Wang Luobin (王洛宾; 28 December 1913 - 14 March 1996) was a renowned Han Chinese songwriter who specialized in composing Mandarin-language songs based on the music of various ethnic minorities in western China.
Wang was born in Beijing on 28 December 1913. He graduated from the Music Department of Beijing Normal University in 1934 and actively participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War on China's behalf beginning in 1937 in Shanxi Province. In 1938, in Lanzhou in Gansu Province, Wang composed his first Xinjiang-inspired song, "The Girl from Dabancheng" (达坂城的姑娘). He took up residence in northwestern China for more than 50 years since then, and devoted his time there to composing, collecting and revising western Chinese folk songs. In all, Wang wrote seven operas and published six songbooks, and wrote some 700 western-style songs, the most famous of which include "Alamuhan" (阿拉木汉, inspired by a Xinjiang Uyghur song), "Awariguli" (also supposedly a Uyghur song), "Flowers and Youth" (pinyin: Hua'er Yu Shaonian, a Hui Muslim folk song), "At a Faraway Place" (在那遥远的地方; pinyin: Zai Na Yaoyuan De Difang, a song from Qinghai Province), "Lift Your Veil" (掀起你的盖头来), "Duldal and Maria" (a Kazakh folk song), "Mayila", and "The Crescent Moon Rises" (半个月亮爬上来; pinyin: Ban Ge Yueliang Pa Shang Lai).
Wang began to win accolades for his work towards the end of his life. In 1993, "At a Faraway Place" and "The Crescent Moon Rises" were selected as the Chinese music classics of the 20th century. A year later, in July 1994, Wang received the Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Exchange of Western and Eastern Cultures from UNESCO. Wang was made the honorary town head of Dabancheng in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region by the local government in December of that year.
Wang married Huang Yulan in Lanzhou in 1945 and had three sons, Wang Haiyan, Wang Haixing and Wang Haicheng. Huang died in 1951 as a result of tuberculosis. Wang had lived in Australia for a period of time with his son Haiyan who immigrated in 1981, and stated that some of his later work was inspired by the Australian landscape and natural flora and fauna.
Wang died of cancer on 14 March 1996 at the age of 83. His songs continue to be popular today, and modern adaptations of them have been recorded by the Beijing Angelic Choir, a Chinese children's choir that has earned recognition both at home and abroad; by China's popular Twelve Girls Band; and by the famous Chinese rock singer Dao Lang, who is known for his western China-themed pop music.
