中国在清代以前,闭关锁国,对外交往不多,也没有国歌。中国最早的国歌的产生,源于1896年北洋大臣兼直隶总督李鸿章作为外交特使赴西欧和俄国作礼节性的访问。按当时的外交惯例,在欢迎仪式上是要演奏国歌的。为此,清政府只好临时编了一首,被后人称为《李中堂乐》,此后10多年清政府在对外交往和国内大典中一直沿用此歌。 Before the Qing Dynasty, China closed its door to locking off the country, with few foreign exchanges and no national anthem. The earliest national anthem in China originated from a courtesy visit by the Northern Expedition Minister and Governor Li Hongzhang as diplomatic envoy to western Europe and Russia in 1896. According to the current diplomatic practice, at the welcoming ceremony, the national anthem was to be played. To this end, the Qing government had to temporarily compiled a song, later known as “Lee Chung-tang music”, after more than 10 years the Qing government in foreign exchanges and domestic ceremony has been using this song.