They are a famous couple in the music industry who came out of Yan'an. Qu Wei is one of the composers of the opera "The White-Haired Girl", and Ji Ming is the composer of "The Song of the Chinese Young Pioneers". Weiyue Apartment on Fuxing West Road, Shanghai is their former residence. I have come here many times to visit two teachers I admire.
The composing couple who came out of Yan'an
I met Mr. Qu Wei in 1983. That year, the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles organized writers and artists to go to Anhui to collect works, and during the trip they went to Mount Huangshan. Also accompanying are writers Feng Gang, Ai Mingzhi, Li Chucheng, Fei Liwen, film artist Han Shangyi, Huai Opera performing artist Xiao Wenyan, cartoonist Cai Zhenhua, musician Tan Bingruo, etc. The 66-year-old Qu Wei actually climbed Tiandu Peak with us young people. Of course, I was duty-bound to be his escort. Because of this somewhat "adventurous" experience for the elderly, Mr. Qu Wei and I became "friends who have been together for many years." After returning to Shanghai, he invited me to his apartment, where I met the composer Ji Ming whom I had admired for a long time.
Qu Wei and the author of this article (photo by Han Shangyi)
Qu Wei was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province in May 1917. He came to Shanghai in 1933 and entered Xinhua Art College to study music. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1938. Since then, he has used music and art as a weapon to carry out anti-Japanese and national salvation propaganda. In 1940, he went to Yan'an, the holy land of revolution.
Zhi Ming arrived in Yan'an half a year earlier than Qu Wei. She was born in Suzhou in June 1917. Her original name was Wu Yazhen. She graduated from Shanghai National Music College in 1937 and came to Yan'an in 1939 to study at China Women's University. To express her belief in "placing hope on tomorrow", she changed her name to Ji Ming, joined the Communist Party of China in 1942, and later became a teacher at Yan'an Lu Xun Institute of Literature and Art with Qu Wei.
In 1941, Zhou Enlai, who was in Chongqing, transferred a German piano given to him by patriots to Lu Yi. Lin Boqu learned that Ji Ming was a pianist, so he transferred her from China Women's University to Luyi University. He also stipulated that only three people were qualified to play the piano, and two of them were Ji Ming and Qu Wei.
This piano became the "matchmaker" for Qu Wei and Ji Ming. In early 1942, the two became partners in a cave dwelling at the foot of the Pagoda Mountain in Yan'an. Zheng Lucheng, the composer of "Military Song of the Chinese People's Liberation Army" and "Ode to Yan'an", took a group photo of the newlyweds on the banks of the Yan River - the two were sitting on a mound in fat cotton clothes and trousers, with glasses on their faces. , the longing for the ideal shines in his eyes.
Qu Wei and Zhi Ming’s wedding photo in Yan’an (photo by Zheng Lucheng)
In May of the same year, the Yan’an Literature and Art Forum was held. Qu Wei and Ji Ming participated in the symposium as representatives and were received by central leaders such as Mao Zedong and Zhu De. Twenty years later, on June 10, 1962, Ji Ming published an article "Guiding Light" in the "Liberation Daily", fondly recalling his participation in the symposium that year. From this, Ji Ming realized the relationship between creation and in-depth life, so he left the piano room to study folk music in northern Shaanxi, and enriched his creation with local simple and high-pitched music materials.
On June 10, 1962, "Guiding Light" published in "Liberation Daily" (data from this newspaper)
was the product of the symposium. Three years later, the representative work of Chinese new opera "The White-Haired Girl" was born. This work was a collaboration between Qu Wei, Ma Ke and Zhang Lu. It was called "a milestone in Chinese opera creation". It was performed in Yan'an for more than 30 times, and the audience responded very strongly. In 1961, Qu Wei composed and completed the orchestral fantasy overture "The White-Haired Girl". In 1974, he adapted the music of the dance drama "The White-Haired Girl" into the orchestral suite "The White-Haired Girl". The ballet "The White-Haired Girl" is a classic of the 20th century. The choreographer of the play, Hu Rongrong, the former chairman of the Shanghai Dancers Association, and the composer Yan Jinxuan once told me that Qu Wei not only participated in the revision of the entire ballet's music, but also spent more than three months finalizing the score.
