无声世界里的“生命交响”
In a small school in Guangxi, a special choir (合唱团) was born. It all started with a sound — “ah”. This sound came from a young deaf girl named Yang Weiwei. It deeply touched artist Li Bo and musician Zhang Yong, who visited her school in 2013.
The school was for children with disabilities. At first, the children were shy, avoiding the visitors and refusing to make sounds. Li and Zhang realized they needed to build trust. They stayed there for a week, playing with the children every day. Just as they were about to leave, a little girl ran up, held Zhang’s hands, and pronounced a clear, strong “ah”. Her eyes seemed to say, “I can do it!”
This moment inspired them to create the Silence Choir, a choir for deaf children. But how could deaf children sing? Zhang had a unique method. He taught them to feel sounds through vibration (震动). A child would place a hand on Zhang’s throat while Zhang placed his hand on the child’s throat. As they both said “ah”, they felt the vibration. The children learned to “listen” with their bodies, not their ears. They practiced thousands of times, memorizing the feeling of making each musical note.
In 2017, after three years of practice, 14 children gave their first performance in their hometown. Later, they performed in Xiamen and even at the famous Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. The audience was moved to tears by their powerful voices.