Blind Chinese viola player wins place at top British music college

A young blind Chinese man, who was told his only career option was to train as a masseur, is to study the viola at one of the most prestigious music schools in Britain.

Eighteen-year-old Wang Zian from Guangzhou in southern Guangdong province was born blind with detached retinas and began playing an electronic keyboard at the age of four, the news website Thepaper.cn reported.

He will take up his place at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in the autumn.

Wang’s musical education has stretched over years, progressing from a keyboard to the piano and finally the viola. His parents were quoted as saying that getting him interested in music was the best decision they ever made.

Wang’s dedication as a child was such that his fingers bled during some intense piano practise sessions. His teacher would hold his hands, pressing his fingers on the keys again and again to make sure he remembered each note, the report said.

But despite his dedication, a teacher at a blind school he attended aged 10 said he should pursue a career as a masseur, a job traditionally often carried out by blind people in China.

“You should learn more about massage as this is your only way out in the future,” he was told.