Liu Huan: The Voice That Raised Generations
Welcome back to Learn English with Podcasts! Sarah, is there a voice that your parents know, you know, and your kids know too?欢迎回到 Learn English with Podcasts！Sarah，有没有一个声音，你爸妈知道，你知道，你的孩子也知道？
Hmm, that sounds like a national voice. Are you talking about Liu Huan?嗯，听起来像国民之声。你说的是刘欢吗？
Yes. He passed away on September 25, 2026 in Shanghai. He was 63. Today let's tell his story, from a boy to a legend.对。他在2026年9月25号在上海去世了，63岁。今天我们来讲他的故事，从小男孩到传奇。
Good idea. Start from the beginning. Where was he born?好主意。从头讲起吧。他出生在哪里？
He was born in 1963 in Tianjin. But he did not study music at first. He studied French literature in Beijing.他1963年出生在天津。但他一开始学的不是音乐。他在北京学的是法国文学。
Wait, French? So the great singer started with books, not songs?等等，法语？所以这位歌唱家是从书开始，不是从歌开始的？
Exactly. And in 1985, his school held two singing contests, one in English and one in French. He won both. That changed his life.没错。1985年，学校办了英文和法文两场歌唱比赛。他都拿了第一。这改变了他的人生。
Wow, a French student becomes a singer. But I heard teaching was his real job?哇，一个法语学生成了歌手。不过我听说教书才是他的正职？
Yes. He taught Western classical music history at a business university in Beijing. He stayed on that stage for 30 years.对。他在北京一所经贸大学教西方古典音乐史。他在这个讲台上站了30年。
30 years! He always told students to learn something seemingly useless, right? To feed the soul.30年！他总让学生学点看似无用的东西，对吧？滋养心灵。
You remember that. Now let's jump to 1988. That year he met his wife, Lu Lu. She was a TV host from Hunan.你记得这个。现在跳到1988年。那一年他遇到了妻子卢璐。她是湖南的电视主持人。
How did they meet? It sounds like a movie.他们怎么认识的？听起来像电影。
She went to Beijing to invite him to a New Year show. Her only clue was a song he sang on TV. A worker there said, I know where he lives. He borrowed my sweater and never gave it back.她去北京请他参加元旦晚会。唯一的线索是他在电视上唱过的一首歌。那里的工作人员说，我知道他住哪儿。他借了我的毛衣，穿走就没还。
Ha! So she found him in an old shared building by following a sweater?哈！所以她跟着一件毛衣，在老筒子楼里找到了他？
Yes. After their talk, she held out her hand and said, Liu Huan, see you in Hunan! But he just held her hand and said nothing, with his head down.对。谈完事，她伸出手说，刘欢，湖南见！但他低着头，握着她的手，一句话也没说。
Oh no, that must have felt so strange. Did she think he was rude?哦，那一定很奇怪。她当时觉得他没礼貌吗？
A little. But after the show in Changsha, they traveled to Zhangjiajie with friends. When they said goodbye, he asked her to marry him. They had known each other for only nine days.有一点。但长沙演出后，他们和朋友一起去了张家界。分别时，他向她求婚。那时他们才认识九天。
Nine days! That is a flash marriage. Did it last?九天！这是闪婚啊。后来幸福吗？
It lasted a lifetime. They married on June 8, 1988. She was two years older than him. He even wrote a song for her, called Lulu.是一辈子。他们1988年6月8号结婚。她比他大两岁。他还为她写了一首歌，就叫《璐璐》。
People said he was not handsome. Did she care?有人说他长得不好看。她在意吗？
Not at all. She said, a man must be smart and talented. Looks do not matter. Someone joked he had no neck. She answered, he had one. I can prove it. He just got fat.完全不在意。她说，男人一定要聪明、有才华。长相不重要。有人开玩笑说他没脖子。她回，有过，我能作证。他只是胖了。
That is real love. And right after marriage, he became famous?这才是真爱。婚后不久，他就火了？
