Yang Yuying

Yang Yuying
Born
Yang Gangli

(1971-05-11) 11 May 1971 (age 55)
Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
OccupationSinger
Years active1990–1997, 2000–2006, 2012–present
Partner(s)Mao Ning
Lai Wenfeng (1997–1999)
Musical career
GenreMandopop
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese杨钰莹
Traditional Chinese杨鈺莹
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYáng Yùyīng
Wade–GilesYang2 Yü4-ying1
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingJoeng4 Juk6-jing1
Birth name
Simplified Chinese杨岗丽
Traditional Chinese楊崗麗
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYáng Gǎnglì
Wade–GilesYang2Kang3-li4
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingJoeng4 Gong1lai6

Yang Yuying (born 11 May 1971) is a Chinese singer best known for her pop numbers The Heart Rain with Mao Ning, Tell You Lightly, Wind and Love, Water and Smile and Tao Hua Yun. Many people called Yang and Mao "The cutest boy and girl"(金童玉女).

Early life

Yang Yuying was born in Shigang, a village in what is now Xinjian District of Nanchang, Jiangxi. Her mother named her Yang Gangli (杨岗丽) after the village. Her father died when she was a child, and she and her elder sister were raised by their mother in poverty. She began performing at about the age of five, when she won first prize singing "Embroidering the Golden Plaque" at a Children's Day show put on by her neighbourhood kindergarten. Despite the family's hardship, her mother then enrolled her in a singing class at the Nanchang Children's Palace. In her fourth year of primary school, she was one of ten Young Pioneers chosen to represent Jiangxi at a national summer camp for outstanding children in Beijing. In 1985, she won second prize in a national children's singing contest held by China Central Television (CCTV), with the duet "A Winter's Fairy Tale". While at Nanchang No. 3 Middle School, she won first prize at the city's "Red Star Cup" youth singing contest.

After finishing junior middle school in 1986, Yang entered the art class of Nanchang Normal School, where she studied folk-style singing. She had planned to become a kindergarten teacher, but one of her teachers told her, "You can't be a teacher; you should go and sing." After graduating, she joined the Jiangxi Song and Dance Troupe. In 1989, she moved to Guangzhou with the Jiangxi-born music producer Wu Songjin. After being turned down by several record companies, she shared lodgings with other young singers and supported herself by singing in dance halls. In 1990, she released her first album, How Much Do You Love Me, a collection of cover versions of songs by the Taiwanese singer Han Baoyi, under her birth name. It received advance orders for 180,000 cassettes.

Career

Rise to fame (1990–1997)

In October 1990, Yang signed with Guangzhou New Era Audio and Video, becoming one of the first pop singers in mainland China to sign a contract with a record company, and at the suggestion of the company's head, Wu Jianbang, she adopted the stage name Yang Yuying. She also studied at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, where she was taught by Professor Chen Xiaorong. Her first album of original songs, Blessings for Love, received advance orders for 200,000 copies at a national trade fair in Zhuhai in December 1990, and it was released in 1991.

Yang became a national star after she sang "Tea Mountain Love Song" and "Wind and Love, Water and Smile" on CCTV's Revolving Stage programme on 14 December 1991. Her 1992 album of the same name sold a million copies in its year of release, a record for an album by a mainland Chinese singer, at a time when singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan dominated the mainland market.[citation needed] Her theme song for the 1992 television series Girls from Outside, "I Don't Want to Say", also became widely popular. Her 1993 album Moon Boat, which included her signature song "Tell You Lightly", also sold a million copies, and her later albums, including Waiting Ten Thousand Years for You, Because of You and A Sunny Day, each sold close to a million.

Yang was especially popular for her duets with the singer Mao Ning, with whom her record company paired her; the two were popularly known as "the cutest boy and girl". Their duet "The Heart Rain" remains well known. She was one of the leading singers of the Guangdong-based pop industry of the early 1990s. In 1997, while still at the height of her popularity, she withdrew from the music industry, saying that she was stepping back rather than giving up singing. In 1998, she published a beauty book, which sold more than 150,000 copies. According to figures cited on Hunan Television's Day Day Up in 2012, her legitimate record sales had exceeded 20 million copies.

