Chapter 66 Nie Er/Author of "National Anthem" of the People's Republic of China

Whenever they hear the solemn and majestic "National Anthem", people can't help but think of its composer and pioneer of Chinese proletarian music - Nie Er. In the mid-1930s, the Japanese invaders extended their claws of aggression to North China, but the reactionary and decadent forces in the country were still indulging in luxury and wealth.The society is full of obscene songs such as "Peach Blossom River" and "Drizzle Rain".Writer Tian Han approached Nie Er and agreed to compose a song to defeat "Taohuajiang is a nest of beauties". In early 1935, Tian Han adapted the film "Children of the Wind and Cloud" and wrote a theme song - "March of the Volunteers".Knowing that the Kuomintang agents had come to hunt him down, he hurriedly wrote lyrics on a small cigarette wrapping paper, and was arrested and imprisoned.

Xia Yan got the script left by Tian Han, and found the cigarette backing paper with lyrics written on it.Not long after, Nie Er came to Xia Yan, and after hearing about it, he offered: "Leave the composition to me, and I'll do it!" Based on the idea proposed by Tian Han, Nie Er wrote the first draft in just two days, full of anger. , and then went to Japan to avoid hunting.There, he was warmly received by friendly people, and saw militarists clamoring for "expanding interests in China" and sharpening their knives.Nie Er was even more inspired to create, and quickly sent the final version of the song back to China. In September 1949, the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference determined "March of the Volunteers" as the national anthem. In December 1982, the Fifth Plenary Session of the Fifth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China confirmed "March of the Volunteers" as the national anthem of the People's Republic of China.

Nie Er (1912-1935), Chinese composer, pioneer of Chinese proletarian music art.People from Yuxi, Yunnan. Born in Kunming, Yunnan Province in February 1912.Originally named Nie Shouxin, later renamed Nie Er.When he was in elementary school, he taught himself flute, erhu, sanxian and yueqin, and began to serve as the conductor of the school's "children's band". In 1925, he was admitted as a transfer student of Yunnan Provincial No. 1 United Middle School.At the time when the first domestic revolutionary storm was rising in southern China, he began to be influenced by progressive books and revolutionary songs such as "The Internationale".

In 1927 Nie Er entered Yunnan Provincial First Normal School.During the school period, he participated in the activities of the student organization "Reading Club", and organized the "Jiujiu Music Club" with his friends, and often participated in performances inside and outside the school.During this period, he also taught himself the violin and piano. In April 1931, Nie Er was admitted to the "Mingyue Song and Dance Drama Club" hosted by Li Jinhui as a violinist. In November 1932, he joined Lianhua Film Company, participated in the music group of "Friends of the Soviet Union", organized the "China Emerging Music Research Association", and participated in the music group of the Left-Wing Dramatists Union (Friends of the Soviet Union). In 1933, Nie Er was introduced by Tian Han to join the Communist Party of China.

In April 1934, Nie Er joined EMI Records Company (the predecessor of China Record Factory) to preside over the music department, and at the same time established EMI Band (also known as "Sen Sen Guo Band").This was also Nie Er's most productive year. In early 1935, Nie Er composed the famous "March of the Volunteers". In January 1935, Nie Er served as the director of the music department of Lianhua No. 2 Factory. On July 17, 1935, Nie Er, who was only 23 years old, unfortunately drowned while swimming in Fujisawa, Japan. Nie Er composed a total of 37 pieces of music in his life, all of which were written in less than two years before his death, among which songs reflecting the life and struggle of the working class account for a large proportion.In addition to "March of the Volunteers", Nie Er's representative works include "Song of Going Forward", "Song of the Great Road", "Pioneer of the Road", "Song of the Dock Workers", "New Women", "Song of Flying Flowers", "Village Girl Outside the Great Wall", "Singer Girl Under the Iron Hoof" "Farewell to Nanyang", "Mei Niang Song", "Song of Selling Newspapers", the opera "The Storm on the Yangtze River" and the folk instrumental music "Spring Dawn on the Green Lake", "Dance of the Golden Snake", etc.