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Chinese son invites violinist to his dying mother’s hospital bed for a final musical farewell
A Chinese son invited a violinist to play for his dying mother in an ICU ward.
A deeply emotional moment from a hospital in southern China has touched hearts across mainland social media after a son invited a violinist to perform for his dying mother as she lay in her hospital bed.
According to a report by South China Morning Post, the incident took place at the Dongguan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Guangdong province, where Huang Haile said his final goodbye to his mother Ye Jindi on January 6.
A video showing a violinist playing Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi’s iconic track Mother, featured in the 1999 film Kikujiro, inside the intensive care unit went viral soon after it was shared online.
A teacher’s lifelong love for music
As reported by SCMP, Ye had been diagnosed with late stage liver cirrhosis in 2023. In December last year, shortly after celebrating her 77th birthday, she was also diagnosed with inflammation of the heart. Doctors told the family that her condition did not allow surgery, and her health declined rapidly. She was admitted to the ICU on December 29.
Huang revealed that his mother had once worked as a primary school music teacher for two years. Remembering her love for music, he invited violinist Tang Xing to perform for her on December 31. Huang said another reason behind the decision was his belief that hearing is the last sense to fade before death.
A farewell that came too soon
Huang said he initially hoped the music would lift Ye’s spirits and give her strength to continue fighting her illness. “Unexpectedly, she died a week later,” he said, adding that the violin performance ultimately became a farewell song rather than a moment of recovery.
As Ye’s condition worsened, Huang said he respected her wishes and transferred her back to an ordinary ward. There, she greeted death peacefully.
A son’s devotion and lasting promise
Huang shared that his bond with his mother was especially strong. After his sailor father died when Huang was just 13, Ye raised him alone and sacrificed her own romantic life to stay by his side. Following her liver disease diagnosis, Huang quit his job to care for her full time.
“I could have hired a carer and kept my job, but no amount of money is worth the time I got to spend with her,” he said.
