"Since I was young, my family has always called me Xiao Fang ('little Fang' as 'Fang' is my given name). Therefore, I named this song 'Xiao Fang' after my name."
The song "Xiao Fang" was popular in China back then. The young Frank Shu (Fang Shu) was the investor and music producer behind the song, which was named after him.
Influenced by his family, Frank learned to play the erhu, a Chinese two-stringed fiddle, at the age of two, and the pipa, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, at the age of five. However, with a desire to become a businessman, he chose to major in International Trade at the university. During that period, Frank made a big fortune through foreign exchange trading, through which he earned his first million yuan by stock trading at the age of 20. After that, his investment in music records brought him huge profits. Wunderkind, success, and wealth became his labels at the time.
"Back then, my record company was very influential in China, and it was one of the few record companies that had successfully launched pop stars. I reckoned that China needed its own pop stars and I was capable of making a local Chinese star. That kind of lifestyle made me more and more disdainful and arrogant. To me, money seemed to come so easily, so I would squander any money I earned because a lot of money would come in tomorrow anyway," he said.
Frank’s elder sister saw all of this, yet she did not immerse herself in the enjoyment brought by his success like he did, but became worried for him.
He continued, "She referred me to a verse from the Bible, telling me: 'Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.' No matter how perfect you think your plan for yourself is, it is God who decides whether you succeed or not. Your pride will certainly offend God. You should believe that there is a God who is the ruler of heaven and earth.' I said: 'My sister, you are not sharp enough, so you really need this God to help you. I'm so smart and I have always been sharper than you, so I don’t need God. I can entirely rely on myself.'"
However, his sister's reminder was soon fulfilled. Frank could never imagine that just as his career was booming, a major crisis was about to break out, so severe that he could not overcome it.
"One day, I was going to a fashion awards party. On that day I was in a good mood as usual and was about to attend as a very successful person. I suddenly received a call from my company in the car. My company's financial guy said: 'Mr. Shu, we need to pay salaries tomorrow but we don’t have enough money.' I said that was impossible. In my head, my company's money was endless."
The financial manager revealed to him that the company's assets had been embezzled by his closest partner. This explosive inside story was beyond his belief and unacceptable for him.
"Because I believed that the people around me all respected me or were even afraid of me - because I felt that everything was well under my control. I always thought that no one could live without me," he confessed.
Due to investment misjudgment and overconfidence, his partners and contracted artists chose to betray him at the same time. This was not only emotionally heavy for him, but also affected his own life.
"That was totally pulling the rug from under me. It caught me off guard without any warning. I was left with not just nothing, but negative assets, because I was the legal person of the company, and accountable for all of the creditor's rights and debts. I remember having almost million-yuan debts, but back then I didn't even have a place to live, let alone millions of yuan."
Frank claimed, "When everyone forgot about me, I suddenly remembered the Lord Jesus that my sister often mentioned to me, that He is your refuge and ever-present help in troubled times. So I tried to pray. I prayed: 'Lord Jesus, although I don't know you, and maybe my pride has offended you, but today I am willing to admit my weakness. I ask you to help me.'"
Frank could not sleep for several days, and his family knew nothing about it. He only got to leave this sad place when his sister offered him a flight ticket to the United States and invited him to rejoin his family. Nevertheless, the trip to the US made a major change in his life.
"I returned to my home in the United States, and my sister took me to church. I happened to attend a 40-day prayer meeting of the church. I felt that being in the church calmed me down, and I could feel the warmth of the church, and I could tell that the care and love from the brothers and sisters were not out of selfishness or seeking profit. When I first heard the pastor saying that ‘whether you know this God or not, He has already loved you; whether you accept this love or not, He has always been loving you’, my tears came out again, so I began to say in my heart again and again: I am willing, I am willing to accept you; I need you, and I need your love. Because I felt I was a failed, helpless, and unwanted person, but that God wanted me and had never given up on me. In the prayer meeting, a voice kept crying in my heart: 'Lord God, I love you!'"
Shu immediately wrote down this hymn that had been in his heart, "Lord I Love You". Because of God's love, he gained the courage to face his life again.
"Indeed it was through prayers that I was able to rise up again. Since I had nothing left with me, I didn’t want to hurt myself by clinging onto the things that had passed, and I no longer thought of people who had hurt me. I wanted to forget all of it and I returned to Beijing to start again."
After returning to China, Shu started his new business to produce gospel music. He wanted to use music to bear witness to the changes in his life and pass on God’s love.
"My worldly achievements in music actually prepared me to use them to work for God now. My previous success and the so-called smartness are not of my own but given by God. I think early on God had already made a wonderful plan," he concluded.
