Music is an indispensable seasoning in our life. It transcends the limitations of time and space, soothing people's hearts with its rich notes and melodies.
This is a song that is very popular in China. It was originally a Chinese song, but the English cover version of the song has received over 7 million views on the Chinese video platform BiliBili. The song's creator is Shaun Gibson, a British singer living in Beijing. Presenting the emotions and connotations of Chinese songs in English is not only his job, but also his joy of life.
Shaun: My name Shaun Gibson, I’ve been based in Beijing now for about 2 to 3 years, before that I was in Suzhou. And I went there just to learn a little bit of, mandarin, Chinese before I came here to find Beijing’s, amazing culture and way of life.
Today, let's listen to the story of this "Chinese and Western" musician and feel his special relationship with China.
Shaun was born in London. Music accompanied him throughout his growing up. At the age of 3, Shaun made his first appearance on stage, singing little children's songs. At the age of 6, he started to study dancing, singing and acting at a stage school in England. It was then that a seed of art took root in his heart.
Shaun: My neighbor used to play keyboard as well. He's gone now when he went past years ago, but I used to run over to his house, learn a little bit of a melody, then run back home, practice it. And then within a few hours, I’ll be back there again, trying to learn the next part. So I was very fortunate to have parents that encouraged me along that path. And they could see that I had this passion for music. I just loved it. I lived and breathed it from literally the moment I was born.
After graduating from high school, Shaun began studying musicology at the University of Liverpool. At the same time, across the ocean, Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University, a Sino-foreign cooperative university located in Jiangsu Province, was sending Chinese exchange students to the University of Liverpool for further study. On campus, seeing more and more oriental faces, Shaun could not hide his curiosity, and his wonderful relationship with China began from there.
Shaun: I became very interested in why did these people come here? Where are they from why did they choose liverpool? You know I just natural curiosity got the better of me. And I started to sort of slowly get to know some people very, very slowly because Chinese people are very shy when they go abroad, typically. But once you grow more confident and get to know people, it's much. Chinese people are very excited to share their culture with you. So I became more and more interested the more and more I heard. I was taken to KTV to sing songs, which is a culture that I never even knew existed before. Maybe because i'm British, I come from a place also has a very rich, traditional historic culture. But I already know most of that. So I think when I found China Chinese culture, it was kind of all of that again. But in a totally different way, in a way that was just so different to why I was used to for me. It's like everything in like the difference between, salt and pepper versus chilly and spices and everything is is so colorful and bright and amazing.
It was at the University of Liverpool that Shaun met his later working partner, Wei Ping, from Xinjiang, China. Although they studied in different majors, they both love music. After graduating from university, with his love for Chinese culture, Shaun wanted to continue to learn about China, so he chose to develop his career in Suzhou. Two years of studying and living in Chinese made him firm in his choice. It was also at this time that he began to think about his future in China. In search of more opportunities for personal development, Shaun focused his attention on Beijing.
Beijing, the capital of China, is growing rapidly and embracing modernity, while still preserving the culture and historical heritage of an ancient city.
Shaun: When I first came to Beijing, the idea was to go onto more tv shows and kind of more traditional kind of media. When I first came here, I was totally on my own, apart from my working partner Wei Pin. Now in Beijing, so I kind of have this little partnership, collaboration with a recording studio, yum studio.So I’ve got connections to help me out with the music creation side of things.because it just helps me to reach more people with my music, because that's the goal at the end of the day to reach more people. And also, yeah, just make more friends, more family, more connections and everybody helps in their own way.
For the curious Shaun, every tree and bush in Beijing has the potential to spark the inspiration. As song after song that became popular on the Internet was created, Shaun gradually developed his own musical style.
Shaun: I think what keeps me in beijing apart from the connections that i've made is the there are so many historical places here like the Forbidden City, like the Beihai Park, the Palace Museum area, and all of that. It's beautiful and it really works with the kind of music that I make. So it creates it means that there are a lot of places that I can use as a backdrop to create. So it's like beijing is kind of like my stage. So that's what keeps me in. Beijing is that it's just got a different vibe. Beijing is just got really cultural vibes to it. In a more of a traditional chinese sense.
A large part of songs made by Shaun are traditional Chinese poems translated into English and then written as songs. Chinese poems are often abstract. It takes a lot of time to accurately convey the artistic conception of the poems in English while still allowing audience understand the lyrics, but Shaun enjoys the process.
Shaun: To be honest, I do all of this just to connect with people. It's to create something bigger than myself. If I can write a song or create something, that means something to me. And then I can give that to the world, give that to my audience. And people can connect with that in their own way. It's wonderful. It's just a different way of looking at things. Some people just want to take from the world. But I like to exchange, I can create something that makes me joyful, give it to you. It makes you feel joyful. It's twice as much joy for me.
For Shaun, his experience in China has not only changed the trajectory of his life, but has also given him a deeper understanding of what life is. A free soul, with a normal heart to look at the different interests in another culture. This is Shaun's unique approach to life.
Shaun: By just identifying myself as a human being interacting with other human beings and interacting with the world, it gives me an unbiased perspective on things as much as possible. So, it means that when I go to explore things, which is what I love to do, I can see everything I as much as I can absorb it.
For Shaun, his wish is to continue to expand his music career in China. There are Chinese fans who love and support him, Chinese friends he can hardly leave behind, and a Chinese culture that is waiting to be felt.
Shaun: Beyond based here, for the foreseeable future, just kind of absorbing all of the wonderful culture to put into my music and my works.