View source for Cup of Solid Gold

{{Short description|National anthem of Qing China (1911–1912)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox anthem
| title         = {{lang|zh|鞏金甌}}
| transcription = {{transliteration|zh|Gǒng jīn'ōu}}
| english_title = Cup of Solid Gold
| prefix        = Former national
| country       = [[Qing dynasty|China]]
| image         = Daqingguoyue.svg
| image_size    = 220px
| caption       = Sheet music in [[Gongche notation|''Gongche'' notation]]
| author        = [[Yan Fu]]
| composer      = [[Putong]]
| adopted       = 4 October 1911
| until         = 12 February 1912
| sound         = Gǒng Jīn'ōu.ogg
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| title = Cup of Solid Gold
| t = 鞏金甌
| s = 巩金瓯
| p = Gǒng jīn'ōu
| w = {{tonesup|Kung3 Chin1-ou1}}
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|g|ong|3|-|j|in|1|.|ou|1}}
}}
'''Cup of Solid Gold''' was the first official [[Historical Chinese anthems|national anthem of China]], adopted by the [[Qing dynasty]] (1644–1912) on 4 October 1911.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nielsen |first=Mads Vesterager |date=2021-02-25 |title=One song under Heaven: A history of China's national anthems |url=https://thechinaproject.com/2021/02/25/one-song-under-heaven/ |access-date=2025-07-22 |website=The China Project |language=en-US}}</ref> Its title references the "golden cup," a ritual instrument that symbolized the empire. Six days after the anthem's adoption, the [[Wuchang Uprising]] broke out, which quickly led to the [[fall of the Qing dynasty]].

== Background ==
[[File:Li Hung Chang in 1896.jpg|thumbnail|left|180px|[[Li Hongzhang]] arranged a [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907) poem to ceremonial music to serve as China's unofficial anthem during his visit to Europe in 1896.]]
{{National anthems of China}}
{{further|Historical Chinese anthems}}
[[Dynasties in Chinese history]] used music for various ceremonies, but never had official anthems representing the country. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, Qing China was constantly in contact with foreign countries and started to require a national anthem "for diplomatic convenience".{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=440, note 24}}

Qing diplomats were one of the first to suggest adopting an official anthem. [[Zeng Jize]] (1839–1890) – eldest son of statesman [[Zeng Guofan]] – was the Qing envoy to France, Britain, and Russia for several years starting in 1878. Around 1880, he composed a song called ''[[Pu Tian Yue]]'' to be played as China's anthem in various state ceremonies and suggested the Qing adopt it as its official anthem, but the court did not approve. That song's lyrics and melody have both been lost for a very long time. However, an instrumental version of the anthem has been found and a part of what is seemingly the lyrics.{{sfn|Ye|2006}}

When [[Li Hongzhang]] (1823–1901) visited Western Europe and Russia in 1896 as a special envoy charged with learning about foreign institutions after the disastrous end of the [[First Sino–Japanese War|Sino–Japanese War]] in 1895, he was again asked to provide China's national anthem for performance at state receptions. He hastily adapted some court music to a slightly modified ''[[jueju]]'' poem by [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907) poet [[Wang Jian (poet)|Wang Jian]] and presented that song as the Qing anthem.{{sfn|Ye|2006}} That song later became known as the ''[[Tune of Li Zhongtang]]'', but was never officially recognized as a national anthem.{{sfn|Ye|2006}}

Another unofficial anthem was written for the new Qing ground forces that were established in 1906. Entitled ''[[Praise the Dragon Flag]]'', it was played on ceremonial occasions, but like the songs promoted by Zeng Jize and Li Hongzhang, was never officially adopted as the Qing national anthem.{{sfn|Ye|2006}}

