Wang Kun, a young pihuqin musician and percussionist of the Heyang String Puppetry Troupe in Shaanxi, China, was born in 2001. His love of the arts was inspired by his family since childhood and he began his artistic training with the puppetry troupe in 2013. He learned percussion and singing from Xiao Chengjun, before he picked up pihuqin performance skills from Lei Yijun. In 2016, Wang Kun received the Outstanding Musician Award at the China Puppet Heritage Expo for Young and Mature Artists. In 2023, he received the Gold Award at the 2024 National Youth Folk Instrumental Music Expo, which is part of the Huafa Music series of events.
In recent years, Wang Kun has been involved in many milestone concerts. He was part of the Winds of Strings concert organized in 2020 by the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, China. The concert featured renowned huqin musicians such as Song Fei, Wang Caiyun, and Niu Changhong, with whom Wang Kun shared a stage. In January 2024, he was part of the Opera Music of Qin concert organized by the Shaanxi Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra in collaboration with the Shaanxi Opera Research Institute and Shaanxi Chinese Orchestra. In June 2024, he worked with famed conductor Yan Huichang and Taiwan's National Chinese Orchestra in the Yan's Premium Choice concert held in Taipei, during which Wang Kun premiered a piece titled Strings Maniac written by Yan Huichang to celebrate Heyang marionette arts. Besides traditional arts, Wang Kun is also committed to further develop the pihuqin artistic role across art forms, such as collaborative performances that feature the pihuqin and Chinese instruments, rock and folk music. He has also composed several music pieces such as A String of Deep Love, Remember Heyang, Homeland and The Mortal World. He also made an award-winning short film titled A String of Thoughts featuring the pihuqin.
