LI YUNDI, Chen Sa, Zuo Zhang, Zhang Haochen, Pan Linzi ... these are all young renowned pianists in China who have won prizes at international piano contests; they also all share a name behind their success and that is Dan Zhaoyi.

Dan has been teaching piano for the past 54 years and is known as the “Godfather” of piano education not only in Shenzhen, but also across the whole nation. Even in his 70s, Dan is still teaching piano and composing books on piano education. His contributions to piano education have won him numerous titles.

Dan was born in Chongqing in 1940. His father was a fan of music and was determined to cultivate Dan into a musician. “In fact, I don’t have many gifts in music,” said Dan in an interview with sznews.com.

Although Dan did not display any unique musical talent during his childhood, his professional music training at the Central Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing at age 21 made a huge impact.

Back then, Dan got an opportunity to study in Beijing while he was studying at a music school in Sichuan. Before his departure, the head of the music school told Dan to pay attention to how famous piano teachers train their students with the hope of enhancing the level of piano education in Sichuan.

From 1961 to 1964, Dan was trained by Zhou Guangren, the first Chinese pianist to win prizes on the global stage, and learned how to perform music well.

Dan returned to Sichuan after his three years in Beijing and began teaching piano. His students, Chen and Wu Chi, entered the first China International Piano Competition in 1994 and won the first and the second prizes.

Two years later, Chen won the fourth prize at the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, becoming the first Chinese to win a prize at the competition in 40 years.

One of Dan’s most renowned students is Li. He won the first prize at the 14th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2000 at age 18. Nine years later, another of Dan’s students, Zhang Haochen, won a gold medal in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, becoming the first Chinese winner in history.

Dan was teaching at a university in Sichuan before he came to Shenzhen. At age 55, Dan made the decision to move to Shenzhen in 1995.

According to Dan, the city’s unique characteristics of being open and inclusive attracted him, so he started teaching piano at a professional art school. Many of Dan’s students in Sichuan followed him to Shenzhen.

The Shenzhen city government supported Dan’s career and even sponsored his students’ participation in international piano competitions. “Without the government’s help, these students would hardly have had the opportunities to make these amazing achievements,” he said.

So far, 29 of Dan’s students have won 63 prizes at various international competitions and many of them have set new records.

Dan is still teaching students in Sichuan by making frequent flights there each week. He also is busy training piano teachers and writing on pedagogies of piano education. Dan recently finished a series of books on teaching the piano. (Zhang Qian)