A Chinese version of the Japanese national anthem ''[[Kimigayo]]'' (adopted by the [[Meiji period|Meiji]] regime in 1888) was played in the new-style schools that taught modern topics like science and engineering.{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=440}} The Chinese lyrics – "To unify old territories, our ancient Asian country of four thousand years sighs in sorrow for the Jews, India, and Poland. Reading the history of those who have lost their countries, we shiver in our hearts!" – emphasized the [[Social Darwinist]] themes of ethnic crisis and loss of national territory, but many considered these too far from the usual themes of ceremonial music to be acceptable.{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=440}}

== The ''Cup of Solid Gold'' ==
On 25 January 1911, an official from the [[Ministry of Rites]] called Cao Guangquan (曹廣權／曹广权) [[Official communications of the Chinese Empire#Memorials|petitioned]] the Qing court to adopt a stately "national music" (''guoyue'' 國樂／国乐) that could be performed at court ceremonies.{{sfnm|1a1=Ye|1y=2006|2a1=Ye|2a2=Eccles|2y=2007|2p=441}} He proposed that officials collect both ancient music and examples of state music from abroad and, on that basis, design an anthem for the Qing. The Ceremonial Council (Dianliyuan 典禮院／典礼院), which had just replaced the Ministry of Rites, responded on 15 July of that year.{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=441}} It put Putong ({{lang|zh-tw|溥侗}}) (1877–1950) — a Manchu noble and direct descendant of the [[Daoguang Emperor]] who served in the [[Imperial Guards (Qing China)|Imperial Guard]] — in charge of writing the melody, whereas [[Yan Fu]] (1854–1921), a translator of European scientific and philosophical treatises and an advisor to the Qing Navy, was charged with writing the lyrics.{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|pp=451–52}} Guo Cengxin ({{lang|zh-tw|郭曾炘}}), who had worked for the Ministry of Rites, made some minor modifications at the end.{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=452}}

The Qing government adopted ''Gong Jin'ou'' as its national anthem on 4 October 1911.{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=442}} The edict announcing the new anthem, and sometimes even the anthem's music and lyrics, were published in newspapers, and the court instructed the Navy and Army to practice the song, which was also transmitted to China's ambassadors throughout the world.{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|pp=442–43}} However, the [[Wuchang Uprising]] took place on October 10 (six days after the anthem was promulgated) and quickly led to the fall of the dynasty. The foundation of the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] was announced for 1 January 1912, and the [[Puyi|last Qing emperor]] officially abdicated a little more than a month later. ''Gong Jin'ou'' was never performed publicly.{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=457}}

=== Title ===
[[File:金瓯永固杯 故宫珍宝馆.jpg|thumb|180px|Cup of Eternal Solid Gold, preserved in [[the Palace Museum]]]]
''Ou'' (甌) was a kind of wine vessel. ''Jin'ou'' (金甌／金瓯), or golden wine vessel, symbolized an "indestructible country".{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=443}} The [[List of emperors of the Qing dynasty|Qing emperor]] used such a vessel for ritual purposes. Inlaid with pearls and gems, it was known as the "Cup of Eternal Solid Gold" (''Jin'ou Yonggu Bei'' 金甌永固杯).{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=443}} Because ''gong'' 鞏 means "to consolidate" or "to strengthen," the entire title may be translated as "strengthening our hold on the golden cup."{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=443}}

[[Yan Fu]], who wrote the lyrics, glossed the title and first line of the anthem as "Firm and stable be the 'golden cup' (which means the empire)."{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=453, citing a letter by Yan to [[Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon|Sir Edward Grey]] dated 16 March 1912}}

=== Music ===
The person who was nominally put in charge of the anthem's music was Putong, an imperial relative.{{sfn|Rhoads|2000|p=146}} Aided by assistants in the Imperial Guard, he composed the music based on the models found in the ''Complement to the Treatise on Pitch Pipes'' (''Lülü Zhengyi Houbian'' 律呂正義後編／律吕正义后编; 1746), an imperial compilation that complemented a much shorter 1724 work on ceremonial music commissioned by the [[Kangxi Emperor]].{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=442}}

<gallery widths=180>
File:Cup of Solid gold's Notes.png|European notation
File:Sheet music and Gongche notation of Gong Jinou.jpg|Government document with [[Gongche notation]]
</gallery>

