"I Love Beijing Tiananmen" (我爱北京天安门 Wǒ Ài Běijīng Tiān'ānmén) is a Chinese communist song that was meant as a propaganda tool for schoolchildren to learn. The song was created in 1970 during the Cultural Revolution by students. The lyrics are succint, containing a total of 28 characters, which made it easy to learn and follow along. This song was part of the daily routine for many primary schools. It would be sung, following "The Internationale" and "The East is Red".
The lyricist of the song was Jin Guolin, a 12-year-old student who was in 5th grade in 1970, and the composer was Jin Yueling, a 19-year-old apprentice from Shanghai Sixth Glass Factory.
The first three measures of the chorus of this song were used repeatedly as background music in the infamous 1995 Japanese bootleg Super Nintendo video game, Hong Kong 97. The game, whose plot involved the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, had a strong anti-Communist sentiment, and therefore, the song was used sarcastically.
Lyrics[]
Chinese original[]
| Simplified Chinese original | Traditional Chinese | Pinyin | Palladius Cyrillic |
|---|---|---|---|
我爱北京天安门 |
我愛北京天安門 |
Wǒ ài Běijīng Tiān'ānmén |
Уо ай Бэйцзин Тянь-аньмэнь |
English translation[]
I love Beijing Tiananmen Square,
The sun rises above Tiananmen.
Great leader Chairman Mao,
Guide us all forward.