Zhou Qinli, the renowned pianist.

Zhou and Qin Yi (left), who played Zhou in Journey of Tears.

By Wang Yufeng

Zhou Qinli (better known as Chow Ching Lie), a pianist born in Shanghai in 1936, spent 46 years living in France during which time she received huge international acclaim for her playing.

Her performance of the Yellow River Piano Concerto at the Theatre des Champs Elysees in 1973 stunned French audiences, leading to seven curtain calls on the opening night. Later, she published her autobiography which has been translated into 24 languages, as well as into Braille. Her life story was the subject of a 1987 French film Journey of Tears which starred Qin Yi, a well-known Chinese performer. And since the 1980s Zhou has become a regular performer of concerts staged in aid of various charities. 

In 2008, she returned to Shanghai to permanently take up residence here. She refuses to discuss her age, commenting only, "I am still useful, I am not an invalid who is bedridden all day." This Saturday, she will take part in a charity concert at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center alongside other musicians in aid of helping children with cerebral palsy. Zhou recently set up a special fund under the auspices of the Shanghai Overseas Chinese Union to help children suffering from this condition. 

Early talent

From an early age Zhou showed a strong interest in playing the piano. Although she claims her family was not rich, her father was able to rent a piano when Zhou was 8 years old, as well as pay for her to be tutored.

When she graduated from school, she was invited to teach at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Newly married, she moved to Hong Kong after the beginning of the Cultural Revolution (1966–76)

Her husband died soon after, leaving her with two young children to bring up in the care of her in-laws. 

"It was a big family, and the relationship I had with them was very complicated," said Zhou. Zhou found work tutoring piano students before finally moving to Paris in 1962, where she was admitted to a local conservatory of music.

Money was still tight and so she set up a flea market stall to make ends meet. She also undertook door-to-door selling of leather handbags imported from Hong Kong.

"It was a tough time for me," she told the Global Times. "I would use two words - rice and tears - to describe that period of my life. Running water was free of charge then and I used it to make cooked rice; often it would be mingled with my tears as they fell into the pan." She lived in a rented apartment which was barely large enough for a bed and a piano.

As a naturally shy person, she found it difficult to sell the handbags. "And I didn't do it every day, because I also needed to practice on the piano. I only did it when I had no rice to cook," she said.

She spent up to 14 hours every day at the piano, a routine that quickly annoyed her neighbors. Zhou used the carpet to cover the window in order to soundproof the room. Within eight months she had finished all her courses at the conservatory, studies that would normally have taken two years to complete.

It was now that she returned to Hong Kong in order to bring her children back to live with her.

Back in France, she stood out at a local piano competition in 1965. By 1973 she was standing on the stage of the world renowned Theatre des Champs Elysees playing the Yellow River Piano Concerto. "I was said to be the first Chinese woman pianist to play Chinese works there," said Zhou. "The Chinese ambassador to France relayed the news back to China, and I became known as the 'daughter of the Yellow River.'" 

Zhou Qinli, at the time of her performance at the Theatre des Champs Elysees in 1973. Photos: Courtesy of Lou Jing

Novel experiences

Her extraordinary experiences have informed a number of self-penned novels including In Buddha's Hands (2001) and There Is No Deadlock Under Sky (2004).

During the 1980s she has become very involved in charity work, particularly those benefiting leukemia patients. In 2005, she performed at one such concert hosted by the former French President Jacques Chirac.

In 2008, she returned to Shanghai for good. "My daughter lives in Hong Kong but my son lives in Shanghai, as do my grandson and granddaughter. I would be lonely if I carried on living in Paris," said Zhou.

Soon after returning she donated 200,000 yuan ($30,620) to help a village school in Hubei Province build student dorms. A year later, when she went there to attend the completion ceremony, she encountered a pair of disabled twin boys.

"They were about 10 years old, but were unable to walk," said Zhou. "What amazed me was that their devoted mother followed them everywhere. They had mental problems, but their mother refused to give up on them. As a mother myself, I could not help but be moved." 

Zhou determined to send the twins' medical records to her former local hospital in Paris, where she still knew many leading doctors. Disappointingly, she was forced to give up. "I have been away from Shanghai for too long; I was unable to translate the records into French because I don't know how to read simplified characters."

She then turned to the hospitals in Shanghai. In 2010, she brought the twins to the city from Hubei, and paid for them to be operated on at a total cost of 100,000 yuan, including after care expenses. "They are getting better," said the boys' mother, Ren Yingfen. "In the past, they could not walk very far, but now, their legs are much stronger and more flexible."