Rocker-turned-painter Liu Yijun. Photo by Zou Hong / China Daily

Their debut album in 1992, A Dream Return to the Tang Dynasty, sold more than 2 million copies. Liu, who wrote hits such as A Dream Return to the Tang Dynasty and The Sun, however, started to feel strongly against rock music.

"I watched a performance of Steve Via in a video before I was 30 and I was shocked. I devoted my whole life playing guitar but I think I will never play as well as Via," says Liu, who was born in Tianjin and moved to Beijing in 1976.

He taught himself the guitar as a teenager, who, despite his parents' disapproval of his music, practiced it 15 hours a day.

The band's name was given out of admiration for the ancient Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907 AD), a golden period in Chinese history when art blossomed.

"But our music was too Westernized and lacked originality," he says. "I just felt that I lost my language."

When the band was busy making their second album, Liu stopped playing the guitar for some six months and other members thought he went crazy. Liu then began painting to fill an inner void that his music didn't seem to cover, he says.

Although Liu can still recalls the scenes when tens of thousands of people waved their hands and sang along during Tang Dynasty concerts, he doesn't miss that part of celebrity life. He has moved on, he adds.

Since 2012, Liu has been performing in the ensemble of Chinese singer-songwriter Liu Suola, who is known for her versatility ranging from jazz and folk to rock.

"Art is our first language and I am blessed with the ability to express myself through two different forms," he says. "What is unchanged about me is my rebellious nature. Though I am more than 50, I still feel the desire to create something differently."

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