Beijing, 22 Mar (Xinhua) -- On the afternoon of 19 March, teacher Deng Xiaolan had a sudden cerebral infarction while preparing for a music festival in Malan Village, Fuping County, Hebei Province.
"If one day, you come to the beautiful Maran, don't forget to sing a song in your heart, let the children know that love is in the world..."
At the end of November last year, in order to collect news materials for the singing of the Olympic song at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, we went into the depths of the Taihang Mountains and interviewed a group of children in the mountains, and also interviewed a low-key and simple old man behind the children - Deng Xiaolan.
The first time I met Deng Xiaolan was in the music classroom of Malan Elementary School. That afternoon the sun was shining, slanting into the room, and she sat in front of a chalkboard full of staves and notes, telling her story about herself and Malan.
Deng Xiaolan is the daughter of Deng Tuo, the former director of the Jin-Cha-Ji Daily. In 1943, smoke and flames of war broke out. In order to run a newspaper in hiding, the Jin-Cha-Ji Daily went deep into Taihang and stationed it in Malan Village, Fuping County. During a sweep, the villagers paid with their lives to keep secrets. "They really didn't talk about it no matter how much they coerced it, and as a result, the enemy killed 19 villagers in a row in those two days." Deng Xiaolan choked up.
And she herself was born in such a period of anti-sweeping. During a transfer, her mother, Ding Yilan, gave birth to her in a small broken shed in the mountains. "My mother said I was born early in the morning, when the sun first came out, and then I was carried back to the society on a stretcher."
When the situation was turbulent and his parents' work was special, when the newspaper was transferred again, Deng Xiaolan was left in Fuping. An old couple in the village raised her and did not send her back to her parents until after the victory of the war.
"Those old comrades regard the village of Malan as their second hometown and miss the villagers of Malan very much."
A chance in 2003 changed Deng Xiaolan's life.
She and the old people of the newspaper office returned to Malan to visit the grave, and happened to run into the local Young Pioneers who were also sweeping the grave.
"I offered to sing to my grandparents, but they couldn't sing anything. I felt bad in my heart. Then I thought, I want to have time, I must teach them to sing. ”
Over the years, she has delivered on her promise. Spend a lot of time each year in the village of Maran, where her parents used to fight and live, teaching the children to sing and learn musical instruments. From "Two Little Cattle Herding" to "Ode to Joy", from "Unity is Strength" to "In That Distant Place", Deng Xiaolan always believes that music education will benefit children for life. She said: "The songs are full of poetry, the most beautiful and essential things in human culture. After learning music, children's emotions will change and their personalities will become cheerful. She also firmly believes that "if someone teaches, the children in the countryside are no worse than the children in the city."
"Once we went to Shanghai to participate in an international youth music summer camp, there were many foreign student bands, and at the end of the concert, everyone sang "Friendship lasts for a long time". The little volunteer came over and said, if you don't know English, you can sing Chinese with everyone at the end. I said, we will, because I taught them to sing. ”
"I want to give my children the confidence that they won't be afraid of the stage on any occasion." When Deng Xiaolan said these words, his eyes were warm and bright.
In 2006, Deng Xiaolan formed the first small band at Malan Elementary School. Speaking of recruitment criteria, she smiled and said: "My principle is that children like it, and I can make them feel happy with music, so come and learn from me." ”
After the Beijing Olympic Games, Deng Xiaolan also brought the members of the small band to Beijing at his own expense, Tiananmen, the Bird's Nest, the Water Cube, the Zoo... She accompanied the children almost all over the city. "The first time I took them to live in my house, my lover boiled porridge and steamed rice for them every day... Not only do they have to have a skill, but they also want to give them the opportunity to see the outside world. ”
Until the day of the interview, she still clearly remembered the whereabouts of most of the children. "[The first batch of the little band] All 6 children have graduated from college, all of them are studying science and engineering. There is also a boy who may have worked for the second year, when he was admitted to Henan University. I was particularly happy at the time because Henan University was the school where my father graduated. ”
Year after year of children graduated, but Deng Xiaolan's small band was always there. "I always say, I'm getting older, but our little band doesn't grow up." From the first time once a month to Maran, to the later with the increase of the band's children, basically rooted in Maran, someone asked her, why is she uneasy about enjoying her old age? She said that as long as the children were happy, she was happy. "Don't many old people like to travel?" I just love to travel to Maran. ”
In 2013, she saw a report on the German Forest Music Festival, where music flowed through the mountains and forests, moisturizing the hearts of every listener. "I feel like we should create an opportunity for the kids to be able to perform... In addition, the landscape of our Maran is also quite beautiful. ”
She found a clearing next to the waterfall in the mountains and set up a simple "pigeon stage". "I think the meaning is also very good, the pigeon is like a big hand, holding up the children's dreams, holding up our future." The first concert caused a sensation, and the villagers of the eight villages in ten miles came to see it, and even the opposite hill was full of people.
