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On a rainy day in April 2023, the famous singer Cheng Zhi unfortunately passed away, and the news spread like a storm all over the capital. Although he has been away from the stage for many years, Liu Bin still appeared at the scene of the farewell ceremony of his friend's body, standing alone in the corner of the crowd, his eyes under black sunglasses are firm and sad.
Once upon a time, his loud singing voice could stir up the atmosphere of the entire stadium to a boiling point. And this year's sixtieth year, Liu Bin has long been away from the spotlight and living in low-key seclusion. Dressed in plain casual clothes, he refused all opportunities for interviews and group photos, and just quietly said goodbye to his old friend.
At the end of the ceremony, one or two people with a lot of eyes secretly photographed his back as he left alone.
The years have flown by, and Liu Bin's appearance has added a bit of vicissitudes. However, the spirit is still strong, and the eyes reveal a tenacious strength, which is the unique charm of an artist who is persistent in the music career.
Now he and his wife Li Sili depend on each other and enjoy the quiet time of their old age.
After years of retirement, Liu Bin rarely appears in public. Someone tried to inquire about his glorious past experiences, but he brushed them aside.
Seeing that his face was haggard but his heart was firm, people speculated that he should have had a complex emotion that was difficult to explain when he was burning passionately in the past.
Go back in time
In the blink of an eye, more than 60 years have passed. Let's go back to the spring of 1958, Liu Bin was born in the beautiful land of Qilu. The cry of a baby echoes in the fertile land of Shandong, heralding the arrival of a new life.
Soon after, Liu Bin's parents and the whole family migrated to Changchun to settle down. In this city with profound cultural heritage, Liu Bin spent his childhood and adolescence.
Those happy and innocent days made his heart forever retain a deep attachment to this city.
The god of fate soon sounded the clarion call for Liu Bin's life. In 1974, when he had just entered his first year, he joined the ranks of the Changchun Peking Opera Troupe after strict assessment.
From that moment on, he seemed to see a new dawn on the path of life.
In the following years, Liu Bin eagerly consulted the famous master Wan Xiaopu and other Peking Opera masters, humbly delved into the performing arts, and learned from others. His persistent pursuit of art has made him successful in a short period of time and has made a name for himself in the troupe.
In 1982, Liu Bin and his wife Li Sili tied the knot. Li Sili was a pretty nice girl, and at that time she was working as an instrumental accompanist in an art troupe.
The two met and fell in love, fell in love, and decided to stay together for the rest of their lives.
This marriage was once opposed by Li Sili's mother Zhu Shuhui. As an engineer, Zhu Shuhui hopes that her daughter will marry a steady doctor, not a romantic artist.
However, his father-in-law, Li Xueshou, admires this sunny and energetic son-in-law candidate.
"You young people make your own decisions, anyway, I think this young man is good. Li Xueshou persuaded his wife openly and honestly. In the end, Zhu Shuhui was moved by the future son-in-law's free and bold personality and happily agreed to this family business.
Career rises
In the autumn of 1984, with longing and expectation, Liu Bin left his beloved wife Li Sili for the time being, resolutely left his hometown of Changchun, and went to the capital Beijing to seek career development opportunities.
This farewell is destined to press the pause button on the small family life in the past.
Beijing, a bustling metropolis, has given Liu Bin a new stage in life. It didn't take long for him to get his wish and join the well-known Beijing Military Region Comrades-in-Arms Song and Dance Troupe.
Although he started out as a set set and choir artist, it was an important step into the music industry.
The desire for a music career is destined to make Liu Bin unable to stop there. In his spare time, he tirelessly consulted professional teachers for vocal knowledge, and after just a few months, he stood out and was allowed to take the lead as a soloist.
This kind of astonishing progress like a "quadruple jump" is really rare.
The turnaround came suddenly. In the Spring Festival of 1985, Liu Bin, who was favored by CCTV, was invited to sing excerpts from classic Peking Opera in the long-awaited Spring Festival Gala of the national audience.
His unique style and solid skills made the audience go crazy and won him a round of applause.
This CCTV Spring Festival Gala performance made a resounding comeback for Liu Bin. From then on, his fame began to spread more and more in the music circle. Soon, every year, there will be a talent selection competition "Youth Song Competition" held nationwide, and Liu Bin has participated in it for four consecutive years.
Whenever his tall figure appears on the screen, the audience will burst into long-lasting applause. In the end, with the persistence of outstanding talent and tenacious perseverance, Liu Bin went to four cities in a row and won the gold medal on the stage of national singing in the professional group of the "Youth Song Competition".
"Liu Bin deserves this honor. His singing voice was magnetic and touching, and as judges, we and the staff present were all fascinated by it. A judge who had judged Liu Bin was highly praised at the time.
The pinnacle of creation
In 1994, the famous lyricist Wang Xiaoling and the veteran composer Zang Yunfei worked together to create a new song work. Originally, the title of the work was "Same as Different".
In the process of creation, both of them felt that the effect of the intro part was not satisfactory.
After repeated discussions and thoughts, they finally made a major decision to change the name of the song to "The Man Who Served as a Soldier" to better interpret the theme of the song and show the image of a soldier who is brave and fearless.
