Text/Yan Li
Pages 86 to 89 of the 11th issue of Yanhuang Chunqiu in 2020 published the article "The Big Knife Cuts off the Heads of the Devils - Born in the Anti-Japanese Flame" by Dong Zelong and Li Huilan (hereinafter referred to as the author). The article said: "The March of the Great Knife was created in 1933 and was originally mainly sung in the 29th Army, and was not widely disseminated in society. The author interviewed Guo Jiafang, then deputy battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 109th Brigade of the 37th Division of the 29th Army (who participated in the night attack on the enemy camp led by Zhao Dengyu in the 1933 Xifengkou War of Resistance) and Yang Yunfeng, the last member of the 29th Army's Big Knife Team (who participated in the Battle of Xifengkou and the Lugou Bridge War of Resistance, and then followed He Jifeng in the Eight-Year War of Resistance and died in 2004), and they recalled together: "In 1933, the "Big Knife March" was already sung in the army, and by 1934, the commander officially announced that the military songs sung in previous years would be sung That is, yue Fei's "Manjiang Hong" was changed to "Big Knife March". ”
Judging from this text, the reason why the author believes that "The Great Knife March" was created in 1933 is based on the memories of the two veterans Guo Jiafang and Yang Yunfeng who were interviewed, and there is no proof of the songwriting parties or insiders.
The author also said in the article that the rich life and strong cultural atmosphere in Mai Xin's home laid a good foundation for Mai Xin's later creation of the "Big Knife March". He later actively participated in the singing activities of the Shanghai Salvation Group "People's Song Society" and progressive music organizations... It laid a solid foundation for his later creation of the Great Knife March.
◆ Mai Xin
From the analysis of this part of the text, the author obviously believes that Mai Xin was able to compose the "Big Knife March" after joining the "People's Song Society". However, the "People's Song Society" in Shanghai was established in February 1935 and dissolved in July 1936, and Mai Xin joined the "People's Song Society" in May 1935. This contradicts the author's earlier statement that the "Great Knife March" was created in 1933.
So what year was Mai Xin's "Big Knife March" created? After investigation, it should be August and September shortly after the July 7 Incident in 1937. The sources are as follows:
1. The autobiography of Mai Xin
On December 10, 1940, Mai Xin wrote his autobiography in the music work troupe, in which he wrote: "In 1936, I joined the 'Song Research Society' led by Lü Ji and began to engage in songwriting work..." (Source: Mai Xin Memorial Hall, 2002, "People's Singer Mai Xin", page 156). This material is specifically noted in the book "This piece is copied from the Institute of Music")
This autobiography was provided to the organization when Mai Xin first arrived in Yan'an, and it can be seen from Mai Xin's autobiography that he only began to compose music from 1936, so it is unlikely that he wrote the "Big Knife March" in 1933. The autobiography also said that he joined the Communist Party of China on September 25, 1937 in Shanghai, when he was 3 years and 3 months old.
2. "Mai Xinshengping and His Creation Chronology"
"Mai Xinshengping and his Chronology of Creation" is written by Chen Meiqi, a music theorist of jilin literary association, who has edited the "Collection of Mai Xin's Research Materials" and published The Collection of Mai Xin's Songs, "And Others". In this chronology, 1933 is blank, and 1935 is: "Start reading progressive books." In May, he participated in the "People's Singing Society" of the Shanghai YMCA led by Mr. Liu Liangmo, a famous patriot, and was one of the main responsible persons of the Singing Association, where he met the musician Comrade Meng Bo. Before and after the 12.9 Movement, he became acquainted with the famous musician Comrade Lü Ji, and joined the left-wing music group 'Amateur Choir' led by Lü Ji and other comrades, was elected as one of the standing committee members, and since then he has thrown himself into the fighting ranks and one of the main organizers of the anti-Japanese salvation movement led by the party. (People's Singer Mai Xin, p. 108)
From this text, it can be seen that Mai Xin participated in the "People's Song Meeting" in May 1935, which also confirms that the above mentioned "Big Knife March" was created after May 1935.