=== Lyrics ===
[[File:Yan fu.jpg|thumbnail|180px|[[Yan Fu]], the scholar and naval advisor who wrote the anthem's lyrics in [[classical Chinese]]]]
The lyrics, composed by Yan Fu, are in [[Classical Chinese]].
{| class="wikitable"''
|-
![[Traditional Chinese]]!![[Simplified Chinese]]!!Hanyu [[Pinyin]]!![[Help:IPA/Mandarin|IPA]] transcription!!English translation<ref>[http://sites.google.com/site/monarchyrevival/qing-national-anthem-%E9%9E%8F%E9%87%91%E7%94%8C Site of the Imperial Qing Restoration Organization]</ref>
|- style="valign:top;white-space:nowrap;"
|
<poem>
{{lang|zh-Hant|鞏金甌，
承天幬，
民物欣鳧藻，
喜同袍。
清時幸遭，
真熙皞，
帝國蒼穹保。
天高高，
海滔滔。
}}</poem>
|
<poem>
{{lang|zh-Hans|巩金瓯，
承天帱，
民物欣凫藻，
喜同袍。
清时幸遭,
真熙皞，
帝国苍穹保。
天高高，
海滔滔。
}}</poem>
|
<poem>
Gǒng Jīn'ōu
Chéng tiān chóu,
Mínwù xīn fúzǎo,
Xǐ tóng páo.
Qīng shí xìngzāo,
Zhēn xī hào,
Dìguó cāngqióng bǎo.
Tiān gāogāo,
Hǎi tāotāo.
</poem>
|
<poem>
[kʊ̀ŋ t͡ɕín.óʊ̯]
[ʈ͡ʂʰɤ̌ŋ tʰjɛ́n ʈ͡ʂʰǒʊ̯]
[mǐn.û ɕín fǔ.t͡sɑ̀ʊ̯]
[ɕì tʰʊ̌ŋ pʰɑ̌ʊ̯]
[t͡ɕʰíŋ ʂɻ̩̌ ɕîŋ.t͡sɑ́ʊ̯]
[ʈ͡ʂə́n ɕí xɑ̂ʊ̯]
[tî.kwǒ t͡sʰɑ́ŋ.t͡ɕʰjʊ̌ŋ pɑ̀ʊ̯]
[tʰjɛ́n kɑ́ʊ̯.kɑ́ʊ̯]
[xàɪ̯ tʰɑ́ʊ̯.tʰɑ́ʊ̯]
</poem>
|
<poem>
Solidify our golden empire,
Follow the will of Heaven,
All of creation will celebrate,
All of mankind will be filled with happiness,
As long as the [[Qing]] rules.
May the enlightened empire,
And its vast boundaries be protected.
The sky is high,
The sea is turbulent.
</poem>
|}

In the second line, ''tian chou'' 天幬／天帱 (literally, the "canopy of Heaven") referred to the [[Mandate of Heaven]], which a legitimate dynasty was supposed to represent.{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=446}} ''Tongpao'' 同袍 (lit., "sharing the same robes"), an allusion to a verse in the ''[[Book of Poetry]]'', meant "sharing the same goals and loyalties" or being part of the same army.{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=446, note 39}} In modern transcriptions of the lyrics, that phrase is often miswritten as ''tongbao'' 同胞 ("compatriot"), a term with racial connotations that the Manchu nobles who ruled Qing China purposely wanted to avoid.{{sfn|Ye|2012|p=265}}

Answering a request transmitted by [[George Ernest Morrison]], on 16 March 1912 Yan Fu wrote to British [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs#Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, 1782–1968|Foreign Secretary]] [[Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon|Edward Grey]] to explain the Qing anthem, and ended his letter with a rough translation of the lyrics:{{sfn|Ye|Eccles|2007|p=453, citing Lo Hui-min, ed., ''The Correspondence of G. E. Morrison'', Vol. 1, 1895–1912 (Cambridge University Press, 1976), pp. 768–69}}
<blockquote>Firm and Stable be the "golden cup" (which means the empire) domed by the Celestial concave. In it, men and things happily prosper.
Glad are we who live in the time of Purity. May Heaven protect and secure us from enemies and help us to reach the truly golden age! Oh! The Blue firmament is infinitely high and the seas flow everlastingly.</blockquote>

