Cheng Maoyun


Cheng Maoyun was a Chinese composer and a professor at National Central University and Hangzhou Societal University. He composed what is now the Taiwanese national anthem, the "Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guógē".

Early life and education

He was born in Xinjian, Jiangxi to a family of officials. He studied music in Jiangxi Provincial Higher Normal School, and the Ueno Music Academy in Tokyo. He majored in violin, then music theory, and composition.

Career

In 1928, his submission of the melody of "Three Principles of the People" was chosen. In 1947, he traveled to Taiwan for the first time, where Hsiao Er-hua, head of the College of Music in the Taiwan Provincial Normal University, offered Cheng Maoyun a position, but he refused. He never returned to Taiwan again. He had a stroke in 1951 in Xi'an, and he died of second stroke July 31, 1957.
The official university song of the National Central University, now on Taiwan, is also composed by Cheng.

Personal life

His wife and son are also musicians. Zhang Yongzhen, Cheng's wife, is a piano professor at the Xi'an Music Academy. His son, Zhang Jiannan, is a composer.