Recently, a beautiful girl in a cheongsam played "The Shepherd of the Cocoto Sea" with erhu and became popular on the Internet, attracting hundreds of thousands of netizens to watch it online.
The girl's name is Xiao Dan. She began to learn the piano at the age of 5. When she was in elementary school, she developed from a hobby to a professional study. The erhu is her favorite musical instrument. By chance, he entered the Kuaishou short video platform. Xiao Dan found that many netizens were very interested in erhu. When everyone talked about what type of songs the erhu could play, all kinds of magical ideas caused hilarious laughter, and also gave Xiao Dan some thoughts.
Popular songs are loved by everyone. What would it be like to play with the erhu? With the original intention of sharing life, Xiao Dan performed attentively in the live broadcast room, attracting a wave of likes from netizens who love folk music. Xiao Dan is very "favorite". Not only will she play the songs they like according to the fans' "song request" request, but she will also answer and introduce some knowledge about Erhu carefully. Now she has accumulated 350,000 fans.

"This also makes me feel more and more missionary, and I hope to do my part in the dissemination of traditional Chinese culture, so that more people can feel the charm of folk music." Xiao Dan said.
Contact short video creation
Opened up a new world of performance and teaching
In the live broadcast room, Xiao Dan is a typical classical beauty, with a delicate and sweet appearance, a smile between the lines, and gentle gestures, full of literary and artistic fans.
She likes to wear cheongsam or Chinese-style clothing very much. This kind of outfit blends perfectly with the innate national flavor of the erhu. Before the music starts, some netizens have already ordered songs, such as "Erquan Reflecting the Moon", "Horse Racing", "Grape Ripe" "...
In everyone's impression, these are classic works of erhu, with Chinese traditional music, flying strings, joy and sorrow, and erhu's rhythm is bleak and lingering, but also swaying and smooth. Xiao Dan is a gaohu, erhu, and jinghu performer with the Chime Bell Chinese Orchestra of Hubei Opera and Dance Theater. She has participated in many heavyweight erhu performances, and these songs are her specialty.
One song after another, many netizens came to interact and leave messages, and she accumulated a group of "iron fans". Among Xiao Dan's fan groups, middle-aged and elderly people are the main audience. Xiao Dan found that because of their love, they have a better understanding of Erhu, and they like to listen to professional songs such as "Horse Racing", "Er Spring Reflecting the Moon" and "Jianghe Water". But Xiao Dan is not satisfied with just performing these traditional songs. She is bold and innovative, hoping to combine folk music with popular songs, so as to achieve a balance between professionalism and public performance.
"Lotus at Every Step", "Flying Birds and Shooters", "Why Don't Go Home", "Blue and White Porcelain", "Swan", "The Shepherd of the Cocoto Sea", "Exodus", "Late Autumn", "The Tomb of Infatuation"... These popular songs were heralded by her When played with erhu, the style is gentle and long, and it has a unique flavor.
At first, some fans didn't like listening to erhu playing popular songs, but Xiao Dan insisted on his choice in this regard. "I hope to attract more young children's attention through my profession, so that they can discover that erhu can have many new ways of playing and new tricks, and our national music can also be very 'trendy'." Xiao Dan said.

