Wan Sha Lang

Wan Sha Lang (Chinese: 萬沙浪, also spelled Vansalrang; 21 January 1949 – 18 June 2023), known in China as Wang Zhongyi (Chinese: 王忠義), was a Taiwanese singer and film actor.

Wan Sha Lang
萬沙浪
Born	萬沙浪 21 January 1949 (1949-01-21) Taiwan
Died	18 June 2023 (2023-06-19) (aged 74) Taitung, Taiwan
Other names	Vansalrang, Wang Zhongyi, Wang Zhong Yi
Occupation(s)	Singer, actor

Life and career

Sha Lang approached music during his military conscription when he became a trumpeter in the army band.^[1] After being discharged, he started a rock band with two friends, and began performing in clubs and hotels.^[1][2] He had his breakout in 1971, when he got a hit with "Love Is an Elusive Wind (風從哪裡來)", the theme song of the film of the same name, and successfully specialized in romantic ballads in Mandarin.^[1][2]

In 1987, Vansalrang went to China to take part in the CCTV Spring Festival, but because of the strict cross-strait policy of that time he was banned from returning to Taiwan; the ban was eventually lifted 8 years later, but at that point his wife and children had moved to the US and had lost contact with him.^[2]

Starting from a brain injury in 1997 which caused him a mental degradation to the level of infants,^[3] Vansalrang suffered massive health issues, including several strokes, one of them in 2015 paralyzing half of his body and forcing him to be fed through nasogastric intubation.^[1][2][4] He died on 18 June 2023, at the age of 74.^[1]