Cheng Lin: Wanderer of Music

Cheng Lin, presumably the first pop singer on the mainland, may be a symbol of the early 1980s for many of those born in the 1960s and the 1970s. She left the mainland in the late 1980s. She came back to China after studying music in USA and participating in music shows. She has kept traveling around the world in a mission to promote Chinese culture and introduce international musical elements into China. On the afternoon of October 20, 2010, Cheng talked with us in a café in Beijing. The following is the summery of the interview.

Teenage Fame

I became a pop singer of national renown at 13 in 1980 after I sang a song called “Little Conch Horn”. I am not sure, but I think I was the youngest pop star. My world changed accordingly. I began to appear in shows around the country and flowers and applause were a big part of my life. I began to play Erhu (a two-stringed Chinese musical instrument) at 6 as my parents hoped that it could be a career for me after I grew up. At 12 I joined a navy troupe. I had difficulty adjusting to the showbiz life.

Fu Lin, an excellent composer, wrote a series of children’s ballads for me. These beautiful ballads appealed to the audience especially in the early 1980s. I also sang some songs made popular by Teresa Teng, a Taiwan singer, which made me more popular. Even Teng knew of me, a mainland young singer who imitated her perfectly. I enjoyed fame and got used to the privileged life. It was not until 1989 when I realized that I needed changes. I was eager to go abroad.

Abroad

In 1990 I dropped everything I enjoyed at home and left the mainland. I first visited Australia and France, relaxing and contemplating what I had gone through. A year later, I went to America. I had difficulty adjusting myself to a new life. Nobody there knew who I was and what I was. I spent two year picking up the language and two years learning how to compose music. I love the student years, which was free of troubles and full of freedom. Gradually music came back to me.

While studying music, I participated in music shows with friends from various countries. What united us together was music and friendship. I was happy though life was not so easy. The thing is, I got rid of the sense of superiority I had felt in my early teenage years.

What made me stand out was “River of Sorrow”, a melody of Erhu. The first time I soloed the tune on my Erhu, every listener was touched. Some even wept when I was relating a brief sad story that served as a background. During that time, I practiced on Erhu hard and very soon the proficiency came back partly thanks to the rigid training I had gone through at 6 and in the subsequent years. I made a few records, which still sell well online in America. Many friends in America know I am a good Erhu player and they are not aware that I used to be the hottest pop singer on the mainland. After 15-year working together, my producer got to find out that I used to be an influential singer in China.

A few years in USA made me aware that music was not everything of my life. I wanted a family.

In 1995 I went back to China with an album entitled “Homecoming”. The album explained my understanding of life and love. I spent a lot of time with my parents. In 2005, I adopted a daughter. She has become my world. She makes me understand my parents in a new way and inspires me to write songs.

In 2008, I worked with KC Porter, a producer who has worked with Celine Dion, Ricky Martin and Shakira, to produce a song called “Greater than Gold”. We hoped that the song would bridge Chinese pop music to the world stage. It was considered the one of China’s best musical works in 2008. Moreover, this song also enabled people to know me again.

Two songs I sang in my earlier career were selected among “Best 30 Songs in the 30 Years since Reform and Opening Up”. On September 9, 2010, I appeared as a guest singer in a show called “Back to the Dream 1980s”. I played Erhu and sang a film song that made me popular in the 1980s.

A real artist cares neither fame nor fortune; a real artist assumes responsibility. I hope I appear as a scholar and artist in the world and help everyone living in hardship and poverty and help them become aware of the beauty and the good of life. Such a life is meaningful. Off stage, I spend time at home with my parents and my daughter. I work at my music and play Erhu and entertain my friends. My life is ordinary and fulfilled.