Gu Jianfen ( zh, 谷建芬; born 1935) is a Chinese composer. She is best known for writing "The Kiss from Mother", "Young Friends Come Together," and "The Affection of Green Leaves to the Roots".

Early life and education

Gu was born in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in 1935, but her family was originally from

Weihai Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea. Weihai's popula ...

, China. She and her family moved back to China and settled in

Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...

in 1942. She studied at the Luda Art Troupe,

Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts or LAFA is an art school in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. Introduction Established in 1938, Luxun Academy of Fine Art (LAFA) is founded and primarily focusing on education of talents in painting, sculpture and ...

and the

Shenyang Conservatory of Music Shenyang Conservatory of Music (Chinese: 沈阳音乐学院) is a music college in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. It is one of nine major conservatories in China. Established in 1938, the school serves approximately 8,000 students in under ...

. She graduated from the latter in 1955.

Career

After graduation, Gu became a composer for the China National Song and Dance Ensemble. Three years after her work began there, she was sent to a rural part of

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

as part of the

Chinese Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

's labor reforms. She studied folk music during her time there, and was able to compose songs again in 1976. From 1984 to 1989 she ran the Gu Jianfen Vocal Training Center, where she trained singers like

Mao Amin Mao Amin ( born 1962)Zu-yan Chen, Robert Daly, and Hong Zhang, ''Chinese Through Song'' (2001)1994 is a Chinese singer known by the " honorific title" of Dajieda ("Big Sister"), "was one of China's most famous and senior female pop stars" by "the ...

Na Ying Na Ying (born 27 November 1967) is a Chinese singer and musical judge. She is known for her prominent roles as a judge on Chinese TV singing shows such as ''The Voice of China''. She later transferred to the show '' Sing! China'' and remained th ...

, and

Sun Nan Sun Nan (; born February 18, 1969) is a pop singer from Dalian in mainland China. His songs include "Be there or Be Square", "The Wind Goes to North", "Save", and his song for the 2008 Summer Olympics, "Forever Friends". Sun's album ''Crescent ...

. Though Gu has written hundreds of songs, she is best known for writing songs like "The Kiss from Mother," "Young Friends Come Together," and "The Affection of Green Leaves to the Roots," which won the Yugoslavia Belgrade International Pop Music Award. She also adapted songs from Chinese literature, like the ''San Zi Jing'' and the

Di Zi Gui ''Di Zi Gui'' (, ''Standards for being a Good Pupil and Child'') was written in the Qing dynasty during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722) by Li Yuxiu. The book is based on the ancient teaching of the Chinese philosopher Confucius ...

. Gu is also politically active. She was a council member for several organizations, such as the

China International Culture Exchange Center The China International Culture Exchange Center (CICEC) is a front organization of the 12th Bureau of the Ministry of State Security (MSS), the principal civilian intelligence agency of the People's Republic of China. CICEC was founded in 1984 an ...

, China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification, and Beijing Municipal Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. She also served as the vice president of the Chinese Musician's Association in 1999. She has been a member of the Zhi Gong party since 1982, and served as a member of their 9th and 10th central committees. She was a member of the 6th

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

and the 8th, 9th and 10th

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...

References

External links

* * * 1935 births Chinese composers {{DEFAULTSORT:Gu, Jianfen People from Osaka Living people China Zhi Gong Party politicians Members of the 6th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Standing Committee of the 8th National People's Congress Members of the Standing Committee of the 9th National People's Congress Members of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress