Liu Yijun (guitarist)

Liu was born in Tianjin, China.[4] Most sources list his birth year as 1962,[4] although one source[5] specifies his birthday as 10 January 1963. "Lao Wu" was the fifth child in the family, and acquired the nickname early in his youth.[6] The family moved to nearby Langfang in 1971, during the Cultural Revolution.[5][6] Liu's older sister was involved in an arts-and-literature propaganda team; as a result, he grew up surrounded by musical instruments.[4][6][7] He studied the erhu for two years during primary school.[5] At the end of 1976, Liu got his first guitar.[6]

Upon failing the cutoff for the gaokao by ten points, Liu realized that music was the only way he could make a living, and threw himself into practicing guitar up to fifteen hours a day.[6][8] Liu's father, who initially disapproved of his son's career path, changed his mind after witnessing Liu's dedication, and agreed to support him.[6][9]

Around 1982 or 1983, Liu left Langfang and moved to Beijing, living in a house with fellow musician Liu Junli.[4][6] There, he continued to practice guitar, working odd jobs to make ends meet.[6] Liu lived in poverty for over four years, surviving on instant noodles and becoming hospitalized on at least one occasion due to malnutrition.[4][6][7]

Liu formed a band called White Angel (Chinese: 白天使乐队; pinyin: Bái Tiānshǐ Yuèduì) in 1986 with Zang Tianshuo, Liu Junli, Feng Maintain, and Cheng Jin.[10] The group released one album, Past Rock n' Roll (Chinese: 过去的摇滚; pinyin: Guòqù De Yáogǔn) in 1989, which sold a few hundred copies. White Angel disbanded later that year when Liu Junli left to play bass in Cui Jian's band.[10] Liu briefly played in a group called Shixiao (Chinese: 时效乐队; pinyin: Shíxìao Yuèduì), a band set up to advertise a local travel agency of the same name. Shixiao featured future Tang Dynasty members Gu Zhong and Zhao Nian at various points.[11]

Soon after arriving in Beijing, Liu befriended future Tang Dynasty frontman Ding Wu. Having heard that Ding played guitar, Liu searched all over Beijing on a borrowed bicycle until he tracked down the latter teaching basic art at Beijing's No. 132 Secondary School.[9][12] This meeting would prove pivotal; after the Tiananmen Square protests forced founding Tang Dynasty guitarist Kaiser Kuo to flee China, Ding Wu invited Liu to replace him.[13]

Liu took up painting around 1992. He works primarily with pencils, ballpoint pens, and ink brushes. In 2015, he opened his first solo exhibit, which contained over thirty paintings dating back as far as 1993. Liu augmented the exhibition by playing a sounding stone during the event.[8] On working within two mediums – art and music – Liu states "I don't belong to rock and roll and I don't belong to art. I belong to my own nature, and I am satisfied if I can mold it into something beautiful."[7]

Liu is considered to be one of China's first shredders,[14] and his style was a defining aspect of Tang Dynasty's influential sound.[18] Andrew Jones, in his writeup for Spin, noted that Liu could "wrench new sounds out of his instrument that have the power to shock with their strange beauty",[15] while Black Panther guitarist Li Tong described Liu's playing as "ferocious" and "full of power".[9] A saying among contemporary Chinese rock circles went "the South has Laozai, the North has Laowu" – with "Laozai" referring to Zhejiang-born guitarist Wu Liqun.[6] Liu's early influences include Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Michael Angelo Batio, Yngwie Malmsteen, Queensrÿche, and King Crimson.[5][6][15][8] He has played with Marty Friedman, Paul Gilbert, and Stu Hamm.[5][18]

As time went on, Liu's playing became increasingly influenced by Chinese folk styles, which can be heard in both Tang Dynasty's music and his own solo compositions. He often employs a technique that involved him strumming with his thumb and index finger while using the remaining three fingers to pluck the strings – an approach similar to hybrid picking.[19] His solo work heavily utilizes the acoustic guitar, on which he often takes a guqin-inspired approach, and incorporates extended techniques such as tapped harmonics and drumming on the guitar's body.[24][25] Liu was notably one of the first guitarists in China to make use of a seven-string guitar, which can be heard in his solo work.[25] As early as 1992, Liu expressed a desire to "come up with something that goes beyond the boundaries" through reconnecting with Chinese musical traditions.[15] He stated that "[Modern] Chinese culture has never lived up to the tradition because it's been ruined by all the Western influence. We have to get back to our roots...that's what the mission of [Chinese rock] should be about."[26]

On 3 July 2004, Liu married Chen Xiaomu, his longtime girlfriend of 11 years.[27]

A full list of Liu's credits can be found here:

• Chinese rock