Biography:

Xue Fan (September 21, 1934-September 2, 2022), whose real name was Wen Shengyuan and whose pen name was Ji Zhimo , was a musicologist and translator in mainland China . Xue Fan has been engaged in the translation and research of foreign songs for more than 70 years. He has translated more than 2,000 songs from outside mainland China, including more than 1,000 Soviet and Russian songs, and compiled and published more than 30 foreign song collections. ^{[3] [4] [5]} Xue Fan is a member of the Chinese Writers Association , the Chinese Musicians Association , and the China Translators Association , the national director of the China -Russia Friendship Association , a visiting professor at Shanghai Normal University , and the eighth honor of the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles committee member. ^[6] [7]

When Xue Fan was two years old, he was paralyzed due to polio . When he was a student, he loved literature and music, and tried to create and contribute articles. After graduating from high school in 1952, Xue Fan was admitted to the Shanghai Russian Language College , but was rejected due to disability . After listening to radio programs, he gradually mastered Russian, English, Japanese, French and other languages, and taught himself the courses of the Chinese Department of the university. ^[8] [9] When he was young, Xue Fan actively devoted himself to the translation and dubbing of foreign songs, and at the same time he performed poetry translation, script creation and literary criticism . ^[3] [6] After the Sino-Soviet feud , Xue Fan’s creation gradually stopped. After the Sino-Soviet relationship eased, Xue Fan gave up literary writing and re-engaged in the translation and research of foreign songs. Xue Fan never had a formal job, nor was he married or had children. Before he was awarded the Medal of Friendship , he relied on manuscript fees and his parents’ income for a long time. ^[10]

As a rare foreign song translator and researcher in mainland China, Xue Fan has comprehensively perfected the theory of song translation, and put forward the methods and requirements of song translation in detail; [11] Xue Fan is also ^promoting Sino-Russian non-governmental exchanges, Mainland China has made certain contributions to the dissemination of foreign songs, mainly Soviet and Russian songs. ^{[12] [13] [14]} Xue Fan has been honored by the Russian Federation Government six times . In 1997, he was awarded the Friendship Award by Boris Yeltsin, then President of the Russian Federation, for his “outstanding contribution to Russia-China friendship and cultural exchanges between Russia and China”. Medal . ^[15] [16]

life

Early years

Xue Fan was born in Shanghai on September 21, 1934. His real name is well-known, and “Xue Fan” is the most commonly used pen name for his published works since the 1950s. ^[5] [17] Xue Fan is the eldest son in the family, his parents are senior employees in the factory, and he has seven brothers and sisters. ^{[18] :132 [19]} Suffered from polio at the age of two , and his grandmother sought treatment from famous doctors for two months without success. Since then, he has lived with crutches and wheelchairs. ^{[8] [18] :132} Xusui entered elementary school at the age of eight, and was picked up by his family until he graduated from high school. ^[18] :132 In elementary school, Xue Fan read Ye Shengtao ‘s fairy tales and ” Education of Love “, and then ignited his love for literature; in junior high school, Xue Fantong read some Chinese and foreign novels and poems, including “The Complete Biography of Yue Yue ” ” Family Spring Autumn ” and ” Pushkin Anthology” translated by Ge Baoquan , etc., and tried to write and contribute. ^[20] Xue Fan had learned piano at the request of his parents in primary and junior high school, but he could not use the pedals due to leg disease, and could only “barely be able to play some piano pieces”, and then stopped learning piano. ^{[twenty one][22] :313 After the victory of} the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression , Xue Fan came into contact with the first Soviet song “ March of the Motherland “, and the Soviet song that impressed him most when he was young waswritten by Xie Wenjin , Xiao Sanand others for ” Comrades Marching Bravely ” “Bright Praise”. ^[23] Xue Fan said that he also loved radio and semiconductors when he was a teenager, and he was able to assemble a five-lamp ore radio by himself . ^{[18] :133 [24]}

In 1949, Xue Fan graduated from the junior high school of Shanghai Jingye Middle School . ^[25] In October of the same year, Xue Fan was carried by his classmates to Shanghai Cultural Square , where he listened to the ” Night of the Star Sea ” concert. He rekindled his interest in music because of the song ” Roar, Yellow River ” sung live , and then taught himself music theory . , Composition and other knowledge. ^[21] In the second grade of high school, Xue Fan became the editor-in-chief of the class wall newspaper. In 1951, the radio drama “Motherland, I For You” created by Xue Fan was broadcast on the “Youth Program” of East China·Shanghai People’s Broadcasting Station . ^[20] During high school, Xue Fan further came into contact with different styles of literary schools such as Soviet Russian literature, European and American literature, Arabic literature, and Indian literature. ^[26] In 1952, Xue Fan graduated from the Middle School Affiliated to Aurora University . The foreign language he learned since elementary school was English . ^{[18] :133 [27]} He planned to apply for the Department of Radio Engineering, but due to his disability, the relationship between China and the Soviet Union was still at a standstill at that time. For a high position, Zhang Qikun, the class teacher, persuaded him to change his report to liberal arts and study Russian, “like Paul Korchagin, who uses a pen as a weapon in the battle of life.” In the end, the first choice to fill in was the Department of Chinese , and the second choice was the Department of Russian. ^{[21] [28]:258 [22] :314} In the autumn of the same year, Xue Fan was admitted to the Shanghai Russian Language College , but because of his severe paralysis of the lower limbs, he was not notified by the doctor in charge of the physical examination, and was rejected by the school on the day of the report. ^[19] [20]

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