[ad_1]
Image source,CNS
Many Chinese media reported that Fu Cong, a Chinese pianist, died in the UK on December 28 local time at the age of 86 due to the new corona virus.
Fu Cong was a famous Chinese pianist during his life and was known as a “piano poet”. His father is Fu Lei, a famous Chinese translator and writer. Fu Lei and his wife committed suicide at the beginning of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. In the Chinese world, Fu Cong is also known outside the musical circle for the “Letters from the Fu Lei Family” published by Fu Lei and his wife to him and his younger brother.
Fu Cong was born in Shanghai in 1934 and emigrated abroad during the political upheaval in China in the 1950s and 1960s. He went to Poland to study piano in 1955 and has been living in London since he went to England in 1958. 27 December, many Chinese media claimed they were diagnosed with the new corona virus in the UK. His student, Kong Jianing, a piano teacher at the Royal Academy of Music, said on social media that Fu Cong had been hospitalized for two weeks. On December 29, many Chinese outlets cited news from the Austrian Music Channel that Fu Cong had passed away from the new crown on December 28 local time in the UK.
The Chinese world has expressed its condolences for the death of Fu Cong. Chinese pianists like Lang Lang, Li Yundi, and many cultural figures paid tribute to Fu Cong on social media. On Weibo, Fu Cong’s practice of becoming a British citizen prompted some Chinese netizens to debate “art and patriotism.”
Image source,Facebook
Wang Dan, China’s June 4 student leader, expressed his commemoration on social media sites.
“The Fu Lei Family Letters” and the Cultural Revolution
Fu Cong, the eldest son of Fu Lei and Zhu Meifu, was born in Shanghai on March 10, 1934. His father Fu Lei is a famous Chinese translator and writer. Since Fu Cong went abroad to participate in piano competitions in 1954, Fu Lei and his wife began writing letters to their two children, Fu Cong and Fu Min. Some of these letters were later published as “Family Letters from Fu Lei, “which is very useful in the Chinese world. Influence.
The “Letter to the Fu Lei Family” contains almost 200 letters sent from January 1954 to 1966 before the death of Fu Lei and his wife. Since his younger brother Fu Min burned most of the family letters he kept during the Cultural Revolution, the book mainly included family letters received by Fu Cong. In these letters, Fu Lei not only exchanged his views on art and culture with Fu Cong, but also made suggestions about the life, thoughts and spirit of his son, who was considered by many Chinese as a reference for family education. .
Image source,CNS
On April 7, 2018, the 110th anniversary of Fu Lei’s birth was celebrated at the Shanghai Fushou Garden Harbor Cemetery. Fu Min, Fu Lei’s son and his wife (pictured), and Chinese and foreign scholars visited Fu Lei’s grave.
Fu Lei was branded a rightist in the 1957 political upheaval. After the start of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, Fu Lei and his wife committed suicide in the early morning of September 3, 1966 after being looted by the Red Guards for four days. and three nights.
After the Cultural Revolution, Fu Lei and his wife were rehabilitated in 1979.
Image source,CNS
“Defection” and rehabilitation
Fu Cong went abroad to study piano in Poland in 1955 and finished his studies in 1958. Originally, Fu Cong needed to return to China after finishing his studies, but under pressure from his father, who had been labeled a right-wing in At that time, Fu Cong decided to leave the UK. This was considered by the Chinese authorities as an act of desertion.
Li Chunguang, a well-known Chinese musician and former professor at the Central Conservatory of Music, once mentioned the inside story of Fu Cong’s departure. In an interview with China Central Television, he noted that Fu Lei was “forced to leave” by the political situation in China at the time.
Li Chunguang, who was the leader of the Communist Party of China Hu Yaobang when he wrote in 1981, explained Fu Cong’s departure. In the letter he conveyed that Fu Cong had stated that his father Fu Lei was labeled right-wing as the direct cause of his departure. “I am about to graduate and return to China. I know that what awaits me is that father and son make themselves known and criticize each other … Apart from the fate of our father and our son, I did foresee that the country could be embarking on an unpredictable path. ” There is no other way to go. I walked in a lot of pain and disappointment. “
In 1981, Fu Cong was rehabilitated in China. After that, he returned to China many times to perform.
Musical achievement
Fu Cong is very talented for the piano, he began to learn formally at the age of seven, he studied with the Italian musician Mario Paci (Mario Paci) who lives in Shanghai and the Soviet pianist Ada Bronstein (Ada Bronstein).
In 1955, Fu Cong participated in the Fifth International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, becoming the first Chinese musician to win an international piano competition.
After settling in the UK, Fu Lei’s musical career gradually reached its peak. The American magazine “Time” once evaluated him as “the greatest contemporary Chinese musician”.
The Fryderyk Chopin Institute expressed its condolences for Fu Cong’s death on its official website on the 29th. The agency stated that Fu Cong’s departure “marked the closing of an extremely important page in the Chopin tradition.”
Chinese pianist Lang Lang stated on Weibo that Fu Cong is a “great artist” whom he highly respects and hopes heaven will not suffer from disease.
Image source,Langlang weibo
Li Yundi, the first Chinese to win the International Chopin Piano Competition, said the news was incredible at the moment. I hope you are always accompanied by the eternal Melody in the sky and never feel alone.
Outside of the music industry, Chinese netizens have mixed reactions to Fu Cong’s death. While many readers of “Letters from Fu Lei” expressed regret at this news, some nationalist comments appeared on the Internet.
“I told you not to be a patriot. Although you love music without borders, this may be the consequence. A good Chinese became British,” wrote a netizen.
“Fu Cong is not a role model … Fu Cong is a traitor. It is shameful to defect, and it is even more shameful to defect to future generations of traitors. We cannot distinguish between good and evil,” said another.
“What people say about me a hundred years later, I can’t control it anyway. I think a hundred years later, there must be many different ways of saying my things, many inexplicable, but I can’t control it. Anyway, it’s something that I can’t help but behind me. It doesn’t matter if you don’t care about fame and wealth, “Fu Cong once said in an interview with Chinese media.
“In the world of music, I am not a winner, but a perpetual explorer. When a musician always feels lonely, I also need to endure loneliness. This is a test for myself”, in 2007, In an interview with the magazine “MUZIK” from Taiwan, Fu Cong said so.
