The Sword March
The Sword March | |||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 大刀進行曲 | ||||||||
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Simplified Chinese | 大刀进行曲 | ||||||||
Literal meaning | The Big-Knife March | ||||||||
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"The Sword March" is a Chinese patriotic song first sung in Republican China during the Second Sino-Japanese War (World War II) after the Japanese invasion of 1937. It is also known in Chinese by its first line, Dà dÄo xià ng guÇzi de tóu shà ng kÇŽn qù: "Our dadaos raised o'er the devils' heads! Hack them off!"
History
Mai Xin wrote the song in 1937 specifically to honor the valor of the 29th Army[1] during the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, where their standard weapons were only a rifle and a machete-like sword known in Chinese as a dadao. As this name literally means "big knife", the song was also known as "The Big Sword March", despite the dadao more closely resembling a machete. Guizi—literally, "the hateful one(s)"—was a racial epithet formerly used against the Western powers during the failed Boxer Rebellion; the anthem helped popularize its use in reference to the Japanese, which remains current in modern China.
The lyrics were later changed to broaden its appeal from just the 29th to the "entire nation’s" armed forces.[1] This song became the de facto army marching cadence in the Republican National Revolutionary Army. The Chinese television series known in English as Chop! in fact used the song's opening line as its title. It also appears in the films Lust, Caution and The Children of Huang Shi.
Lyrics
Traditional | Simplified | Hanyu Pinyin | English translation |
---|---|---|---|
大刀å‘鬼å們的é 上ç åŽ»ï¼ | 大刀å‘鬼å们的头上ç åŽ»ï¼ | Dà dÄo xià ng guÇzi men de tóu shà ng kÇŽn qù! | Our swords the devils' heads hack off! |
全國æ¦è£çš„å¼Ÿå…„å€‘ï¼ | 全国æ¦è£…çš„å¼Ÿå…„ä»¬ï¼ | Quánguó wÇ”zhuÄng de dìxiongmen! | The whole nation of armed brothers, |
抗戰的一天來到了, | 抗战的一天æ¥åˆ°äº†ï¼Œ | Kà ngzhà n de yÄ«tiÄn láidà o liÇŽo, | The day of our defense has come! |
æŠ—æˆ°çš„ä¸€å¤©ä¾†åˆ°äº†ï¼ | 抗战的一天æ¥åˆ°äº†ï¼ | Kà ngzhà n de yÄ«tiÄn láidà o liÇŽo, | The day of our defense has come! |
å‰é¢æœ‰æ±åŒ—的義勇è»ï¼Œ | å‰é¢æœ‰ä¸œåŒ—的义勇军, | Qiánmian yÇ’u dÅngbÄ›i de yìyÇ’ngjÅ«n, | In front, the nor'east volunteers! |
å¾Œé¢æœ‰å…¨åœ‹çš„è€ç™¾å§“, | åŽé¢æœ‰å…¨å›½çš„è€ç™¾å§“, | Hòumian yÇ’u quánguó de lÇŽo bÇŽixìng, | In the rear, populace of the entire nation! |
咱們ä¸åœ‹è»éšŠå‹‡æ•¢å‰é€²ï¼Œ | 咱们ä¸å›½å†›é˜Ÿå‹‡æ•¢å‰è¿›ï¼Œ | Zánmen ZhÅngguó jÅ«nduì yÇ’nggÇŽn qiánjìn, | Our Chinese army, valiantly advancing! |
çœ‹æº–é‚£æ•µäººï¼ | çœ‹å‡†é‚£æ•Œäººï¼ | Kà n zhÇ”n nà dÃrén! | See there! The Enemy! |
æŠŠä»–æ¶ˆæ»…ï¼ŒæŠŠä»–æ¶ˆæ»…ï¼ | 把他消ç,把他消çï¼ | BÇŽ tÄ xiÄomiè, bÇŽ tÄ xiÄomiè! | Destroy them! Destroy them! |
è¡å•Šï¼ | å†²å•Šï¼ | ChÅng a! | Charge! |
大刀å‘鬼å們的é 上ç 去, | 大刀å‘鬼å们的头上ç 去, | Dà dÄo xià ng guÇzi men de tóu shà ng kÇŽn qù! | Swords raised o'er the devils' heads! Hack 'em off! |
æ®ºï¼ | æ€ï¼ | ShÄ! | Kill! |
References
- 1 2 Lei, Bryant. "New Songs of the Battlefield": Songs and Memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, p. 85. University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh), 2004.