My Motherland was originally sung by Guo Lanying.
"My Motherland" is a song sung by Guo Lanying and the chorus of the China Opera and Dance Theater, recorded in 1959. It was included in the album Selected Solos of Famous Singer Guo Lanying, released on January 1, 1984 by China Record Group Corporation. The song is also an interlude of the movie "Shangganling".
Guo Lanying, born on December 31, 1930 in Xiangle Township, Pingyao County, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, is a Chinese soprano, Jin opera singer, opera singer, and national vocal music educator. She is a member of the Fourth National Committee of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and a member of the Second and Third Councils of the China Musicians Association. Honorary member of the tenth session of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.
On September 17, 2019, Guo Lanying was awarded the national honorary title of "People's Artist", and on September 25, she was selected for the list of "The Most Beautiful Strugglers". The title of "China Federation of Literature and Culture Lifetime Achievement Dramatist".
Composition process:
In 1956, Shamong asked Liu Chieh to compose the song "My Motherland". In order to make people love the song, Liu Chih researched and studied the songs that people liked to sing from 1949 to 1955, and selected ten songs from them to listen to over and over again.
Finally, he found the half-sentence that begins "My Motherland" from the first line of one of the songs, "Lugou Q&A". When Liu Ch'iu was working in the small white building of Changchun Film Studio, he posted a note on the door saying "Liu Ch'iu is dead" in order to avoid interference from the outside world.
To find a suitable singer for "My Motherland," Changchun invited a group of singers from mainland China who were good at singing folk songs to audition for the role, but the results were not very satisfactory. Later, Qiao Yu suggested that Guo Lanying sing the song, and after Guo Lanying auditioned, Longfang selected her as the singer for the song. The recording of the song was made at the Central People's Radio Station, which broadcast the song to the whole of China the day after the recording was completed.
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia - Guo Lanying