Dongye, which means the Eastern Ye, was a Korean chiefdom which occupied portions of the northeastern Korean peninsula from roughly 3rd-century BCE to around early 5th-century. It bordered Goguryeo and Okjeo to the north, Jinhan to the south, and China's Lelang Commandery to the west. Today, this territory consists of the provinces of South Hamgyŏng and Kangwon in North Korea, and Gangwon in South Korea.

History[link]

Proto–Three Kingdoms, c. 001 AD.

History of Korea
This article is part of a series
Prehistory
Jeulmun period
Mumun period
Gojoseon ?–108 BC
Wiman Joseon 194 BC–108 BC
Proto–Three Kingdoms 300–57 BC
Buyeo, Goguryeo, Okjeo, Dongye
Jin state, Samhan (Ma, Byeon, Jin)
Four Commanderies of Han
Three Kingdoms 57 BC–668
Goguryeo 37 BC–668
Baekje 18 BC–660
Silla 57 BC–935
Gaya 42–562
North and South States 698–926
Unified Silla 668–935
Balhae 698–926
Later Three Kingdoms 892–936
Taebong, Hubaekje, Silla
Goryeo 918–1392
Joseon 1392–1897
Korean Empire 1897–1910
Colonial Korea 1910–1945
Provisional Gov't 1919–1948
Division of Korea 1945–present
North Korea 1948–present
South Korea 1948–present
By topic
Timeline
List of monarchs
Linguistic history
Science and technology history
Art history
Military history
Naval history
Korea Portal v t e

Dongye appears in history as a vassal state of Goguryeo. In early 5th-century, however, King Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo annexed Dongye, leading to Goguryeo's domination of the entire northern portion of the Korean peninsula and most of Manchuria. A small part of Dongye in the south was absorbed into Silla.

People and culture[link]

Dongye considered itself the same people as Goguryeo, and shared the language and ethnic origins of the people of Okjeo and Goguryeo. This may indicate that Dongye also shared a common origin with Buyeo and Gojoseon. The population was recorded to be 20,000 families.

Very little information about Dongye has survived; most of the extant information comes from the discussion of the Eastern barbarians in the Chinese Records of Three Kingdoms. The custom of "Mucheon" (무천, 舞天), a festival of worshipping heaven through song and dance in the 10th month, is mentioned in some records. This appears to have been closely related to the Goguryeo festival of Dongmaeng, held at the same time of year, which also incorporated martial displays. The people worshiped the tiger as a deity.

The economy of Dongye was based primarily on agriculture, including sericulture and hemp cultivation.^[1] The Mucheon festival was largely aimed at securing a good harvest in the coming year. Their agriculture appears to have been well-organized at the village level. Dongye law meted out stiff penalties for those who encroached on communal land.

Notes[link]

See also[link]

• List of Korea-related topics
• Three Kingdoms of Korea
• History of Korea
• Yemaek

Tian Bu (田布) (785 – February 6, 822^[1]), courtesy name Dunli (敦禮), was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was the son of the general Tian Hongzheng, and after Tian Hongzheng's death at the hands of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei) mutineers was put in command of Tian Hongzheng's old command Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei) to try to avenge Tian Hongzheng. With his own soldiers close to mutiny themselves during the campaign, however, Tian Bu committed suicide.

Background[link]

Tian Bu was born in 785, during the reign of Emperor Dezong. He was the third son of the Weibo Circuit officer Tian Xing, although it is not known whether he was older or younger than his two brothers who were known to history, Tian Qun (田群) and Tian Mou (田牟). When he was young, his father Tian Xing served as the defender of Linqing (臨清, in modern Xingtai, Hebei) under then-military governor (Jiedushi) of Weibo, Tian Ji'an, who was ruling Weibo in a de facto independent manner from the imperial government. It was said that despite Tian Bu's youth, he was able to see that Tian Ji'an's position was not secure and counseled his father to eventually declare loyalty to the imperial government.^[2]

Service under Tian Hongzheng[link]

In 812, after Tian Ji'an died, his young son Tian Huaijian initially became nominal ruler of Weibo, without imperial sanction, but soon, the soldiers mutinied and supported Tian Xing as their leader.^[3] Tian Xing subsequently submitted to imperial orders and was made the military governor of Weibo and was subsequently renamed Tian Hongzheng by then-ruling Emperor Xianzong.^[4] Tian Bu served under his father and commanded the elite troops of Weibo.^[2]

