Ode to the Motherland
"Ode to the Motherland" () is a famous patriotic song of the People's Republic of China, written and music composed by Wang Shen (; 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. The song was performed in the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics. 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" () and "National Network News" () on China National Radio. Also, it is the closing music of some of CNR's radio channels. Origin. 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.