“In the distant night sky, there is a crescent moon, and under the crescent moon is the crooked little bridge…”
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moving song “Crooked Moon” that arouses homesickness in countless people was sung again. A singer who brought this song into thousands of households said goodbye to the moon in his hometown.
Musician Liu Huan died of illness in Shanghai at 9:52 am on the 25th at the age of 63.
The obituary issued by the University of International Business and Economics on the 26th stated: Teacher Liu Huan integrated music education, music creation and singing. He devoted his life to the cause of music and made important contributions to the development of music education in colleges and universities. His passing is a great loss to the school and to the Chinese music industry.
Photos of Liu Huan during his lifetime (Photo provided by University of International Business and Economics)
Liu Huan was born in Tianjin in August 1963. He studied at the School of International Relations and won the 1985 English and French song contests in Capital Colleges. He has been on the road to music ever since.
“The Sun in the Heart”, “Young Aspirations Don’t Say Sorrows”, “Millions of Questions”, “Start Over”, “Heroic Song”, “Me and You”, “Phoenix Flying”… Turning over Liu Huan’s playlist, one of the golden songs is familiar to the ear, picking up fragments of countless people’s youth and becoming the common memory of generations.
“How many winds and rains have come, how many springs and autumns, how many winds, frost, snow and rain beat the rapids…” In a euphemistic and deep voice, it tells the bold loyalty and soul-stirring moments in the turbulent years; “I have chased you for thousands of miles, but you don’t care…” sings the confusion and complex of Chinese people who have just gone abroad; a song “Big River” from the TV series “Water Margin” “Flow eastward, the stars in the sky join the Beidou…”, making the hero’s heroic spirit of “howling when seeing injustice on the road” popular all over the country; the song “You and I, heart to heart, living in the global village…” at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, used soothing and warm singing to let the world feel the harmonious beauty of the “global village” in the blending of the East and the West…
Since the 1980s, Liu Huan has conquered countless audiences with his majestic, warm and melodious music style, and has become a banner of China’s original pop music. In his songs, there are passionate, responsible and chivalrous voices, as well as the sincere emotions and ups and downs of fate of ordinary people. They bear witness to the changes of the times and also contain the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty.
During his lifetime, Liu Huan was the sixth director of the Chinese Musicians Association and the vice chairman of the Popular Music Society of the Chinese Musicians Association. The Chinese Musicians Association issued a commemoration statement on the 26th, saying that Liu Huan integrated singing, songwriting, film and television scoring, and music education into one, and was a landmark musician in the development of contemporary Chinese pop music.
“Liu Huan is an iconic figure in the pop music scene in mainland China. His creations have always been committed to the cross-border integration of traditional folk music, modern pop music and Western classical music.” said Jin Zhaojun, executive vice president and secretary-general of the Popular Music Society of the Chinese Musicians Association, who has known Liu Huan for many years.
He believes that Liu Huan spans a variety of style fields based on his extremely unique personal expression, and has reached an artistic realm that can be appreciated by both refined and popular people. “He doesn’t just follow the book after getting the score, but uses his own understanding to inject more soul into the work. Many classic fragments in the works are not written on the original score, but come from his second creation.”
Liu Huan has composed and performed many popular musical works, but many people don’t know that his full job is as a university teacher.
Since 1991, Liu Huan has worked at the University of International Business and Economics as a teacher and associate professor in the Art Teaching and Research Section until his retirement in September 2023. He has been teaching for more than 30 years and has been deeply involved in music aesthetic education. He has been awarded many school teaching commendations. His lecture “History of Western Music” is a classic course in school aesthetic education. The class is full and deeply loved by students.
He believes in “teaching makes a difference” and “kung fu lies beyond poetry”. He often shares his insights on artistic creation in class, and encourages students to learn some seemingly “useless” knowledge, cultivate their moral character, cultivate their sentiments, and improve their aesthetics.
The picture shows Liu Huan teaching in a university classroom (Photo courtesy of the University of International Business and Economics)
“Teacher Liu’s class is very difficult to get. Every class is crowded and the aisles are packed with people.” One of Liu Huan’s students recalled, “He is very serious in class, informative, humorous, and full of passion. After class, he is low-key, restrained, and approachable. At the end of class, he even signed autographs for his classmates.”
Over the years, Liu Huan has been deeply involved in music creation, supported a group of original musicians, and eagerly looks forward to the emergence of more high-quality masterpieces of Chinese original music. He once said: “To be original, you need to have more power, your music needs to have more attitude, and your ears need to be richer.”
The obituary issued by the “Liu Huan Original Music Charity Fund” of the China Social Welfare Foundation stated that in 2014, Liu Huan initiated and planned the original music reality show “Chinese Good Songs” and served as a mentor; in 2019, he donated funds in his own name and jointly established the “Liu Huan Original Music Charity Fund” with Hunan Radio, Film and Television Group (Taiwan) Mango V Fund to promote Chinese original music.
Liu Huan’s sudden death has deeply shocked and saddened the industry. Many people have recalled and expressed their gratitude for his “professionalism, dedication to music and sincerity for art.” “Have a good journey, Teacher Liu Huan…” On social platforms, countless netizens counted the familiar songs deep in their memories to express their respect and memory for the singer.
A director and producer recalled this old friend on social platforms, saying that he had an “open and upright mind, a bold and pure character”, “Such a hot and sincere heart burned passionately in the world, and the soul-stirring songs were deeply engraved into the memory of an era.”
Jin Zhaojun believes that Liu Huan not only has profound cultural literacy and humanistic feelings, but also has an open vision of cross-border integration. He can not only absorb the nutrients of Western classical music and world music, but also focus on integrating traditional culture and national music elements into creation, broadening the boundaries of Chinese popular music, and making important contributions to the construction of Chinese music culture since the reform and opening up.
“Teacher Liu Huan is the singer of the times.” A netizen wrote, “He freezes the tenderness and majesty of an era with his masterpieces handed down from generation to generation. The real preservation is never a grand farewell, but when the melody sounds again, we will still be filled with tears.”
Wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses and a long scarf, he raised his head high and sang, his long hair flying with the music. After singing, the lingering sound lingered… On the stage, this talented singer’s signature style has triggered many imitations.
Now, under the bright moonlight, the heroic singer takes a leisurely ride on the “curved boat”. But those melodies that never fade, those songs that span mountains and seas, will still remain in the depths of time.
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