Yuanhua case controversy

In 1999, the smuggling case involving Lai Changxing's Yuanhua Group in Xiamen came to light. On 3 August 2002, on the Phoenix Television talk show A Date with Luyu, Yang disclosed that she had once been in a relationship with Lai's nephew, Lai Wenfeng. She said that the relationship had begun in 1994, when she was 23 and he was 21, and had ended in 1997. The disclosure set off widespread media speculation about her links to the case. In October 2002, newspapers quoted Lai Wenfeng's mother as saying that the couple had married in Hong Kong in 1997. Yang denied this, saying that they had planned to marry but never registered a marriage. In November, Lai's mother and sister supported Yang's account and said that the earlier reports were inaccurate.

Return to performing

After withdrawing from music, Yang travelled abroad. In 2000, she joined a Shenzhen cultural company run by her elder sister, Yang Chenli, and released the album Story (故事), but rumours connected with the Yuanhua case held back her career. After 2004, she rarely appeared in public, and she spent a year studying in Sydney, Australia. By 2011, she was living quietly with her family in Shenzhen.

Yang returned to the stage in early 2012 with the song "I'm Waiting for You in Spring". That year, she appeared as a guest on Shandong Television's music show Legend of Song. On 27 December 2012, she launched Encountering Jiangnan, her first album in nearly ten years, at an event in Beijing. In May 2013, she began hosting the Tianjin Television variety show Unique in the World, and the station later gave her a special award for her work on it. On her birthday, 11 May 2013, she gave her first concert since her return, The Best of Times, at the Jiangxi Gymnasium in Nanchang. The tour continued at the Guangzhou Gymnasium on 19 April 2014, where Mao Ning joined her to sing "The Heart Rain", and at the Shuangliu Sports Centre stadium in Chengdu in September 2014, her first concert in a stadium. In 2015, she taught young singers on the television music programme Music Master Class. In July 2016, she was appointed a guest professor in the music department of her former school, by then Nanchang Normal College.

In October 2019, the comedy I'm Waiting for You in Spring, in which Yang plays herself, was released on Tencent Video. It was her first film in 28 years, after Time Train. In 2021, she was a contestant on the second season of the reality competition Sisters Who Make Waves, and on 16 April, she was one of the seven contestants who formed the group at the season's final. In August 2021, she became one of the hosts of the Mango TV music competition Call Me by Fire.

Charity work

In May 2009, the master tape of Time Train, the only film in which Yang had appeared, was put up for auction online along with personal materials from the shoot, and part of the proceeds were to be donated to charity in her name. In July 2016, she donated 500,000 yuan to the Jiangxi Provincial Charity Federation to provide clean drinking water for flood victims and rescue workers.

