In 1896, for purposes of diplomatic missions to Western Europe and Russia, Li Hongzhang (Zhongtang being a term of respect for a vizier or prime minister) employed in political lyrics combined with classical Chinese music to create a song later known as the "Tune of Li Zhongtang" (李中堂樂).
金殿當頭紫閣重，
仙人掌上玉芙蓉，
太平天子朝天日，
五色雲車駕六龍。
With a golden palace above his head, and fold upon fold of purple pavilions,
Like a jadehibiscus on the palm of an immortal,
The Son of Heaven of Perfect Peace pays homage to the sun in the sky,
Riding on a five-coloured car of cloud pulled by six dragons.
After the Department of the Army was established in 1906, Praise the Dragon Flag became the army song, and has been played at formal occasions overseas.
Here for ten thousand years,
Great Empire of East Asia!
The criss-crossing mountains stand alone,
The wide-spreading rivers are the waves of the civilization;
Four hundred million¹ people under the auspice of the gods,
The land is large and the produce great.
Wave my yellow dragon emblem of the Empire,
Sing the song of our Empire!
¹ 兆 usually means one trillion (1012), but it could mean one million (106), and should have that value here in the song for factual accuracy. See Chinese numerals for details.
The Cup of Solid Gold became the official national anthem of the Qing Empire in less than a week when the Wuchang Uprising occurred in 1911. It lasted for about one year until the end of the empire and the establishment of the Republic of China. It is in classical Chinese.
After the establishment of the provisional government in Nanjing, the Ministry of Education under Cai Yuanpei asked the public for possible anthems (as well as coats of arms), and "Song of Five Races under One Union" (五旗共和歌), with lyrics by Shen Enfu (沈恩孚) and music by Shen Pengnian (沈彭年), was released as a draft in the newspaper.
China, earliest civilization of East Asia,
Admiring America and chasing Europe,
The old nation is under new construction.
The five-coloured flag flutters,
The glory of the Republic
shines over our beautiful mountain and rivers.
My compatriots,
let us sing for civilization.
The universal peace will forever be protected.
How Great is Our China!
Unofficial
Also called "Patriotic Song" (愛國歌), "How Great is Our China!" (泱泱哉，我中華！) has lyrics written by Liang Qichao and music by overseas Chinese at Datong School (大同學校), Yokohama. Released in 1912, it became quite popular, especially among students.[1]
The Song to the Auspicious Cloud has two versions, one used in 1913 and another after 1920.
First version
On April 8, 1913, this national anthem was used in the opening ceremony of the 1st Regular Council; the last line was added by Wang Baorong (汪寶榮), with other lines from Shang Shu; it was set to music by Jeans Hautstont.
卿雲爛兮﹑
糺¹縵縵兮﹐
日月光華﹐
旦復旦兮。
時哉夫，天下非一人之天下也。
How bright is the Auspicious Cloud!
How broad is the brilliancy!
The light is spectacular with sun or moon.
How it revives dawn after dawn!
Now, the country isn't one man's country.
Second version
In November 1919, Duan Qirui established the National Anthem Research Committee (國歌研究會), which adopted:
The lyrics (1920) by Zhang Taiyan (章太炎) from the classic "The Song to the Auspicious Cloud" (卿雲歌) from the Book of Documents.
After general Yuan Shikai became head of state, the Ritual Regulations Office (禮制館) issued the new official anthem, China Heroically Stands in the Universe (中國雄立宇宙間) in June 1915. Its lyrics were written by Yin Chang (廕昌) and music by Wang Lu (王露).[2]
中國雄立宇宙間﹐
廓八埏﹐
華冑來從崑崙巔﹐
江河浩盪山綿連﹐
共和五族開堯天﹐
億萬年。
China heroically stands in Universe,
Extends to the Eight Corners,
The famous descendant from Kunlun Peak.
The rivers turn greatly, the mountains continuous.
Five nationalities open up the sky of Yao,
For millions of myriads of years.
Song of the National Revolution
Provisional
Written by officers of the Whampoa Military Academy, the "Revolution of the Citizens" song (國民革命歌, Guomin Geming Ge), sung to the tune of "Frère Jacques (commonly known as "Two Tigers" in China)," was released on July 1, 1926.
