Published : 2024-12-07

On December 7, 1976, the famous Chinese composer Zheng Lucheng (鄭律成) passed away at the age of 59.

Zheng Lucheng was born in Gwangju, Korea, originally named Cheong Bu-eun (鄭富恩). Later, due to his love for music, he changed his name to Lucheng.

Zheng acquired Chinese citizenship in 1950 and settled in Beijing. Most of his works throughout his life were revolutionary songs, including the Military Anthem of the Eighth Route Army (八路軍進行曲), which is the current military anthem of the People's Liberation Army.

Therefore, he is also known as the "Father of Military Songs."

Zheng Lucheng was quite famous in both China and Korea, especially due to the fact that his wife was China's first female ambassador, Ding Xuesong (丁雪松).

Given his background, there are many activities and architectures in memory of Zheng Lucheng in both China and Korea. For example, in 2002, the Chinese movie Walking towards the Sun was filmed based on Zheng. In April 2005, a Zheng Lucheng memorial hall was established in northeast China's Harbin.

As for Korea, in his hometown Gwangju, a street named Jeong Yul-sung Road was officially opened in early 2009, with a bronze statue of Zheng standing at the starting point of the street, with an inscription personally written by his wife Ding Xuesong.