Liu Dehai, Chinese famous lutanist, is an excellent performer who grew up in the late 1950's. He is called the master of lute, national treasure, and enjoys his well-respected reputation both home and abroad.

Liu was born in Shanghai in 1937, and his ancestral home was in the county of Cang, Hebei province. Liu reveled in folk music since high school, and showed outstanding musical talent. In 1950, when he was 13 years old, he began to learn to perform instruments such as the erhu fiddle and the bamboo flute. He also joined the amateur band of folk music of Shanghai Broadcasting Station.

In 1957, he was enrolled at Central Conservatory of Music and majored in lute performance.

Liu's performance features in pure and beautiful sound, proficient skills, and sophisticated style, which is very impressive for his audience. He not only inherits and comprehends many different traditional styles, but also bring forth new ideas in lute performance.

Liu can perform a wide range of tunes, from ancient to modern songs. In order to popularize the music, he adapted many songs into lute solos, such as the Liuyan River, Please stay, distant guests, the song of guerilla, and the bloom of Malan flower. He also revised some ancient lute tunes, such as the retirement of the conqueror, Chen Sui, and the moon night of Xunyan.

Furthermore, Liu composed a great number of philosophical lute tunes, including "the chapter of life"---the Swan, Old Child, etc; "the chapter of farmland"---the trip to hometown, the Zen of one finger, etc; "the chapter of religion"---Di Shui Kwan-yin, happy arhat, etc. His works of art added creative ideas into composing and made fruitful achievement.

During the period from 1978 to 1981, Liu used to cooperate with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Western Berlin Symphony Orchestra, and the famous cantor, Seiji Ozawa. He performed lute concerto of the sisters of prairie in Beijing, the United States, and Frankfurt, which had written the splendid chapter of the combination of eastern and western music. The music was warmly welcomed by the audiences at home and abroad.

Currently, Liu is a professor at China Conservatory of Music, councilman of the association of Chinese musicians, and the vice dean of council of performance and art. As a respectful musician, he has been to over 30 countries and regions to pay visits, give performances and lectures. Equally important, he has made great contributions to integrate lute into symphony orchestra, and promoted the international cultural exchange of lute.