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On an ordinary day in 1997, Zhang Yiqing, the choreographer and director of Hubei TV, was filming a documentary about the Wuhan Orchestra. During the filming, he stumbled upon a special musician - Zhou Zhou.
At that time, 19-year-old Zhou Zhou was sitting in front of the symphony orchestra, engrossed in waving his father's baton, which had been specially made for him. Although he looks and behaves like an ordinary child with intellectual disabilities, his eyes instantly become vivid and full of brilliance whenever the music plays.
This made Zhang Yiqing curious, so he decided to learn more about him.
After investigation, Zhang Yiqing found that Zhouzhou turned out to be a child with Down syndrome, and his intelligence level was equivalent to that of a 3-4-year-old child. However, this "born unlucky" child was able to conduct the entire symphony orchestra so naturally and complete the interpretation of a single piece.
This undoubtedly surprised Zhang Yiqing, and also gave him the idea of making a documentary.
It turned out that Zhouzhou's musical talent was gradually revealed under the careful cultivation of his father Hu Houpei. As an excellent cellist, Hu Houpei resolutely gave up his music career after Zhouzhou was born and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the education and care of his son.
In order to allow Zhou Zhou to find self-worth in music, Hu Houpei set up a small conductor's stage for him in the orchestra's rehearsal hall. Whenever the band was practicing, he would sit there and wave his baton and immerse himself in the world of music.
Under the careful care of his father, Zhouzhou gradually showed extraordinary musical talent. He can accurately perceive the rhythm and rhythm of the music, as if he is in a kingdom of his own.
This filled Hu Houpei's heart with hope, and he began to believe that maybe music could help Zhouzhou get out of the trouble of illness and return to a normal life.
In 1997, when Zhang Yiqing's documentary "The World of Zhouzhou" was officially broadcast, this child with intellectual disabilities became a "genius conductor" who attracted attention from all over the country and even the world.
His courage to overcome fate and his love for music have deeply touched the hearts of countless audiences. Since then, Zhouzhou's fame has soared and he has become the darling of the media and the public.
Countless parents with Down syndrome have found hope in Zhouzhou's success story and have come to seek Hu Houpei's help and experience. This is undoubtedly very gratifying for this ordinary celist, and he hopes that through his own experience, he can bring a ray of hope to more families in the same situation.
To say that Zhouzhou's rise to fame all the way is inseparable from his father Hu Houpei. This ordinary cellist has used his life to interpret what is called selfless fatherly love.
Hu Houpei was born in a poor rural family, and when he was young, his parents sold him to a family surnamed Hu in the opposite village for the price of four quintals of rice, and became a righteous son.
However, Hu Houpei was very smart, and with his own efforts, he was finally admitted to the Conservatory of Music and became an excellent musician.
The ups and downs of fate don't end there. On April 1, 1978, Hu Houpei ushered in the second turning point in his life - his son Zhouzhou was born.
But just when Zhouzhou was full moon, the doctor's diagnosis made Hu Houpei and his wife Zhang Huiqin fall into despair: Zhouzhou has Down syndrome, and the intelligence level is equivalent to that of a 3-4-year-old child.
Faced with this bad news, Zhang Huiqin once wanted to commit suicide with his son, but Hu Houpei firmly chose to continue to fight and fight for his own flesh and blood. Regardless of the ridicule of the outside world, he devoted himself to the education of Zhouzhou without hesitation, hoping to help him get out of the haze of illness and get a normal life.
In this way, Hu Houpei and Zhang Huiqin were busy making money to support their families, and at the same time spared no effort to cultivate Zhouzhou. They spend countless hours teaching Zhouzhou some of the most basic life skills, such as how to tie his shoes and count, each of which requires repeated practice to master.
Although the process was difficult, the patience and love of the parents never diminished.
It was then that Zhouzhou's musical talent was discovered. At the time, a violinist jokingly asked six-year-old Zhou Zhou if he would like to try his hand at conducting, but he received a firm response.
Since then, Hu Houpei has made an exclusive baton for Zhou Zhou and encouraged him to play in the orchestra.
Being able to find self-worth through music is undoubtedly a kind of salvation for Zhouzhou. Whenever the music plays, he waives his baton in high spirits, as if he is in a kingdom of his own.
It was with the support of this tenacity and perseverance that Zhou Zhou eventually succeeded and became a "genius conductor" who attracted worldwide attention. Hu Houpei also found the meaning of life from it, and he hopes that through his own experience, he can bring a ray of light to more families in the same situation.
