Li Chun (born January 11, 1988), known professionally as Li Qinyao,[5] is a Chinese actress and former singer. From 2007 to 2010, she was a member of the Japanesegirl groupMorning Musume under the stage name Jun Jun (ジュンジュン).
As an actress, Li has appeared in television and film projects including Moon Embracing the Stars and Eastern Battlefield.
Career
2007-2010: Morning Musume
In 2006, Li auditioned for Super Girl, but failed to enter the top 10.[6]Tsunku, who planned on expanding Hello! Project into overseas Asian markets, offered her and the other eliminated Super Girl contestants an opportunity to enter an audition for Morning Musume in Beijing, China, which was kept secret from the members of Morning Musume themselves.[7] Li accepted in spite of her family's disapproval due to the Japanese-Chinese tensions.[8]
On March 15, 2007, Li was officially announced as an eighth generation member in Morning Musume as a "foreign exchange student" along with Lin Lin.[6][9] On March 18, 2007, she made her first Japanese television appearance on Hello! Morning, Morning Musume's variety show. Within the same week, she moved to Tokyo, Japan.[7] Li made her first stage appearance took place during Morning Musume leader Hitomi Yoshizawa's graduation concert on May 6, 2007, at Saitama Super Arena. In July 2007, Morning Musume released the single "Onna ni Sachi Are", Li's first song with the group.[10]
During the final show of Hello! Project's 2010 summer tour on August 8, 2010, Li, along with Lin Lin and Eri Kamei, announced they would be leaving Morning Musume after the final show of their fall tour, Morning Musume 2010 Rival Survival.[12] Her final single with the group was "Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game", which was released on November 17, 2010. Li's final performance with the group took place on December 15, 2010, during which she sang "Furusato" as her graduation song.[13]
2011-present: Return to China
In late August 2011, she was announced to be cast in a Chinese school-life film "Love for a Second" and as of early September 2011, she was discovered to be enrolling in the famous Beijing Film Academy, studying Performance Arts.[14][better source needed]
On May 8, 2015, Li announced through her Weibo account that she would be changing her professional name to "Li Qinyao".[15]
Personal life
On December 26, 2014, Li announced on Weibo that she had married Chinese music producer Bernard Zheng.[16]
^ abモーニング娘。新メンバーに関して、つんく♂より皆様へのお知らせ。 [A notice about new members for Morning Musume, from Tsunku to all] (in Japanese). February 15, 2007. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2007.
^Beech, Hannah (December 6, 2007). "Chasing the Japanese Dream". Time Asia. Vol. 170, no. 24. United States: Time Warner. Retrieved August 26, 2019. I had older relatives who told me not to come to Japan because of what it did to China during the war," says Li Chun, 19, one of Morning Musume's Chinese additions. "But I told them, music is universal. It doesn't matter where I sing: China or Japan or outer space.
