Journey of music: couple inspires passion for music in others

“Let’s quit our jobs and travel around the world,” Yuan Zijun said to her husband one day. “Good idea,” her husband Xiao Wei replied. Just one month later, the pair from Beijing set off on a worldwide musical expedition.

The couple visited nearly 40 countries in one year. They started their journey in Europe, and then traveled from North America down through to South America, before making stops in Oceania and Africa.

“During the journey, we found that many places became cities of music in the summer, where people enjoy high-quality musical performances out on the street,” said Xiao, who was impressed with the enthusiasm people had for their music. “The musicians didn’t care about their listeners’ rewards. They just enjoyed the music.”

The couple has always loved music and traveling. But their careers usually left them too busy to enjoy either of these hobbies. Xiao Wei worked as a prosecutor, and Yuan Zijun was in the finance industry, and their busy schedules meant they never had the time to stay in one place and soak up the experience.

Traveling on a tight budget meant that their trip of a lifetime didn’t always go smoothly. “We lived just marginally better than beggars,” Xiao joked, as he told the story of the time they spent the night camping in a field and woke up to find they had hundreds of mosquito bites and a crocodile laying next to their tent. These were the moments when they wanted to give up, but still they persevered, captivated by the music they experienced on their journey.

The couple collected many different kinds of uncommon musical instruments from stores and markets along the way, and brought them back to China. “Music education in China often goes to one of two extremes. One is very, very tough and professional, and people are exhausted from musical grading tests,” said Yuan. She learnt to play the piano when she was young and had to repeatedly practice pieces for hours on end. “And the other extreme is to totally ignore music education, because it’s not a part of the college entrance exam.”

By bringing some novel and simple instruments to China, the couple wants to inspire Chinese people with their belief that music can be an easy and fun part of their lives, rather than being something limited to professional performances in concert halls. “Everyone is born to be a musician,” said Yuan.

When they showcased their collection on the streets back in China, people would wander over and start playing with the unique instruments. It wasn’t long before one group of passersby formed an impromptu orchestra performing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”.

The couple has now opened a musical instruments store online. They named it “Gonsic” which means gone with the music. They put the instruments into three categories: the sounds of inspiration, the sounds of nature, and the sounds of healing. The sounds of inspiration are simple instruments that people can easily learn how to play. The sounds of nature imitate sounds from nature, like flowing rivers or a crack of thunder. And the sounds of healing are instruments often used in musical therapy that help patients to relax and to heal.

Yuan and Xiao enjoyed their time as travelers, and now as shop owners and disseminators of world music and culture. “We are chasing our spiritual goals, and hope to realize our self-worth,” they said.