Xian Xinghai: The people's musician

Source: People's Daily - People's Daily

Xian Xinghai statue. Xinhua News Agency

In 2009, Xian Xinghai was elected as one of the "100 Heroic And Exemplary Figures Who Made Outstanding Contributions to the Founding of New China".

Sin Xinghai, originally from Guangzhou, was born in 1905 in Macau to a poor family of shipwrights, and his father died before his birth. At the age of 7, he and his mother lived in Malaysia to earn a living, attending the Singapore YangZheng School, where he participated in the school's orchestra. After returning to China in 1918, he entered the Attached High School of Lingnan University to study violin. Later, he entered the Institute of Music Of Peking University and the Music Department of the National Art College. In 1928, Xian Xinghai entered the Shanghai National Conservatory of Music to study violin and piano, and published the famous musical essay "Universal Music".

In 1929, Xian Xinghai went to Paris to study work-study, and in 1931 he was admitted to the Paris Conservatory. During his stay in France, Xian Xinghai composed more than 10 works, including "Wind", "Wandering Zi Yin", and "Violin Sonata in D minor".

After returning to China in 1935, Xian Xinghai threw himself into the Anti-Japanese Salvation Movement, composing a large number of militant and infectious mass songs, and composing music for progressive films such as "Top Gun", "Youth March", drama "Resurrection", "Great Thunderstorm" and so on.

In 1938, Xian Xinghai went to Yan'an to serve as the head of the music department of Lu Xun Art Institute, and created the immortal masterpiece "Yellow River Chorus". On April 13, 1939, "The Yellow River Chorus" was performed in the auditorium of Yan'an Shaanbei Public School. On May 11, at the party celebrating the first anniversary of the establishment of the Lu Xun Art Institute in Yan'an, Mao Zedong and other central leaders praised the "Yellow River Chorus" conducted by Xian Xinghai. After Zhou Enlai returned to Yan'an from Chongqing to see the performance, he wrote an inscription on July 8: "Roar for the War of Resistance, Compose a Voice for the Masses!"

During his time in Yan'an, he also composed large-scale works such as "Production Chorus" and "918 Chorus", as well as a large number of songs such as "March 8 Women's Day Song" and "Down with Wang Jingwei". In June 1939, Xian Xinghai gloriously joined the Communist Party of China.

In May 1940, Xian Xinghai went to the Soviet Union to score the large-scale documentary "Yan'an and the Eighth Route Army", but was later detained due to war and traffic barriers. During this period, he composed the symphonies "National Liberation" and "Sacred War", the orchestral suite "Manjiang Hong", the orchestral "Chinese Rhapsody" and the violin song "Guo Zhier-Bidai". Due to prolonged fatigue and malnutrition, he suffered from lung disease and died in Moscow in 1945. A memorial service was held for him from all walks of life in Yan'an. Mao Zedong's handwritten inscription reads: "Condolences to Comrade Xian Xinghai, the people's musician." ”

People's Daily ( 2021-05-24 04 edition)