Folk singer Wang Kun(R) sings with her disciple Huang Jiaqi on July 30. [Xinhua]

Renowned Chinese folk singer Wang Kun, 84, and her students will give a special concert "Memory and Love" on Sunday at the National Center for the Performing Arts, to celebrate her 70-year singing career.

Wang's students, many of whom are themselves popular singers such as Cheng Fangyuan and Li Lingyu, will be on stage. Her latest disciple, 9-year-old Huang Jiaqi, whom Wang acknowledged recently, will join her in singing Nan Ni Wan, Wang's signature song of the 1940s.

The concert will kick off a series of activities to honor Wang's contribution to the development of Chinese folk music. These will include album and book releases and a documentary on her life and work.

Wang was born in Tangxian county, Hebei province, in 1925, and joined the performing arts troupe in the revolution army in the 1940s. In 1945, she played the title role in the opera White-haired Girl, produced by the Yan'an Lu Xun Institute of Arts. The five-act opera is modern China's first Western-style opera.

In 1954, Wang joined the Central Conservatory of Music and later directed the Oriental Song and Dance Company. She combines Chinese folk with Western bel canto, giving her singing its unique style.

(China Daily August 5, 2009)