Notes:  The title is sometimes translated as "Descendants of the Dragon."  On the first two lines, Chinese has two different words for river, 河 and 江, so the Chinese does not sound quite as repetitive as the English.

The verse in the original version about cannon fire breaking through a tranquil night refers to the Opium Wars.  China’s defeat in the two conflicts (1839-42 and 1858-1860) led to the “unequal treaties,” which not only opened treaty ports and carved up part of the Chinese coastline with foreign concessions, but were also instrumental in opening the country to western contact and legalizing Chinese emigration.  The treaties were often referred to as a “national humiliation.”

This song was written by Taiwan singer/songwriter Hou Dejian (候德建) in December of 1978, in response to the American decision to break off diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) and establish relations with the People's Republic of China.  Though it gained popularity as a patriotic song, in fact, Hou’s metaphor of growing up “under the claw of the dragon” demonstrates a certain amount of ambivalence toward China.   As scholar Geremie R. Barme has noted, "'Heirs' had originally been written after the U.S. abandonment of the Republic of China in 1978 to express profound frustration with the traditions that the song appeared, at least superficially, to romanticize." (1)

"Heirs" was first recorded by singer Li Jianfu (李建復), and it quickly spread across Taiwan as a nationalistic anthem.  A Cantonese version was recorded by Hong Kong patriotic singer Zhang Mingmin (張明敏).  In 2000, Chinese American Leehom Wang (王力宏) recorded his version, adding an English-language rap and changing the last verse to reference the experience of Taiwanese immigrants in the United States instead of the Opium Wars.  Li Jianfu is Leehom's second cousin (表叔), and the one responsible for getting Leehom involved in the Taiwanese music industry.

In 1983, Hou Dejian violated Guomindang travel restrictions and traveled to mainland China.  “Heirs of the Dragon” became wildly popular in China, where it was embraced as an expression of Chinese nationalism and the importance of reunification.  Hou’s recording career continued on the mainland, and he met up with many of the illustrious figures of 1980s Chinese music.  In the spring of 1989, “Heirs of the Dragon” was adopted alongside songs like “The Internationale (國際歌)” and Cui Jian’s “Nothing to my name (一無所有)” by the student d e m o c r a c y movement in T i a n a n m e n Square. Hou became deeply involved in the movement, and he helped lead a hunger strike in the Square beginning June 2.  Because of his actions, he was deported from China back to Taiwan in 1990.

In May, 1989, at a concert in Hong Kong to support the students in Beijing, Hou made two changes to the lyrics.  In the line "surrounded on all sides by the appeasers' swords," he replaced "appeasers" with "dictators" (四面楚歌是獨裁的劍).  The second change was even more profound.  During the course of his years on the mainland, Hou had met many individuals (including the student leader in Beijing) who were Chinese nationals, but ethnic minorities.  In other words, he learned that not all of the Chinese people had "black hair, black eyes, yellow skin."  He changed that line to, "Whether you are willing or not, forever and ever an heir of the dragon" (不管你自己願不願意，永永遠遠是龍的傳人).  The change reflects the ambivalence in the song's original message, though the version later recorded by Leehom Wang is far more uncritically nationalistic and reverts to the original "black hair, black eyes, yellow skin" line.  

Over the years, the song fell out of favor with those advocating for i n d e p e n d e n c e for Taiwan, but continues to hold strong pull as a patriotic song in China (none of the popular songs sung at the protests seem to have had their popularity damaged by association).  Scholars have suggested that “Heirs of the Dragon,” with its illustration of the how ethnic ties can overcome geographic distance, has also been embraced by Chinese communities overseas, though the song’s popularity surges and retreats.(2)  In recent years, it has experienced a resurgence in interest as a result of Leehom's introduction of his rock/pop version and its status as a standard at his concerts.