1in April, 964, Xiao Hua, then director of the General Political Department of China People's Liberation Army, went to Hangzhou for recuperation due to hepatitis. However, instead of resting quietly in his hospital bed, he was thinking about commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Red Army's Long March. He thought: As a participant and survivor of the 25,000-mile Long March, he has the responsibility and obligation to write a work that truly describes the Long March.
After careful consideration, he decided to write a series of poems. So, from September 1964, he devoted himself to creation regardless of his illness. Later, he recalled the situation at that time: "I wrote the poem of the Long March, and I don't know how many tears I lost. Some paragraphs, such as farewell, entering Zunyi, crossing snowy mountains and grasslands, and good news, were written with tears. " In order to compose the Long March poems, Xiao Hua spent many sleepless nights. The transaminase increased four times, and he lost several pounds. It really reached the point where "the belt is getting wider and wider, and people are gaunt."
Two months later, the poetry group was basically finalized, and Xiao Hua thought twice, and used the first sentence of Mao Zedong's poem "Seven Laws and Long March"-"The Red Army is not afraid of expedition" as the general topic of the poetry group.
1in March, 965, Xiao Hua's poems were composed by four composers of the Beijing Military Region Comrades Art Troupe-Chen Geng, Sheng Mao, Tang He and Qiu Yu. In the process of composing music, Xiao Hua spent 65,438+00 mornings in a row, telling four composers the course of the Long March in detail, which fascinated them all. Composer Sheng Mao recalled that the sick General Xiao Hua talked about the Long March. "He was in high spirits, passionate and in tears. When the general talked about "crossing the Chishui River four times", he vividly outlined the spectacular scene of "Chairman Mao's fighting is really like a god". The general's detailed description of the Long March laid a solid foundation for us to complete the task of composing music. "
1965 10, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March, the Beijing Military Region Comrades' Art Troupe put Xiao Hua's poems on the stage, which was known as the "Song of the Long March". With its majestic momentum, touching feelings and melodious tunes, "Long March Songs" quickly swept the whole army and then swept the whole country. In the past 40 years, it has performed more than 65,438+0,000 performances, and it continues to perform.