Photos hanging at home: Photos from the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art (Qu Wei, sixth from right in the first row; Zhi Ming, third from the left in the fourth row)
In 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally. At the end of the same year, Qu Wei and Ji Ming and his wife went to the Northeast on foot with Lu Yi's team. During this period, Ji Ming began to study "Errenzhuan" music.After three years, China's first theoretical work on "Errenzhuan" edited by Ji Ming was published. At this time, Ji Ming shifted his focus from piano performance and teaching to creation. Her songs such as "Turn Over the Yangko", "Farmers Sing", "Good Work" and "Singing Liu Hulan" were well received.
In August 1953, he was transferred to the Music Department of the Central Film Bureau in Beijing. Since then, she has entered a new field - film composition.
Qu Wei: a diligent musician who constantly creates
In order to cultivate outstanding international music talents in New China, Qu Wei was sent to the Composition Department of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music in Moscow in September 1955 as a national special elective student.
The older generation of Russian music masters taught here. Qu Wei recalled that top masters in each art department led the lectures. Students can often meet Shostakovich on the stairs, see Khachaturian and Oistrakh in the corridor, and may even pass by Kogan.
Qu Wei studied under Baba Zhanian. He studied various music theories and composition techniques assiduously, while never forgetting to create. The main works he wrote while studying abroad include the orchestral suite "Yangko Scene", "String Quartet in G major" and the piano solo "Overture". In 1959, Qu Wei returned to China after completing his studies and has been working as a full-time composer in the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra ever since.
In 1963, Qu Wei completed a new work - the symphonic poem "Monument to the People's Heroes", which was successfully performed for the first time at the "Shanghai Spring" performance. Critics call it another masterpiece by the author after the opera "The White-Haired Girl" that extensively reflects the struggle life, thoughts and emotions of the Chinese people. This work was recorded in Hong Kong by the Nagoya Symphony Orchestra conducted by the Chinese-American conductor Lin Kechang and released worldwide.
Qu Wei (photo at home)
Since then, Qu Wei has continued to create: in 1959, he composed the music for the movie "Revolutionary Family"; in 1962, he completed the symphonic fantasy "White-Haired Girl"; in 1963, at the invitation of pianist Gu Shengying, he composed He composed the piano piece "Honghu Red Guards" Fantasy, which was adapted into an orchestral piece the following year; in 1964 he composed the suite "Glorious Festival"; in 1965, he went deep into Daqing life and was deeply moved by the deeds of advanced workers such as Iron Man Wang Jinxi. He not only composed the chorus "Ode to the Oil Fields" but also wrote the song "The Hard Bones of the Working Class", which was widely circulated across the country.
In 1988, he was invited to compose the orchestral music "Wuzhishan Caprice" for the founding of Hainan Province.
Ji Ming: "The Anthem of the Chinese Young Pioneers" was born
In 1955, Ji Ming was transferred from Beijing to the Shanghai Film Studio and served successively as deputy director of the music creation room and leader of the composition team. She then began composing music for a film. Films such as "Li Shizhen", "An Ordinary Career", "Phoenix Song", "The Story of Luban", "The Bank of the Jinsha River", "Return of the Swallow" and other films have left behind the wonderful music she created. At the same time, the movie interludes she wrote are legendary All over the streets. The episode "Why Doesn't the Phoenix Fly in the Mountains" from the movie "Phoenix Song" starring Zhang Ruifang, and the episode "The Return of the Swallow" starring Da Shichang and Gao Ying are widely sung.