Discography

Albums

References

  1. ↑ 毛宁杨钰莹亲密拥吻 揭秘“金童玉女”风雨路. Xinhua News (in Chinese). 2012-08-09. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015.
  2. ↑ 湖南卫视芒果TV官方频道 China HunanTV Official Channel (28 February 2013). "杨钰莹现场示爱毛宁 昔日泳装照惨遭曝光 - 湖南卫视天天向上" – via YouTube.
  3. ↑ 杨钰莹解释小名“岗岗”来由：为了纪念父母的爱情 [Yang Yuying Explains the Origin of Her Childhood Name "Ganggang": In Memory of Her Parents' Love]. China News Service (in Chinese). 2012-03-02. Archived from the original on 2020-07-21.
  4. 1 2 3 4 杨钰莹现场示爱毛宁 昔日泳装照惨遭曝光 - 湖南卫视天天向上 [Yang Yuying Declares Her Love for Mao Ning on Stage; Old Swimsuit Photos Revealed: Hunan Television's Day Day Up]. YouTube (in Chinese). Hunan Television (official channel). 2013-02-28. Archived from the original on 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Zhang Yigeng; Tian Liang; Xu Shasha (2013-08-09). 杨钰莹再谈与赖文峰恋情称不后悔 [Yang Yuying Speaks Again about Her Relationship with Lai Wenfeng and Says She Has No Regrets]. Global People (in Chinese). Retrieved 2026-10-20 – via Sina Entertainment.
  6. 1 2 3 Wu Songjin (May 2004). Wǒ gěi qiānyuē dìzǐ Yáng Yùyíng xiě "zhēn" 我给签约弟子杨钰莹写“真” [Writing the "Truth" about My Contracted Protégée Yang Yuying] (in Chinese). Guangzhou: Guǎngzhōu chūbǎnshè.
  7. ↑ 校友名人之五 [Famous Alumni, No. 5]. Nanchang No. 3 Middle School (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  8. 1 2 从江西飞来的雏菊——歌坛新秀杨钰莹 [A Daisy from Jiangxi: Yang Yuying, a New Star of the Music Scene]. Guǎngdōng diànyǐng (in Chinese). No. 108. 1991.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Guo Guanhua (2019-05-11). 她曾是“甜歌天后”，经历岁月洗礼仍有一颗少女心丨日签 [She Was the "Queen of Sweet Songs", and She Still Has a Girl's Heart after All These Years]. The Beijing News (in Chinese). Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  10. ↑ “甜歌”专辑热销百万 揭秘杨钰莹甜歌天后之路 [Her "Sweet Song" Albums Sold a Million: How Yang Yuying Became the Queen of Sweet Songs]. Sohu Music (in Chinese). 2007-06-11. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  11. ↑ 毛宁杨钰莹亲密拥吻 揭秘“金童玉女”风雨路 [Mao Ning and Yang Yuying Share an Embrace: The Ups and Downs of the "Golden Boy and Jade Girl"]. Xinhua (in Chinese). 2012-08-09. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08.
  12. 1 2 回顾：杨钰莹从玉女歌手到成熟女人的复杂历程 [Looking Back: Yang Yuying's Complicated Journey from "Jade Girl" Singer to Mature Woman]. Sina Entertainment (in Chinese). 2002-07-31. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  13. ↑ 杨钰莹首谈与赖文峰恋情 [Yang Yuying Speaks for the First Time about Her Relationship with Lai Wenfeng]. Xinhua (in Chinese). 2006-10-27. Archived from the original on 2007-01-24. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
  14. ↑ 《鲁豫有约》杨钰莹：我与赖文峰的三年感情生活 [A Date with Luyu, Yang Yuying: My Three-Year Relationship with Lai Wenfeng]. Phoenix New Media (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  15. ↑ 杨钰莹否认婚姻合同传言 [Yang Yuying Denies Rumours of a Marriage Contract]. People's Daily Online (in Chinese). 2002-08-05. Archived from the original on 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
  16. ↑ 赖文峰母亲语出惊人 杨钰莹赖文峰早已结婚 [Lai Wenfeng's Mother Makes a Startling Claim: Yang Yuying and Lai Wenfeng Married Long Ago]. China News Service (in Chinese). 2002-10-29. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  17. ↑ 我没必要撒谎——杨钰莹要开“未婚证明” [I Have No Reason to Lie: Yang Yuying to Obtain a "Certificate of Unmarried Status"]. Sina Entertainment (in Chinese). 2002-11-03. Archived from the original on 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  18. ↑ He Cong, ed. (August 2003). Bāshí niándài de bǎobèimen 80年代的宝贝们 [The Darlings of the 1980s] (in Chinese). Nanchang: Èrshíyī shìjì chūbǎnshè. p. 87. ISBN 7-5391-2305-2.
