Interview with Chinese Guzheng Girl古筝妹访谈(closed captions available)

Hi everyone! I’m Xu Hewei.
Glad I can introduce myself here
In real life, I’m simply a 3rd year college student.
I started out on the piano.
But later I switched, partly because of the influence of my family who have the strong traditional cultural roots.
Piano is Western, which is believed to not go along with what we perceived as traditional Chinese
Besides, my fingers hurt whenever I play.
One of my biggest regrets is I've stopped taking lessons on the piano and not really good at it.
That’s beyond comprehension
My parents want me to pick a traditional instrument
Coincidentally, I ran into TV programs with Guzheng scenes
Fell in love with it, then started to take lessons
Have to put on the pricks before each play.
Not quite used to it when I first started.
It’s taken 2 months to get used to to it
To me, music is universal with no boundary.
It’s a way of improvement on one's overall thoughts
if you're really open to any genres of music
Prior to Adele's cover song, I've done some arrangements of non-Chinese pieces.
He's a Pirate
Ievan Polkka
It’s fun to explore into new genres, quite interesting, too.
Many times, I've been asked if I'm the one for a certain cover posted on the Internet
I said ‘Look for the one wearing the white sweater’
It’s become my signature
By now Chinese netizens have got no problem recoginizing me
Next time, I’ll put on something else
Hope I can still be recognized
It's comfy and fit enough to allow my hands moving around freely
Some viewers ask if it is from my boyfriend. No. It's not.
Some even wonder if it's from my ex as a gift, something of sentimental value
It's 6 or 7 years old, and quite beaten up… as you can see
It’s a gift from my younger aunt.
Let me show you around the campus.
Stop, stop filming please.
Well, that's too much zoom. That’s it
When I was little, I saw some movies about lawyers and TV drama series related to the law and order
I felt lawyers are impressive
Honestly, my parents want me to be an intellectual, not a musician
Besides, my Guzheng foundation is not that solid
Mostly, I've been easy on myself unlike kids who determined to go professional
I haven't gone through any ordeal in practicing the Guzheng like those kids
So I'm not a strong contender (for a good musical conservatory)
My primary goal now is to pass the bar exam
As for music, I’ll compose my own pieces and publish them if there is an opportunity
This dates back to Dec. 27, 1996. At the age of 6
At the kindergarten appearing on a dance performance -“Little Sisters on the Prairie”
What a funny costume. Take a good look.
It’s never been exposed before.
This one dates back even earlier. I was aged 3
I picked up the phone and called my Dad right after the phone service got set up.
My teachers adored me,
I got along pretty well with everybody,
It's just ironic I used to be called "Big Sister Wei" though I might not be older than them
I do miss that as I’m called ‘Little Wei” now at school
(Mimicking her cat)Hi, everyone. I'm Qiqi.
I’m camera shy
I like sausages
I do not like being filmed
My parents are both full-time professionals busy with work
I call up my friends, and enjoy being together with Qiqi after playing the Guzheng
Life wouldn’t be quite the same without her.
Go fetch it.
Quite calm and poised for an adult cat
My cat has a bad temper
It's said that animals look like their owners. On the contrary, I'm fairly even-tempered
As a person, I’m frank
straight-forward,
optimistic
and perceptual, too.