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On that poetic late autumn night in October 2020, 85-year-old Professor Gu Jianfen wore a gorgeous cheongsam and appeared dignified and elegant on the bright stage of CCTV's Mid-Autumn Festival Gala. In her gushing narration, the audience was able to gain an in-depth understanding of the gripping creative process behind her classic song "Today is Your Birthday". At this moment, warm applause poured out like a tide, and people sincerely admired this outstanding woman who had suffered a lot but was now famous in China. The face that has been baptized by wind and rain shines with a moving brilliance, as if telling her extraordinary life experience.
However, how many people can imagine the extraordinary life journey that this elder, known as the "living fossil of music", has gone through with ups and downs and tears? Professor Gu Jianfen was born in 1935 in Weihai City, Shandong Province. In order to make a living, her parents went to Dongying to do business in the 30s of the last century. However, with Japan's brazen launch of a full-scale war of aggression against China, the family had no choice but to return to their motherland in 1941 and settle in the beautiful Dalian.
From an early age, Professor Gu Jianfen showed a great talent for music, and she was passionate about appreciating Soviet songs and dances, and studied the Soviet-style accordion "Bayan". After the founding of the People's Republic of China, she was admitted to the Northeast Music College with impressive results, and since then she has embarked on a long road of music learning. On the occasion of graduation, she was fortunate to be selected to join the Central Song and Dance Troupe, officially starting her professional composition career.
However, fate always seems to like to play tricks on people. Due to his background, 18-year-old Professor Gu Jianfen was forced to be sent to rural Jiangsu Province to perform heavy manual labor. During that time, she was questioned and belittled, but she was not discouraged by this, but devoted herself more diligently to songwriting. In the end, she won wide acclaim for her outstanding works and became a shining pearl in the Chinese pop music scene.
However, her musical journey was not all smooth sailing, but full of hardships and challenges. After joining the Central Song and Dance Troupe, Professor Gu Jianfen devoted himself tirelessly to songwriting with an endless love for music. However, unfortunately, due to her origin, she was once again caught in the vortex of criticism and belittlement.
In this darkest moment of her life, it was her husband, Mr. Xing Bo, who gave her unwavering support and encouragement. In 1958, when Professor Gu Jianfen was sent to the countryside, Mr. Xing Bo was firmly opposed to breaking up, and he chose to share the hardships with his wife and spend that difficult period together. In order to buy a new pair of glasses for his wife, he did not hesitate to travel long distances, buying them from thousands of miles away and rushing back to Beijing overnight, even if he stood on the train for more than ten hours without complaint.
Just when Gu Jianfen was deeply troubled by the pain of long-term parting and suffering from depression, Xing Bo consistently tried his best to help her and bear the pressure of life together.
In the face of all kinds of doubts and cynicism, Gu Jianfen did not flinch in the slightest, but joined hands with her husband to walk through the mountains and rivers of the motherland, visit various famous universities and factories, and explain her music creation concept to the majority of teachers, students and workers.
They distributed a well-designed questionnaire to each listener, and a whopping 99 percent of respondents praised her creation of "Young Friends Come to Meet".
With firm will and unremitting efforts, Gu Jianfen successfully overcame many difficulties and became a blockbuster. Since then, one after another popular classic songs have come one after another, such as "That's Me", "Mother in the Candlelight" and so on, all of which have been widely praised by many well-known singers.
She has also composed well-known theme songs for many film and television dramas, such as "Rolling Yangtze River East Passing Water", "The Sky of History" and so on, all of which show her extraordinary talent.
However, Gu Jianfen was not satisfied. Whenever she faced new challenges and difficulties, she always broke through with her tenacity, and finally left an indelible brilliant performance in the Chinese pop music scene.
In 2016, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award, which is undoubtedly the crowning recognition of her outstanding contribution throughout her life.
Gu Jianfen is fortunate to be married to her beloved husband Xing Bo, and the most intimate couple has spent countless stormy days and nights together since they met in 1951.
Whenever Gu Jianfen is in trouble because of her background, Xing Bo will always choose to spend a difficult time with her without hesitation.
In 1958, Gu Jianfen, who was only 18 years old, was sent to the countryside for labor reform, Xing Bo refused to break up with tears in his eyes, and insisted on surviving this difficult time with his wife. In order to buy a new pair of glasses for his wife, he did not hesitate to travel long distances, bought them from afar and rushed back to Beijing overnight, even if he stood on the train for more than ten hours without complaining.
When Gu Jianfen was depressed and painful due to the long separation from her two daughters, Xing Bo consistently gave her full support and shared the weal and woe with his wife. Until the last moment of his life, he still gave Gu Jianfen endless spiritual encouragement and strength.
Recalling the journey with Xing Bo from acquaintance and then to love, Gu Jianfen's heart was full of emotion. In 1951, when she was only 16 years old, she was already deeply attracted to the enthusiastic and energetic boy. In order to let this sweetheart know his deep affection, Xing Portland carefully selected a deep and mysterious dark blue cloth diary as his engagement gift with Jianfen, and this precious gift is still properly treasured by Gu Jianfen.
