The Tune of Li Zhongtang () is the first semi-official

national song A national anthem is a Patriotism, patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are March (music), marches or hymns in style. The Americas ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, written by

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...

in 1896 during the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. It also served as the imperial anthem for the dynasty.

History

In 1896, (the 22nd year of Guangxu),

(李鴻章), Minister of Beiyang and Governor of

Zhili Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th-century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and renamed ...

, paid a diplomatic visit to

west Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. As a national song was requested for the welcome ceremony, Li Hongzhang adapted a

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

poem by Wang Jian for the purpose.

Lyrics

Simplified Chinese

金殿当头紫阁重，
仙人掌上玉芙蓉，
太平天子朝天日，
五色云车驾六龙。

Traditional Chinese

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。

Hanyu Pinyin

Jīndiàn dāng tóu zǐgè chóng,
Xiānrén zhǎng shàng yù fúróng,
Taìpíng Tiānzǐ cháo tiān rì,
Wǔ sè yúnchē jià liù lóng.

English Translation

In the Golden Palace, amongst the overlapping purple pavilions,
Like a jade

lotus flower ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often ref ...

in an immortal's palm,
The

Son of Heaven Son of Heaven, or ''Tianzi'' (), was the sacred monarchical title of the Chinese sovereign. It originated with the Zhou dynasty and was founded on the political and spiritual doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven. Since the Qin dynasty, the secula ...