In 815, when imperial troops were in the middle of a campaign against the warlord Wu Yuanji, who controlled Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern Zhumadian, Henan), Tian Hongzheng sent Tian Xing to aid the campaign, commanding 3,000 soldiers.^[4] It was said that Tian Bu contributed to victories in 18 battles.^[2] In particular, in 817, when the chancellor Pei Du was at the front to oversee the operation, there was an occasion when Pei was reviewing the building of a fort at Tuokou (沱口, in modern Luohe, Henan), when the Zhangyi officer Dong Chongzhi (董重質) made a surprise attack on Pei's location, nearly reaching Pei. It was due to the efforts of Tian Bu and Li Guangyan that Pei was able to flee, and it was said that, after Tian cut off the Zhangyi soldiers' escape route, the Zhangyi soldiers fell into a ditch and suffered more than 1,000 casualties as a result.^[5] After the Zhangyi campaign ended in victory later in the year, Tian Bu was made a general of the imperial guards. In 818, when his mother died, he left governmental service to observe a mourning period for her, but was soon recalled to again serve as general of the imperial guards.^[2]

[edit] As Jiedushi

In 820, Wang Chengzong the military governor of Chengde Circuit, who had previously ruled Chengde in a de facto independent manner but who had offered to submit to imperial orders after Wu Yuanji's defeat, died. The soldiers supported his brother Wang Chengyuan to succeed him, but Wang Chengyuan, not wanting to continue to hold Chengde, declined. In response, then-ruling Emperor Muzong (Emperor Xianzong's son) made a series of military governor transfers for the circuits in the region — transferring Tian Hongzheng from Weibo to Chengde, Wang Chengyuan to Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern Anyang, Henan), Li Su from Wuning Circuit (武寧, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) to Weibo, and Liu Wu from Yicheng to Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Shanxi). He also made Tian Bu the military governor of Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Luoyang, Henan).^[6] He thus served as military governor at the same time as his father Tian Hongzheng. At that time, the general Han Hong and his son Han Gongwu (韓公武) were also both serving as military governors, but it was said that popular opinion at the time held the Tians in greater esteem than the Hans. In spring 821, Tian Bu was transferred to Jingyuan Circuit (涇原, headquartered in modern Pingliang, Gansu).^[2]

However, Emperor Muzong's transfers backfired, to Tian Hongzheng's detriment, as the Chengde soldiers resented him for the previous warfare between Weibo and Chengde. In fall 821, Chengde soldiers led by Wang Tingcou mutinied and killed Tian Hongzheng and his staff members. Li Su, as Tian Hongzheng's successor, mourned Tian Hongzheng and planned to lead the Weibo soldiers in a campaign to avenge Tian Hongzheng, but fell ill and could not do so. Emperor Muzong thus recalled Tian Bu, who was then observing a mourning period for Tian Hongzheng, to serve as the military governor of Weibo. Tian Bu declined several times, but the imperial government insisted. Tian Bu bid farewell to his wife, children, and household guests, stating, "I will not come back!" He reported to Weibo without the customary fanfare with banners and guards, and while he was still some 30 li (roughly 15 kilometers) away from Weibo's capital Wei Prefecture (魏州), he changed into mourning clothes and entered the city in tears. He sold ancestral properties and distributed the proceeds to the soldiers, while turning down his own salary. He also respected the senior officers as if they were his older brothers.^[7]

In winter 821, Tian Bu launched his 30,000 troops to attack Wang, capturing two Chengde outposts just south of Nangong (南宮, in modern Xingtai). However, as recounted in a petition from Bai Juyi to Emperor Muzong at the time, he then became bogged down because his soldiers, who had been accustomed to rich rewards from the imperial government, lost their motivation. Meanwhile, as there were heavy snowstorms at the time, the supplies to be shipped by the imperial government's director of finances were not arriving, and Tian ordered that revenues be diverted from the six Weibo prefectures for military use — causing the officers to resent him for stripping the six prefectures of their wealth. The ambitious officer Shi Xiancheng thus used this opportunity to foster dissent in the Weibo ranks. In spring 822, when there was an imperial order for some Weibo soldiers to report to the camp of Li Guangyan the military governor of Zhongwu Circuit (忠武, headquartered in modern Xuchang, Henan) to attack Chengde from the east, the Weibo soldiers largely deserted Tian and fled to Shi's camp. Tian was only able to maintain control over 8,000 soldiers and was forced to return to Wei Prefecture.^[7]