However, his father, who has gone through ups and downs, also knows that Zhouzhou is not a "genius conductor" in the true sense. However, in that era, no one ever doubted his "talent", and everyone was immersed in the touching story of his overcoming Down syndrome and finally coming to the spotlight.
This mysterious atmosphere that bound him tightly lasted for 24 years, leaving Zhouzhou deeply mired in self-absorbed vanity.
Now, the family is facing a new test. As the years passed, Hu Houpei's physical strength and energy were gradually declining, and he had to find a way to arrange his future life for Zhouzhou.
This is undoubtedly a heavy burden, but for this selfless father, he still firmly believes that as long as he is still there, he will definitely accompany Zhouzhou to the end.
Zhouzhou's mother, Zhang Huiqin, is also an indispensable and important role in the family. When faced with her son's illness, she once chose despair, but in the end she chose to face it strongly.
After learning the news that Zhouzhou was suffering from Down syndrome, Zhang Huiqin's heart was undoubtedly broken. She once lost control of her emotions, and even came up with the idea of taking her son to Huangquan together.
However, seeing her husband Hu Houpei's determination to continue struggling, she finally chose to cheer up and face this dilemma with him.
At the same time, Zhang Huiqin also had to take care of the livelihood of the whole family. With her meager income barely enough to cover her family's expenses, Hu had to sell homemade white fungus soup and porridge early in the morning to make money, and work late at night at a private clinic after her day's work.
The weight of life weighed heavily on her, but she never complained.
In 1997, when Zhouzhou's musical talent was discovered and he became a "genius conductor", Zhang Huiqin felt both relieved and worried. On the one hand, she is sincerely happy that her son can find his own value through music; On the other hand, she also knew that she could not let Zhouzhou become the talk of public entertainment, so she gently persuaded him not to perform in public anymore.
However, Hu Houpei saw a glimmer of life in it, and found that only music could make Zhouzhou devote himself to it and enjoy the fun brought by the performance. So, he set up a small conductor stage for Zhou Zhou in the orchestra's rehearsal hall, so that he could unleash his musical talents.
In this way, under the careful guidance of his parents, Zhouzhou succeeded step by step. However, the cruelty of fate did not spare the family. In 2006, Zhang Huiqin was diagnosed with cancer, which made her realize that her time was short.
Before dying, Zhang Huiqin witnessed the ragged begging children in the streets and alleys, and couldn't help but feel heartbroken. She was worried that Zhouzhou would also fall into such a predicament when she grew up, so she did not hesitate to buy two bottles of highly toxic dichlorvos, wanting to leave this world with her son.
Fortunately, Zhang Huiqin finally chose to face the last days of her life positively. She worked hard to overcome the illness and patiently taught Zhouzhou various life skills, hoping that he would be able to live independently even in his absence.
Until the last moment of her life, Zhang Huiqin was doing her best to take care of her son.
With the careful cultivation of his parents, Zhouzhou's musical talent was finally discovered by the world. In 1997, when the documentary "The World of Zhouzhou" directed by Zhang Yiqing was broadcast, this child with intellectual disabilities once became a "genius conductor" who attracted attention from all over the country and even the world.
In the following years, Zhouzhou's fame spread, and he was frequently invited by all walks of life, and successively performed 168 performances at home and abroad. Whether it is the Chinese New Year Gala or the special performance of the French Lyon Orchestra, Zhouzhou has conquered the audience with its amazing musical talent and caused a sensation.
Many parents with Down syndrome have found hope in Zhouzhou's success story and have come to seek help and experience from Hu. This undoubtedly makes Hu Houpei feel extremely gratified, and he hopes that through his own experience, he can bring a ray of hope to more families in the same situation.
However, as time passed, people's enthusiasm for boating gradually cooled. Media attention has also gradually faded, and the number of performances in Zhouzhou has been greatly reduced from a few dozen to only a dozen, and even a few are so few that it is difficult to make ends meet.
The reason for this is that Zhou Zhou is not a "genius conductor" in the true sense. As Hu Houpei said, "The depth of knowledge and the precision of professional skills required for command should not be underestimated.
However, Zhou Zhou could not even understand the musical score, could not sight-sing notes and music theory knowledge accurately, and could not effectively lead and coordinate the entire orchestra, so it can be seen that he is definitely not a conductor in the true sense of the word.
However, in that era, no one ever doubted Zhouzhou's "talent", and everyone was immersed in the touching story of his overcoming Down syndrome and finally coming to the spotlight.
This mysterious atmosphere that bound him tightly lasted for 24 years, leaving Zhouzhou deeply mired in self-absorbed vanity.
