(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-04 10:31

"I wanted to show them I was stronger than they thought. I can do everything," he says.

The troupe's leader assigned two more assistants for Yang. But the young man was leaving anyway.

"In the troupe I can survive, but cannot develop."

His definition of development is to win both bread and art.

"Do you know how many underground bands are eating pickles every day in Beijing?" he asks. "I won't lead that life. Only living on what you think is art won't work nowadays. You should study the market and what people like."

He joined in a contest held by a radio station as his first step. To borrow 5,000 yuan ($690) to record a demo, he waited outside a friend's house in rain for half an hour. Since then, Yang has forged a career as an independent singer and composer.

Unlike most dreamers, he did not stay in Beijing, but rushed all over the country for performances and selling his songs. He is proud of his flexibility, saying that he only heads toward where chance is. Xiang Yang, his old friend and a former DJ, describes Yang as a person who knows what he is good at and what he wants.

"He is open to our opinions," Xiang says. "But at the same time he has very clear ideas of what he wants, and is strong-minded."

In 2007 Yang appeared on a popular talent show called Star Boulevard (Xingguang Dadao). He won with a song named You Are My Eyes, which he sang for his mother.

In his mother's eyes, Yang is a very independent boy.

"Many people think I must have been worrying about him all the time, but he always tries to do things by himself. He is totally capable of taking care of himself," says his mother who has come to Beijing to help him manage his busy schedule.

His friend Xiang says Yang doesn't like the stereotypes associated with blind people.

"He never thinks he is a disabled man who needs help. He likes to help others. When he was competing in Star Boulevard, he helped some contestants revise their songs."

Xiang also says that Yang's friends never worry about saying words like "eyes" before him.

"Actually, Yang Guang likes to use the words 'look' and 'read'," he says. "Sometimes when he listens to comedies, he tries to imagine and imitate the comedians' facial expressions to amuse us."

Yang is now preparing for his first album, which will be released in May and a radio program about his life is also to be recorded.

(China Daily 03/04/2008 page20)

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