In the chronology, the contents of 1937 read: "After the August 13 Incident in Shanghai in 1937 - The Author's Note), he joined the Shanghai Song and Yongjie Wartime Service Corps, and was one of the leaders of the regiment, mainly engaged in the work of comforting the wounded and educating refugees. His main works include: the famous "March of the Great Knife", "Chinese Women's Song of Resistance against the Enemy", "Guerrilla Song" and other songs. (People's Singer Mai Xin, p. 109)
This passage more directly indicates that the "Great Knife March" was created in 1937.
The chronology author, Maggie Chen, is not only a music theorist, but also has studied Mai Xin's materials and published relevant works, and its authority should be trustworthy.
3. "Comrade Mai Xin's Calendar"
In the "People's Singer Mai Xin" there is also an excerpt from the article "Comrade Mai Xin's Brief Calendar" published in the "Work Express" published on June 25, 1947 (the month of Mai Xin's sacrifice), which reads: "From September 1935 to September 1937, he participated in the Shanghai Professional Salvation Association as the team leader, and also the chairman of the People's Song Association Executive Committee and the standing committee member of the amateur choir, began to compose lyrics and compose, and published new works in the first, second and third episodes of "Popular Songs", such as "The Commemorative Song of September 18", "The Sacrifice has reached the Last Moment", "The March of the Big Knife", "The March of the Big Knife". Defend Madrid", "Zhuang Ding", "Guerrilla Song" and other popular national. (People's Singer Mai Xin, p. 69)
This passage also unmistakably states that the Great Knife March was written between September 1935 and September 1937, and although it does not accurately state the specific time, it is certain that it was not 1933.
4. Meng Bo's nostalgic article
In 1977, the 6th issue of People's Music published Meng Bo's article "Comrade Mai Xin, a singer who misses the battle.". He wrote: "After the July 7 Incident of 1937 ... Comrade Mai Xin, full of hatred for Japanese imperialism, composed the well-known anti-Japanese song "March of the Great Knife" at home and abroad. During the creative and mass audition, he made several revisions. ("People's Singer Mai Xin", p. 16) The article also recalls his 1936 collaboration with Mai Xin in composing "Sacrifice has reached the last moment".
Meng Bo is a famous musician, former director of the Shanghai Municipal Film Bureau, who co-edited the song collection "Popular Songs" with Mai Xin. In 1936 and 1937, he fought with Mai Xin in Shanghai, living day and night, witnessing mai Xin's process of composing the "Big Knife March". Therefore, his recollection should be very reliable.
5. "The New Biography of Mai"
The Biography of Mai Xin was published by Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House in May 1982, and the authors are Meng Bo and Qiao Shutian. On pages 60 to 64 of this book, the author vividly describes mai Xin's process of composing the "Big Knife March", which was after August after the July 7 Lugou Bridge Incident in 1937. The second author of the book, Qiao Shutian, is a famous lyricist, who created "Childhood Dreams - The Story of Musician Mai Xin", "World Music Saint - Beethoven", "Wordless Poetry - Music", etc. From the perspective of his works, he studied music and musicians.
The above material comes from Mai Xin himself, or Mai Xin's comrades-in-arms, or commemorative articles published just after his sacrifice, or musicians who study Mai Xin's materials. Most of their information is first-hand, obviously more convincing than the recollections of the two veterans of the 29th Army. After all, veterans have not been in contact with Mai Xin, and they should not know or understand Mai Xin, and their memories may be time-dislocated due to their age.
In summary, it can be determined that Mai Xin only began to engage in the creation of revolutionary songs under the influence of the Party after he accepted the revolutionary ideas and joined the revolutionary groups led by the Communist Party, and the creation and revision of the "Big Knife March" was between August and September 1937, that is, before Mai Xin joined the Communist Party of China.
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