The success of this performance not only inspired the children, but also gave Deng Xiaolan a bigger dream. The pure outdoor stage, very susceptible to the weather, began to think about building a better stage. A designer introduced by a friend once made a "moon stage" plan, and although everything was satisfied, this plan was shelved for 8 years for various reasons.
Deng Xiaolan (third from right) exchanges music knowledge with children between classes (photo taken on August 8, 2015). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Guangzhuang
Until a few years ago, the "Moon Stage" was put on the agenda again, Deng Xiaolan contacted the designer at that time, only to find that in the past 8 years, although this design has won awards in the world, there are many people who want to use this plan, but the designer has not given it to anyone.
Asked why, the designer said, "I think when I first took this thing, it was really like a dream, and when I arrived in Maran, I felt that it was a fairy tale-like world." There was a teacher in the mountains with a group of children, and they wanted to do a concert, so I helped them design a moon stage. I think this stage is going to be built in Malan Village. I'd rather always be a dream than be broken. ”
When the "Moon Stage" was finally nearing completion, a grander dream floated leisurely through the bottom of the mountain and the Rouge River. Ma Lan's singing voice, from The music classroom of Mr. Xiaolan and the small stage between the mountains and forests, spread to a farther place - the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Deng Xiaolan recalled how he felt when he first learned the news: "I would never have thought of such a thing. ”
It turned out that the team at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics had seen media coverage of the Maran Band, and they finally decided to let these children who "exuded the aroma of earth" sing the Olympic song at the opening ceremony.
In the following months, professional music teachers and Greek teachers invited from Beijing and Hebei to train the children intensively, and although Deng Xiaolan verbally said that she was worried about affecting the children and "trying to mix as much as possible", she often sat quietly in the corner of the classroom and watched the children sing. When she learned that the children were going to sing the Olympic song in Greek, she also made a special effort to confirm the time in advance and rushed to the school to attend classes with the children.
From Fuping to Beijing, Teacher Xiaolan has been staying with the children. When resting in the hotel, when at the bird's nest waiting grounds... I can always see such an old man, taciturn but kind, always in the corner, silently staring at and accompanying the children.
When there were still 4 days to go before the official performance of the opening ceremony, Teacher Xiaolan once told reporters: "I think our children will definitely perform very well, and I will be on the scene when the time comes." ”
At the National Stadium (Bird's Nest), children of the Maran flower children's choir rehearse on the field (photo taken on January 26). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Yanan
On February 4, the day of the official opening ceremony, the children did not shy away from the stage. They are focused, engaged, brave and bright. With a high level of performance, it has touched the whole world.
The Winter Olympics are over, and it is almost the season of spring and blossoms. The children returned with a full load, and Deng Xiaolan also went to Malan again as usual to prepare for the music festival.
No one expected, the accident came first.
Under the stage, there will be no more loving gazes from Teacher Xiaolan.
Teacher Deng Xiaolan's children said in the obituary: "In the last 18 years of her life, my mother devoted most of her time and energy to children's music education in Malan Village, Fuping County, Hebei Province, which brought her happiness and satisfaction; the Olympic song sung by the children of the Malanhua Choir of the Beijing Winter Olympics was highly praised by the world, and her happiness was pushed to the peak. ”
Someone once asked Deng Xiaolan if there was any special meaning to the moon stage.
She replied, "There is no special meaning, the moon is the moon, in the water, in the sky, everywhere you can see it." ”
Tonight, may this gentle moonlight also illuminate the distance.