Once Tian returned to Wei Prefecture, he again discussed with his senior officers about launching another campaign against Chengde. The officers refused to follow his orders and stated that they would only follow him if he agreed to reassert independence from the imperial government. He saw the hopelessness of the situation he was in, and he wrote a final petition to Emperor Muzong and entrusting it to his staff member Li Shi (who would eventually be chancellor), stating:^[7]

I, your subject, see that my people's desire are to turn against the grace of the state. Since your subject did not achieve anything, how can I forget my responsibility to die? I lie prostrate and beg Your Imperial Majesty to do everything possible to rescue Li Guangyan and Niu Yuanyi [(牛元翼, a Chengde officer who had refused to follow Wang and whom Wang was sieging)]. Otherwise, the righteous and the faithful subjects will soon be all slaughtered by the Heshuo [(河朔, i.e., the region north of the Yellow River)] rebels.

Tian then drew his sword and pierced his heart with it. After Shi heard of this news, he returned to Wei Prefecture with the troops, and they supported him to succeed Tian. Emperor Muzong mourned Tian and gave him posthumous honors but allowed Shi to take over Weibo. He also gave Tian Bu the posthumous name of Xiao (孝, "filial"). Later, during the reign of Emperor Muzong's brother Emperor Xuānzong, Tian Bu's son Tian Hui (田鐬), then serving as a prefectural prefect, was accused of corruption and sentenced to death, but the chancellor Cui Xuan pointed out Tian Bu's death for the state and begged for forgiveness for Tian Hui, and so Tian Hui was only demoted.^[8]

Notes and references[link]

1. ^ http://dbo.sinica.edu.tw/ftms-bin/kiwi1/luso.sh?lstype=2&dyna=%AD%F0&king=%BFp%A9v&reign=%AA%F8%BCy&yy=2&ycanzi=&mm=1&dd=&dcanzi=%AC%D1%A5f
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Book of Tang, vol. 141.
3. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 238.
4. ^ ^{a b} Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 239.
5. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 240.
6. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 241.
7. ^ ^{a b c} Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 242.
8. ^ New Book of Tang, vol. 148.

• Book of Tang, vol. 141.
• New Book of Tang, vol. 148.
• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 239, 240, 241, 242.

Na Ying
Chinese name	那英
Pinyin	Nā Yīng (Mandarin)
Ancestry	Manchu & Hui
Origin	People's Republic of China
Born	(1967-11-27) November 27, 1967 (age 44) Shenyang, Liaoning, China
Other name(s)	Natasha Na
Occupation	Singer
Genre(s)	Mandopop
Years active	1988[1]–present
Spouse(s)	Gao Feng (2004-2005) Meng Tong (2006-)
Children	2
Influences	Julie Sue
Awards Golden Melody Awards Best Female Mandarin Artist 2001 Romantic Bitterness MTV Asia Awards Favorite Artist, Mainland China 2002

Na Ying (Chinese: 那英; pinyin: Nā Yīng, less frequently referred to as Natasha Na, born November 27, 1967) is a Chinese vocalist. She is considered as one of the best present-day female singers in Mainland China, having sold more than 10 million albums. She is also noted for her buoyant and forthright personality.^[1]

Biography[link]

She was born in Shenyang, Liaoning. She is an ethnic Manchu, said to be of the Yehe Nara clan. Na won several national singing contests in the 1980s, and in 1988 began her recording career in Taiwan and Hong Kong.^[1] She released her first album in 1994 called "Dreaming with you". After that she published more successful albums, turning into one of the most loved mandopop artists of Mainland China.

At the 1998 Spring Festival Gala show hosted by CCTV, Na Ying sang a duet "Meet in '98" (相約一九九八) with her friend Faye Wong. Wong had already achieved fame in Hong Kong and elsewhere, but the performance with Na brought her to superstar status in China itself.^[2]

Na Ying had a relationship with Chinese footballer Gao Feng and had a son, but the two broke up in 2005.^[3] She married Meng Tong in 2006.

