Nie Er
聂耳
1912–1935
- Composer
- Member of the Chinese Communist Party
Biography
Early Life and Musical Talent
Nie Er was born on 14 February 1912 in Kunming, Yunnan Province. His father died when he was young and his family lived in poverty, but he displayed exceptional musical ability from an early age, learning to play multiple instruments. He entered the Yunnan Provincial First Normal School, where he studied music systematically. In 1930 he travelled alone to Shanghai seeking opportunity, joined theatrical troupes as a performer, and fell in with left-wing cultural circles. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1933.
Left-Wing Musical Composition
In Shanghai Nie Er threw himself into the left-wing arts movement, composing music for progressive films and plays. Songs such as Selling Newspapers (卖报歌), Dockworkers (码头工人), and Road-Building Song (大路歌) circulated widely among workers and progressive intellectuals. His style blended Western compositional technique with Chinese folk music elements, characterised by direct and forceful melodies. In 1935 he composed the score for the patriotic film Children of Troubled Times, collaborating with lyricist Tian Han to produce the March of the Volunteers — the crowning achievement of his short career.
Death and Legacy
On 17 July 1935, while on his way to the Soviet Union via Japan, Nie Er drowned while swimming at Kugenuma Beach in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture. He was 23 years old. His sudden death shocked the left-wing arts community. In 1949 his March of the Volunteers was adopted as the provisional national anthem of the People's Republic of China, and he was posthumously recognised as one of the founding figures of the new state's musical culture. His tomb on Xishan Mountain in Kunming was constructed by the PRC government in 1954.