The Great Wall Ballad

"The Great Wall Ballad" (长城谣 Chángchéng Yáo) is a Chinese patriotic song written in 1937 (Zhaohe 12) by Pao Maonong and Liu Xue'an after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident involving imperialist Japan. The song became extremely popular among both the Communist and Nationalist Chinese parties, and quickly rose to prominence among the Chinese diaspora.

Today, the ballad is one of the most popular Chinese patriotic songs in both Taiwan and Mainland China, largely due to its apolitical lyrics and folk-style melody. The song has been adapted numerous times across its history, and is sometimes seen as the de facto anthem of the Chinese diaspora.

Lyrics

Chinese official

Simplified Chinese original	Traditional Chinese	Pinyin	Palladius Cyrillic
万里长城万里长，长城外面是故乡。 高粱肥，大豆香，遍地黄金少灾殃。 自从大难平地起，奸淫掳掠苦难当。 苦难当，奔他方，骨肉离散父母丧。 没齿难忘仇和恨，日夜只想回故乡。 大家拼命打回去，哪怕倭寇逞豪强。 万里长城万里长，长城外面是故乡。 四万万同胞心一条，新的长城万里长。	萬里長城萬里長，長城外面是故鄉。 高粱肥，大豆香，遍地黃金少災殃。 自從大難平地起，姦淫擄掠苦難當。 苦難當，奔他方，骨肉離散父母喪。 沒齒難忘仇和恨，日夜只想回故鄉。 大家拼命打回去，哪怕倭寇逞豪強。 萬里長城萬里長，長城外面是故鄉。 四萬萬同胞心一條，新的長城萬里長。	Wànlǐchángchéng wànlǐ cháng, Chángchéng wàimiàn shì gùxiāng. Gāoliang féi, Dàdòu xiāng, Biàndì huángjīn shào zāiyāng. Zìcóng dànàn píngdì qǐ, Jiānyínlǔluè kǔnán dāng. Kǔnán dāng, Bēn tā fāng, Gǔròulísàn fùmǔ sàng. Mòchǐnánwàng qiú hé hèn, Rìyè zhǐ xiǎng huí gùxiāng. Dàjiā pīnmìng dǎ huíqù, Nǎpà wōkòu chěng háoqiáng. Wànlǐchángchéng wànlǐ cháng, Chángchéng wàimiàn shì gùxiāng. Sìwànwàn tóngbāo xīn yìtiáo, Xīn de Chángchéng wànlǐ cháng.	Уаньличанчэн уаньли чан, Чанчэн уаймянь шы гусян. Гаолян фэй, Дадоу сян, Бяньди хуанцзинь шао цзайян. Цзыцун даньань пинди ци, Цзянь-иньлулуэ кунань дан. Кунань дан, Бэнь та фан, Гужоулисань фуму сан. Мочынаньван цю хэ хэнь, Жые чжы сян хуй гусян. Дацзя пиньмин да хуйцюй, Напа уокоу чэн хаоцян. Уаньличанчэн уаньли чан, Чанчэн уаймянь шы гусян. Сываньвань тунбао синь итяо, Синь дэ Чанчэн уаньли чан.

English translate

Ten thousand li is the Great Wall long,
Behind the Great Wall is my hometown .
The sorghum was rich and the soybeans fragrant,
Gold was all over the land, with no disasters.
Since the great catastrophe began,
The rape and looting was too bitter to endure
Hardship drove us to foreign lands
Fragmented, our kinfolk and parents died.
Even when I grow old and my teeth fall out
I shall never forget the avengement and enmity
We must all fight to protect our homeland
No matter how the enemy shows their tyranny
Ten thousand li is the Great Wall long,
Behind the Great Wall is my hometown .
Four-hundred million compatriots share one heart.
The new Great Wall is ten thousand li long.