Slater David Rhea ( zh, s=帅德, t=; zh, p=Shuài Dé; literally: "Handsome Virtue", born 1987) is an American singer, songwriter and TV personality on national TV in China. Rhea is a performer of Chinese music and has made appearances on

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is the State media, national television broadcaster of China, established in 1958. CCTV is operated by the National Radio and Television Administration which reports directly to the Publicity Department of th ...

, China Education Television as well as local and provincial television stations across China. Rhea performs in Chinese (primarily

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, but also in

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

dialect), Mongolian, and English. While he rose to prominence in China for singing traditional Chinese folk tunes, he also writes and sings Chinese pop and educational music and performs a variety of English-language material including American

jazz standards Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...

and

rock-and-roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...

. Rhea has been referred to in Chinese and international media as a cultural ambassador and "musical diplomat" because of his background in international relations and dream to improve U.S.–China relations through his music and performances. Rhea additionally credits former U.S. Secretary of State

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...

, whom he met and sang for in 2016, as an inspiration to pursue a career in cultural diplomacy. Rhea lives in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and, in addition to his entertainment career, holds a position as lecturer in English and International Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Childhood and education

Rhea was born and raised in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, where he was first singled out to sing solos in his

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church choir and learned piano and violin in local music programs. He was enrolled in the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

from grade one and earned the rank of Eagle Scout at age 13. He graduated from the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts in Natchitoches, Louisiana, before attending the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

as a National Merit Scholar, where he earned dual bachelor's degrees in Chinese Language and Literature and Asian Studies. He attended the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

, China, where he studied, wrote and defended a 100-page thesis in Mandarin and earned dual master's degrees in China Studies and International Politics from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

and

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU) is a public university in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated and sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. The univers ...

while first performing on Nanjing-based Jiangsu TV.

Connection to Xi'an, Shaanxi folk songs, and biangbiang noodles

Rhea has a close connection with the ancient Chinese capital of

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

(and

Province) and its culture, having first visited the city and established connections there in 2010. Rhea often sings North Shaanxi folk songs, which he first heard and fell in love with on his first visit to China. His connection to Xi'an and Shaanxi Province is often discussed in his TV appearances, including his love of Shaanxi's distinctive

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

, including roujiamo ("Chinese hamburger"), liangpi (cold noodles), yangrou paomo (lamb stew with bits of crumbled flatbread), fried persimmon cakes, and, most prominently, biangbiang noodles (Shaanxi's famous 'thick-as-a-belt' handmade noodles). The "biang" in biangbiang noodles is known for being one of the most complex Chinese characters; and Rhea made front-page news in Shaanxi province's Chinese Business View when he first wrote the character on CCTV. Show hosts and guests often "test" Rhea's ability to write it, and as a result, Rhea has since been associated with the character in Chinese media. For instance, CCTV host Zhu Jun demonstrated to him how Shaanxi people crouch down to eat the noodles (a folk custom in Shaanxi); in other cases, Rhea has taught other TV personalities, for instance

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

singer

Leo Ku Leo Ku Kui-kei (born ), founder of ChillGOOD TV, is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong Cantopop and Mandopop singer, actor, TV host, model, cartoonist, MV director, and producer and designer. He employs falsetto as a singing technique and was nam ...

, to write the character while reciting a

mnemonic A mnemonic device ( ), memory trick or memory device is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval in the human memory, often by associating the information with something that is easier to remember. It makes use of e ...

poem for remembering the character's 43 strokes.

Discography

Albums

*2019: '' Sing Chinese With Slater'' (''跟帅德一起唱中文！'')

Singles

*2021:《过大年》("Happy Chinese New Year") *2019:《中国我的家》("China, My Home") *2019:《中国姑娘》("Chinese Girl") *2019:《天籁之爱》(with 阿鲁阿卓) *2019:《敖包相会》(with 阿木古楞)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhea, Slater Living people Johns Hopkins University alumni Nanjing University alumni University of Oklahoma alumni Academic staff of Beijing Foreign Studies University People from Alexandria, Louisiana Singers from Louisiana 21st-century American singers American expatriates in China Cantopop singers Mandopop singers Television personalities from Louisiana American male pop singers American rock singers American jazz singers Jazz musicians from Louisiana 21st-century American male singers 1987 births