A Brief History and Introduction to Ou’s Musical Creations

It is not an exaggeration to call Wenwei Ou a gifted musician, but how he arrived at this status is an interesting story.

He did not like to study music when he was a teen. He missed all the knowledge taught by teachers in the music classes because he skipped most of those classes. Even when he was in music class the information just passed by his ears and never had a chance to be retained in his memory. As a result, when he was in his early twenties, during the era when everyone was able to sing “quotation songs” (songs had to be learned and sung during the culture revolution in China from 1968 to 1978), he could not even finish the simplest song, “Making Determination,” which only had four lines.   

Nevertheless, while he could not sing the common songs of the time, he had many songs in his heart. He has always been a person of great sentiment. He first expressed his rich emotions through his poems. Many of his poems are the crystallization of profound insight on the subtle relationships between the kindness and evil of human nature, his vision of the mystery of the universe, and his love and expectations for mankind.

These beautiful verses, which seem effortlessly and skillfully in written, condense Ou’s exploration of the universe and life. These poems are beautifully worded, easy to understand, and yet profoundly insightful.  They empower one with strength, idealism, and enlightenment.  The images transport the listener, connecting with magical landscapes that somehow seem intimately familiar.  

In love with Ou’s poetry, some of his PanGu ShenGong students found a senior music professor to compose a score for his poems, and some even tried to do it themselves. However, they could not faithfully convey the poems’ abundant sentiments.  Therefore, Ou made a commitment in 2004, “I must sing the songs I compose next year!”

He was no doubt asking for trouble and taking a great risk because it was his weakest field. However, motivated for people to have another way to adjust and improve their physical and spiritual health, he embraced such difficulty as if it were malt sugar—taking adversity with a smile.

In the beginning, because of the poor conditions for composing, and because he did not know how to write down music notations, Ou had to memorize every single line of music arising from his heart.  He continually hummed his musical creations everywhere — in the garage, the bathroom, the kitchen, while working in the backyard, during driving, and even while dreaming.

For each song, he sang and hummed it no less than a hundred times until he considered that it sounded satisfactory.  After that he recorded his singing of the song and asked some of his PanGu ShenGong students who had some musical knowledge to write down the notes and sing according to the scores to see if it matched his original. This process was repeated until he was satisfied.

Later, he obtained a keyboard, with which he was able to locate the keys according to the sounds in his mind. Gradually, he was able to play one line, then one song, then songs in different keys. Eventually, he was able to approximate the musical scores and write down the music of some songs. The process sounds easy, but in reality it was extremely difficult.

Finally, (a good grounding ensures success in what he does), in the four years from 2004 to 2008, he composed a total of forty songs which are all beautiful melodies and profoundly insightful! In August 2006, Ou gave a concert in Guangzhou Youth Center in Guangdong, China where over 600 attended.  As a result of this great progress, four albums were published in January of 2008.

In February 2008, Ou gave a concert in Yellow-flowers Theater in Guangzhou, China, this time 1600 were present in the audience.

In May 2008, Ou gave two concerts, one in Yellow-flowers Theater in Guangzhou and the other in the People’s Theater in Zhongshan, China.  Over 2800 people attended in total. 

In October 2008, 600 people attended a social gathering party in Xiaoshan, China principally featuring Ou’s singing performance.

Peace and calmness are the principal features transmitted by Ou’s songs. Many people report feeling relaxed, serene, and integrated in mind, body and spirit while listening to the songs. Some report that they are healed from their illnesses by listening and singing the songs. Currently, Wenwei Ou is directing a project that uses his songs to augment treatments for special needs children. The effects on those children have been very positive.  

From knowing nothing about music, to playing keyboard while singing, from unaccompanied singing to being accompanied by a back-up band, from using an MP3 recorder to do self-recording to professional recording in a studio—Wenwei Ou has been blossoming in the path of music. He never hired a professional tutor to teach him, but he considers everyone he meets his music teacher. He combines pieces of what he learns from everyone with his observation and experience, transforming the elements into his own knowledge, which then directs his practice.  Ou’s poetry and music can perhaps be best appreciated as an example of how nature takes energy and creates something beautiful, a white lotus in a dark pond, as one of his verses says, “From deep in the universe, comes a friendly voice.”