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"Number One" was a phrase my father - and, for that matter, my mother - repeated time and time again. It was a phrase spoken by my parents' friends and by their friends' children. Whenever adults discussed the great Chinese painters and sculptors from the ancient dynasties, there was always a single artist named as Number One. There was the Number One leader of a manufacturing plant, the Number One worker, the Number One scientist, the Number One car mechanic. In the culture of my. childhood, being best was everything. It was the goal that drove us, the motivation that gave life meaning. And if, by chance or fate or the blessings of the generous universe, you were a child in whom talent was evident, Number One became your mantra. It became mine. I never begged my parents to take off the pressure. I accepted it; I even enjoyed it. It was a game, this contest among aspiring pianists, and although I may have been shy, I was bold, even at age five, when faced with a field of rivals.

Author Information

Lang Lang was born in 1982 in Shenyang, China. He has played with the leading orchestras in all of the major concert halls throughout the world. He is the #1 selling classical artist in the world, and will serve as musical ambassador to China throughout the Olympic year. He is UNICEF's youngest international Goodwill Ambassador.

David Ritz is a bestselling music writer who has cowritten autobiographies with Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, and B.B. King, among others. Contact the publisher with any questions or comments about Journey of a Thousand Miles: spiegelandgraumarketing@randomhouse.com