Walking into the personal apartment rented by Mr. Zhang, my first impression was “neat”. Though the room wasn’t very large, a warm feeling emerged in my heart. Outside was the cold wind and falling temperature, but Mr. Zhang greeted me with a soft sofa and a cute cat named Demo.
Before long, I had started my interview, and soon found Mr. Zhang’s experience to be both twisted and touching.
Instead of pursuing a career related to his college major in new-energy resources, Zhang Guangsen (张广森) chose to start his own piano business. “It was a great success before the epidemic arrived, but later on, it went out of business”, Zhang recalled. “After that, I experienced a breakup. At that point, my life lost its direction. Fortunately, I have a group of friends which is always by my side, giving me unconditional support at any time.”
Based on their collective experience, Zhang completed the lyrics and music to the song, “Friends”, in just 1 late night. “The inspiration came so fast that it only took 2 hours to write the lyrics and compose the music”, he said.
In this song, part of the lyrics which really touched me go, “Falling into the dry well of reality and drifting toward the river of spirit, but love makes us have nothing else to ask for”.
Indeed, for independent musicians such as Zhang, life can be really hard sometimes. The sudden economic downturn deprived his company the chance at survival, but never shook his innate love for music. As Zhang told me, “There is no reason for loving it. You just know that you’re so obsessed with it. It seems like you have had that sense ever since you were born”.
As a native of Kaifeng in Henan Province, Zhang longs for the southern scenery of misty rain and waters flowing under little bridges. Yet, despite not being not born in Nanjing, he expresses deep emotions for the city, one of the reasons why he chose to attend a college in the Southern Capital. Its unique atmosphere, furthermore, made Zhang decide to stay in Nanjing upon graduation.
The City has also been an influencer in much of Zhang’s music; many of his songs are about Nanjing. In the song, “Disturbing Dreams”, Zhang penned, “The splashing night of December in Nanjing”. Another, “Luggage”, contains the lyrics, “My old friends after graduation; will they stay in Nanjing or return to their hometown?”.
“Luggage” is special for two reasons. It is Zhang’s most famous song, yet also the first one he wrote. For The Nanjinger, Zhang explained, “Writing a song about my college experience is a promise I made to myself when I first entered college. It primarily portrays a young man who leaves his hometown to chase his dream of education, experiencing growth in an unfamiliar setting and ultimately facing graduation. He yearns for his college years and struggles to make choices between facing reality and chasing his dreams. The lyrics are my real experience and also a true portrayal of the friends around me”.
I appreciate Zhang’s courage in doing what he truly wants to do and being he who he wants to be. As he said, sometimes life is hard, but dreams continue anyway. I look forward to hearing through song more of his moving stories.
