Xian Xinghai, a people's musician

Born in Macao in 1905, Xian Xinghai is celebrated as "The People's Musician". After studying at the Music Training Institute attached to Peking University and the National Conservatory of Music in Shanghai, he traveled to Paris in 1929 for advanced studies and returned to China in 1935.In 1938, he traveled to Yan'an to serve as the dean of the Music Department at the Lu Xun Academy of Arts.

In May 1940, using the alias Huang Xun, he left Yan'an and traveled via Dihua, now Urumqi, to the Soviet Union to compose the score for the documentary Yan'an and The Eighth Route Army. After war broke out in the Soviet Union in 1941, his work was suspended. Stranded and destitute, he eventually made his way to Almaty in late 1942. It was there that the Kazakh composer Bakhytzhan Baikadamov extended a helping hand to a stranger. In those difficult times, Baikadamov gave him shelter and support, while Xian shared his expertise in composition with Baikadamov.

Absorbing the essence of Kazakh folk music, Xian composed works such as National Liberation, Sacred War, and Man Jiang Hong. In 1944, on Baikadamov's recommendation, he moved to Kostanay, Kazakhstan, where he composed the symphony Amangeldy, honoring the Kazakh national hero and rallying support against fascism. Xian Xinghai died in Moscow in 1945.

Wang Haoran