Slater Rhea (; ; literally: "Handsome Virtue") is an American singer, songwriter and TV personality on national TV in China. Rhea is a regular performer on Chinese music and entertainment programs, having made appearances on China Central Television, China Education Television,

Jiangsu TV Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation (JSBC) () is China's third biggest television network after China Central Television (CCTV) and Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS). The television network is owned by the Jiangsu provincial government. The network is ...

, Beijing TV, Inner Mongolia TV, Yunnan TV, Anhui TV, as well as other local and provincial stations across China. Rhea performs in Chinese (primarily Mandarin, but also in

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

dialect), Mongolian, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. While he rose to prominence in China for singing traditional Chinese folk tunes, he also writes and sings Chinese pop and educational music and performs a variety of English-language material including American

jazz standards Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list ...

and

rock-and-roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

. Rhea has been referred to in Chinese and international media as a cultural ambassador and "musical diplomat" because of his background in international relations and dream to improve U.S.-China relations through his music and performances. Rhea additionally credits former U.S. Secretary of State

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...

, whom he met and sang for in 2016, as an inspiration to pursue a career in cultural diplomacy. Rhea lives in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and, in addition to his entertainment career, holds a position as lecturer in English and International Studies at

Beijing Foreign Studies University Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU; ), is a public university in Beijing, China. BFSU boasts the oldest language programs in China offering the largest number of foreign language majors on different educational levels. Located in Haidia ...

Childhood and education

Rhea was born and raised in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, where he was first singled out to sing solos in his

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church choir and learned piano and violin in local music programs. He was enrolled in the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

from grade one and earned the rank of

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

at age 13. He graduated from the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts in Natchitoches, Louisiana, before attending the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

as a National Merit Scholar, where he earned dual bachelor's degrees in Chinese Language and Literature and Asian Studies. He attended the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, China, where he studied, wrote and defended a 100-page thesis in Mandarin and earned dual master's degrees in China Studies and International Politics from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

and

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xian ...

while first performing on Nanjing-based

Connection to Xi'an, Shaanxi folk songs, and biangbiang noodles

Rhea has a close connection with the ancient Chinese capital of

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...

(and

Province) and its culture, having first visited the city and established connections there in 2010. Rhea often sings North Shaanxi folk songs, which he first heard and fell in love with on his first visit to China. His connection to Xi'an and Shaanxi Province is often discussed in his TV appearances, including his love of Shaanxi's distinctive cuisine, including roujiamo ("Chinese hamburger"), liangpi (cold noodles), yangrou paomo (lamb stew with bits of crumbled flatbread), fried persimmon cakes, and, most prominently, biangbiang noodles (Shaanxi's famous 'thick-as-a-belt' handmade noodles). The "biang" in biangbiang noodles is known for being one of the most complex Chinese characters; and Rhea made front-page news in Shaanxi province's Chinese Business View when he first wrote the character on CCTV. Show hosts and guests often "test" Rhea's ability to write it, and as a result, Rhea has since been associated with the character in Chinese media. For instance, CCTV host Zhu Jun demonstrated to him how Shaanxi people crouch down to eat the noodles (a folk custom in Shaanxi); in other cases, Rhea has taught other TV personalities, for instance

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

singer

Leo Ku Leo Ku Kui-kei is a Hong Kong Cantopop and Mandopop singer, actor, TV host, model, cartoonist, MV director, and producer and designer. He employs falsetto as a singing technique and was named as one of the "Five Fresh Tigers of TVB". Career ...

, to write the character while reciting a

mnemonic A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...

poem for remembering the character's 43 strokes.

Discography

Albums

*2019: '' Sing Chinese With Slater'' (''跟帅德一起唱中文！'')

Singles

*2021:《过大年》("Happy Chinese New Year") *2019:《中国我的家》("China, My Home") *2019:《中国姑娘》("Chinese Girl") *2019:《天籁之爱》(with 阿鲁阿卓) *2019:《敖包相会》(with 阿木古楞)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhea, Slater Living people Johns Hopkins University alumni Nanjing University alumni University of Oklahoma alumni Academic staff of Beijing Foreign Studies University People from Alexandria, Louisiana Singers from Louisiana 21st-century American singers American expatriates in China Cantopop singers Mandopop singers Television personalities from Louisiana American male pop singers American rock singers American jazz singers Jazz musicians from Louisiana 21st-century American male singers 1987 births