Wang Shen, composer of a famous, revolutionary Chinese song, Singing for My Homeland, died on Monday morning in city Tianjin, in north China.
Xinhua News Agency reports that Wang composed the well-known song when he was 32. After being formally published in the People's Daily, China's leader newspaper, on September 15, 1951, the song's passionate and encouraging melody was memorized by countless Chinese, and has been sung in many important conferences and international sporting events held in China.
The 89-year-old artist who was born in 1918 in east China's Jiangsu Province began to devote himself to a revolutionary and musical career in 1938.
A widely respected and popular figure in the field, Wang Shen wrote nearly a thousand songs and operas in sixty years. In his later years, he continued to make music as well as donate money to the community. He set up a fund in his name in 1994 to encourage Chinese musicians and songwriters.
Wang also won a "Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2001, which is the highest prize for musicians in China.
(CRI.cn October 17, 2007)
