You sings The Night of a Star.

“I was born and grew up in Malaysia, but I learned to speak Chinese and sing Chinese songs in childhood. I am a Chinese at heart.” Malaysia-Chinese singer You Zhangjing (Azora Chin) attended the award ceremony of the 2019 Global Chinese annual selection as a performer and was interviewed on Jan 8.

When talking about learning Chinese, You said his parents were Chinese speakers. “When I grew older, I went to a Chinese school. At the beginning, besides Chinese characters from one to ten, the character I know how to write is ‘我’(I). My teacher told me ‘I’ is very important, no matter what happens, ‘I’ cannot be lost.”

“My family always adheres to Chinese customs,” You said. “For instance, the whole family has a reunion dinner together, and the house must be cleaned before Lunar New Year’s Eve.

After graduating high school, You wanted to learn music in China. “I think art cannot be created without culture. I want to bring Chinese culture into my music, that is why I must be here.”

His parents supported his choice. “Our ancestral home is Fujian province in China, only my grandpa went back and only once. My parents wanted me to find our roots back in China.”

In 2014, You’s dream became a reality. He went to university in Nanjing. ” It’s my first time to come to China. To save money, I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Hangzhou, and then took a G-series high speed train to Nanjing. Everyone around me was speaking Mandarin, I felt so warm.”

As an idol, You also inspired overseas ethnic Chinese teenagers with his experience learning Chinese. “Chinese culture is splendid. Maybe it is difficult at the beginning, but once you overcome one obstacle, it is much easier.”