Yes, in the first year of marriage. Songs like Heroes Song, Young Dreams Never Say Worry, and Curved Moon made him a household name in the 1990s.对，结婚第一年。像《好汉歌》《少年壮志不言愁》《弯弯的月亮》这些歌，让他在九十年代家喻户晓。
And they had a daughter, right? Sisi?他们还有个女儿，对吧？丝丝？
Yes, born in 1992. Her full name is Liu Yisi. Her father said the name comes from an old Buddhist saying. It means a calm and open heart.对，1992年出生。大名刘一丝。她爸爸说，名字来自佛家的一句古话。意思是心境澄澈、坦然。
But he was so busy then. Did he spend time with her?但那时他太忙了。有时间陪她吗？
Not much at first. So in 2007, he stopped all his work in China and moved to America with his wife to care for Sisi in high school.一开始不多。所以2007年，他停掉国内所有工作，和妻子去美国陪读，照顾上高中的丝丝。
That is a big choice. And then came 2008, his biggest stage?这是个重大选择。然后就是2008年，他最大的舞台？
Yes. At the Beijing Olympics, he sang You and Me with Sarah Brightman. Hey, same name as you!对。北京奥运会上，他和莎拉·布莱曼合唱了《我和你》。嘿，和你同名！
Ha, I wish I sang like her. More than 200 countries watched that night. That song became China's calling card.哈，我要唱得像她就好了。那晚200多个国家在看。这首歌成了中国的名片。
After the peak, he started to give back. In 2014, he started Sing My Song to help young writers. In 2019, he gave his own money to start a charity fund for original music.巅峰之后，他开始回馈。2014年，他发起《中国好歌曲》帮年轻创作者。2019年，他拿自己的钱设了原创音乐公益金。
He really loved new songs. But around 2010, his health got bad, right?他真的热爱新歌。但2010年前后，他身体变差了，对吧？
Yes. He had avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Simply put, blood could not reach his hip bone. He had surgery for a new hip joint and walked with sticks for years.对。他得了股骨头缺血性坏死。简单说，就是血流到不了髋骨。他做了人工髋关节手术，好几年都拄拐走路。
That is why we saw him less. He chose a quiet life and kept the pain to himself.难怪后来很少见到他。他选择了安静的生活，独自承受病痛。
Yes. But there were two warm moments near the end. On October 27, 2025, he attended Sisi's wedding, with a black cap, holding a wine glass, smiling a lot.对。但最后有两段温暖时刻。2025年10月27号，他参加了丝丝的婚礼，戴着黑色鸭舌帽，端着酒杯，笑得很开心。
A father at his daughter's wedding. And his last show?女儿婚礼上的父亲。那他最后一次演出呢？
On January 1, 2026, at a Bilibili New Year show in Shanghai. It was outdoors, very cold and windy. He was shaking, he even missed a beat. But his high notes were still strong.2026年1月1号，在上海的B站跨年晚会。户外舞台，又冷风又大。他冻得发抖，甚至抢了一拍。但高音依然稳。
People said he had tears from the cold in the close-up. He gave everything to that last song.有人说特写里他都冻出泪花了。他把一切都给了最后一首歌。
Then on September 25, with family by his side, he left us. His student cried for two hours. His wife wrote, my forever love, my forever pain.然后9月25号，在家人陪伴下，他离开了我们。他的学生哭了两个小时。妻子写道，我永远的爱，永远的痛。
And his last wish was simple: keep things simple, no farewell ceremony, no memorial meeting.他的最后心愿很简单：丧事从简，不办告别仪式，不开追悼会。
Simple farewell, but a full life. French books, a nine-day love, songs for three generations, and music for young dreamers.告别很简单，人生很圆满。法语书，九天的爱情，唱给三代人的歌，留给年轻梦的音乐。
You know what stays with me? He stood in a quiet classroom for 30 years, and that classroom made his songs deeper.你知道最让我难忘的是什么吗？他在安静的教室里站了30年，而这间教室让他的歌更有深度。
Beautifully said. Thanks for listening to Learn English with Podcasts. Which Liu Huan song lives in your memory? Tell us, and see you next time.说得真好。感谢收听 Learn English with Podcasts。哪首刘欢的歌活在你的记忆里？告诉我们，下期见。