Peng Liyuan

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Peng Liyuan


Img_capt= Peng Liyuan in qipao
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Born = birth date and age|1962|11|20

Origin = flagicon|China Juncheng, Shandong
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Genre = Chinese Folk, opera
Occupation = Singer
Years_active = 1982–present
Spouse = Xi Jinping
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URL = [http://ent.sina.com.cn/s/m/f/pengly/index.html Peng Liyuan's homepage]
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Peng Liyuan (zh-c|c=linktext|彭|丽|媛, Pinyin: Péng Lìyuán; born on November 20, 1962) is one of the top Chinese folk music singers, and a performer popularized by her regular appearances on the annual CCTV New Year's Gala, a widely viewed Chinese television program during Chinese New Year. She has obtained many honors in singing competitions nationwide.

Her most famous works include "People from our Village" (父老乡亲), "Mount Everest" (珠穆朗玛) and "On the Plains of Hope" (在希望的田野上). Peng Liyuan is a member of China's People's Liberation Army and currently has the rank of major general. She was one of the first in China to obtain a Master's degree in traditional ethnic music when the degree was first established in the 1980s. She is married to Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping.

Biography

Peng Liyuan is a native of Juncheng County, now part of Heze, Shandong. Peng joined the People's Liberation Army after the downfall of the Gang of Four in 1980, when she was 18. She began as an ordinary soldier, although eventually with her vocal talent she began performing at PLA performances to boost troop morale. [cite web|url=http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/ylxk/dl/200407/01/t20040701_1165155.shtml |publisher = CE.cn| title= Peng Liyuan describes her own time in the army| date=2004-07-01| accessdate=2008-05-28| language=Chinese] Peng first performed nationally and came to fame during the earliest rendition of the CCTV New Year's Gala in 1982, when she performed "On the Plains of Hope".

She has been married to Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping, for over 20 years, they have a daughter named Xi Mingze (习明泽) born in 1992, nicknamed as Xiao Muzi (小木子). For the most part of their relationship Peng has been considerably more known to the public than her political husband.

Xi and Peng were introduced by friends like many Chinese couples of the 1980s. Xi was reputedly academic during their courtship, inquiring about ethnic Chinese music. Xi was the son of famous Chinese revolutionary Xi Zhongxun, and the family did not accept the relationship with ease. The general feelings at the time was that higher official's children were corrupt and arrogant. Xi, however, was reputedly modest and low-profile. After parental consent, the couple married on September 1, 1987 in Xiamen, Fujian. Four days later, Peng Liyuan had to return to Beijing to appear on the national art festival and then immediately left for the United States and Canada to perform. Since then they have led largely separate lives, with Peng spending most of her time in Beijing and her husband in Fujian and later Zhejiang.

Peng has performed at almost every CCTV New Year's Gala since its inception, with a notable exception in 2008, after her husband's promotion. Her songs are focused on ethnic or rural Chinese themes and generally deal with a wide range of emotions expressed by ordinary rural citizens. In 2005, her musical opera "Mu Lang poems" earned her an "Outstanding Artist" from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the United States.fact|date=July 2008

Peng is actively involved in politics herself, and is a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

References

External links

*zh [http://ent.sina.com.cn/s/m/f/pengly/index.html Peng Liyuan's homepage] at Sina.com