The character ''qīng'' 清 that Yan rendered as "Purity" was also the name of the [[Qing dynasty]].<ref>
Yan Fu renders the two lines "''xi tong pao, '''qing''' shi zao yu'' 喜同袍，清時幸遭" as "Glad are we who live in the time of '''Purity'''". Other sources translate the same lines as "United in happiness and mirth, As long as the '''Qing''' rules" (see table above) and "Blest compatriots, the '''Qing''' era encounters prosperity" ({{harvnb|Ye|Eccles|2007|pp=446–47}})</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation|last=Rhoads|first=Edward J. M.|year=2000|title=Manchus & Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China 1861–1928|location=Seattle and London|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-97938-0|postscript=.}}
* {{citation|last=Qian 钱|first=Renkang 仁康|year=2010|title=World National Anthem Encyclopedia New Edition 新编世界国歌博览|location=Shanghai |publisher=Shanghai Music Publishing House 上海音乐出版社|isbn=978-7-807-51549-4|postscript=.}}
* {{citation|last=Ye|first=Xiaoqing 葉小青|year=2006|title=Da Qing guo de guoge 大清國的國歌 [The Qing National Anthem]|journal=Xungen 尋根|volume=2006|issue=3|pages=90–91|url=http://doc.qkzz.net/article/d3f55605-73e9-48a9-ab26-d2e28d5c3d6d.htm|doi=10.3969/j.issn.1005-5258.2006.03.010|postscript=.|access-date=2017-09-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906134709/http://doc.qkzz.net/article/d3f55605-73e9-48a9-ab26-d2e28d5c3d6d.htm|archive-date=2017-09-06|url-status=dead}}
* {{citation|last=Ye|first=Xiaoqing|author-mask=3|year=2012|title=Ascendant Peace in the Four Seas: Drama and the Qing Imperial Court|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/24156|publisher=The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press|location=Hong Kong|isbn=978-962-996-457-3|postscript=.|url-access=subscription }}
* {{citation|last1=Ye|first1=Xiaoqing|author1-mask=3|last2=Eccles|first2=Lance|year=2007|title=Anthem for a Dying Dynasty: The Qing National Anthem through the Eyes of a Court Musician|journal=T'oung Pao|volume=93|issue=4/5|pages=433–58|jstor=40376331|postscript=.|doi=10.1163/008254307x246946 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20241213110812/https://nationalanthems.info/cn-12.htm MIDI audio file]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbBTkINk5n4&mode=related&search= Rendition on YouTube]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb1sI2sErI8 Rendition on YouTube, without lyrics]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI7VBxMX2Kk Rendition on YouTube, as portrayed in Towards the Republic]
* [http://www.nationalanthems.info/cn-12.htm Sheet music, lyrics, and audio]
* [http://www.romana-hamburg.de/Chinesische%20Kaiserhymne.htm Chinesische Kaiserhymne] {{in lang|de}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
|title = "Cup of Solid Gold"
|before = Various unofficial tunes
|years = 1911–1912
|after = "[[Song to the Auspicious Cloud]]"<br />{{nobold|(1912–1928)}}
}}
{{s-end}}

{{portal bar|China|Music}}
{{Qing dynasty topics}}
{{Nationalanthemsofasia}}
{{Chinese patriotic songs}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cup of Solid Gold (Gong Jin'Ou)}}
[[Category:Royal anthems]]
[[Category:Historical national anthems]]
[[Category:Chinese anthems]]
[[Category:Qing dynasty]]
[[Category:1911 songs]]
[[Category:1911 introductions]]