Jiming (photo at home)
Jiming is a mother of four children. She is very concerned about the creation of children's songs. She once told me that she heard from a teacher that there are too few good songs nowadays. It would be great if there was a song that could arouse their love for the motherland and help them establish lofty ideals. The speaker has no intention, but the listener has intention. In the spring of 1981, Ji Ming received a letter. When he opened it, it turned out to be the lyrics of "Youth, Youth, Spring of the Motherland" sent by an author: "Our happy smiling faces are brighter than those spring flowers. "Our clear singing voice is more melodious than that lark..." Isn't this exactly the lyrics I have always wanted to compose? She read it over and over again, and finally, a moving melody came out casually. "Boy, Boy, Spring of the Motherland" spread to various places on radio stations in various provinces and cities across the country, becoming a song loved by millions of children. Soon, this song won the first prize in a national song competition organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League.
"Good Auntie", "I Love Our Class", "New China Youth March", etc. are songs written by Ji Ming successively for children. The most praiseworthy among them is undoubtedly the theme song "We Are the Successors of Communism" composed by Ji Ming for the movie "Heroic Little Eight Road".
In 1958, the "August 23" artillery battle took place between Xiamen and Kinmen. People across the country knew the story of 13 primary school students from Hecuo Primary School in Xiamen who walked through the flames of war. A year later, Wang Tiancheng, a Chinese teacher at Xiamen No. 3 Middle School, created the drama "Heroic Little Eight Road" based on this. In May of the following year, Chen Yun, a professor at the Shanghai Theater Academy, brought more than 100 graduates from the school's creative department and performance department to Xiamen No. 3 Middle School for interviews. Wang Tiancheng, who was in charge of the reception, gave his script to Xiamen No. 3 Middle School with the mentality of giving it a try. Chen Yun. Unexpectedly, Chen Yun admired it very much after watching it. A few days later, on Children's Day, the play "Heroic Little Eight Road" was put on the stage in Fuzhou. The performance quickly caused a sensation and triggered a chain reaction. The story of the heroic Xiao Balu attracted the attention of Shanghai film and playwright Zhou Yuhui, who adapted the play into a movie script of the same name. Shanghai Tianma Film Studio thought this was a good subject, decided to film it, and gave Ji Ming the task of composing the theme song for the film.
In his apartment on Fuxing West Road, Ji Ming flipped through the script and Zhou Yuhui's lyrics that still smelled of ink, and discussed with Qu Wei how to compose music. Qu Wei suggested sending Ming to the field to collect stories. Ji Ming immediately traveled from Shanghai to Xiamen, looking for those young heroes who had already entered junior high school, and listened to their heroic stories about braving artillery fire and going to the battlefield to deliver meals and boiled water to the People's Liberation Army. Ji Ming was constantly moved by the children's unyielding and courageous spirit.
On June 1, 2013, at the "Hecuo Hero Xiaobalu Red Army Primary School" in Xiamen, children listened to the story of the past told by He Jiaru (second from right), the prototype of the heroic Xiaobalu. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Liu Changlong)
When the interview was about to end, a passionate tune with a large rhythm and fluctuations lingered in Ji Ming's ears. She quickly wrote down the first draft of "We Are the Successors of Communism" in one go. . Ji Ming happily took it home and immediately sang it to the children. The children were learning to sing and saying nice things at the same time. However, Zhi Ming was not satisfied and revised it repeatedly before finally finalizing it.
In 1961, the movie "Heroic Little Eight Road" was released. The theme song "We Are the Successors of Communism" in the film was loved by children with its catchy and energetic music style. This song, which expresses inner vows and lofty ideals for the children of New China, has spread like wildfire, sung in the streets and alleys, and spread across the land of the motherland. This song won the second national first prize for children's literary and artistic creation. In 1978, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League officially designated "We Are the Successors of Communism" as the "Chinese Young Pioneers Song" after soliciting opinions from the masses and experts. For more than 60 years, generations of Chinese children have been singing this song, loving the motherland and the people, with bright red scarves flying on their chests.
