Wang Fang
王芳
Wang in 2023
Born (1985-06-25) June 25, 1985
Liaoyang, Liaoning, China
Alma materShenyang Conservatory of Music
OccupationSinger
Years active2012–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2017)​

Wang Fang (Chinese: 王芳; pinyin: Wáng Fāng; born 25 June 1985) is a Chinese opera singer.

Early life and education

Wang was born on 1985 in Liaoyang. Her father was an electrician at a vocational technical college while her mother worked at a textile factory in Shenyang. In 2002, she was admitted to the undergraduate class of folk vocal singing at Shenyang Conservatory of Music and graduated in 2006. After graduation, she worked as a vocal teacher at the conservatory before completing her master's degree in folk vocal music at the conservatory in 2013.[1][2]

Musical career

In 2012, she won the national annual overall runner-up of Jiangxi Satellite TV's China Red Song Club and represented Jiangxi Satellite TV in China Central Television (CCTV)'s Straight to the Spring Festival Gala. In 2013, she participated in CCTV's Fifteenth Youth Song Competition, and won the bronze award while representing Liaoning division and was listed in the national top 10 in national singing. At the end of the same year, she participated onstage in CCTV's Spring Festival Gala and sang the song Hymn to Heroes, which honored the soldiers of the People's Volunteer Army who fought in the Korean War. In 2014, she released her song Beautiful Chinese Dream.[3][4][5][6][7]

Controversies

On 7 September 2023, Russian media reported that a delegation of Chinese bloggers including Wang visited Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast. A video emerged of Wang singing the Soviet patriotic song “Katyusha” in Mandarin at the bombed-out Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater in Mariupol, where a Russian airstrike on 16 March 2022 killed over 600 Ukrainian civilians sheltering there at time. The delegation also visited the Russia-occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea where they met with the self-proclaimed head of the republic Sergey Aksyonov, to discuss cultural exchanges and other joint projects. The video of Wang singing in Mariupol was posted on social media site Vkontakte by the Russia-installed head of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin attracted attention, resulting in the Ukrainian government demanding an explanation from China on why the delegation was allowed to travel to the occupied territories.[8][9][10][11] Wang's husband Zhou Xiaoping defended her on the Chinese social media platform Weibo stating that the theater was bombed by 'Ukrainian Neo-Nazis' and that "local residents expressed how inspired they were after hearing Wang Fang sing, and some were even moved to tears." As a measure in response to the visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine sanctioned Wang and the members of the Chinese delegation, and also banned them from entering Ukraine.[12][13][14] Back in China, the video and news articles related to Wang's performance were censored from the Chinese internet.[15][16]

Personal life

On 25 March 2017, she married online commentator Zhou Xiaoping.[17]

Discography

  • "Let's Dance" (让我们舞起来) (2012)
  • "Hymm to Heroes" (英雄赞歌) (2013)
  • "Beautiful Chinese Dream" (美丽中国梦) (2014)

References

  1. ↑ Xinhua (2014-03-19). "王芳《马兰花开》自爆成长历程 感动全场落泪". 163.com. Archived from the original on 2023-09-08. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  2. ↑ iFeng (2014-02-03). "歌手王芳取代宋祖英谭晶上春晚内幕". TSCTV.net. Archived from the original on 2023-09-08. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  3. ↑ "2012年中国红歌会冠军诞生 阿普萨萨夺冠（图)". Sina. 2012-06-16. Archived from the original on 2017-09-25. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  4. ↑ "央视青歌赛开赛在即 王芳将代表辽宁征战". Yes Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 6, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  5. ↑ "歌手王芳惊艳亮相2014春晚 取代宋祖英演唱歌曲". Sina. Archived from the original on September 25, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  6. ↑ "王芳春晚后推《美丽中国梦》传递正能量". Sina. 2014-03-04. Archived from the original on 2017-09-25. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  7. ↑ "《直通春晚》王芳挑战失败离开央视舞台没遗憾". xinmin.cn. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  8. ↑ Struck, Julia (2023-09-08). "Chinese Opera Singer Performs at Destroyed Mariupol Theatre, Ukraine Demands Explanation". Kyiv Post. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  9. ↑ Barnes, Joe (2023-09-08). "Chinese opera singer sparks Ukrainian fury by performing in Mariupol theatre". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  10. ↑ Prishlyak, Nadia (2023-09-08). "Певица из Китая спела "Катюшу" на развалинах Драмтеатра в Мариуполе: в МИД Украины жестко отреагировали". unian.net. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  11. ↑ "中國歌劇女演員在俄占領區唱「俄羅斯戰歌」 烏克蘭氣炸、要求解釋". United Daily News. 2023-09-09. Archived from the original on 2023-09-10. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  12. ↑ Ben, Bohdan (2023-09-08). "Chinese media & cultural figures visit Mariupol, sing in the place of mass murder, sparking outrage". Euromaidan Press. Archived from the original on 2023-09-10. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  13. ↑ "中国歌手在马里乌波尔大剧院废墟高唱《喀秋莎》，乌克兰抗议". Radio Canada International. 2023-09-09. Archived from the original on 2023-09-16. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  14. ↑ "乌外交部发言人谴责中国红歌手在马里乌波尔剧院轰炸惨案废墟高唱《喀秋莎》并要求中方做出解释". Voice of America. 2023-09-09. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  15. ↑ Hernandez, Javier (2023-09-10). "Chinese Singer Denounced Over Video at Bombed-Out Ukrainian Theater". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2023-09-11. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Wang Fang's performance in Ukraine highlights divisions in China". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2023-09-15. Retrieved 2023-09-15. In a post on Weibo, Hu Xijin, a well-known pro-government commentator, reflected what Chinese officials are probably thinking. He told his nearly 25m followers that Ms Wang's behaviour risked creating a "sense of involvement" in the conflict among Chinese people, which is "not in accordance with reality and not what China needs". The war in Ukraine is "not China's war", said Mr Hu, who is a former editor-in-chief of Global Times, a nationalist tabloid in Beijing. For good measure, censors deleted Mr Hu's post too.
  17. ↑ "网络名人周小平宣布婚讯 结婚照曝光". Sina. 2017-03-15. Archived from the original on 2017-09-18. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
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