I have always preferred the uplifting melody of the National Flag Anthem to the solemn tone of the Republic of China (ROC) National Anthem, which is also the anthem of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). However, the National Flag Anthem contains the phrase “Yanhuang shizhou” (炎黃世胄, meaning “descendants of Yan and Huang”), referring to the Yan Emperor (炎帝) and the Yellow Emperor (黃帝), thought to be the ancestors of modern-day Chinese, most specifically Han Chinese. The phrase is particularly contentious.
Taiwan’s remarkable achievements in the recent Paris Olympics are undoubtedly cause for national celebration, but are the Taiwanese athletes truly all descendants of the Yan Emperor and the Yellow Emperor?