retired in old age and continued to adhere to the ideal of music
In the early 2020s, when everyone thought that the grassroots singer who was once popular across the country had completely disappeared, he was in the hot land of Xinjiang, away from the flashing lights, and composed music in a low-key and persistent manner.
Daolang, who is over half a hundred years old, has a shaved head and a fat body, and he is no longer the tall and thin young man in a peaked cap. But when he opened his voice again, the familiar voice was still reminiscent of the sensational "First Snow" in 2002.
Although in the era when traffic is king, Daolang is no longer well-known by young people, he has not given up his musical ideals. In 2020, he released the album "Bullet Words", and in 2021, "Everyone in the World" came out, which is full of concern for ordinary people and reflections on many social issues.
What's even more touching is that Daolang passed on his dedication to music to Yun Duo, a Qiang girl from a poor family.
Yunduo's family was poor since he was a child, and in order to reduce the burden on his family, he had to drop out of school and work as a waiter in the city. But she has always had a strong love and longing for music.
When Daolang saw Yunduo for the first time, he seemed to see himself when he was young, so he decided to take her as an apprentice and teach her without receiving a penny. He lives in Xinjiang with Yunduo's family, and continues to pass on music knowledge to this "music orphan" in a steady and honest manner.
Under the careful guidance of Daolang, Yunduo not only launched the well-received works "My Loulan" and "Clouds", but also appeared on the stage of CCTV's Spring Festival Gala in 2021, becoming a rising star in the Chinese music scene.
Now, Yunduo has appeared in the Spring Festival Gala five times in a row, but she is always grateful, remembering the kindness of her teacher to her. On the other hand, in today's entertainment industry, there are many former music superstars such as Na Ying , Wang Feng, etc., who have turned to variety shows or live broadcasts to make money, but Daolang, a music veteran, is unswervingly and tirelessly pursuing the highest ideals of music.
Questioned in the glory of the peak
At this point, we have to go back to the early 2000s, when Daolang was at its peak and was a smash hit. In 2002, the song "The First Snow in 2002" swept the Chinese music scene, selling 2.7 million albums, and Jay Chou's classic album "Qili Xiang" in the same year, the lion elephant opened the bow and went hand in hand, becoming another hot new star in the music industry after the "Five Heavenly Kings".
At that time, mobile phone ringtones were all the rage, and every time you downloaded a song by Daolang, you had to pay 2-3 yuan, but as a result, popular songs such as "Lover" and "Impulsive Punishment" sucked up to 8 million downloads, which shows its popularity.
For a time, Daolang's singing was everywhere, whether it was in the streets and alleys, KTV boxes, or shopping malls and squares, his unique works were being sung everywhere.
Naturally, record companies also came to the door to wait, and they invited Daolang to record a new album. The invitation to commercial performances is even more overwhelming, and even popular superstars such as Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung and others warmly invite him to perform on the same stage.
The popular singer Yang Kun publicly pointed out that Daolang "doesn't understand music at all", and the powerful singer Na Ying even criticized him for "lacking basic aesthetic concepts". There is even a cruel sentence that "people who like to listen to Daolang's songs are farmers" went viral on the Internet.
In that era when the development of the Internet was not yet mature, Daolang suffered an attack like cyberbullying, and his heart was extremely painful.
In the face of such severe public criticism, Daolang began to reflect on his musical path, and even became disgusted with the songs he had created that were once sensational.
He recalls that when "The First Snow of 2002" was repeated in the studio, he almost broke down and cried. In the end, he chose to escape from reality and returned to the long-awaited Xinjiang to live in seclusion.
Inner struggle and dream pursuit
Looking back at Daolang's pursuit of his music dream, he also experienced all kinds of inner struggles and sufferings when he was young. He was born in a scholarly family in Zizhong, Sichuan, his father worked as a stage lighting designer in the art troupe, and his mother was an excellent dancer.
Due to his parents' perennial performances, Daolang and his elder brother could only live with their grandparents, spending a lonely and lonely childhood and missing their parents, which also deeply shaped his introverted and withdrawn personality.
Despite this, music is still an oasis for Daolang, and it has become the sustenance of the inner world. As early as the age of 12, he was already proficient in interpreting musical scores, playing complex chord marches with just three fingers.
Music had an unparalleled attraction for him, and he was secretly determined to become a great musician one day.
Who knows, when he confided this wish to his parents, he was resolutely opposed by the two. As former parents, they believed that art could not bring financial security to ordinary people, and they hoped that their son would embark on a more pragmatic career path as a railroad worker.
From time to time, the father used his own experience as an example to sincerely teach his son to earn a living in a down-to-earth manner.
Just when his parents were mentally prepared for Daolang's future, a sudden accident completely changed the trajectory of his life. After a verbal altercation with someone, his brother inflicted severe corporal punishment on Daolang in order to punish him, which caused Daolang's deep anger and hatred.
What he didn't expect was that someone spread rumors about his brother's girlfriend's affair, which was undoubtedly like a spark, completely igniting the resentment against his brother in his heart.
Finally, in an altercation, the situation completely spiraled out of control. His mother's protection of Daolang in order to protect him angered his brother, who slammed the door and left, never expecting that this would be their last meeting.
It didn't take long for a tragic car accident to take the young life of my brother. Seeing his brother's cold body, everything suddenly became clear in Daolang's heart: it was his resentful words that killed his brother.
The 17-year-old boy was overwhelmed by huge self-blame and pain, and the atmosphere of the house was shrouded in clouds, and he could no longer bear this depression, so he had to leave a farewell note at his mother's bedside, resolutely leave his hometown, and began to pursue his dream.
A low point in life in the pursuit of ideals
After running away from home, Daolang apprenticed in a song and dance troupe in Neijiang, Sichuan, and started the years of wandering and struggle. Later, he traveled to Xi'an, Tibet, Chengdu, Chongqing and other places, and although this difficult time was difficult, he also met many like-minded friends.
So, full of enthusiasm, they jointly formed a band called "Scalpel", hoping to use music to look directly at the heart of society and express their concern and thinking about the world like Luo Dayou, the idol they worshipped back then.
It's a pity that the ideal is out of reach after all, and real life is skinny and cruel. Due to the weak economic situation, after only two years of survival, this idealistic band had to be disbanded, the members went their separate ways, and Daolang also fell into the lowest point of his life.
Just when he was physically and mentally exhausted and almost gave up his dream of music, a sincere love quietly came, injecting new strength into him.
A beautiful and lively dancer Yang Na appeared in Daolang's life, and the two fell in love at first sight, and soon entered the palace of marriage and gave birth to a lovely child.
Who would have thought that this sweet marriage would be as short as a flash in the pan. Just 40 days after the birth of the child, Yang Na hastily left a scribbled note, "You can't give me the happiness I want," and left without looking back.
This is undoubtedly the biggest blow in Daolang's life, he is confused, trying to use alcohol to kill his sorrows, and even wanted to give up music for a while. Just when he was physically and mentally exhausted, a woman named Zhu Mei walked into his world, and the two fell in love with each other.
Zhu Mei's mother is seriously ill, and she plans to move back to her hometown in Xinjiang, hoping that Daolang can go with her and spend the rest of her life with her.
Faced with this difficult choice, Daolang fell into an unprecedented contradiction. On the one hand, he loves Beijing, a city full of musical opportunities; On the other hand, he is also deeply in love with this confidant.
After much thought, he finally chose to follow Zhu Mei to Xinjiang and embarked on a new journey in life.