Min Huifen (; 1945 – 12 May 2014) was a performer of the
erhu
The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two- ...
, a traditional Chinese
bowed string instrument
Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound.
Despite the numerous specialist studies devoted to ...
, and a composer. She was considered the undisputed master of the instrument, nicknamed the "Queen of Erhu".
[ She composed some of her own hits, including "Yangguan Melody – Three Variations" and "Wishes of the People of Honghu Lake." Her most famous piece was the ''Great Wall Capriccio'', composed by Liu Wenjin with her assistance.
]
Life and career
Min was born in Yixing
Yixing () is a county-level city administrated under the prefecture-level city of Wuxi in southern Jiangsu province, China, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. The city is known for its traditional Yixing clay ware tea pots. It is a pene-exc ...
, Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...
Province in 1945.[ Her father began teaching her to play the erhu when she was eight.] She studied at the Affiliated High School of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music
The Shanghai Conservatory of Music () was founded on November 27, 1927, as the first music institution of higher education in China. Its teachers and students have won awards at home and abroad, thus earning the conservatory the name "the crad ...
, and then at the Department of Traditional Chinese Music of the Conservatory. After graduation, she went to Beijing to train under Liu Mingyuan and Lan Yusong, two northern masters of erhu. Her experience made her well versed in both the southern and northern traditions of the erhu.
In 1963, she won the national prize at the Shanghai Spring Arts Festival, and was subsequently recognized as the undisputed master of erhu for more than 50 years until her death. After attending her performance in 1973, American music critic Harold Schonberg
Harold Charles Schonberg (29 November 1915 – 26 July 2003) was an American music critic and author. He is best known for his contributions in ''The New York Times'', where he was chief music critic from 1960 to 1980. In 1971, he became the fi ...
called her the " Heifetz of erhu". As a member of the Chinese art delegation, she toured the United States in 1978.
Min was a member of the China National Art Troupe, and later became the solo erhu performer of the Shanghai Art Troupe. After 1978, she performed with the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra.[
In 1989, Min famously performed in support of the ]Tiananmen Square protests
The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
. After Beijing declared martial law on 20 May, she performed the melancholy ''Moon reflected on Erquan pond'', for the student protesters in Shanghai supporting their Beijing colleagues.[
]
Works
Min Huifen released 15 albums during her career. Her music is a unique blend of multiple genres of traditional Chinese music, including the Peking opera
Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...
, the Yue opera
Yue opera, also known as Shaoxing opera, is the Chinese opera genre. Only Peking opera is more popular nationwide.
Originating in Shengzhou, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province in 1906, Yue opera features actresses in male roles as well as femininity ...
, and the music of Chaozhou.[ She composed several of her hit singles herself, including "Yangguan Melody – Three Variations" and "Wishes of the People of Honghu Lake."][ Her most famous performance was the ''Great Wall Capriccio'', composed by Liu Wenjin with Min's assistance. It was inspired by a huge tapestry of the ]Great Wall
The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic groups ...
that Liu and Min saw during their visit to the Headquarters of the United Nations
zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas
, image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg
, im ...
in New York in 1978.[
]
Awards
* First Prize, National Erhu Playing Competition (1963)[
* Shanghai Literature and Art Award (1988)][
* First National Gold Record Award (1989)][
]
Health issues and death
In 1981, Min was diagnosed with cancer, and underwent six major operations and fifteen courses of chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...
in the next five years. Doctors thought her cancer was terminal after it metastasize
Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...
d in 1983, but she miraculously recovered from the disease.
However, Min still suffered from many health problems, including high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia
Hyperlipidemia is abnormally elevated levels of any or all lipids (fats, cholesterol, or triglycerides) or lipoproteins in the blood. citing: and The term ''hyperlipidemia'' refers to the laboratory finding itself and is also used as an umbre ...
.[ On 13 February 2014, she suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and fell into a coma. She never woke up again, and died on 12 May 2014 at ]Renji Hospital
Renji Hospital () is a general hospital in the Pudong District of Shanghai, China, with the rank of "Grade 3, Class A". The hospital is a university hospital affiliated to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.
History
Renji ...
in Shanghai. She was 69.[
]
Family
Min Huifen was born to a musical family. Her father Min Jiqian (), who outlived her, was a student of the erhu master Liu Tianhua
Liu Tianhua (; 1895–1932) was a Chinese musician and composer best known for his innovative work for the ''erhu''.
Liu's students, such as Jiang Fengzhi and Chen Zhenduo, continued to contribute to the development of the ''erhu''.
He was the ...
. Her brother Min Lekang () is a national first-class conductor and music professor. Her younger sister, Min Xiaofen
Min Xiao-Fen () is a Chinese-American pipa player, vocalist, and composer known for her work in traditional Chinese music, contemporary classical music, and jazz.
Life
Min Xiao-Fen studied with her father, Min Jiqian (闵季骞), a music profe ...
, is a well known pipa player. According to Min Lekang, who was more than ten years younger than Min Huifen, she taught her younger siblings the erhu and musical theory and had a significant impact on their careers. Her son, Liu Ju (), is also a well-known conductor.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Min, Huifen
1945 births
2014 deaths
Erhu players
Chinese women classical composers
Chinese opera composers
Musicians from Wuxi
Shanghai Conservatory of Music alumni
People from Yixing
People's Republic of China composers