Vocalist Sings of Life

Yang Hongji catapulted to national fame overnight in 1993 at the age of 52. The baritone singer sang the theme song of “Romance of the Three Kingdoms，” a CCTV television blockbuster based on the timeless namesake classic novel of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The visualization of the classical text fascinated the nation and everybody loved the theme song “The Yangtze River Flows Eastward Forever.”

Yang Hongji had established himself as a prominent singer more than a decade before. He had starred as the solo baritone in the Ninth Symphony played by the Central Philharmonic Orchestra in 1979. He had appeared in dozens of operas from then onward. Although he had not been widely known to the television audience， he was best known by the insiders. That was why he was approached for an audition for the job of singing the theme song of the would-be television blockbuster. To his surprise， the competition was fierce and he was just one of many candidates. He thought his western baritone style would not appeal to the director as the drama was about ancient warriors and epic battles for power. He went through the song almost half-heartedly， went home， and forgot about it.

However， the composer Gu Jianfen thought his singing highlighted the elegance of the song. A month later， Yang was invited back. He was one of the two finalists. The producers and the director agreed that Yang was perfect for the theme song. A month later， he was offered the job. Yang had read the novel many times since childhood years and he knew the warring epic intimately. The understanding gave his singing a depth and a sense of history and immediacy. His interpretation absorbed elements of Kunqu Opera with orthodox western singing.

Since his overnight national fame in 1993， Yang has sung theme songs for dozens of television dramas and films and appeared in many gala shows. Yang now works a busy workload. He continues to appear in various entertainment shows and appears in talk shows on television. He visits foreign countries as a singer. This year， he has appeared in a few operas staged by the Song and Dance Ensemble of the General Political Department of the People’s Liberation Army.

The vocalist believes he is still young. That is probably why， early this year， he accepted the offer to sing a popular song that had got viral on internet. In February 2011， Beijing Television asked him if he would sing a song entitled “I Am Not Afraid” with two other singers. He listened to the song and thought it would pose not difficulty. After he came to the recording studio， however， he found it was not as easy as he had imagined. It took an hour to complete the recording. The song became much more popular through a Spring Festival gala show produced by Beijing Television. Many of his friends congratulated him on his newly found popularity. The sudden celebrity amazed Yang himself. He found it interesting to sing pop songs.

Amazing things keep finding him. One April day this year Yang was serving as a guest at a CCTV show when he watched a singer named Zhu Zhiwen sing his fame-making masterpiece “The Yangtze River Flows Eastward Forever”. Yang was amazed. Zhu Zhiwen is a farmer who learned how to sing totally by himself. Yang noticed Zhu failed to get some notes right， but he appreciated the amateur singer very much. On the spot， Yang gave Zhu a few tips as how to get the difficulty notes right. Zhu tried and managed to sing the notes perfectly. Zhu was so excited and touched that he wept.

Yang Hongji believes that an old man should have as many hobbies as possible. If one shuts himself up at home and does nothing but watch television or read newspapers， one will inevitably shut out fresh things in the world and that means one is indeed old. He has a wide range of hobbies and interests in his off-stage life. He surfs on internet; he writes a blog; he maintains a collection of antiques; he practices calligraphy; he takes care of his small flower garden; and he takes care of gold fish in his fish tank; he often takes a walk in a nearby park; he works out in a gym.