The large number of songs composed by Mr. Nie Er reflected the aspirations of the people and became powerful weapons and battle calls to inspire the people, educate the people, and fight
the Japanese invaders.
Nie Er - the people's musician! Nie Er - the eternal monument!
Nie Er (1912-1935) composer, the pioneer of the people's music industry. A native of Yuxi, Yunnan. Born in a poor traditional Chinese medicine family in Yuxi, Yunnan, he lost his father when he was 4 years old and lived a poor life. Nie Er's interest and talent in music have been revealed since he was a child. He loved the lanterns in his hometown and Yunnan opera.
During the Great Revolution, Nie Er accepted the influence of progressive ideas. In 1927, he was admitted to the Yunnan Provincial First Normal School. During his schooling, he taught himself violin and piano, and organized the "Nine-Nine Music Club" with his friends. After graduation, he was reported by a traitor for participating in revolutionary activities and fled to Shanghai. In 1931, he was admitted to the "Ming Yue Song and Dance Drama Club" sponsored by Li Jinhui as a violinist. During this period, he took the time to study and practiced piano for more than 6 hours a day. He also insisted on self-study of various music knowledge and composition theories, and passed various Through the channels, he understood and became familiar with a large number of masterpieces of Chinese folk music and world music, which laid a solid foundation for Nie Er's future creations. He also realized that "the main task of the current art movement is to popularize" and proposed to "create Fresh Art”. The "September 18th" and "January 28th" incidents inspired Nie Er's patriotic enthusiasm. He resolutely left the "Mingyue Revue Society" and went to Peking to participate in the work of the "Beiping Left-wing Musicians Alliance" and actively participated in the local Progress in literary and artistic activities.
Since 1933, Nie Er officially began his creative life. He successively wrote "Song for Mining", "Song for Selling Newspapers", etc. At the same time, he established the "Friends of the Soviet Union" music group, "China Emerging Music Research Association" and other organizations with Zhang Shu, Ren Guang and others to carry out music construction work. . 1934 was Nie Er's most creative year. He claimed that this year was his "musical year". He completed the soundtrack for Tian Han's stage play "The Tempest on the Yangtze River" and wrote "Golden Snake Madness" for the movie "The Peach and Plum Tribulation". "Dance", "Spring Dawn on Green Lake", "Zhaojun Leaving the Fortress" and other folk instrumental ensembles. In 1935, Nie Er served as the director of the music department of Lianhua Film Company No. 2. Soon after, due to the seriousness of the White Terror, he decided to go to the Soviet Union via Japan to study. However, shortly after arriving in Japan, he drowned while swimming at the beach of Kunuma, Fujisawa City. He died at the age of Only 23 years old.
Nie Er’s music creations are mainly mass songs and lyrical songs, the former such as "Breaking the Road", "Dock Workers' Song", "March of the Volunteers", "Forward Song", etc. Among these songs, He expressed with strong emotions the rising enthusiasm of the people of all walks of life in China at that time and their full confidence in the anti-imperialist struggle; especially the theme song "March of the Volunteers" written for the movie "Children of the Storm", which greatly inspired the people The determination and courage to carry out the revolution to the end were selected as the national anthem of the Communist Party of China when the People's Republic of China was founded. The latter include "Song Girl Under the Iron Heel", "Village Girl Beyond the Great Wall", "Mei Niang Song", etc. In these songs, Nie Er used his affectionate and delicate pen to reveal the suffering and resentment of the Chinese people in real life at that time.
Although Nie Er's creative career was short and he left only a small number of works, his musical talent and persistent pursuit of art are reflected in his only works. In his creation, he strived to create and develop the national style and rich expression forms of music. He always creatively absorbed folk music or foreign music and never copied it mechanically. His works not only have a strong flavor of the times, but also have distinctive popular characteristics.
Nie Er is an innovator in both creative direction and method. Through his creations, he demonstrates how to creatively inherit traditions, learn from outside sources, develop his own musical growth, and establish He has raised a banner and is the builder and pioneer of the proletarian music industry in our country.