The story of a disabled street singer who struggles to support
her children touched the hearts of TV audiences, as Zhou Huanyu
reports.
To many people, the stage is a star-making factory, a platform
for pretty girls and handsome boys. But a plain-looking, one-armed
woman has taken center stage.
Zhang Xianhui is a street singer from Lianshan Township,
Guanghan in southwest China's Sichuan Province. All the locals know
about the one-armed woman and her adopted twin daughters.
Aged 28, Zhang has been singing on streets for eight years. In
October she participated in "Feichang 6+1," one of the popular TV
singing contests covering entire China, and she won a small
prize.
Zhang has returned to Mianyang in Sichuan Province after her
show in Beijing. She now rents a suburban house 20 kilometers out
of town and lives with her husband and her own son. Her adopted
twin daughters stay with her parents and have started their studies
in a middle school.
Everyday Zhang still goes downtown with her husband and their
son, carrying all the outfits and sings on the street as before,
but now she is recognized by more people. People call her a
"special star" yet she does not approve of the title.
"I am not a star, I am just a street singer, and I sing songs
only to support my family and my children's schooling." Her plan is
to sing across China in the near future.
Daughters first
Zhang lost her left arm in a tractor accident at age 4. She
learnt to live a normal life and can even knit sweaters.
Although disabled, Zhang has made achievements in sports. She
won two bronze medals in the 6th Far East and South Pacific Games
for the Disabled held in 1994, one in long-jump and another in
100-meter race.
After graduating from high school in 1998, she had difficulty
finding a job. She met disabled street-performer Pu Hengfu who had
adopted 4-year-old twin daughters. Having no other jobs, Zhang
began learning singing from Pu and realized she was gifted in
singing.
Together with Pu, she soon stepped on every busy street in towns
nearby and later sang across lots of other cities in Sichuan
Province.
Although not at all well off, Zhang took mercy on Pu's twin
girls at her first glance. "It's no good for them to ramble around
at such a young age!" She often brought them to her home and took
care of them like her own children.
In 2002, Pu suddenly disappeared and the twin daughters became
homeless. Zhang, who had already built strong attachment with the
girls, decided to adopt them and give them a new home.
During a street performance in the city of Nanchong in the fall
of 2000, she ran into Zhang Ronghong, a man who later became her
husband. Zhang was dressed in a man's suit and wore short hair.
Zhang Ronghong initially mistook her as a man and didn't realize
his mistake until three days later. They got married a month later.
In 2003, Zhang gave birth to their son.
Being a parent of three children, Zhang has undertaken many
hardships. To make ends meet, she managed to convince her husband
to quit his job at an interior decoration company and join her in
street singing.
The couple cooperate well: Zhang performs and her husband
controls the equipment. Although their outfits are no more than two
sound boxes, a microphone, a set of CD player and a small carrying
truck, they take these belongings as treasures.
"This is the song 'Flying Higher' and I hope you all like it!"
With these words, Zhang did a handspring on the floor. The crowd
loved it.
Singing for their supper is hard work. The couple often go out
before dawn and come back late at night. To save money, they rent
the remote home, which needs more than one hour's journey to get to
the downtown.
Back to their humble home close to midnight after one recent
performance, Zhang turned the busker's box upside down on the
floor. "There's 30-plus yuan (US$4)," said Zhang to her husband.
Their earnings per month vary from 500 yuan (US$62.5) to about
1,000 yuan (US$125) depending on different conditions.
Life is hard, but to Zhang's gratification, her adopted
daughters and her own son are well-behaved. She seldom scolds her
children, but she's rather strict with them.
Zhang used to check up the twins' assignments and ask about
their school life as soon as she came back. Her children's
schooling bothers her most. Zhang had thought about sending them
away to a better-off family or to the orphanage, fearing that her
own poverty would prevent them from a good education in future.
But when a woman came to talk about the adoption, neither of the
twins was willing to go with her. "We are not rich now but I
believe things will get better through our work," one said. "I want
to be a doctor and I will buy a big house for mum, let her enjoy
her old age."
Zhang had heard that "Dream China" (Mengxiang Zhongguo), a major
singing contest across China, was holding auditions and she signed
up. "I want to try because it's free to participate," she told her
family around the dinner table. She had high hopes and expected one
day she would win the competition, rise to fame swiftly and earn a
big sum of money for her children.
The twins knew little about the singing pageant programme, but
they showed great excitement about the chance to go to Beijing and
appear on TV. Her husband, however, was concerned. "What if you
lose?" he asked. "Try again," answered Zhang simply and
straight.
Zhang passed the first round in Chengdu but she was eliminated
in quarter-finals. "Your voice sounds nervous and your expressions
are not professional enough," the jury commented.
Zhang thought the door to her dream had been slammed but there
was a light at the end of the tunnel.
Li Yong, one of the three judges and a host of "Feichang 6+1,"
another equivalent singing contest in China, invited her to his
competition. Li said he knew about Zhang from a TV program and was
so moved by her love for her daughters.
Sponsored with artistic pictures by a photo studio boss, she set
out for Beijing in October and received one-week professional
training before standing on the CCTV stage. "Everything seemed
weird to me and it takes a long time for me to grasp all the tips,"
Zhang said. She went on practising in her hotel after a full day's
training.
On the competing day, Zhang behaved quite well. She put on
make-up for the first time ever and performed much more
professionally.
She sang to the last round with a pop band, which was adored by
the young. Zhang is not as young and pretty, yet audiences were
deeply touched when host Li Yong told about her story.
Standing in the stage spotlight, Zhang could not hold back her
tears. "I am so glad that I realized my dream and I hope my
children will realize their dreams for school."
(China Daily December 19, 2006)