''Tiếng gọi thanh niên'', or ''Thanh niên hành khúc'' (, "March of the Youths"), and originally the ''March of the Students'' (, ), is a famous song of the Vietnamese musician

Lưu Hữu Phước Lưu Hữu Phước (12 September 1921 – 8 June 1989) was a Vietnamese composer, a member of the National Assembly, and Chairman of the Committee of Culture and Education of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Lưu Hữu ...

. Its lyrics were revised to become the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

of the

State of Vietnam The State of Vietnam (; chữ Hán: 國家越南; ) was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as an associated state of the French Union and later as an independent state (from 20 July 1954 to 26 October 1955). The s ...

from 1949 to 1955 and later the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with it ...

(South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975, with the name ''Tiếng Gọi Công Dân'' ("Call to the Citizens"). This move was strongly protested by the original author Lưu Hữu Phước, who was

culture minister A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizat ...

of the

Việt Cộng The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

-led Provisional Revolutionary Government during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

History

Original version

The anthem was originally named ''La Marche des Étudiants'' (''March of the Students''), composed by

and written by in late 1939, and first adopted by a student club. In 1941, it became the anthem of the Indochina Students General Association, Phước renamed the anthem as ''Tiếng Gọi Thanh Niên'' (''Call to the Youths''), the lyrics was rewritten in Vietnamese and divided into three verses. The first verse was written by Lưu Hữu Phước and Mai Văn Bộ in 1941, and secretly spread until 1945, the second verse (''Tiếng Gọi Sinh Viên'', Call to the Students) was written by Lê Khắc Thiều and Đặng Ngọc Tốt in late 1941, and published in 1943, the third verse was written by Hoàng Mai Lưu on April 4, 1945, and published before the

August Revolution The August Revolution (), also known as the August General Uprising (), was a revolution led by the Việt Minh against the Empire of Vietnam from 16 August to 2 September 1945. The Empire of Vietnam was led by the Nguyễn dynasty and was ...

. In 1945 it became the anthem of the Vanguard Youth, the lyrics were slightly modified and known as ''Tiếng Gọi Thanh Niên'' or ''Thanh Hiên Hành Khúc''.

Thanh Niên Hành Khúc (1948–1956) and Tiếng Gọi Công Dân (1956–1975)

In 1948, the

Provisional Central Government of Vietnam The Provisional Central Government of Vietnam was a provisional associated government within the French Union, proclaimed in Vietnam during the First Indochina War. On 5 June 1948, it was recognized as an independent government by France. However ...

adopted the song as its national anthem. The song was later modified, changing its name to ''Tiếng Gọi Công Dân'' (''Call to the Citizens'') or ''Công Dân Hành Khúc'' (''March of the Citizens''), and became the official national anthem of

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

. ''Thanh niên Hành Khúc'' was first adopted as the national anthem by the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam (1948–1949) on 14 June 1948, and it was inherited as a national anthem by the

(1949–1955) and the

(1955–1975). The lyrics of ''Thanh Niên Hành Khúc'' were revised by former President

Ngo Dinh Diem Ngô Đình Diệm ( , or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955) and later the first president of South Vietnam (Republic of V ...

in 1956. The composer Lưu Hữu Phước opposed South Vietnam's use of the song and in 1949 he wrote a letter in protest; later the

Voice of Vietnam The Voice of Vietnam is the Vietnamese national radio broadcaster. Directly run by the Ministry of Finance alongside the Vietnam Television and the Vietnam News Agency, VOV is tasked with promoting the policies of the Communist Party and t ...

sporadically broadcast Lưu Hữu Phước's criticisms.

After the war (1975–present)

After 1975, the original version and name (''Tiếng Gọi Thanh Niên'') of the song was performed as the official version in the

Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. Anti-communist refugees and expatriates continued to use the revised version and dubbed it as "Anthem of Free Vietnam".

References

External links

Lưu Hữu Phước's original version, performed by Choir of Voice of Vietnam
("Words" is Japanese version only)

(Vietnamese language only)
Sheet music of Tiếng Gọi Thanh Niên with French lyrics
*Tiếng Gọi Công Dân

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thanh Nien Hanh Khuc South Vietnam V Historical national anthems Vietnamese songs National symbols of Vietnam Asian anthems