Although she devoted time to her family and children from 2002 to 2009, she never quit the stage,^[1] and had a prominent role at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.^[4]

At the close of 2009 she performed the concert "20 Years of Na", a retrospective of her stage career, at the Capital Gymnasium. Although her 2009 single "The Journey of Love" topped the charts wherever it was released, her early song "Follow Your Instinct" remains her favourite.^[1]

Finally, after almost nine years of hiatus, the diva returned to the music scene in 2011, releasing a new album called "So...What?". This return album had a more than successful reception, reaching the nº1 position in both mainland China and Taiwan. In fact, this is the first mainland album which topped the G Music chart, the taiwanese official music chart.

Discography[link]

• 1994: Wèi nǐ zhāo sī mù xiǎng (Dreaming with you)
• 1995: Báitiān bù dǒng yè de hē (The day doesn't know the night)
• 1998: Zhēngfú (Conquering)
• 1999: Gāncuì (Totally)
• 2000: Xīnsuān de làngmàn (Sad and romantic)
• 2001: Wǒ bùshì tiānshǐ (I'm not an angel)
• 2002: Rújīn… (Nowadays)
• 2011: Nà yòu zěnyàng… (Now...¿What?)

Related artists/bands[link]

• Cui Jian
• Dou Wei
• Tang Dynasty (band)

References[link]

This article on a Chinese singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Stefanie Sun
Rehearsal at Kenting Peninsula Music Carnival, Taiwan (2010)
Chinese name	孫燕姿 (Traditional)
Chinese name	孙燕姿 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Sūn Yànzī (Mandarin)
Birth name	Sng Ee Tze
Ancestry	South China
Origin	Singapore
Born	(1978-07-23) 23 July 1978 (age 33) Singapore
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Genre(s)	Mandopop
Label(s)	Wonderful Music (2011–present) Capitol Music (2006–2008) Warner Music Taiwan (2000–2006)
Years active	2000–present
Associated acts	see Collaborations
Spouse(s)	Nadim Van Der Ros (m. 2011) «start: (2011-03-31)»"Marriage: Nadim Van Der Ros to Stefanie Sun" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Stefanie_Sun)
Official Website	Stefanie Sun's blog
Awards Golden Melody Awards Best Mandarin Female Singer 2005 Stefanie Best Newcomer 2001 Yan Zi MTV Asia Awards Favorite Artist, Singapore 2002-2005, 2008

Stefanie Sun (traditional Chinese: 孫燕姿; simplified Chinese: 孙燕姿; pinyin: Sūn Yan Zī), born Sng Ee Tze on 23 July 1978, and known to fans as 13姐 ("13th sister"), is a Singaporean singer-songwriter. She has sold over 30 million copies of her albums during the span of her career thus far.^[1] She does the majority of her recording and conducts most of her publicity events in Taiwan, which comprises her largest audience. She also visits mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore frequently for promotional rounds.

Biography[link]

Stefanie Sun has an older sister three years her senior Sng Yee-kia (simplified Chinese: 孙燕佳; traditional Chinese: 孫燕佳; pinyin: Sūn Yànjiā), and a younger sister six years her junior named Sng Ee-mei (simplified Chinese: 孙燕美; traditional Chinese: 孫燕美; pinyin: Sūn Yànměi).

Sun was educated at Nanyang Primary School, St. Margaret's Secondary School, Raffles Girls' School and went on to attend Saint Andrew's Junior College. She later attended Nanyang Technological University, where she obtained a degree in Marketing. Her voice talent was discovered by her music teacher Lee Wei Song.

In the Mandarin-speaking world, Sun is more popularly known by her Mandarin name, Sun Yan Zi or Sun Yanzi. Sun has sold over 10 million copies in Asia. With eleven albums to her name, she is arguably the most successful singer from Singapore, second to Kit Chan.^[1] Stefanie Sun is also known to be good friends with fellow Pop Princess of Taiwan, Jolin Tsai. They are often performing guests at each other's concerts.

On 8 May 2011, Stefanie Sun married Nadim Van Der Ros, 34, a Dutch-Indonesian and senior executive at Aviva. They had met through a mutual friend and dated for five years, but their relationship was revealed only when she was spotted supporting him at Aviva Singapore's Ironman Triathlon in 2009. They had earlier secretly registered their marriage on 31 March 2011.^[2][3][4]

Languages[link]

Most of her songs are sung in Mandarin Chinese, with a few in English. Sun's ability to speak various dialects is reflected in the songs she sings. io['uj In the song "Cloudy Day" (天黑黑), she sings in both Mandarin and Hokkien. It is an adaptation of a traditional Hokkien folk song that included the first six words in the original Hokkien- Thiⁿ-bo͘ho͘h, beh bo̍hō͘ - in the chorus.^[5]

The album Start contains 6 songs in English: covers of "Venus", "That I Will Be Good", "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough", "Silent All These Years", and "Hey Jude"; and the original song "Someone".

