Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — Kazakh composer Baldyrgan Baikadamova has donated a family collection associated with renowned Chinese musician Xian Xinghai (1905-1945) to China.
The donation ceremony took place last week at the Panyu District Library in Guangzhou City, southern China's Guangdong Province. The event was held to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 120th anniversary of Xian Xinghai's birth, local media reported.
Xian Xinghai is a native of today's Panyu District. He is known in China as a folk musician, his works including "Cantatas on the Yellow River", "Guerrilla Song", "Go Behind Enemy Lines" inspired the Chinese people to heroically fight against the Japanese aggressors.
Xian Xinghai spent the last three years of his life mostly in Kazakhstan, where he met and befriended his Kazakh colleagues, including Bakhytzhan Baikadamov, the father of Baldyrgana Baikadamov.
During those difficult times when Xian Xinghai was alone, sick and poor, Kazakh composer Bakhytzhan Baikadamov provided him with shelter. Their brotherly friendship transcended national borders.
Baldyrgan Baikadamova presented the administration of the Chinese composer's hometown with a piano seat, family archives, manuscripts of correspondence, as well as manuscripts and images of Xian Xinghai during his stay in Kazakhstan.
"This seat was used by Xian Xinghai and my father when they played the piano and created. The "Friendship Chair" witnessed the birth of musical works, the creative process of two musicians and their mutual respect," B. Baikadamova shared at the ceremony.
The list of donated items also includes archival materials reflecting Xian Xinghai’s stay in Moscow and Almaty, as well as posters, programs and tickets for concerts dedicated to this composer.
Xian Xinghai, she says, is a great musician and is very popular with Kazakhs. For many years, members of the Baikadamov family have been collecting and systematizing Xian Xinghai's relics so that more people can learn about the facts of his biography.
“Xian Xinghai wrote a large number of works that inspired countless people to fight the Japanese invaders. These works are connected with our common historical memory,” B. Baikadamova continued, adding that her grandfather fought in the anti-fascist war, and her family knows about the suffering during the war firsthand.
Xian Xinghai was born in 1905 to a poor family of fishermen in Macao. He received his musical education in Beijing and Shanghai, then went to France in 1929 to study and work. Six years later, the young man returned to China and actively participated in the creation and distribution of songs about resistance to Japanese aggression and the salvation of the country. In 1938, he came to Yan'an and began teaching at the music department of the Yan'an Lu Xun Institute of Arts.
In May 1940, Xian Xinghai went to the Soviet Union to work on the documentary film “Yan’an and the Eighth Army”. A year later, the Great Patriotic War broke out and the film’s production was suspended, and Xian Xinghai was unable to return to his homeland. He reached Almaty in late 1942, but still could not find a way to leave for China. Bakhytzhan Baikadamov, whom he had never met before, extended a helping hand.
In 1945, during a tour, Xian Xinghai fell ill with pneumonia and soon died in Moscow. After the proclamation of the PRC in 1949, his relics were brought to China from the Soviet Union and Mongolia. In 1985, his ashes were reburied in the musician's homeland.
The story of Xian Xinghai and Bakhytzhan Baikadamov, as a vivid example of friendship between the peoples of China and Kazakhstan, is well remembered in both countries.
In 2017, the Chinese and Kazakh sides announced in Astana the start of filming a movie called “Composer,” which tells about the friendship between Xian Xinghai and Bakhytzhan Baikadamov.
This was not only the first film co-produced by China and Kazakhstan, but also an important project of cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the Belt and Road initiative. The film premiered in Beijing in 2019.
Back in 1998, Xian Xinghai Street opened in Almaty. The house where he lived was transformed into a museum by order of the head of Kazakhstan. There is a monument to the composer on the street with an inscription in Chinese, Kazakh and Russian: “The street is named in honor of the outstanding Chinese composer, an ambassador of friendship and culture between the peoples of Kazakhstan and China.”
In June of this year, a ceremonial reopening of the Xian Xinghai monument after restoration took place in Almaty. -0-
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