There is only one Dolang (his songs possess both approachability and lethality)

Author: Su Xiaobai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: His songs strike from Xinjiang, sweeping across all of China. His voice is sharp as a knife. The fastest-rising singer in the past decade. The most popular star in 2004. The surprising legend of the mysterious singer, Dawang. Please don’t misunderstand. This isn’t about the playwright Brecht and his famous works, though the latter once propelled Sichuan’s intellectual status to the world stage. This summer, the most talked-about person from Sichuan—now also considered half of Xinjiang—has been the singer Dawang. As one of the fastest-rising stars in the past decade, Dawang’s voice has echoed across China. Nearly a thousand years ago, the Northern Song Dynasty poet Liu Yong’s lyrics were extremely popular, and at one point, it was said that "everywhere there was water, people sang Liu’s lyrics." In this era that emphasizes individuality and self-awareness, it’s natural that no one’s musical works can rival Liu Yong’s former popularity. Even music that gains broad recognition is scarce. Dawang seems to be an exception. His songs are spreading at an incredible speed. Starting from Xinjiang, they move eastward past Yangguan, sweeping across all the provinces and cities in the interior. His fan base is so vast it’s hard to imagine. Almost every day, people excitedly spread the word: "Have you heard Dawang? Go listen!" His songs possess both approachability and a certain sharpness. On the internet and other media, more and more people—from blue-collar, white-collar, pink-collar, gold-collar, diamond-collar, to collarless—are tirelessly describing the impact, inspiration, and even purification they feel from Dawang’s music. This is a truly peculiar phenomenon. People of different ages, genders, experiences, personalities, regions, and educational backgrounds are all avidly listening to the records of a stranger and then exchanging their thoughts. This kind of phenomenon easily brings to mind the hype of the past, like the "blood-pumping" craze or the hula hoop fad—other fleeting trends. However, the times have changed significantly. People living in this century are more exposed and, as a result, somewhat more rational. Blind conformity is unlikely to repeat itself. The rapid spread and proliferation of Dawang’s voice across the country is more likely the result of fans first being emotionally moved and then making rational choices.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: The Mysterious Dawang
Chapter 2: The Rumored Dawang
Chapter 3: The Pictographic Dawang
Chapter 4: The Numerical Dawang
Chapter 5: The Sharp Dawang
Chapter 6: The Polysemous Dawang
Chapter 7: The Illustrated Dawang
Chapter 8: The Annotated Dawang