A Lifelong Passion for Music

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Li Lanqing, a standing member of politburo, vice premier of the State Council in charge of country’s scientific, cultural and educational undertakings, retired in 2003 to a life of music and books, his lifelong passions.

Formative Years Shaped by music

Born into a family of intellectuals in May, 1932, Li Lanqing grew up with his maternal grandparents. A maternal uncle, a graduate of civil engineering from University of Communications, was anpianist and violinist. The family had a Mozart piano and the boy took piano lessons from the uncle and practiced. Mozart became his first music icon. A textbook in his primary school years introduced him to Beethoven. Curiosity led him to read more about the German composer. The reading exposed him to a world of music and led him to other great names. Li Lanqing found himself have a passion for music and began to sing seriously. In his middle school days, he had a high profile in school’s after-class cultural activities. When he was a student of business management at Fudan University in Shanghai, he was a vice president of the student union in charge of cultural undertakings. He was part of a student singing group that won many awards.

As a vice director of planning department at the First Auto Works, he was sent to two automobile factories in the Soviet Union for further studies. His stay there in 1956 and 1957 turned him into a lover of Russian music. He learned to sing many songs of the Soviet Union and traced the musical tradition of Russia into the 19th century.

Music More Important than Melodies

In 1983, Li Lanqing transferred to work in Tianjin Municipality as a vice mayor from his directorship of the Foreign Investment Administration under the Ministry of Economics and Business. In the club for officials of the city government, Li found a piano pushed back in a corner of the club. Apparently nobody had touched it for a long while. He cleaned the piano and played it. From then on he frequently played the piano there.

Li visited foreign countries frequently after he became a vice premier. Many of his visits were important missions. Music helped him accomplish his missions. Headed by Li, a Chinese delegation arrived in Moscow in July, 2001 to attend the 112th session of the International Olympic Committee, ready to vote which candidate city to host the 2008 Olympic Games. Beijing wished to win the honor. Li invited Moscow Mayor to a reception before the 112th session so as to create a favorable atmosphere for the Chinese delegation to better promote its cause. At the reception, Li and the mayor sang Moscow Nights in Russian together. In the 1950s, the popular song originally had four stanzas of lyrics. But the later version omitted one or two stanzas. It turned out that Li and the mayor were able to sing all the four stanzas to the end. The mayor was greatly impressed and pleased, saying that he and Li were probably the only two people in the world who could sing all the four original stanzas. The friendship between the four deepened and the mayor helped the Chinese delegation.