| Ode to the Motherland | |
| Genre: | March |
| Composer: | Wang Shen |
"Ode to the Motherland"[1] is a patriotic song of the People's Republic of China, written and music composed by Wang Shen[2] (; 26 October 1918–October 15, 2007) during the period immediately after the founding of the People's Republic of China (1949–1951). It is sometimes honoured as "the second national anthem" of the PRC.[3] The song was performed in the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2019 Military World Games, the 2021 summer universidade as well as the 2022 Winter Olympics and 2022 Asian Games (held in 2023 due to the COVID 19 pandemic) during China's entry in the parade of nations.
During the Cultural Revolution, its name was Ode to the Socialist Motherland and the lyrics heavily referenced communism and praise of Mao Zedong.
It is the opening music of the radio programmes News and Newspapers Summary (Chinese: 新闻和报纸摘要) and National Network News (Chinese: 全国新闻联播) on China National Radio.[3] Also, it is the closing music of some of CNR's radio channels.
Wang Shen, a musician from the nearby city of Tianjin, started writing this song in late September 1950, shortly after he saw the sea of fluttering Five Star Red Flags at Tiananmen Square during the preparation period for the first National Day of the People's Republic of China, which was to be held on 1 October that year. The song had become very popular firstly in Tianjin, then spreading to Beijing. The song's lyrics and its music composition were officially published on 15 September 1951 in the People's Daily, being promoted widely by the Ministry of Culture of China in time for the National Day festivities.[4]