Xian Xinghai is a very famous musician in China. He has written many great pieces of music. In his short life, he wrote nearly 300 songs and an opera.
Xian was born in Panyu, Guangzhou in 1905.Because his father died before he was born, Xian had to move from place to place with his mother. He began learning to play the violin when he was 20 years old. At first, his violin was so cheap and in a poor quality that he could not play it well. His friends laughed at him. However, Xian did not stop practicing and soon showed his talent. In 1934, he became the first Chinese student who studied in a special music school in Paris. Before he left, Xian became the school's best student and won several prizes for his talents.
The next year, be got back to China and helped fight against the Japanese army. Later, he came to Yan'an to teach music at a college. Although there were no pianos in Yan'an at that time, Xian still wrote some of his most important music there, including The Yellow River Chorus, his most famous work.
In May 1940, Xian Xinghai went to the Soviet Union (苏联) to write music for movies. Life there was so hard that he got very sick. Later he died of a lung illness on October 30, 1945, aged only 40.
Xian Xinghai is such a great man and his music will live on in people's hearts forever.