Fight against fate together
No one would have thought that a composer who is well-known in the music world would suffer from Alzheimer's disease. In the mid-1980s, that day, when Ji Ming was walking to Huaihai Middle Road, he suddenly lost his way and passed out on the side of the road. Fortunately, he was found by an acquaintance and sent home. After examination, she was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease. Qu Wei ran around and sought medical treatment, but his condition did not improve. Ji Ming gradually became confused and started crying and laughing. Later, her legs started to get worse. Qu Wei helped her go out for a walk every morning and evening. Gradually, Ji Ming found it difficult to walk, so Qu Wei gently held her in his arms and practiced walking at home. Qu Wei kept humming in his mouth: "Send Ming Tongzhi-ding-ge-dong, send Ming-tong-zhi-ding-ge-dong..." But later he showed his hearing and language skills. Also lost. By 1991, she was completely unable to take care of herself.
The two of them fought against fate together and completed the last page of their lives. Every morning, the first thing Qu Wei does when he gets up is to go to his wife's bedside, hold her face, pat her cheeks and kiss her. He picked her up and put her on a special chair, washed her face and wiped her mouth. Feed her milk, yogurt or eggs with the help of your aunt.At noon and evening, he used a blender to grind fish, meat, vegetables, and fruits and feed them to his wife. In order to prevent Ji Ming from developing bedsores after being bedridden for a long time, Qu Wei added an air mattress under the cotton pad and placed an electric heating blanket underneath it in winter. Qu Wei said: "She still has feeling in her facial muscles and can swallow. In life, she will always encounter various setbacks. I can serve Ji Ming and extend her life. My psychology has been balanced." Ji Ming appeared by chance. A little gesture makes him as happy as a child.
Qu Wei took care of Ji Ming for 10 years. On January 13, 1997, Ji Ming passed away in Shanghai at the age of 80.
The silkworm will not be exhausted until it dies.
Music education for the young generation has been an issue that Qu Wei has been concerned about in his later years. In August 1981, Shanghai Jiao Tong University established the Music Research Laboratory, and he was invited to serve as professor and director. He passionately contributed ideas and suggestions to the university's music education and the country's cultivation of comprehensive talents, and used his remaining energy.
In 1986, the National Association of Music Education in Colleges and Universities was established, and he was elected as the chairman. In 1989, the State Education Commission founded the magazine "Chinese Music Education", and he was appointed editor-in-chief (later a consultant).
Qu Wei is not the chief editor or consultant of the short sellers. Demonstration classes and seminars on music appreciation classes in universities across the country held by Tsinghua University, choir performances and work experience exchange meetings in universities across the country, as well as jointly organized by Peking University, Central Conservatory of Music, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Shanghai Conservatory of Music Qu Wei can be seen in teacher training classes. His written opinions are meticulous and detailed, and his on-site guidance is vivid and specific, which is deeply welcomed by teachers and students.
The publication given to the author by Qu Wei (photo by Xin Fang)
I once told Mr. Qu Wei that you have retired a long time ago and are over eighty years old. It is time to take a rest. But the gentleman smiled and replied: "Beethoven once said that my motto is always: never stop writing. If I sometimes make the God of Art doze off, it is just to make it more excited when it wakes up. I can't say why, it seems I can't live without music for a day."
Unexpectedly, it became a prophecy. In 2002, Qu Wei wanted to perform new orchestral orchestration on the musical parts of the opera "The White-Haired Girl" for publication in a music publishing house. To avoid interference, he went to Changzhou to find a quiet place to start working. On May 20, while he was working on the score, he suffered a large-scale cerebral hemorrhage. After resuscitation failed, he unfortunately passed away at the age of 85.
Qu Wei made a last wish to his children before his death, that he should donate his musical legacy to the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, where he had worked and struggled for a long time. Qu Wei's children respected their father's last wish and donated Qu Wei's manuscripts, music scores, books and records and other musical materials collected over the years three times.
The operas "The White-Haired Girl" and "The Song of the Chinese Young Pioneers" left to us by Qu Weihe Ji Ming bring us not only the common memories of several generations, but also the gorgeous music of the times.
