SPORT / OLYMPICS
Chinese singer writes song for Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu
Published: Feb 21, 2022 05:41 PM
Japanese Ice Prince #YuzuruHanyu kissed the ice rink at the Capital Indoor Stadium as he bid farewell to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics during his performance at Sunday's Figure Skating gala.Photo:Li Hao/GT

Japanese "Ice Prince" #YuzuruHanyu kissed the ice rink at the Capital Indoor Stadium as he bid farewell to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics during his performance at Sunday's Figure Skating gala.Photo:Li Hao/GT



Chinese musician Li Yugang published a music video for a new song on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Sunday, which he said was specially written for talented Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu and those who strive to introduce beauty into the world.

The song is titled "Hanyu" after the skater's family name. Li said on Sina Weibo that the inspiration for the song was one of Hanyu's stunning performances and the accompanying commentary by China Central Television host Chen Ying.

"Lucky to see your beauty looks like a flower, since then the spring has remained along the road all the time," during the competition, Chen quoted many classic and elegant sentences from ancient Chinese poems to describe the skater's performance.

Alongside Hanyu's fluent moves, the commentary touched the hearts of viewers watching on TV from home, Li was one of them.

"I was quickly drawn to the television, and what I saw was a young Asian man, dancing on the ice, and then I learned that the young man's name is Yuzuru Hanyu. China is a country of poetry. From the commentary of CCTV sports channel host Chen, I learned more about this skater who can bring infinite beauty and power to others," Li wrote in the post.

He added that the skater allowed him to better understand the true spirit of sports, which can express love and peace across mountains and seas, and even across national boundaries.

So he "sincerely" wrote the song to praise all those who bring beauty into the world and all who work hard.

Li is well-known Chinese musician specializing in Peking Opera and traditional music who has more than 6 million followers on Sina Weibo.

In the music video, Li's song matches up with scenes of Hanyu dancing and flying across the ice at different competitions.

"I watched the music video, recalling many of my memories about the Ice Prince. I think he deserves all the beautiful words in the song," a Chinese Hanyu fan surnamed Xu who became obsessed with the skater during the 2018 Winter Olympics told the Global Times on Monday.

During his performance at the time, Hanyu performed to music full of Japanese cultural elements, won himself a gold medal and even more fans.

During the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Hanyu has been one of the most shinning stars on Chinese social media platforms among all the overseas athletes since his arrival at the Beijing International Airport.

In a statement published on Sunday, Hanyu said that Beijing 2022 has been the most supported event of his life so far, the China News Service reported.