Wenwen: China's first female PhD in suona

Liu Wenwen, a young teacher from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music born in the 1990s, is China's first female PhD in suona, a horn-shaped woodwind instrument. With the most "rustic" traditional folk instrument in China, she has made it to the forefront of the international stage, earning applause for Chinese music from around the world.

Liu can use suona to intimate chirps of diverse birds, which turned out to be so vivid and engaging and has won her fame and praise from audiences worldwide, allowing more people to know about the innovative inheritance of suona as a traditional Chinese instrument.

Liu describes the feeling of playing suona as "sweating from head to toe". Ordinary students get tired after playing for four or five minutes. But to become a suona PhD, one must play for 60 minutes continuously while maintaining the highest level of performance. Long-term suona practice has even helped Liu Wenwen develop abdominal muscles.

In recent years, Liu has found that with the rise of the home-grown trends, many young people have also created new styles in suona playing. Suona is now being fused into rock and pop music, carrying on and innovating traditional culture. In the new era, suona will also renew its role in musical performance.

Source: Xinhua; trans-editing by Guo Yao