Music career[link]

2000–2002[link]

Her first album was released in June 2000, the self-titled Yan Zi (孙燕姿), published by Warner Music. "Yan Zi" album sold over 560 000 copies alone in Taiwan, and 3.8 million copies in Asia. This was a major success for Sun and the record company as a newcomer. This was followed in December of the same year as My Desired Happiness (我要的幸福), which sold over 800 000 copies in Taiwan alone, and 4 million copies in Asia.

Her third album was released in Early 2001, titled "Kite" (風筝). This album had sold successfully with 900 000 copies in Taiwan; also over 4.1 million copies in Asia.^[6]

January 2002 saw the release of Start (自選集), a collection of songs, many of which are cover versions. "Start" sold over 500 000 copies in Taiwan alone, and it also reached high commercial success in Asia with 3.5 million copies sold.

In 2002 and 2003 Sun sang the official theme songs for Singapore's National Day Parade: "We Will Get There" (一起走到) and "One United People" (全心全意). The former was included on the album Leave. Leave sold over 400 000 copies in Taiwan and 3.3 million copies in Asia.

2003–2006[link]

In early 2003, she released her sixth album titled, "To Be Continued..." which was also met with commercial success. It managed to sell over 300 000 copies in Taiwan and over 2.8 million copies in Asia. Few months later, she released her seventh album, her first compilation album, with six new songs and fifteen of her old songs; the album sold over 900 000 copies in Taiwan alone, and 4.3 million copies in Asia. By the end of 2003, Stefanie Sun had sold almost 26 million copies in Asia with just seven albums.

In late 2003, she decided to take a one-year hiatus from making music, believing that she needs to recover her lost sense of direction in her career. She returned in late 2004 with a new album titled Stefanie, intended to be a mirror of her debut album (self-titled as well, but in Chinese). This was to symbolise her return with a fresh attitude. This album was well received by the critics in the Chinese music industry. This album sold over 4 million copies in Asia; making it one of the most successful album from her.^{[citation needed]}

She also started her own artiste management company, Make Music, during this sabbatical.^[7]

A Perfect Day was released on 2005, almost one year later. Reviews of this new album have been mixed, but Sun had mentioned before that her priority is to make quality music, instead of over-commercialized products that sell well but have a lower level of artistic quality. Though this album did not reach the best commercial success, it had still managed to sell over 300 000 copies in Taiwan and 2.8 million copies in Asia.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, Sun was in the midst of a regional concert tour. She has staged four full-house concerts at the renowned Hong Kong Coliseum. The performances have received positive reviews from the media as well as overwhelming support from fans. Sun also returned to Singapore in a much-anticipated homecoming concert. Yet, not all is smooth-sailing for her. At the Golden Melody Award 2006 in Taiwan, whilst performing renditions of other male singers' songs, she went off-key and was heavily lambasted in the Chinese pop media, which reported that she has shattered her image of a pop diva with great singing skills. She attributed it to factors like not enough rest due to the incident at the airport and inadequate time for sufficient practice with a concert in Mainland China on the day right before the ceremony etc.^{[citation needed]} She re-did the songs again at her concert at Taipei one month later to show her true skills and received very positive reviews for the rendition and the concert itself as well.

2007–2010[link]

Sun's first album under the Capitol brand is entitled Against The Light (逆光) and has been released on 22 March 2007. Her decision to leave Warner after 9 albums was partly due to music executive Sam Chen, who now works at EMI. He had collaborated with Sun on 8 of her 9 albums.

On 26 February 2007, Stefanie Sun returned from Cairo where she and her team were extorted by suspected local gangsters. Sun was in Egypt to shoot a music video for her new album. Two men disguised as government officials followed her and the crew and asked for money—at one point even showing a handgun. The crew tried calling the police, only for the two crooks to dismiss them with just a few words. The crew had to hand over a total of over 200,000 yuan in order to continue shooting. The extortion went on for four days. Finally, Sun and her team were able to leave the country with the help of the Singapore embassy. Upon returning home, the pop diva said nothing except that she was tired and needed some rest.^[8][9]

Stefanie Sun's 10th album, Against The Light, has been a major success in Asia. In Taiwan, it sold over 60,000 copies in the first 3 days it was released. In addition, over 500,000 copies were sold within a week in Mainland China.