Today, this once glorious "genius conductor" has long lost the aura of the past. His performances continued to decrease, and his life was in trouble for a while.
In order to alleviate the pain of his mother Zhang Huiqin, and to buy a property in case someone to take care of him after his death, Zhouzhou's hard-earned income was almost used up.
Behind this decline, it reflects the heavy status quo of a family. Zhouzhou's mother has passed away, and his father, Hu Houpei, has been doing his best to maintain the family, but he is also over eighty years old.
Their daughter, who was instilled by her parents from an early age to take care of Zhouzhou, could only temporarily give up her college dream and stay at home to take care of her brother full-time.
This is undoubtedly a heavy burden for her daughter. Although she never showed a trace of complaint, Hu Houpei could still feel the helplessness and pain in her heart.
He knew that such a life was really unfair to his daughter, but they had no choice.
Over the years, Hu Houpei has been looking for orchestras across the country that are willing to accept Zhou Zhou, hoping to maintain his performance career. However, in the process, they have also repeatedly encountered disappointing situations, and some orchestras will even resort to some improper means in order to seek profits.
These blows made Hu Houpei and Zhouzhou's lives more and more difficult. But no matter what kind of predicament he faced, Hu Houpei never gave up on his son. He told himself over and over again that no matter what Zhouzhou's identity was, he was always his own flesh and blood, worthy of being loved and cared for.
At this moment, this once brilliant "genius conductor" has become a middle-aged man who has lost confidence in life. However, as long as he has his father's shadow by his side, he can still find a trace of strength in it and keep moving forward.
Just when Zhouzhou's career was in the limelight, the family was facing many difficulties at the same time.
Zhouzhou's mother, Zhang Huiqin, was diagnosed with cancer in 2006. Facing the last time of her life, Zhang Huiqin did not choose to fight the illness with all her might, but hoped to spend the last time with her beloved son Zhouzhou, supporting each other and warming each other.
Before dying, Zhang Huiqin witnessed the ragged begging children in the streets and alleys, and couldn't help but feel heartbroken. She was worried that Zhouzhou would also fall into such a predicament when she grew up, so she did not hesitate to buy two bottles of highly toxic dichlorvos, wanting to leave this world with her son.
However, in the end, Zhang Huiqin still chose to face the last days of her life positively. She worked hard to overcome the illness and patiently taught Zhouzhou various life skills, hoping that he would be able to live independently even in his absence.
Until the last moment of her life, Zhang Huiqin was doing her best to take care of her son.
Zhang Huiqin's death has dealt a heavy blow to the family. Hu Houpei, who was already old, had to take on the heavy responsibility of taking care of Zhouzhou alone. At the same time, their daughter also had to give up her college dreams and stay at home to take care of her brother full-time.
This is undoubtedly a heavy burden for her daughter. Although she never showed a trace of complaint, Hu Houpei could still feel the helplessness and pain in her heart.
He knew that such a life was really unfair to his daughter, but they had no choice.
In order to better arrange Zhouzhou's future life, Hu Houpei has been looking for orchestras across the country that are willing to accept him. Sadly, they have repeatedly encountered disappointing circumstances along the way.
Some orchestras will even take some improper means in order to seek profits, which will hit Hu Houpei and Zhou Zhou deeply.
Over the years, Hu Houpei has been using all his strength to maintain this crumbling family. He told himself over and over again that no matter what Zhouzhou's identity was, he was always his own flesh and blood, worthy of being loved and cared for.
Although Zhou Zhou was once known as a "genius conductor", now this once brilliant figure has become a middle-aged man who has lost confidence in life.
His performances became less and less, and his life was in trouble for a while. In order to alleviate his mother's illness and buy a property in case he was taken care of after his death, Zhouzhou's hard-earned income was almost all spent.
Behind this decline, there are many contradictions within the family. Zhouzhou's mother has passed away, and his elderly father, Hu Houpei, can no longer take on all the responsibilities of care.
Their daughter, who was instilled by her parents with the idea of taking care of Zhouzhou since she was a child, could only temporarily give up her dream and stay at home to take care of her brother full-time.
Despite the best efforts of the family, this family, which should have been happy, seems to be crumbling little by little. Hu Houpei knows very well that how to arrange the future of Zhouzhou has become an unsolvable problem.
He prayed again and again that he could find a way out so that his family could live a happy and healthy life.
However, at this moment, this boat, which was once known as a "genius conductor", has lost its brilliance. He waited lonely for the arrangement of fate, and only by his father's side could he find a trace of strength in it and continue to move forward.