Next, Wang Xiaoling and Zang Yunfei worked together to lock their eyes on Liu Bin, a singer who was already famous at that time. They unanimously agreed that only Liu Bin's unique voice conditions and outstanding stage performance could perfectly control this magnificent work.
Soon, the two sides reached a cooperation, and Liu Bin joined it with enthusiasm. After months of polishing the masterpiece, "The Man Who Became a Soldier" finally came out in 1994, with extraordinary courage and deafening, and immediately swept the north and south of the country, applauding wave after wave.
"I was troubled by the prelude effect of this work, but fortunately, Liu Bin used his bold voice to turn decay into magic, which is gratifying!" Wang Xiaoling couldn't hide the excitement and joy in his heart at that time.
The judges even gave high affirmation: "When Liu Bin performed this song, he was heroic and upright, and his whole body exuded incomparable majesty, which was simply awe-inspiring. Sure enough, "The Man Who Became a Soldier" then won many heavyweight awards such as the "Special Award for the Favorite Military Song of Soldiers in the 90s of the 20th Century".
The song is infamous and is still hailed as a classic today. It has been highly praised by the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and is included in the list of 100 recommended songs for patriotic education.
Some commentators said that although many tenor singers have also ventured into challenging "The Man Who Was a Soldier", none of them can surpass the loud spirit and deep connotation conveyed by Liu Bin.
This work completely shaped Liu Bin into a first-line music superstar.
Life in bits and pieces
In the years when Liu Bin's music career was booming and becoming a smash hit, his wife Li Sili stayed in his hometown of Changchun in obscurity, trying to run a small nest for the family of two.
In 1985, their son was born, and Li Sili raised the child alone, waiting to be reunited with her husband one day.
It wasn't until many years later that Li Sili was also transferred to Beijing and re-lived with her husband Liu Bin in the Comrades-in-Arms Art Troupe of the Military Region. Since then, the little family has finally gained its long-lost integrity.
Whether in good times or bad, Li Sili has always been Liu Bin's most solid support.
In Li Sili's life, there is also a unique power of musical feelings supporting her. This kind of power can be traced back to her father Li Xueshou. Li Xueshou is an old veteran of Changchun FAW, and also one of the meritorious veterans of the factory's three ventures, he not only founded the FAW staff amateur orchestra, but also tirelessly dedicated his life's work to this band.
Some people say that Li Xueshou has an almost obsessive love for music. It is said that when he was young and strong, he dreamed of becoming a good instrumentalist, but due to the limitations of the times, this dream could only be put on hold for the time being.
However, he still used his own way to pass on his love of music from generation to generation.
Liu Bin, who is in full swing, has also received some criticism because of this. There are rumors that Liu Bin is very close to many girls in the unit, and even identifies them as his "goddaughters", and the relationship with these "goddaughters" is also ambiguous.
What's more, Liu Bin was caught and raped in bed by his wife on the spot.
However, these rumors lack real evidence, and are likely to be just gossip to take advantage of the opportunity to smear. Liu Bin himself and his friends and relatives have never confirmed these claims.
Maybe he was a little indulgent in his bright and moving age back then, but who he was, I'm afraid only those who know the roots know best.
Music Road
In this way, Liu Bin has been radiant on the stage of music for more than 20 years. In 2006, he was promoted to the head of the Comrades-in-Arms Art Troupe of the Beijing Military Region, holding heavy responsibilities and leading a large number of artistic elites, such as Yu Wenhua, Geng Lianfeng, Ma Yutao and others.
This popular heavyweight singer, with his unique personality charm and outstanding artistic talent, has naturally become the darling of the media. As an editor and reporter for the "Celebrity in Detail" section, I had the privilege of visiting this legend in person.
I remember that day, Liu Bin wore sunglasses, dressed in fashion, and drove a luxury car to the appointment. After taking a seat, he elaborated on his persistent pursuit of music career, and also talked about his family life and emotional experience.
What impressed me a lot was that when he talked about his marital status, he spoke in a slightly melancholy tone, as if he had some regret in his heart.
From his sincere and slightly mysterious words, I guessed that he might have done something wrong in his private life. And this has also sparked heated discussions and speculations about him from the outside world, both praise for his timbre and criticism of his private life.
The years are easy to get old, and in 2018, Liu Bin finally unloaded his burden and retired honorably. After more than 30 years of hard work in his stage career, he can finally enjoy his life with his wife Li Sili for the rest of his life.
After retiring, Liu Bin rarely appeared outside and lived an ordinary life without contention. Only occasionally does he appear on some special occasions, such as the last trip to see off his old friend Cheng Zhi in 2023.
However, despite retiring from the center stage to the background, Liu Bin has not left his music career. He will teach vocal music courses, pour his decades of experience into students, and pass on the rare feelings of music from generation to generation.
Life has its own highs and lows, Liu Bin once climbed to the highest peak, and has seen countless applause and cheers. But he also experienced the darkest moments and was plagued by many rumors. However, it is the twists and turns and twists and turns along the way that have made him what he is today.