eugène Pottier. The fourth and fifth stanzas are not used in the official Chinese version and the PRC forbids the use of them in public performances of the song.
The song was a rallying anthem of the demonstrators at the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and was repeatedly sung both while marching to the Square and within the Square.
...many hundreds of people (not only students) appeared on the street. They ran after the trucks and shouted protest slogans. A few stones were thrown. The soldiers opened fire with live ammunition. The crowd threw themselves on the ground, but quickly followed the convoy again. The more shots were fired, the more the crowd got determined and outraged. Suddenly they started singing the Internationale; they armed themselves with stones and threw them towards the soldiers. There were also a few Molotov cocktails and the last truck was set on fire.[4]
| Traditional Chinese | Simplified Chinese | Pinyin | Literal English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| First stanza | |||
|
起來，饑寒交迫的奴隸， |
起来，饥寒交迫的奴隶， |
Qǐlái, jīhánjiāopò de núlì, |
Arise, slaves afflicted by hunger and cold, |
| Second stanza | |||
|
從來就沒有什麼救世主， |
从来就没有什么救世主， |
Cónglái jiù méiyǒu shénme jiùshìzhǔ, |
There has never been any saviour of the world, |
| Third stanza | |||
|
是誰創造了人類世界？ |
是谁创造了人类世界？ |
Shì shéi chuàngzào liǎo rénlèi shìjiè? |
Who is it that created the world of humankind? |
Note that the lyrics above were translated from the first, second and sixth (last) stanza of the French original.
National Revolutionary Army version
When commemorating the 55th anniversary of the Paris Commune on 18 March 1926, the National Revolutionary Army printed a music sheet with three lyrics of the Internationale in Chinese, roughly corresponding to the first, second, and sixth French lyrics by Eugène Pottier. When singing refrain twice after each lyric, the Internationale is transliterated first as Yīngtè'ěrlāxióngnà'ěr (Chinese: 英特爾拉雄納爾) and second as Yīngtè'ěrnàxióngnà'ěr (Chinese: 英特爾納雄納爾).
| Traditional Chinese | Simplified Chinese | Pinyin | Literal English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
|
起來飢寒交迫的奴隸，
這是最後的爭鬥， |
起来饥寒交迫的奴隶，
这是最后的争斗， |
Qǐlái, jīhánjiāopò de núlì,
Zhè shì zuìhòu de zhēngdòu, |
Arise, slaves afflicted by hunger and cold,
This is the final struggle, |
| (二) | (二) | (Èr) | Second stanza |
|
從來沒有什麼救世主，
|
从来没有什么救世主，
|
Cónglái méiyǒu shénme jiùshìzhǔ,
|
There has never been any saviour of the world,
|
| (三) | (三) | (Sān) | Third stanza |
|
誰是世界上的創造者？
|
谁是世界上的创造者？
|
Shéi shì shìjièshàng de chuàngzàozhě?
|
Who is the creator of the world?
|
Shen Baoji's version
The third, fourth, and fifth French stanzas are not sung in Chinese in the above two versions of Qu and the National Revolutionary Army. Chinese translator Shen Baoji (simplified Chinese: 沈宝基; traditional Chinese: 沈寶基, 1908–2002) has made a complete Chinese translation, published in 1957, of all six French stanzas,.[5] Shen's translation has transliterated the Internationale as Yīngdāi'ěrnàxī'àonà'ěr (simplified Chinese: 因呆尔那西奥纳尔; traditional Chinese: 因呆爾那西奧納爾) in the stanzas, different from the transliterations of Qu and the National Revolutionary Army. As the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China grants individuals copyright for their lifetime plus 50 years, Shen's translation is expected to remain copyrighted there until the end of 2052.
Non-Mandarin versions
In addition to the Mandarin version, the Internationale also has Cantonese and Taiwanese versions, occasionally used in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The word "Internationale" is not translated in either version.
The Internationale in popular culture
Chinese rock band Tang Dynasty released a metal rock version of the song in 1991, which is still popular among Chinese youths and nationalists even to this day.
References
- ↑ (Chinese) Xinhua Net: http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2008-01/28/content_7511238.htm
- ↑ (Chinese) People's Daily: News on Chinese Communist Party
- ↑ (Chinese) People's Daily: History of Chinese national anthems in a hundred years
- ↑ Amnesty International, 30 August 1989. Preliminary Findings on Killings of Unarmed Civilians, Arbitrary Arrests and Summary Executions Since 3 June 1989, p.19
- ↑ (Chinese)The inside story of the alteration of the Internationale translations