During the two years of insisting on live broadcast, Xiao Dan has got a close understanding of the opinions and preferences of fans through live broadcast interaction. She constantly ponders everyone's ideas, adjusts repertoire and performance methods, and improves her communication skills in the interaction, "I'm very happy. The only thing is that persistence has brought more fan recognition and company." At present, Xiao Dan's single live broadcast on Kuaishou has more than 100,000 viewers.
Father takes the door by hand
Erhu is a dream that never gave up
"I really didn't have a lot of ideas at the beginning. I just wanted to record my life and share my daily life. I didn't expect to receive so much attention." Xiao Dan was also surprised when he talked about becoming a talented artist in Kuaishou.
Xiao Dan started learning erhu at the age of 5, and since she first heard the melodious and powerful tunes of erhu, she fell in love with this instrument: "Teacher Enlightenment is my father. I have a lot of musical instruments, such as electronic organ, violin, accordion, etc. I have been deeply influenced by my father since I was a child, and I like music very much. Although I have been exposed to many musical instruments, I especially prefer to play stringed instruments. I can play the children’s songs that I liked when I was a child through the erhu. "
My father also discovered Xiao Dan's talent in music, and cultivated it from a young age. Xiao Dan tried to learn many things when she was a child, playing the piano, singing, dancing, painting... But going around, Xiao Dan still loves erhu the most, which also made her determined to study erhu systematically and professionally.
"Switching from an amateur to a professional is the hardest thing. I have to travel a long way to go to class every week, and the time for practicing the piano has greatly increased. Of course, I want to give up when I encounter difficulties, but my love for the erhu makes me unable to really give it up. , at that time, I felt that I would only stick to one thing in my life, and that is to pull the erhu." Recalling his study path, Xiao Dan said that the journey was not easy.
Love and hard work are indispensable. After Xiao Dan was admitted to the Primary School Attached to the Wuhan Conservatory of Music in elementary school, as a "girl from Hunan", she came to Wuhan to study alone, and it took decades for her to study. After graduating from Wuhan Conservatory of Music, many students chose inter-professional employment out of various considerations. She still developed her major into a career without hesitation and joined Hubei Opera and Dance Theater. Erhu has become a career she will pursue throughout her life.
In 2019, Xiao Dan accidentally saw some videos of bloggers playing musical instruments, and she was determined to step into the short video platform. After continuing to publish her works, she has accumulated a batch of "iron fans". Fans will "urge more" in the comment area every day, hoping that she can play more good songs. With the voice of fans, she began to understand how to communicate with fans and share music through live broadcast.
"It was the hardest to start live broadcasting. I'm a novice, and I'm a little unaccustomed to facing the camera. I don't know how to communicate and interact with new friends who have just entered the live broadcast room. ." Xiao Dan recalled his live broadcast experience, and felt that at the very beginning, he really opened up a "new world", everything had to be explored from the beginning, and he encountered a lot of difficulties.
From the first time he came into contact with the erhu, Xiao Dan has formed an indissoluble bond with the erhu for nearly 30 years. "Although I was born in Erhu, I have also systematically learned instruments such as Gaohu and Jinghu. These are the representatives of our country's folk instruments and are the quintessence of the country. They embody the historical heritage and cultural charm of the Chinese nation for thousands of years. Proud of me being able to take up this profession." Xiao Dan said.
Take culture abroad
"Highlights" in your career
Xiao Dan has been working for more than ten years. He has visited many countries with the group, such as Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Ireland, and the United States. Through performances, he has conducted cultural exchanges with foreign friends and carried forward traditional folk music. Xiao Dan is very proud: "These folk musical instruments belong to our country and can show our national characteristics. I really hope that more people can feel the power of Chinese culture."
What impressed and deeply impressed Xiao Dan was the performance of ethnic orchestras for overseas Chinese in a foreign country, such as "My Motherland" and "Honghu Red Guards", etc. The familiar music played, the audience was in high spirits, and the applause could not stop for a long time. A few people started to cry when they heard it. Xiao Dan recalled these pictures, and still felt it vividly in his mind: "I can feel the touch we brought to them, these familiar melodies are engraved in the bones of Chinese sons and daughters, which can resonate with us and arouse everyone's patriotism and thoughts. family feeling."

It is precisely because of these experiences that Xiao Dan has a deep sense of mission in this profession. When performing, she is not only a performer, but also a communicator of traditional culture, "Actually, I like performance the most. When Jinghu is played, foreigners will always be amazed to see that this small musical instrument can change into such a variety of patterns, this is the charm of our folk musical instruments." Xiao Dan said excitedly.
With the development of the Internet, traditional cultures such as Hanfu and folk music have gradually attracted more attention and love. Every time Xiao Dan sees it, he will feel happy from the bottom of his heart: "We must have confidence in our own country's culture, and add Vigorously spreading is what each of our relevant practitioners wants to do."
Xiao Dan's videos and live broadcasts have received more and more attention and love, and netizens have asked her for advice. Xiao Dan slowly started her own "teaching" road. She combined online and offline for "one-on-one" teach. The development of new Internet technologies and new platforms has made Xiao Dan feel that he has encountered a good era. When she was a child, she had to run for 8.5 hours to go to class, but now, even if she is in another province, she can bring erhu enthusiasts the guidance of professional teachers through video and online classes.
In the future, Xiao Dan will still adhere to his short video creation style, integrate young music into national musical instruments, and use his own strength to make traditional Chinese culture such as erhu get more attention and wider dissemination, "My current performance If there is a possibility and opportunity, I would like to add other musical instruments to my short videos and live broadcasts, so as to bring a richer visual experience to the audience,” she said.