They say that good wine needs no bush, but a TV show means that people now know Li Jian is a fine wine indeed.

俗话说：酒香不怕巷子深。但是，登上电视银幕之后，现在李健成了人人都知道的一坛“好酒”。

On the reality show I Am a Singer 3, the 40-year-old singer-songwriter has been praised for his singing ability and, unexpectedly, for his sense of humor. On stage, Li sings quiet songs slowly and “rescues the program”, commented Cheng Zhenwei on People’s Daily Online.

在真人秀节目《我是歌手》第三季的舞台上，这位40岁的创作型歌手因其精湛的唱功而备受好评。意想不到的是，受到称赞的还有他的幽默感。在舞台上，李健轻吟浅唱，人民网转载 的一篇文章中作者陈振伟更是写道：李健“拯救”了《我是歌手》。

Harbin-born Li has a clear and smooth voice, which he inherited from his Peking Opera singer father. And his shy nature and poetic¹ lyrics² have also given him the nickname “Poetic Musician”.

李健出生于哈尔滨，从京剧演员父亲那里继承了一副干净、悦耳的嗓音。他腼腆的性格、充满诗意的歌词，则让他拥有了“音乐诗人 ”的雅号。

“In my younger days, music was like therapy,” he told China Daily.

在接受《中国日报》的采访时，他说，“年轻的时候，音乐之于我就像心理治疗。”

Music was also the bridge that got him into Tsinghua University. A self-taught guitarist, Li won a number of singing competitions. He was admitted thanks to Tsinghua’s plan to recruit students with musical talent.

音乐也是他进入清华大学的桥梁。作为一名自学成才的吉他手，李健曾在诸多歌唱比赛中获奖。如他所言，正是清华大学对音乐特长生的加分才让他有缘名校。（译者注 ：1993年，上高三的李健为了高考加分，参加了清华大学面向全国文艺爱好者举办的冬令营，在活动中他以一首《说句心里话》获得了全国第一名，为高考加了50分，最终被保送进入清华大学电子工程系。）

In the 1990s, so-called “campus ballads³” were popular in China. Shuimu Nianhua, a group that Li formed with another Tsinghua student called Lu Gengxu, was one of the best groups of the type.

90年代，正是“校园乐队”在中国如火如荼之时。李健和另一名清华学生卢庚戌组成的水木年华乐队正是其中最经典的一支。

But the pair went their separate ways in 2002. Li was tired of doing commercial performances. Also, he didn’t agree with their decision to change their style from folk to rock.

2002年，疲于商演的李健离开水木年华，选择单飞。但他依然坚持自己的通俗的曲风，不愿染指摇滚。

Afterward⁴, Li released several albums on his own. They were all in his own musical style: “soft and warm, down-to-earth and intimate”, commented China Radio International.

此后，李健又发布了几张个人专辑。如中国国际广播电台所评价，（这些专辑）全部坚持了他“温柔、接地气、有亲和力”的曲风。

Unlike some other musicians who release their songs quickly, Li took his time to write heartfelt music.

不同于一些出歌很快的音乐人，李健总是会花很久去创作感人肺腑的音乐。

“Writing songs is like collecting water in a cup. When the cup is full, the water comes out naturally,” he told China Daily.

在接受《中国日报》的采访时，他曾说，“创作歌曲就像收集一杯水，杯子满时，水自然就会溢出来。”

For nearly ten years, he did very few interviews or concerts. His low-key life may well have continued if Faye Wong hadn’t sung his song, Legend, at 2010’s CCTV Spring Festival Gala.

最近十年间，他几乎没有接受过任何采访，也没有举办过演唱会。如果不是2010年王菲在央视春晚上演唱了他创作的歌曲《传奇》，也许他还会继续着如此低调的生活。

Li said the song brought him out of his “cave ” and back into spotlight⁵: concerts and reality shows have been endless, including this year’s I Am a Singer.

他说，这首《传奇》让他走出了“洞穴”，回到聚光灯下：一场接一场的演唱会、真人秀节目扑面而来，今年的《我是歌手》就是其中之一。

On TV, Li has not fitted the stereotype⁶ most people have of pop stars, mostly because of his academic background.

电视上的李健打破了人们心中流行歌星的形象。这也许和他的学术背景息息相关。

And while studying electronic engineering at Tsinghua might not have helped Li’s career musically, it certainly gave his songs and mindset a different touch.

在清华大学学习电子工程的经历也许对李健的音乐生涯帮助不大，但无疑改变了他的思维方式，也为他的音乐带来一抹不一样的色彩。

His answer on the show of “I am already very smart. Why do I need a smartphone?” to the question “Why don’t you use smartphones?” was perhaps unusual for a pop star. He went on to show it when he said, “Two is good! 2 is No 1 among prime numbers,” commenting on the fact that he was chosen as the second singer to get on stage! Are you impressed yet?

节目中，当被问道“为什么不用智能手机？”时，李健的回答是“我就挺智能的，还用什么智能手机。”而当抽到第二个上场时，他的评价是“2挺好的！2在质数里是第一位。”这些流行歌星的非典型性回答，是否也给你留下了深刻印象？