In 2007, Stefanie Sun sang the official theme song for ASEAN's 40th anniversary celebrations: Rise Again.^[10]

In May 2009, Stefanie Sun starts her new world tour "The Answer is..." with her first stop being Taiwan. In this world tour, she works with William Chang, her concert image consultant. She also sang her new song "愚人的國度". Stefanie Sun has no artist management deal currently.

In November 2009, Stefanie Sun sings the theme song "木蘭情" for the featured film version of Mulan.

In May 2010, Stefanie Sun released the single "Every Touching Moment" for Shanghai Expo 2010 with Tanya Chua, JJ Lin and A-do.

2011–present[link]

On March 8, 2011, Stefanie Sun launched her comeback with a new album, named "It's Time" (是时候). It had been four years since her last album.^[11] HMV and CD Rama in various locations in Singapore have reportedly sold out her first batch of CDs. However it had been reported that HMV charged an extra $5 for the CDs. Despite the hike in price it still remains top on the chart for 3 consecutive weeks since the release of the album.

Collaborations[link]

Sun collaborated with Japanese singer Mai Kuraki on the last track of Sun's album To Be Continued..., "My Story, Your Song". They collaborated again on Mai Kuraki's If I Believe album, released in July 2003, with the song, "Tonight, I Feel Close To You".

Sun also sang with fellow Singaporean singer, Tanya Chua, the song "Original Point (simplified Chinese: 原点; traditional Chinese: 原點; pinyin: yuándiǎn)" in Tanya's album, "Amphibian".

In the song "First Day", from the album A Perfect Day, she sings with the popular Taiwanese musicians MayDay (Chinese: 五月天; pinyin: Wǔyuè tiān) and F.I.R., forming a one time band called First Day (same as the title of the song they sing), with FIR coming from F.I.R., ST coming from the first two letters in Sun Yan Zi's English name Stefanie and Day coming from MayDay. Sun had previously worked with MayDay on a song from their album "Time Machine".

She collaborated with singers Wang Leehom, Jane Zhang, and Wang Feng to record the theme song of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games: Light the Passion, Share the Dream (simplified Chinese: 点燃激情，传递梦想; traditional Chinese: 點燃激情，傳遞夢想; pinyin: diǎnrán jīqíng，chuándì mèngxiǎng).

Discography[link]

Studio[link]

Cover album[link]

Live album[link]

Compilation album[link]

Awards and accolades[link]

Sun is regarded as one of the most accomplished local artists in her native homeland, Singapore, partly linked with her central role in two National Day theme songs.

She has won over 33 awards and other accolades for her music in the course of her career in Singapore, Taiwan, mainland China and Hong Kong.

Music related[link]

Non music related[link]

• NTU outstanding young alumni award in 2005.^[13]
• Her World Young Woman Achiever Award in 2001.^[14]
• Singapore Youth Award (Arts and Culture) in 2007 for her outstanding achievements in the music scene, and her contributions to the local and international community.^[15]
• Business China Young Achiever Award in 2011 for her recognised bilingual and bicultural role model for the young.^[16][17]

Movie[link]

She has just recently taken an offer to guest star in the movie "12 Lotus" (12莲花). She will be acting as Guan Yin, who sings hokkien songs and reads a poem in Hokkien as well.

In November 2009, Sun participated in the film Mu Lan by singing the theme song for the movie.

In 2007 her song Green Light was heard several times in the movie "Two Tigers".

Vocal teacher[link]

Stefanie's vocal teacher, Nicole Lai passed away on 6 September 2008. Both are also very good friends. Stefanie gave her a nickname Niguolai (你过来) that sounds like Nicole Lai. One of Nicole's wishes in life is to have a CD album of her own. After her death, Stefanie sponsored Nicole's CD album with the Mandarin song 'Freedom' that was both written and sung by Nicole Lai. Singapore's leading English newspaper publication Straits Times on 26 September 2008 reported news of Stefanie's sponsorship of Nicole's CD album.^[18][19]

World AIDS Day 2008 Concert[link]

