Liu Yijun

Liu Yijun , also known as Lao Wu (; lit. "Old Five") is a Chinese musician and artist, best known for his work as the former lead guitarist for seminal Chinese progressive metal band Tang Dynasty. He is often regarded as China's first guitar hero.

Early life Liu was born in Tianjin, China. Most sources list his birth year as 1962, specifies his birthday as 10 January 1963. "Lao Wu" was the fifth child in the family, and acquired the nickname early in his youth. Liu's older sister was involved in an arts-and-literature propaganda team; as a result, he grew up surrounded by musical instruments. He studied the erhu for two years during primary school.

Around 1982 or 1983, Liu left Langfang and moved to Beijing, living in a house with fellow musician Liu Junli. The group released one album, Past Rock n' Roll 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.

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. 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.

Musical career 1989-1996: Tang Dynasty

Liu joined Tang Dynasty in October 1989. – an assessment often repeated by Chinese rock fans and journalists. The band's self-titled debut album was released internationally in December 1992, and cemented Tang Dynasty's place in history as one of China's most influential rock bands. guitar work was central to the band's sound, which combined Western metal and progressive rock with overt influences from Chinese literary, martial, and musical traditions.

However, Liu eventually became dissatisfied with the band's music, feeling that it was "too Westernized" and "lacked originality". While Tang Dynasty were writing their second album, he stopped playing guitar for about six months, leading his bandmates to think Liu had lost his mind. In a 2007 interview with Culture Express, Liu explained that "each member tries to cultivate himself in traditional Chinese culture by reading ancient poetry, playing the guqin, practicing calligraphy, and painting. Without these elements absorbed by the heart and soul, everything would be superficial". The album sold around 50,000 copies within the first three to four months of release. The same year, he collaborated with Sainkho Namtchylak on an unreleased album.

Liu composed the soundtrack for the 2012 drama film Beijing Flickers , directed by Zhang Yuan. and his style was a defining aspect of Tang Dynasty's influential sound. 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.

Personal life On 3 July 2004, Liu married Chen Xiaomu, his longtime girlfriend of 11 years.

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

Tang Dynasty

1992 – 唐朝 (Tang Dynasty) 2008 – 浪漫骑士 (Romantic Knight)

Solo (as 唐朝老五)

1997 – 雾中行集 (Walking in the Fog) – tracks: "舞"; "雾中行" 1998 – 再度归来 (Return Again)

Other appearances

With White Angel 1989 (reissued 1995) – 过去的摇滚 (Past Rock n' Roll)

With Zhao Muyang 1991 – 流浪 (Wandering)

With He Yong 1994 – 垃圾场 (Garbage Dump)

With Wang Yong 1996 – 往生 (Samsara) – tracks: "招魂"

Compilations 1995 – 告别的摇滚 (A Tribute to Teresa Teng) – tracks: "独上西楼" 1997 – 再见张炬 (Goodbye Zhang Ju) – tracks: "那一天"; "活在你的梦里"; "我的睫毛都快被吹掉了"; "月梦"; "愛和自由的翅膀－喜馬拉雅之旅" 2005 – 礼物 (Gift) – tracks: "礼物"; "春蚕"

Soundtracks

2012 – 有种 (Beijing Flickers)