Alright, I’ve nothing particularly witty to say about Canada Day, the 10th Anniversary of Hong Kong coming back to the PRC, nor the foundation of the Chinese Communist Party.
Instead, here’s the Chinese translation of the Canadian National Anthem (both the original French version and the newer – more widely sung – English version).
English Canadian National Anthem in Chinese
å•Šï¼ŒåŠ æ‹¿å¤§ï¼æˆ‘们的祖国，我们的家乡! (O Canada! Our home and native land!)
您的å女对您充满真爱. (True patriot love in all thy sons command.)
颗颗闪亮的心儿深情å‡æœ›ï¼Œ (With glowing hearts, we see thee rise,)
é‚£ä¸€ç‰‡å¼ºå¤§è‡ªç”±çš„åŒ—æ–¹ï¼ (The True North strong and free!)
å•Šï¼ŒåŠ æ‹¿å¤§ï¼æ— 论身处何地， (From far and wide, O Canada,)
我们都ä¿å«æ‚¨ã€‚ (We stand on guard for thee.)
上å¸ä½¿æˆ‘ä»¬çš„ç¥–å›½è‡ªç”±è¾‰ç…Œï¼ (God keeps our land glorious and free!)
å•Šï¼ŒåŠ æ‹¿å¤§ï¼æˆ‘们ä¿å«æ‚¨ï¼ (O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.)
French Canadian National Anthem in Chinese
å•Šï¼ŒåŠ æ‹¿å¤§ï¼Œæˆ‘ä»¬å¤è€çš„父æ¯é‚¦ï¼Œ (Ô Canada! Terre de nos aïeux,)
æ‚¨å¤´ä¸Šçš„èŠ±å† é—ªç€ç¾Žä¸½å…‰èŠ’。 (Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!)
åå—架的圣光照亮四方，(Car ton bras sait porter l′épée,)
您的儿女在光辉下诞生æˆé•¿ï¼(l sait porter la croix!)
我们åšå‹‡é¡½å¼ºï¼Œæå«å®¶ä¹¡ï¼Œ(Ton histoire est une épopée)
æ— æ‚”çš„åŽ†å²è¾‰ç…Œæ‚ é•¿ï¼(Des plus brillants exploits.)
万能的主ï¼æˆ‘们呼唤，(Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,)
ä¿å«æ°‘æƒï¼Œä¿å«å›½é‚¦ï¼(Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.)
ä¿å«æ°‘æƒï¼Œä¿å«å›½é‚¦ï¼(Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.)
Cheers for Adsotrans for supplying the pinyin. Unfortunately I could not find it sung in Chinese. If anyone knows of such a link (Rick, where’s your stolen media brotha), please let me know in the comments.
Interestingly enough, 84 years ago – on July 1st, 1923 – Canada passed the Chinese Immigration (Exclusion) Act, after the Head Tax failed to keep them out of the country:
As soon as the CPR was completed, the Federal Government moved to restrict the immigration of Chinese to Canada. The first federal anti-Chinese bill was passed in 1885. It took the form of a Head tax of $50 imposed, with few exceptions, upon every person of Chinese origin entering the country. No other group was targeted in this way.
The Head Tax was increased to $100 in 1900 and to $500 in 1903. $500 was equivalent to two years wages of a Chinese labour at the time. Meanwhile, Chinese were denied Canadian citizenship. In all, the Federal Government collected $23 million from the Chinese through the Head Tax.
Despite the Head Tax, Chinese immigrants continued to come to Canada. In 1923, the Canadian Parliament passed the Chinese Immigration Act excluding all but a few Chinese immigrants from entering Canada. Between 1923 and 1947 when the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed, less than 50 Chinese were allowed to come to Canada. Passed on July 1, 1923, Dominion Day, this law was perceived by the Chinese Canadian community as the ultimate form of humiliation. The Chinese Canadian community called this “Humiliation Day” and refused to celebrate Dominion Day for years to come.
