Xu Wei (

Simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions, ...

: 许巍,

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...

:Xǔ Wēi; born 21 July 1968) is a Chinese

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

musician. He was born and raised in the Pangliu village, near

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...

. Xu Wei began learning to play the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

at the age of sixteen, when he started

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. In April 1986, he attended the first guitar-singing competition in Xi'an, and won first prize. After writing his first song, Xu abandoned university entrance exams to pursue a career in music. At the end of 1987, Xu Wei joined the People's Liberation Army, working in the arts troupe of

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

military region. In 1988, he came into contact with

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

for the first time. The following year, he was offered entry into the Fourth Military Medical University but turned down the opportunity. During the three years in the army, Xu taught himself to compose music and write songs, producing several

pop song Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

s. Xu Wei left the army in the winter of 1990. In 1993 he organised the band Fly (). He still participates in the composition of rock music, but his style has been influenced by pop music.

References

1968 births Living people 20th-century Chinese male singers Chinese rock musicians Chinese rock singers Chinese male singer-songwriters Musicians from Xi'an {{China-bio-stub

See also

References