At 9:52 on September 25, Liu Huan died of illness in Shanghai at the age of 63. The next day, the University of International Business and Economics issued an obituary.
According to the obituary, Liu Huan, who has taught at the school since 1991, is a teacher and associate professor in the Art Teaching and Research Section, and will retire in 2023. Some people wonder why Liu Huan was still an associate professor when he retired after teaching in the school for more than 30 years. He was deeply involved in music and aesthetic education and received many teaching commendations.
This question itself implies a misunderstanding – using the ruler of professional titles to measure a singer’s life. In colleges and universities, there is a hard threshold from associate professor to professor. Papers, topics, projects, awards…this evaluation system is suitable for most teachers. But when it faces special talents like Liu Huan, it may not be applicable.
How should the value of an artist be defined? Is it the number of papers or the popularity of the work? Is it the subject level or the position in the public mind? The answer is self-explanatory. A professional title is nothing more than an academic title.
From arriving at the school in July 1991 to retiring in September 2023, Liu Huan worked as a teacher at the University of International Trade and Economics for more than 30 years. He is a teacher in the Art Teaching and Research Section of the University of International Trade and Economics, and teaches the public elective course “History of Western Music”.
According to China Youth Daily, Sun Weiyan served as the president of the University of International Business and Economics from October 1984 to March 1999. He told reporters that Liu Huan’s class results were very good, his lectures were very serious, and he was very popular among students.
Sun Weiyan’s successor, Chen Zhunmin, who was the president of the University of International Trade from March 1999 to May 2009, said: “Liu Huan positions himself first and foremost as a teacher. When he introduces himself, he always says that he is a teacher at the University of International Trade, rather than first mentioning that he is a singer. He could have chosen other paths, but he is still conscientious in his teaching position and is deeply loved by teachers and students at the University of International Trade.”
Sun Weiyan still remembers that when the school wanted to develop aesthetic education, it invited Liu Huan to come to the University of International Trade. Sun Weiyan was very happy to learn that the other party was willing to come and “welcome him to join our teaching team.” Chen Zhunmin’s answer is straightforward: “We hope that students will develop in an all-round way, with noble tastes and modern aesthetics, and not just be able to do business. We hope that students will first have a sound personality, and secondly, master skills.”
This is the reason for the existence of that seemingly unrelated class. Liu Huan believes in “teaching and teaching” and “kungfu lies in poetry”, and encourages students to cultivate their moral character, cultivate their sentiments, and improve their aesthetics.
Liu Huan is taking classes at the University of International Business and Economics. Photo courtesy of University of International Business and Economics
Guo Yu was admitted to the University of International Trade and Economics in 2005, majoring in international trade. He was lucky enough to take Liu Huan’s class during his freshman year. There are only more than 300 course places, and the number of applicants exceeds 700. The school can only determine the class places through computer random drawing. The class is held in the largest classroom in the school, and this is the only class where the teacher from the Academic Affairs Office checks the attendance ticket at the door.
In the impression of Guo Yu and many classmates, Liu Huan did not use courseware in class, “one piece of chalk per class”, and his works, dates, and names were all dictated orally. The course time arrangement, content distribution and writing on the blackboard were smooth and smooth. The bell rang and the course content was just finished.
When he talks about key points, Liu Huan will also demonstrate. The classroom is very quiet and the students are full of expectations. After the demonstration, there is often thunderous applause. Later, Liu Huan deliberately reduced the number of demonstrations. During a class, he said that he hoped that students could truly pass this course and open a door to appreciate serious music. In this way, the purpose of his course would be achieved.
Wang Dan, who enrolled in the University of International Trade and Economics in 2011, also remembers that Liu Huan’s classes often combined his deep understanding of the music field and introduced humanities knowledge from many countries. Liu Huan’s class opened a door to music history for her. Even a few years after graduation, Wang Dan still often met up with her college classmates to listen to musicals and operas.
When he was about to graduate from his undergraduate degree, under the arrangement of the school, Guo Yu became Liu Huan’s teaching assistant and assisted Liu Huan in preparing courses. Guo Yu proposed to develop an on-campus website to put all the repertoire mentioned in class so that students can experience music. A week later, Liu Huan gave him a 1T hard drive. The hard drive contains all the classical repertoire that Liu Huan purchased and collected, organized according to different periods and different composers.
Guo Yu’s nose felt sore. He knew that it was not easy to organize these tracks. Searching, classifying, and filing were all time-consuming and laborious. “He will always find a way to do whatever he can do for students,” Guo Yu said.
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