Mark Levin: Singing My China Stories to the World

Mark Levine, an American country musician, sociologist, author, and professor, was born in Los Angeles, California in 1948. Before coming to China in 2005, he worked in the United States for almost 30 years. His first job in China was as an English teacher in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province. There, Mark Levin saw a China completely different from his childhood memory. He soon fell in love with the land and decided to stay here.

As his understanding of China deepened and his affection for China grew, he felt that words alone were too pale to tell the colorful stories of China. As a music enthusiast, Mark Levine decided to mobilize his "artistic cells" and try out a new narrative method, singing his experiences in China through music. Up to now, he has written more than 70 songs about China, covering scenic spots, Chinese culture, "Beijing Drifters (people who live and work in Beijing while without Beijing registered residence)" and Mount Huaguo where Monkey King lives. He sings them all in his own voice.

Mark Levin and a Chinese woman named Fu Han formed a group called "Xiu Wai Hui Zhong" ("In Side Out"). He said, "The mix of Chinese and Western songs, Chinese and Western instruments, the two performers and the two languages form a whole, like the inside and outside of a shirt."

For him, writing and playing songs is a natural flow of feelings and emotions. "A lot of things happen right in front of me, lyrics just pop into my head, and I write them down."

With the melody of his guitar, Mark Levin became a veritable bard, singing his China stories and compiling his experiences into a book, Singing My China Stories to the World.

As a witness to China's development, Mark Levin also uses his songs to record some of the major events happening in this country.

When East meets West

Over the past 16 years, Mark Levin has traveled to 29 provinces in China. He said that what impressed him most about China was not the scenery or the food, but the Chinese people.

"I've been to numerous places - big cities, small cities, towns and villages, and many minority areas. I have met a lot of people with different backgrounds. But wherever I went, I could feel the friendliness and warmth of the Chinese people. They were willing to share their way of life with me." He said.  

Mark Levin said that of all the places he has visited, his favorite is Beijing because it reminds him of his hometown.

"I grew up in Los Angeles in the 1950s and 1960s. It was a place where people from all over the United States and the world gathered, each with a clear goal and a dream. And Beijing is such a place of energy and passion." Mark Levin said.

After arriving in China, Mark Levin began writing to his friends about what he had experienced. When his experiences became abundant enough, he thought of writing a book about these China stories.

In 2014, Mark Levin published My China Stories, hoping to help readers who are curious about China but still unfamiliar with it, to understand the lives of Chinese people. Another of his books, Singing My China Stories to the World, will be released soon.

China as I can see

Mark Levin's writing was attributed to one of his American friends. This friend once expressed his distress to Mark Levin that the China he knew from some Western reports and the China he saw with his own eyes after coming to China were like two totally different worlds.

"For those who have never been to China and are blinded by false reports, such confusion may never be removed." Therefore, Mark Levin decided to present China as he sees it, so that more people can understand a real China, a China that is not falsely exaggerated by political propaganda.

"Chinese and Westerners have a lot more in common than we think." He said.

To Mark Levin's delight, many Chinese people are also interested in his vision of China. He said that the perspective of foreigners looking at China may be very different from the perspective of the Chinese themselves.

"There is an article in the book about Baijiu (Liquor) and the culture of toasting. One of my Chinese students told me she didn't realize it was so interesting and unique to China and the Chinese people until she read my book." He said.

"A lot of my book is based on actual conversations I've had with other people, including Chinese and foreigners, because I want to give China a voice for itself." Mark Levin said.

When asked if he planed to stay in China in the future, Mark Levin answered firmly: "I'm doing well in China. I can make my contribution through singing, writing and teaching."

"So, why will I leave? It's my home." Mark Levin smiled.