Huofeng

Huofeng was born into an artistically oriented family. His father, Huo Yan, was the director of the Shenyang City Drama Troupe and the head of Shenyang’s Cultural Bureau, and his mother studied local ethnic music. In 1989 he married Zhong Xiaoping; their son, Huo Zun, was born in 1990 and they divorced in 1994. In 1999, while on a field trip in Yunnan, he adopted a Tibetan martyr’s orphan named Ruosongding as his son. In 2001 he registered marriage with makeup artist Jiang Hua, and in 2004 his daughter Huo Miao was born.

Early life

He grew up in Shenyang. At age 7 he was sent with his parents to Panjin; at age 10 he returned to Shenyang and, together with Yu Kuizhi, entered Shenyang’s first generation Model Opera training program. He then joined a Pingju troupe and trained in swimming for four years. In November 1978 he joined the Shenyang City Drama Troupe as a drama actor. In 1983 he was temporarily seconded to the Shenyang Song and Dance Troupe, participated in a Northeast three-province light music concert in Harbin, and won the top prize “Excellent Performance Award.” In December of the same year he transferred to the Shenyang Song and Dance Troupe as a vocalist. In 1984 he released the album My Love.

Career highlights

In 1990 he released a cover album Having Lived and Loved Is Enough. In 1994, after his fieldwork in Yunnan, he created The Great Flower Sedan. In late 1995 he released a self-titled personal creative album, selling about 370,000 copies; that year he also won the Wu Shang Cup 95 Music Tour’s Most Popular Singer award. In 1996 The Great Flower Sedan won a bronze prize at the CCTV Music TV Grand Prix, and he became Guangdong Province’s most popular singer that year; he also received Japan’s NHK 1996 Ten Best Songs award. Beginning in 1998, he participated in CCTV Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, and other large-scale celebrations for three consecutive years. In 2002 he released singles Brothers, Look at Me, and Road; in 2003 he performed with Liang Yin and A Luo on CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala, singing Celebrate the New Year. In 2005 his song Wife Wife I Love You, written for his wife, spread online. In 2011 he played Master Shi Zhi in the wuxia drama From Ancient Heroes Emerge as Youth.

From 1998 to 2000 he repeatedly attended major galas. In September 2018 he released the music video Wanting to Move On, and in December held the Huofeng concert “Singing China Enters Yingkou—Wanting to Move On.” On February 10, 2021, he appeared at Liaoning TV’s Spring Festival Gala, and subsequently released A Father’s Song for My Daughter and Old Town Ballad. On November 16, 2023 he released the single Red Sister, Black Brother, and on January 10, 2025 he appeared in the film Fake Dad, which was released.

Other activities and controversies

In 1996 he rode a motorcycle alone into Tibet; an accident occurred and he was saved by blood donations from multiple ethnic groups. In 2014 some media outlets reported that he was a “Living Buddha” and active in temples and secular life; this identity was later verified as false and a clarification was issued. In 2007 he served as a member of the Hong Kong Buddhist Cultural Industry Buddhist Music Committee. In 2014 he and his son Huo Zun participated in the China Charity List awards ceremony and performed the song “Seven Lotus Flowers.”

Major works

Albums include Road (2020), Wanting to Move On (2018), Tashi Delek (2016), The Great Wedding Sedan (1995), Having Lived and Loved Is Enough (1990), Emotion and Philosophy (1984), My Love (1984), among others. Singles include Road, Look at Me, and The Boring Bug, released by Kanjian Music.