In the days after their marriage, the two of them gave birth to two beautiful flowers together - they are the eldest daughter Gu Ying and the youngest daughter Gu Qianhui. Although the family conditions are not wealthy, Xing Bo and Gu Jianfen have always used their own unique ways to express their deep love for each other. Whenever she is busy at work, Gu Jianfen always knits warm sweaters and pants for her husband and children, and sews beautiful new holiday clothes for them. However, when the two daughters got married, Gu Jianfen poured all her love and care into the music career and nurturing students, almost ignoring her aging husband Xing Bo. It wasn't until he passed away in his eighties that Gu Jianfen realized this regret painfully.
In 1984, Gu Jianfen, who had entered the year of knowing the destiny of heaven, did not stop. In order to push her music career to a new peak, she resolutely decided to establish the "Gu Jianfen Vocal Music Training Class" to selflessly provide high-quality teaching resources for the majority of people who love music.
Initially, the vocal training class was a small private class, with no fixed location or strong financial support. However, with Gu Jianfen's firm belief in the music career and the full support of her husband Xing Bo, the training class quickly rose and became famous. Countless young people with musical dreams have flocked to it, eager to get professional training and guidance.
After unremitting efforts, under the careful cultivation of Gu Jianfen's vocal training class, a number of new stars in the music world such as Mao Amin, Na Ying, Wan Shanhong, Xie Xiaodong, and Su Hong have sprung up. Under the careful guidance of Gu Jianfen, they studied vocal art in depth and constantly pursued the progress of their careers.
However, for Gu Jianfen and Xing Bo, the music career is undoubtedly paramount, even if they inadvertently ignore the growth of their two precious daughters. In the memories of her daughter Gu Ying, her mother always left home early in the morning to go to school and could not return home until 10 o'clock in the evening.
Even on weekends, Gu Jianfen is often at full capacity because she needs extra time to mentor her students.
In 2004, Gu Jianfen, who had reached the age of old, was incredibly fortunate to be a member of the jury of the National Children's Song Competition. When she witnessed five or six-year-old children singing adult love songs, she deeply realized that we ignore traditional cultural education in modern life.
It was then that she felt a sense of mission from the bottom of her heart and decided to devote herself to creating excellent music for children. was warmly invited by singers from all walks of life, and even offered a generous salary, but Gu Jianfen firmly rejected them, and concentrated on studying the philosophical connotations in ancient poems.
From 2005 to 2013, despite his deteriorating physical condition, Gu Jianfen continued to devote herself to the creation of children's songs. She set her sights on the vast and profound treasure trove of classical poetry, carefully selected well-known masterpieces such as "Spring Sleep Without Awareness" and "Silent Night Thoughts", composed moving melodies for them, and named these works "New Song School".
In the process, Gu Jianfen suffered the heaviest blow in his life. In 2015, her beloved husband Xing Bo passed away, and just eight months later, her youngest daughter Gu Qianhui also died of illness.
Gu Jianfen fell into endless pain and grief, and once suffered from depression. Fortunately, she received the meticulous care and support of her daughter Gu Ying, and with her daughter's company, she gradually walked out of the haze.
However, the grief of losing a loved one is very much unbearable. Despite this, Gu Jianfen was not defeated, but turned the pain into inner strength, and finally successfully completed the creation of 50 children's songs of "New Song School" in 2018.
Facing the portrait of her deceased husband, she said with tears in her eyes: "Lao Xing, I have completed all the song creation of "New Song School", may you rest in heaven." "
After composing "New Song School", Gu Jianfen was not satisfied with this, she traveled to schools all over the country to actively promote this excellent series of children's songs, and achieved remarkable results.
Although he is in his old age, Gu Jianfen still maintains abundant energy and flexible thinking. Whenever she travels, the eldest daughter Gu Ying will always accompany her carefully and take care of her.
In March 2022, Gu Jianfen still maintained a healthy body at the age of 87. Not only that, although her beloved daughter Gu Qianhui has unfortunately passed away, her son-in-law Gu Lixing and two lively and lovely granddaughters still come to visit often, sending endless family warmth to Gu Jianfen.
Looking back on Gu Jianfen's long and illustrious career, she has composed thousands of popular masterpieces that have injected a bright light into the Chinese pop music scene. Her singing voice has not only nourished the hearts of several generations, but also nurtured many outstanding newcomers in the Chinese music scene, such as Mao Amin, Na Ying, Wan Shanhong and others, who have jointly written a new and glorious chapter in the Chinese music scene.
However, this talented woman, who is known as the "living fossil of the music industry", has lived an extremely simple life all her life. The singers only need to sing the songs she writes once to earn hundreds of thousands of yuan, while she herself is only paid more than 60 yuan. Despite this, Gu Jianfen did not have the slightest greed for money.
As praised by the "Celebrity in Detail" column, Gu Jianfen is undoubtedly a giant in the pop music scene, and she has cultivated half of the prosperity of this paradise with her own strength. However, her life was also full of hardships and struggles, and even her alma mater once accused her of "discrediting the school".
However, it is this firm belief in the music career that has supported Gu Jianfen through countless difficulties and obstacles. What she writes with notes is not only a moving melody, but also her own life journey. Even in her later years, when the pain of losing her loved ones almost overwhelmed her, she did not give up her love for music and finally completed the creation of a series of children's songs.
The value of life cannot be measured by money, although Gu Jianfen has been poor all her life, but the spiritual wealth she left behind has nourished generations of people, and her musical life can be described as wonderful and worthy of our eternal memory.