Stefanie Sun performed in the Love Amplified Concert, a concert held in Singapore to commemorate World AIDS Day 2008. The concert was held at Fort Canning Park, Singapore on 29 November 2008.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stefanie Sun

• 百度孙燕姿吧 (Chinese)
• 孙燕姿 Pixnet blog
• Official EMI site
• Stefanie Sun's Songs
• 孫燕姿全球互動網 (Chinese)
• Stefanie Sun Yanzi Fans league(P.R.C) 燕窝-孙燕姿全国歌迷联盟 (Chinese)
• Stefanie Fans Club China SunyanziCC.Net: 姿迷城市 (Chinese)

Yàn Zī
晏紫

Country	China
Residence	Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Born	(1984-11-12) November 12, 1984 (age 27) Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	55 kg (120 lb; 8.7 st)
Turned pro	February 2003
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed both sides)
Career prize money	US $1,955,565
Singles
Career record	199 - 160
Career titles	1 WTA, 0 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 40 (5 May 2008)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	2R (2006)
French Open	1R (2006, 2008)
Wimbledon	1R (2006, 2007, 2008)
US Open	1R (2006, 2007, 2008)
Doubles
Career record	372 - 172
Career titles	17 WTA, 16 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 4 (10 July 2006)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (2006)
French Open	SF (2006)
Wimbledon	W (2006)
US Open	QF (2005, 2006, 2008)
Last updated on: August 10, 2009.

Yan Zi (Chinese: 晏紫; pinyin: Yàn Zī; born November 12, 1984 in Chengdu, Sichuan), is a Chinese professional tennis player.

Career summary[link]

In 2005, at the age of 20, Yan Zi won her first and only WTA Tour singles title at the Guangzhou Tier III tournament.^[1] The tournament did not have any major players.

In singles, she first reached the World Top 100 in January 2006, achieving a then career-high of World No. 72 that March before failing to defend her breakthrough run of results the previous year and dropping back outside the Top 100 that October. Her ranking had slumped to 262 by February 2007 after a year of disappointing results, but her results then picked up again over the rest of 2007; and she regained the top 100 for the first time in ten months after a spectacular run at Canada's Tier I Rogers Cup in August, reaching the semifinals before finally being heavily defeated by World No. 1 Justine Henin 3–6, 0–6.^[2]

In doubles, Yan Zi's highest ranking to date is number 4 and she has won two grand slam titles partnering with Zheng Jie. While she has been good at doubles, her singles performance has been inconsistent as her form fluctuates. She has winning records against top 10 stars Jelena Janković 2–0, Ana Ivanović 1–0, and Marion Bartoli 1–0.

Singles career in detail[link]

2002–2003[link]

Until January 2002, Yan met with mixed results as a singles player in the lower reaches of the ITF tournament hierarchy. But that month, she reached the final of a $10,000 ITF event at Hull, losing to Liu Nan-Nan. In May, she avenged this defeat with a win over Liu in the first round of a $50,000 tournament at Fukuoka; and again in August she defeated Liu, this time in the quarter-final of a $25,000 tournament at Beijing, only to lose to Rika Fujiwara in the semifinal. In September, she qualified for the WTA Tour contest at Shanghai, only to lose in the first round. But she had reached numerous ITF quarter-finals during the year, and finished it ranked for the first time inside the world Top 300, at #299.

In February 2003, she narrowly failed to qualify at Hyderabad, losing to Maria Kirilenko in a tight three-set match in the final round of qualifying. She put in her career-best performance to date at Fukuoka, reaching the semi-final with wins over Rika Fujiwara and countrywoman Sun Tiantian, before losing to Japanese star Saori Obata despite winning more games, the scoreline standing at 6–2, 6–7, 5–7. In July, she qualified for a WTA event at Palermo by defeating Zheng Jie and Ivana Abramović, then fell in the main draw first round to Italian rising star Francesca Schiavone in another three-setter in which she won more games than her victorious opponent, the scoreline this time being 6–0, 4–6, 3–6. These defeats suggest that she quickly runs out of steam after giving it all in the first set, thereby allowing her opponent to regroup and eventually pocket the contest. The same week, she defeated countrywoman Sun Tiantian to qualify for a $50,000 tournament at Modena, and in the main draw ousted Yulia Beygelzimer and Adriana Serra Zanetti en route to a quarter-final loss. In September, she qualified for another WTA event, the Japan Open, and defeated Ashley Harkleroad in Round Two before losing, on this occasion, to Zheng Jie in the quarter-finals. In December, she reached the semi-final of a $50,000 tournament for the second time in the year, beating Tzipora Obziler in the quarter-final at Changsha before losing to another of her prominent countrywomen, Peng Shuai. The following week, she narrowly lost in the quarterfinal of the $50,000 contest at Shenzhen to future star Sesil Karatantcheva of Bulgaria, 6–3, 1–6, 4–6. The year had brought great improvement to Yan's singles results, and her year-end ranking correspondingly improved to 179.

