Liu Dehai (1937-2020) was a pipa musician, educator, composer, former Vice-Dean of the China Conservatory of Music, Head of the Chinese Music Department, professor, and doctoral supervisor. In 1960, he graduated and stayed on at the Central Conservatory of Music as a teacher. In the same year, he adapted Blooming of Malan Flowers and kick-started his career in music composition. In 1972, Liu Dehai participated in the creation of The Heroic Little Sisters on the Grassland, the first pipa concerto in China. In 1975, he premiered a version of the pipa solo piece Ambush from Ten Sides that he adapted. In 1984, he created several pipa solo pieces for the series “Chapter on Life,” including Swan and Aged Child. In 1989, he won a Golden Disc Award in the inaugural event in China for his pipa piece Ambush on Ten Sides. In 2007, he won the 3rd High School Teaching Star Award. In 2019, he received the Outstanding Chinese Music Educator Award at the 8th Chinese Music Forum.