"The March of the Volunteer Army" is sung for the warriors of the War of Resistance

(Text:Zhao Hongnan, Cui Shihao)

Whenever the national anthem of the People's Republic of China sounds, people can't help but be infected by the sonorous and inspiring melody, and their hearts are surging with excitement. But what is less well known is that the national anthem, the March of the Volunteer Army, was originally sung for these warriors of the War of Resistance.

After the outbreak of the September 18 Incident in 1931, the patriotic soldiers and civilians in northeast China spontaneously formed the anti-Japanese armed forces of the people, the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army, in the face of the aggression of Japanese imperialism. In a square in Zhuluke Town, Jianping County, Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, stands a monument that records its indissoluble relationship with the March of the Volunteer Army.

The Rehe Front is inspiring

The reporter saw in Zhuluke Square that there were several small farm yards scattered in a vacant lot. "More than 80 years ago, the headquarters of the Second Army of the Volunteer Army was located here, which is the place where the soldiers of the Volunteer Army rest, train, and recuperate." Hu Guangzhi, an expert on party history in Jianping County, said.

On February 25, 1933, in this open space, the volunteer army on the front line of the Rehe Anti-Japanese War exercised an oath. "Get up! Get up! Those who do not want to be slaves to the country, their homes are destroyed, the mountains and rivers are broken, and the nation is in danger... Build the Great Wall with our bodies. Go ahead! advance! advance! The soldiers of the Volunteer Army sang the "Oath Song of the Volunteer Army" with the courage to die, and prepared to build a new Great Wall with their flesh and blood.

This scene was seen by patriots who came from Beiping and Shanghai with war supplies to comfort the officers and men of the Volunteer Army. Liu Fengwu, who was the commander of the cavalry battalion of the Second Army of the Liaoning Volunteer Army, recalled that among those patriots, a young man named Nie Er had a pleasant conversation with the soldiers.

Liu Fengwu wrote in his memoirs that during the Rehe War of Resistance in February 1933, when the people of the condolence group comforted and interviewed the officers and men of the Volunteer Army, the condolences were distributed in the order from the first battalion to the third battalion, and when the condolence group first distributed condolences to the first and second battalions, Liu Fengwu commanded the officers and men of the three battalions to sing the "Oath Song of the Volunteer Army".

Hu Guangzhi believes that this condolence is one of the sources of inspiration for Nie Er's creation of the "March of the Volunteer Army". He saw the bullet-stained battle flags and blood-stained costumes in the hands of the soldiers, and smelled the smoke they brought from the front line. "This may be the first time Nie Er has seen the Northeast Volunteer Army."

Some scholars believe that the creative inspiration and material of "Volunteer March" are directly related to the experience of the front line of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the lyrics of "Volunteer Army Oath Song" and "Volunteer March" also have some similarities, and Liaoning is an important material for the creation of "Volunteer Army March".

Encourage the enthusiasm of the military and the people of the whole country to resist Japan

88 years later, walking into the mountains and jungles of Zhuluke Town, the big characters of "The Old Site of the Volunteer Army Zhuluke Resistance Battle" are faintly visible under the cover of the trees.

This is where the rehe defenders dug trenches to defend the defensive positions. Standing on the land of western Liaoning today, the sound of the gunshots of the soldiers killing the Japanese Kou and the tragic and exciting melody of the "Oath Song of the Volunteer Army" seem to echo in the ears.

The "Oath Song of the Volunteer Army" was originally the "oath" at the anti-Japanese Volunteer Army Conference, and soldiers must take an oath before joining the Volunteer Army, dare to throw their heads and sprinkle blood, and dare to build the Great Wall with their bodies to become the volunteers.

In 1931, the September 18 Incident broke out. The Japanese militarists vainly attempted to conquer China by force.

At a time of national crisis, the masses of all strata in the northeast and the patriotic officers and men of the Northeast Army formed the anti-Japanese armed forces such as the Volunteer Army, the National Salvation Army, and the Self-Defense Army, and these armed forces were collectively known as the Northeast Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army. According to historical statistics, the number of anti-Japanese volunteers in northeast China reached more than 300,000 at its peak.

Zhou Hao, director of the Research Department of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Coalition Historical Facts Museum, said: The Northeast Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army was one of the predecessors of the Northeast People's Revolutionary Army and the Northeast Anti-Japanese Coalition Army, and was the first pioneer to rise up and engage in armed anti-Japanese struggle.

The deeds of the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army in Northeast China greatly encouraged the anti-Japanese enthusiasm of the military and people throughout the country. In order to publicize the deeds of the Volunteer Army and call on more people to support the War of Resistance, in February 1933, the famous patriot Zhu Qinglan organized and arranged for the Shanghai Lianhua Film Company to go to the front line of the War of Resistance to shoot a documentary about the deeds of the Volunteer Army and the Chinese Army.

On May 24, 1935, the anti-war feature film "Children of the Storm" premiered, causing a sensation. The theme song "March of the Volunteer Army" composed by Tian Han and composed by Nie Er was widely popular.

From the Northeast Volunteer Army to the Twenty-ninth Army of the Great Wall War, Nie Er and Tian Han's hearts were closely linked to the soldiers on the front line. They took up the weapon of literature and art and sent out the common voice of forty million Chinese sons and daughters.

Get up! Get up! Get up! This is the roar of the Chinese nation's indomitable insults, and this is the cry of the rebirth of ancient China!

Great songs unite the strength of the nation

After 14 years of arduous anti-Japanese war, the Chinese paid the price of more than 35 million military and civilian casualties and won the final victory. Hundreds of millions of Chinese sons and daughters are fighting hard with their flesh and blood, and they have also reshaped the spiritual Great Wall of a nation.

Zhang Jie, a researcher at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said: The anti-Japanese national united front advocated by the CPC is the strongest Great Wall. In the beacon years, "March of the Volunteer Army" is a great song that condenses the strength of the nation.

Shenyang collector Zhan Hongge kept a book published in June 1935, "A Collection of Chinese and Foreign Songs", which was included in the March of the Volunteer Army.

"During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, 'March of the Volunteer Army' was very popular and well-known." Zhan Hongge said that from Zhao Shangzhi to Zhang Zizhong, from the five heroes of Wolf's Tooth Mountain to the "Eight Hundred Heroes", the "March of the Volunteer Army" has inspired countless Chinese sons and daughters.

"Get up! People who don't want to be slaves! Build our flesh and blood into our new Great Wall! ”

Nowadays, no matter where you go, as long as you hear this familiar song, every Chinese's heart will be stirred and full of strength. The heroic epic of the sons and daughters of China", "one inch of mountains and rivers and one inch of blood", and the blood and dignity of the Chinese nation, will always be engraved in the national memory and genes along with the national anthem.

Source: Reference News Network