Nie Er, Chinese composer (1912-1935)

Nie Er (Simplified Chinese: 聂耳; Pinyin: Niè Ěr) (born as Nie Shouxin (Simplified Chinese: 聂守信); Courtesy name Ziyi (Simplified Chinese: 子义 or 紫艺)), (February 14, 1912 - July 17, 1935) was a Chinese composer. He composed the national anthem of the People's Republic of China, the March of the Volunteers. Image File history File links Nieer. ... Image File history File links Nieer. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiǎntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiǎnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音; Hanyu Pinyin: , lit. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiǎntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiǎnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Cha can also refer to a Latin American dance, also called the Cha-cha-cha. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiǎntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiǎnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... July 17 is the 198th day (199th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 167 days remaining. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is formally recognized by a countrys government as their official national song. ... The March of the Volunteers (Simplified Chinese: 义勇军进行曲; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is the national anthem of the Peoples Republic of China, written in the midst of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) by the noted poet and playwright Tian Han (田汉) with music composed by Nie Er (聂耳). This composition is a musical...

Early Life

Nie Er's ancestors were from Yuxi, Yunnan, in south-western China. He was born in Kunming. From an early age Nie Er displayed an interest in music. From 1918 he studied at the Kunming Normal School's Associated Primary School. In his spare time, he learnt to play traditional instruments such as the flute, Erhu, Sanxuan, and Yueqin, and became the conductor of the school's Children's Orchestra. In 1922 he entered the Private Qiushi Primary School (Senior Section), and in 1925 entered Yunnan Provincial Number One Combined Middle School. Yunnan (Simplified Chinese: 云南; Traditional Chinese: 雲南; Hanyu pinyin: ) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the far southwestern corner of the country. ... Kunming (Chinese: 昆明; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kun-ming) is the capital of Yunnan province, China with a population estimated on 1,055. ... Music is an art, entertainment, or other human activity which involves structured and audible sound, though definitions vary. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... Side view of an erhu. ... The moon guitar, also called moon-zither, gekkin, la chin, laqin, yueh-chin or yueqin (Pinyin from Chinese 月琴), is a traditional Chinese string instrument. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1927 Nie Er graduated from Yunnan Provincial Number One Combined Middle School, and entered Yunnan Provincial Number One Normal School. At school, he participated in the Book Club, and organised the "Nine-Nine Music Society", which performed within the school and outside. During this time, he learnt to play the violin and the piano. 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The violin is a bowed stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart, the lowest being the G just below middle C. It is the smallest and highest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello. ... A grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument, which is widely used in western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment, and also as a convenient aid to composing and rehearsal. ...

In June 1931, Nie Er entered the "Mingyue Musical Drama Society" as a violinist. In July 1932 he published A Short Treatise on Chinese Song and Dance, in which he criticised the Drama Society's president, Li Jinhui, as a result of which he was forced to leave the society. In November 1932 he entered Lianhua Film Studio, and joined the musical group of the "Friends of the Soviet Union Society". He also organised the "Chinese Contemporary Music Research Group", which participated in the Leftist Dramatist's Union. In 1933, Nie Er joined the Communist Party of China. 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (official name) or Chinese Communist Party (CCP) (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

In April 1934, Nie Er joined Baidai Record Company and managed the musical section. In the same year he founded the Baidai National Orchestra. This was a prolific year for Nie Er in terms of musical output. In early 1935, he composed the March of the Volunteers. 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The March of the Volunteers (Simplified Chinese: 义勇军进行曲; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is the national anthem of the Peoples Republic of China, written in the midst of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) by the noted poet and playwright Tian Han (田汉) with music composed by Nie Er (聂耳). This composition is a musical...

In January 1935 Nie Er became the director of the musical department of Lianhua Number Two Studio. On July 17th, 1935, he drowned while swimming in Japan, aged just 23. 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Works

Nie Er wrote a total of 37 pieces in his life, all in the two years before his death. A significant proportion of these songs reflected working class life and struggles. He often co-operated with lyricist Tian Han. Tian Han Tian Han (田汉; pinyin: tián hàn) (March 12, 1898 - December 10, 1968) was a Chinese playwright. ...

Apart from March of the Volunteers, his other important works include The March of the Volunteers (Simplified Chinese: 义勇军进行曲; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is the national anthem of the Peoples Republic of China, written in the midst of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) by the noted poet and playwright Tian Han (田汉) with music composed by Nie Er (聂耳). This composition is a musical...

• Songs:
  • Graduation Song
  • Progress Song
  • Song of the Big Road
  • Pioneers
  • Dock Workers' Song
  • New Woman
  • Flying Flowers
  • Villiage girl of the Steppes
  • Farewell South Seas
• Opera Storm on the Yangtze
• Instrumental pieces:
  • Spring Dawn on the Green Lake
  • Dance of the Golden Snake
• Instrumental

See Also

• March of the Volunteers

"44 Ears" is the short form of "For Four Ears", or, "For Nie Er", since there are three ears in the Chinese character Nie and one ear in Er. Nie Er was the composer of the “Volunteers’ Marching Song”, which was popularly known during the Second World War. That song was then adopted as the National Anthem of China in 1949. Nie Er had been honored with the title of “The People’s Musician”. "44 Ears" was composed electronically by Johnson Gao. It has five versions in this CD. That music had used some notes of Nie Er's "Jin She Kuang Wu” (golden snake crazy dancing). Each version was assigned with three instruments (voices). Those five versions were played either with piano, or, violin, or, steel drum, or, bag-pipe, or, pseudo-human voice, etc. for different emotions. Use MP3 to play. The preview of this CD is played with piano and pseudo-voice. refer to the web site http://www.lulu.com/content/237048 appeared at lulu.com. The March of the Volunteers (Simplified Chinese: 义勇军进行曲; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is the national anthem of the Peoples Republic of China, written in the midst of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) by the noted poet and playwright Tian Han (田汉) with music composed by Nie Er (聂耳). This composition is a musical...