I was born into a political and intellectual family, and like many others, my parents went through a lot of political troubles. This has made me very sensitive about what being Chinese means and what position we have in the world. The differences, similarities and clashes between Chinese culture and other world cultures have been the inspiration behind my creations. The more I understand different cultures, the more Chinese I become. There are lots of Chinese music influences in my music. It will take all my life to research the spirit of old Chinese music – but I don’t compose or sing to promote Chinese culture or because I’m a nationalist. I would like to go even deeper to understand the real meaning behind all Chinese sounds, which would always appear in my music, but I wouldn’t insist on been “pure Chinese”.
It’s the same with what you might call ‘foreign’ influences. I certainly don’t reject learning new things; discovering things from beyond Chinese culture – in fact I actively seek it. I’ve spent quite a bit of time learning how to sing in the ‘original’ (原生態: yuanshengtai) styles of many folk singers – styles that don’t employ the bel canto style of vocalization. And it’s not just the ‘original’ styles of Chinese folksingers I’ve gone out to learn – I’ve learnt the blues, the songs of Afro-Americans, Indian Chants, and many other minority nationalities. I’ve been inspired by Japanese “Nor” and Korean “pansori” singing. These “foreign” style made me understand more Chinese Henan bangzi (河南梆子) and Shanxi bangzi (山西梆子). It’s interesting how my experiences in musics of other cultures have led me to understand Chinese
music better. For example – when I was learning African music or Afro-American music –I came to think about some music details that might have been taken for granted in Chinese music. After that, I listen to singers of the old generation differently. Put in this way, I hear all kinds of voices comparatively.