- Translated by Grace Song
见证｜基督徒音乐人舒方：因上帝的爱重新有勇气面对新生活
“从小到大，家里都叫我小方。所以，这首歌我就用我的名字起名叫《小芳》。”
当年一曲《小芳》人人都耳熟能详，而年少的舒方正是这首歌曲的幕后投资和音乐制作人，歌曲正是以他的名字命名的。
受家人的影响，舒方两岁就会拉二胡，五岁就已经会弹琵琶，但一心要成为商人的他，在大学却选择了国际贸易专业。在那期间，舒方用换外汇的方法有了很多积蓄。刚刚20岁的他更是通过炒股赚得了人生中的第一个一百万，之后投资唱片又大获利润。少年得志，成功和富有成为了他当时的标签。
“当时，我的唱片公司在国内是挺有影响力的，是少数成功推出明星的唱片公司之一。我觉得中国需要自己的流行明星，我觉得我有这个能力去打造一个中国的本土明星。因为这样的生活就觉得自己越来越轻浮、狂妄。我觉得钱这么容易来，那就今天有钱今天用，反正明天又会有大把的钱进来。”
而他这一切的做法都被他的姐姐都看在眼里，她并没有和他一样，沉浸在他成功所带来的享受里，反而为他担忧。
“她用圣经上的一句话跟我讲，说：‘骄傲在败坏以先，狂心在跌倒之前。你自己策划得再好，你认为没有问题，但是成不成是上帝说了算。你的骄傲一定会得罪上帝。你应该要相信有一位神，祂是上帝的主宰。’我说：‘姐姐，你很笨。所以你真的是需要这个上帝帮你。我这么聪明，我从小就比你聪明，所以我就不需要上帝了。我靠自己就完全可以了。’”
然而，姐姐的提醒随后就应验了。舒方完全不会想到，事业正在蒸蒸日上的时候，一场重大的危机即将爆发，力量大到他无力承受。
“有一天，我在去一个时尚颁奖晚会。那一天我还是心情很好，以一个非常成功人士的姿态去出席。我在车上突然接到了一个电话，是我公司打来的。公司财务说：舒总，明天要发工资了，财务没有钱了。我说：不可能。我的概念当中我公司的钱是用不完的。”
财务向他透露，公司的资产已经被他最亲密的合作伙伴挪走了。这个爆炸性的内幕让他无法相信，也不能接受。
“因为我觉得，我身边的人他们应该都是尊重我的，甚至可以说他们应该是怕我的。因为我感觉我一切都牢牢掌握在手中。我总觉得人和人离开我都是不行的。”
由于投资的错误判断和过度自信，舒方的合作伙伴和签约艺人同时选择背叛他，这对他而言不只是沉重的，就连生活也因此受到了牵连。
“完全是釜底抽薪。在我没有预备的情况下，没有任何的预兆的情况下，发生这个事情。不但是一无所有，还变成了负资产，因为公司的法人是我。所有的债权债务别人是要找我来要。记得差不多要上百万的债要我来付，当时别说是付上百万，我甚至连住的地方都没有了。”
"在所有的人都不理我的时候，我忽然间想起来姐姐常跟我提到的这位主耶稣，他是你的避难所，也是你患难中随时的帮助。我就试着祷告，我说：‘主耶稣，虽然我不认识你，也许我之前的骄傲得罪过你，但是今天愿意承认我自己的软弱，我请你来帮助。’”
舒方连续几天都无法入睡，他的家人对此也一无所知，知道姐姐主动为他买了到美国的机票，邀请他和家人团聚，他才离开这个伤心地。然而这次美国之行对舒方而言却将有一个重大的改变。
“我回到美国的家中，姐姐带我去教会。来到教会当中，刚好参加教会的四十天祷告特会。我觉得在教会当中让我能够安静下来，感觉到教会的温暖，感觉到弟兄姐妹之间对你的关心、爱护完全不是出于私心和利益。当我第一次听到牧师说：不管你人不是认识这位上帝，祂早就爱着你；不管你接受不接受这份爱，祂一直在爱你。我眼泪又出来了，所以我心里就开始一般一遍说：我愿意，我愿意接受你；我需要你，我需要你的爱。因为我觉得我是一个失败的、无助的、没有人要的，但是神要我，祂从来没有放弃。在参加祷告会的时候，我心里一直有一个声音在呼喊：‘耶和华神我爱你！’”
舒方一气呵成，写下了他心里的这首赞美诗《耶和华我爱你》。因着上帝的爱，他重新有勇气来面对新的生活。
“我真的是借着祷告重新站立起来。既然我已经什么都没有了，我也不愿意在拽着以前的那些事情来伤害我，我也不再去想还过我的人，我想忘掉一切。我回到北京重新开始。”
回国后，舒方开始了他新的事业，制作福音音乐，他要用音乐来见证他生命的改变，并传递上帝的爱。
“音乐在属世界的这些成绩其实是奠定了我现在能够用这些来为祂做工。之前的成功，之前的所谓的聪明，都不是属于我自己的，都是上帝给的。我觉得上帝是早就有祂奇妙的计划。”
见证｜基督徒音乐人舒方：因上帝的爱重新有勇气面对新生活
"Since I was young, my family has always called me Xiao Fang ('little Fang' as 'Fang' is my given name). Therefore, I named this song 'Xiao Fang' after my name."
