"The Centenary Moment of the Communist Party of China" He Jingzhi and the birth of "Nanniwan"

Beijing, November 24 (CNBC) -- The Voice of China of the Central Radio and Television Corporation and the National Radio station jointly launched a special report, "A Moment in the Centenary of the Communist Party of China." This issue is launched: He Jingzhi and the birth of "Nanniwan".

After the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression entered a stage of stalemate, the Japanese puppet army tightened its military encirclement and economic blockade of the base areas behind our enemy lines. In this regard, Mao Zedong issued a call to "do it yourself and have enough food and clothing," and the military and people in the anti-Japanese base areas launched a large-scale production campaign with Nanniwan as the mainstay. After three years of hard work, under the extremely difficult conditions of lack of production funds and production tools, Nanniwan has been turned into a "good Jiangnan in northern Shaanxi".

During the Spring Festival in 1943, the Yangge Team of the Lu Xun Art Institute in Yan'an needed to arrange a set of programs to pay tribute to all the officers and men of the 359th Brigade of the "Model Production" in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. An bo, head of the Lu Yixin Yangge Movement Working Committee, approached the poet He Jingzhi and asked him to compose a song about Nanniwan.

The 19-year-old He Jingzhi was touched by the enthusiasm of the officers and men of the 359th Brigade to carry out a large-scale production campaign, and he wrote the lyrics of "Nanniwan" on the day he received the task. After writing the lyrics, He Jingzhi found Marco, a classmate of Lu Yi at the time, to help compose the music, and Ma could compose music for it in the mode of northern Shaanxi folk songs.

He Jingzhi: The 359th Brigade is a model, we go forward, send flowers to the model, feel their own heart and their own thoughts and feelings, with these mountains, water, land, and these ordinary people are mixed together, so happy that they don't know what is going on.

He Jingzhi was born in Zaozhuang, Shandong in 1924, and actively participated in the anti-Japanese rescue activities at the age of 15. In 1940, he walked all the way to Yan'an, the holy land of revolution in his heart, and then studied at the Lu Xun Art Institute. He Jingzhi said that Yan'an was like a mother, giving him infinite strength.

He Jingzhi: For me, Yan'an is my second life. When I arrived in Yan'an, I was not yet 16 years old, and my natural life was also raised by small rice, and I also grew up drinking the water of the Yanhe River. Yan'an determines my life, my life path, and my artistic path, so I call Yan'an my mother.

"Nanniwan" was quickly sung in the vast border areas and large rear areas, which deeply inspired the military and people of the whole country who were fighting the War of Resistance. In 1964, "Nanniwan" was selected for the large-scale musical and dance epic "Dongfang Hong". Since then, "Nanniwan" has been more widely circulated, and the spirit of self-reliance and hard work of the Chinese people has also been brought to all directions of the motherland.

Producer: Gao Yan

Planner: Wu Junshan, Li Qian

Chief Writer: Wang Yi Ji Suping

Speaker: Changyue

Coordinator: Zhu Xingxiao, Wang Zehua

Production: Zhou Tianzhong