The 23-year-old Jazz pianist and composer Dai Liang, known as A Bu,     1     stands out as one of the most promising jazz     2     (artist) in China, joins Generation Z’s Words to give his insights on jazz and to encourage Gen Zers to find out     3     (they) true passions in life.

A Bu, born in 1999, is the only Chinese jazz pianist who has been invited by UNESCO     4     (perform) at the International Jazz Day’s Global All-Star Concert. For that event in 2015 he     5     (share) the stage with many famous international jazz musicians such as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter     6     Marcus Miller. His professional career as a jazz pianist continues to inspire more and more Chinese musicians to take interest     7     jazz.

A Bu     8     (recent) released an album titled “New Memories”, and he talks about the treasured memories of his mentor Nikolai Kapustin, the late Ukraine-born Russian composer and pianist. In Generation Z’s Words he also gives some tips on song writing. “    9     (compose) is very much about how you let your     10     (creative) and your logic work at the same time and same dimension.” he says, “You have to fight with your ambition and your own imagination.”

Every day at 9 am, Zhang Canjin, 58, comes to Drum Tower Street in Ningbo and walks into a small house     1     less than 10 square meters. Settling himself     2     (comfortable) in his usual chair, the inheritor of copper coin knitting starts his day.

In ancient times, copper coins     3     (represent) fortune and wealth. Linking copper coins one by one had the positive meaning of accumulating wealth. In 2018, copper coin knitting was listed as     4     intangible cultural heritage.

Zhang learned the skill from his dad     5     young. There weren’t that many ideas back then, just traditional ones like Chinese knots and swords. But this didn’t satisfy Zhang as he gradually mastered the skill. “Knitting the coins into different shapes doesn’t sound difficult, but the essence is     6     (think) big and be creative.” Zhang said.

Since starting his copper coin knitting store in 2014, Zhang     7     (spare) no effort in thinking big. To attract public attention and better promote the skill, Zhang spent two months crafting armor (铠甲) using over 8,000 coins,    8     (tailor) to his own body proportions, in2017. He then applied for a national patent following the work’s     9     (complete).

This success gave him more confidence to continue with his work. Even now, Zhang uses his we alth of creative ideas to make more copper coin products and shares the skill with a    10     (wide) audience.