A key player

Liu can type 251 letters alphabetically in one minute with his feet. Photos provided to China Daily

Liu Wei wins China's Got Talent TV show with his piano playing on Oct 10, 2010. Photos provided to China Daily

Armless pianist Liu Wei has been up to a lot more than releasing his first EP. Mu Qian reports in Beijing.

Armless pianist Liu Wei amazed the world by playing piano with his toes and winning the top spot on the first China's Got Talent TV show a year and a half ago. And he's leaping back into the fore as a professional musician with his first EP, Wei Suo Yu Wei, released by Sony Music. The title is wordplay on a Chinese idiom that rhymes with the title and translates as "Wei does what he wants". He wrote the lyrics for two of the three tracks - Sign of Dream, which he wrote for the second China's Got Talent, and Time, an interlude from the TV drama My Splendid Life, which stars Liu. Producing one three-track EP in a year and a half seems unproductive compared to most other TV talent show winners who release albums.

"I'm not an entertainer," the 25-year-old says.

"I don't want to put out works that aren't up to my standard."

He wants to not only sing on but also compose and produce his full album, he says. That will take a year or two, he estimates.

Liu has kept up a hectic schedule since he won China's Got Talent.

He toured China and more than 10 other countries, wrote an autobiography, and acted in a film, a TV drama and a number of charity advertisements. He also started his "Embrace Fund" in January.

The fund has taken more than half of his time lately. It supports spiritual construction and education, especially among the poor. Revenues come from enterprises' donations, and the group is registered under the Beijing Foundation for Disabled Persons.

The first project will be organizing a national speech tour of universities for Liu.

Liu explains the fund's name like this: "It was one warm embrace after another that gave me courage and direction in life. I hope to deliver such embraces to everyone in need."

The Beijing native lost both of his arms at age 10, when he touched a high-voltage wire during a game of hide-and-go-seek.

But he refused to give up hope and often says: "At least I have a perfect pair of legs."

In half a year, he learned to use his feet to eat, write and brush his teeth. Liu began to swim at 12, and won two gold medals and one silver at the 2002 National Swimming Championship for the Disabled.

He vowed to win gold at the Beijing Paralympic Games in 2008 but was struck by allergic purpura, and doctors ordered him to give up swimming.

At 19, Liu began the undertaking that seemed most impossible for him - piano.

His most famous quote is: "There are two paths for me - either die as fast as possible or live as brilliant a life as possible. There's no rule that piano can only be played with your hands."

On Aug 8, 2010, Liu debuted on China's Got Talent, playing Richard Clayderman's Mariage d'Amour. He got a standing ovation from both the audience and jury, and went on to win the final on Oct 10.

That year, he also set a Guinness World Records mark for typing the most letters alphabetically in one minute with his feet - 251.

The next year, China Central Television named Liu as one of the "10 people who moved China".

Liu has become a household name but considers himself "an ordinary person who happens to be known by others".

And since becoming a public figure, Liu now faces a life ordinary people don't - one full of media interviews and photo shoots.

He says he neither hates nor loves these activities but simply considers them part of his work.

"I didn't think about the possible results when I entered my name for China's Got Talent," he says.

"I just wished I could find more opportunities to study music after the competition. Now, I'm beginning to do that."

Liu listens to a lot of different music and says he won't limit his works to a certain style. His favorite band is Rhapsody of Fire, an Italian symphonic power metal outfit that "sounds a little crazy" to him.

He also likes sentimental music, although he usually plays uplifting tunes in public.

Liu didn't play piano on his first EP because he doesn't believe he's good enough yet.

"I don't want people to listen to my piano playing just because I play with toes," he says. "I hope to play music that sounds perfect."