  19. ↑ "杨钰莹：我这十年" [Yang Yuying: I have been in the past ten years]. banyuetan.org (in Chinese). 2013-08-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  20. 1 2 杨钰莹被封"最优秀主持人" 受赠"无上限"天价玉石 [Yang Yuying Named "Best Host" and Given "Priceless" Jade]. NetEase Entertainment (in Chinese). 2013-07-31. Archived from the original on 2014-04-22. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  21. ↑ 腾讯娱乐访谈 [Tencent Entertainment Interview]. Tencent Entertainment (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
  22. ↑ “渐冻人”唱《传奇》 杨钰莹称赞可与王菲同台 [Man with Motor Neurone Disease Sings "Legend"; Yang Yuying Says He Could Share a Stage with Faye Wong]. Peninsula Metropolis Daily (in Chinese). 2012-05-22. Retrieved 2026-10-20 – via Sina News.
  23. ↑ 杨钰莹暌违十年再发新专辑 毛宁隔空送祝福 [Yang Yuying Releases Her First New Album in Ten Years; Mao Ning Sends His Best Wishes]. NetEase Entertainment (in Chinese). 2012-12-28. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  24. ↑ 杨钰莹带你穿越20载 用音乐找寻最好的时光 [Yang Yuying Takes You Back 20 Years in Search of The Best of Times]. Rednet (in Chinese). 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  25. ↑ 杨钰莹广州开唱和毛宁对唱：如置身梦境 [Yang Yuying Sings in Guangzhou and Duets with Mao Ning: "Like Being in a Dream"]. Sina Guangdong (in Chinese). 2014-04-21. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  26. ↑ 杨钰莹成都与观众对唱《心雨》 首尝复古风 [Yang Yuying Sings "The Heart Rain" with the Audience in Chengdu and Tries a Retro Style for the First Time]. NetEase Entertainment (in Chinese). 2014-09-22. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  27. ↑ 杨钰莹愿做温柔的风 助大师课学生高飞 [Yang Yuying Wants to Be a Gentle Wind That Helps Her Music Master Class Students Fly High]. Sina Entertainment (in Chinese). 2015-06-08. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  28. ↑ Yue Huairang; Guan Xuehui (2016-07-11). 著名歌手杨钰莹被聘为南昌师范高等专科学校音乐系客座教授 [Singer Yang Yuying Appointed Guest Professor in the Music Department of Nanchang Normal College]. The Paper (in Chinese). Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  29. ↑ 杨钰莹睽违28年再登大银幕，电影《我在春天等你》热血定档 [Yang Yuying Returns to the Big Screen after 28 Years as I'm Waiting for You in Spring Sets Its Release Date]. China Daily (in Chinese). 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  30. ↑ 电影《我在春天等你》30日励志上映 [Inspirational Film I'm Waiting for You in Spring Released on the 30th]. China National Radio (in Chinese). 2019-10-30. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  31. ↑ 《乘风破浪的姐姐2》第一次公演淘汰安又琪、董璇等5人 [Sisters Who Make Waves 2: Five Contestants Including An Youqi and Dong Xuan Eliminated after the First Performance]. China News Service (in Chinese). 2021-02-05. Archived from the original on 2021-02-21. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  32. ↑ 《乘风破浪的姐姐2》收官，那英、周笔畅等成团 [Sisters Who Make Waves 2 Ends, with Na Ying, Zhou Bichang and Others Forming the Group]. The Beijing News (in Chinese). 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  33. ↑ 《披荆斩棘的哥哥》今日开播！多图曝光最燃“情怀杀” [Call Me by Fire Premieres Today]. The Beijing News (in Chinese). 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  34. ↑ 杨钰莹唯一参演电影将拍卖 与赖文峰镜头曝光 [The Only Film Yang Yuying Appeared in to Be Auctioned; Scenes with Lai Wenfeng Revealed]. China News Service (in Chinese). 2009-05-21. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  35. ↑ 杨钰莹力挺家乡：剪不断的乡情是美容剂 [Yang Yuying Stands by Her Home Province: Unbreakable Ties to Home Are Her Beauty Secret]. Sina Entertainment (in Chinese). 2016-07-12. Retrieved 2026-10-20.