2004[link]

Unfortunately, 2004 set back the Chinese player's progress slightly, but it was the calm before the storm. The year began poorly for her with a string of early losses, although she was ambitiously targeting only WTA events now, raising the bar on the required standard for successful competition. She failed to win a first-round main draw match the entire year, meeting only with moderate success in qualifying rounds; and ultimately the only relief she could find towards salvaging her world ranking was a retreat to ITF events late in the year. She reached the semi-final of a $25,000 tournament at Beijing in September (losing again to Zheng Jie), and the same stage at Shenzhen 2 (where she shocked by Li Na in the quarter-finals, then lost yet again to Zheng). This late flourish of results was enough to limp her home to a year-end ranking of 248.

2005[link]

In January, 2005, Yan battled her way past three high-quality opponents, Julia Schruff, Shikha Uberoi and Melinda Czink, to qualify for Tennis Gold Coast, an important WTA event, where she was removed by Tatiana Golovin of France. Then in May, she managed to beat Uberoi again after qualifying for Rabat with a win over Tiantian Sun, only to lose to Arantxa Parra Santonja in the second round. Then in June, she surpassed her previous career-best result, reaching the final of a $50,000 tournament at Beijing with wins over Sun and Zheng, but lost in the final to less-feted countrywoman Li Ting. The following month, as a direct entrant to the WTA event at Modena, she defeated the much higher-ranked Marta Domachowska of Poland before losing a close three-setter to Sanda Mamić. In September, she avenged her defeat by Li Ting to qualify for Bali, only to succumb to Ting's former doubles partner Li Na in Round Two of the main draw.

On September 26, she began competing in the WTA event at Guangzhou, this year up-rated to Tier III status, and shocked herself by proceeding to win the entire tournament, having previously failed to win even one ITF singles title, and having only once reached the quarter-final stage at any WTA Tour event. To achieve this astonishing outcome, she had to produce some of her best tennis to conquer defending champion Li Na in the quarter-final, which she finally won 6–7, 7–5, 7–6 after an intense battle. The other matches against worthy opposition looked easy by comparison, as she crushed Marta Domachowska for the loss of just three games in Round Two, fought past impressive emerging teen star Victoria Azarenka 6–4, 6–3 in the semi-final, and was up 6–4, 4–0 against Nuria Llagostera Vives in the final when the Spaniard conceded victory.^[1]

A semi-final result in November's $50,000 Shenzhen tournament capped off what had proved to be a superlative year for Yan, leaving her world-ranked 104, within the direct-entry threshold of Grand Slam events and minor WTA tournaments, and within the qualifying-entry threshold of even the more exclusive WTA fixtures.

2006[link]

Yan during the first round of the 2006 Australian Open.

She began 2006 by narrowly failing to qualify for Tennis Gold Coast, despite wins over Vania King and Shikha Uberoi, as the capable American Angela Haynes defeated her in three sets. But she succeeded in qualifying for Sydney with stunning straight-sets victories over Eva Birnerová, Denisa Chládková and Anastasia Yakimova, and beat the high-ranked Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6–3, 6–3 in the main draw first round before losing a three-set match to Francesca Schiavone, who had to struggle through a nail-bitingly close second-set tiebreak to avoid a straight sets loss to Yan, only to win the final set by a more comfortable margin.

As if these scores were not enough to prove her capability to the wider world, at the Australian Open she knocked out former No. 15 and the previous year's semi-finalist, Nathalie Dechy of France, in the first round, she then defeated unseeded Aleksandra Wozniak 6–3, 6–4, before suffering to former No. 19 Sybille Bammer. February brought more disappointing results in singles for Yan, as she lost a three-setter to Emma Laine of Finland at Pattaya, and failed to qualify for Doha and Dubai. But still, her January results and some points picked up in qualifying rounds in February had improved her world ranking to a career-best 66, just one place behind Li Na.