The song "Xiao Fang" was popular in China back then. The young Frank Shu (Fang Shu) was the investor and music producer behind the song, which was named after him.
Influenced by his family, Frank learned to play the erhu, a Chinese two-stringed fiddle, at the age of two, and the pipa, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, at the age of five. However, with a desire to become a businessman, he chose to major in International Trade at the university. During that period, Frank made a big fortune through foreign exchange trading, through which he earned his first million yuan by stock trading at the age of 20. After that, his investment in music records brought him huge profits. Wunderkind, success, and wealth became his labels at the time.
"Back then, my record company was very influential in China, and it was one of the few record companies that had successfully launched pop stars. I reckoned that China needed its own pop stars and I was capable of making a local Chinese star. That kind of lifestyle made me more and more disdainful and arrogant. To me, money seemed to come so easily, so I would squander any money I earned because a lot of money would come in tomorrow anyway," he said.
Frank’s elder sister saw all of this, yet she did not immerse herself in the enjoyment brought by his success like he did, but became worried for him.
He continued, "She referred me to a verse from the Bible, telling me: 'Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.' No matter how perfect you think your plan for yourself is, it is God who decides whether you succeed or not. Your pride will certainly offend God. You should believe that there is a God who is the ruler of heaven and earth.' I said: 'My sister, you are not sharp enough, so you really need this God to help you. I'm so smart and I have always been sharper than you, so I don’t need God. I can entirely rely on myself.'"
However, his sister's reminder was soon fulfilled. Frank could never imagine that just as his career was booming, a major crisis was about to break out, so severe that he could not overcome it.
"One day, I was going to a fashion awards party. On that day I was in a good mood as usual and was about to attend as a very successful person. I suddenly received a call from my company in the car. My company's financial guy said: 'Mr. Shu, we need to pay salaries tomorrow but we don’t have enough money.' I said that was impossible. In my head, my company's money was endless."
The financial manager revealed to him that the company's assets had been embezzled by his closest partner. This explosive inside story was beyond his belief and unacceptable for him.
"Because I believed that the people around me all respected me or were even afraid of me - because I felt that everything was well under my control. I always thought that no one could live without me," he confessed.
Due to investment misjudgment and overconfidence, his partners and contracted artists chose to betray him at the same time. This was not only emotionally heavy for him, but also affected his own life.
"That was totally pulling the rug from under me. It caught me off guard without any warning. I was left with not just nothing, but negative assets, because I was the legal person of the company, and accountable for all of the creditor's rights and debts. I remember having almost million-yuan debts, but back then I didn't even have a place to live, let alone millions of yuan."
Frank claimed, "When everyone forgot about me, I suddenly remembered the Lord Jesus that my sister often mentioned to me, that He is your refuge and ever-present help in troubled times. So I tried to pray. I prayed: 'Lord Jesus, although I don't know you, and maybe my pride has offended you, but today I am willing to admit my weakness. I ask you to help me.'"
Frank could not sleep for several days, and his family knew nothing about it. He only got to leave this sad place when his sister offered him a flight ticket to the United States and invited him to rejoin his family. Nevertheless, the trip to the US made a major change in his life.
"I returned to my home in the United States, and my sister took me to church. I happened to attend a 40-day prayer meeting of the church. I felt that being in the church calmed me down, and I could feel the warmth of the church, and I could tell that the care and love from the brothers and sisters were not out of selfishness or seeking profit. When I first heard the pastor saying that ‘whether you know this God or not, He has already loved you; whether you accept this love or not, He has always been loving you’, my tears came out again, so I began to say in my heart again and again: I am willing, I am willing to accept you; I need you, and I need your love. Because I felt I was a failed, helpless, and unwanted person, but that God wanted me and had never given up on me. In the prayer meeting, a voice kept crying in my heart: 'Lord God, I love you!'"
Shu immediately wrote down this hymn that had been in his heart, "Lord I Love You". Because of God's love, he gained the courage to face his life again.
"Indeed it was through prayers that I was able to rise up again. Since I had nothing left with me, I didn’t want to hurt myself by clinging onto the things that had passed, and I no longer thought of people who had hurt me. I wanted to forget all of it and I returned to Beijing to start again."
After returning to China, Shu started his new business to produce gospel music. He wanted to use music to bear witness to the changes in his life and pass on God’s love.
"My worldly achievements in music actually prepared me to use them to work for God now. My previous success and the so-called smartness are not of my own but given by God. I think early on God had already made a wonderful plan," he concluded.
- Translated by Grace Song
Christian Music Producer Frank Shu Says God’s Love Gives Him Courage to Restart Life
