Chen Zhiyin, a veteran music critic whom I deeply admire and respect has died. She passed away peacefully yesterday morning at the age of 70, and her family has announced her death.

While Zhiyin was a prolific writer who reviewed thousands of opera productions and served on the panels of government-run opera festivals, I will always remember her as a trailblazer during her final years as a journalist and deputy editor at Music Weekly in Beijing.

In 2009, a story she wrote for Music Weekly went viral and shook the entire music world in China. The story revealed that Liang Maochun, a professor at the Central Conservatory of Music, was accused of engaging in inappropriate relationships, both financial and sexual, with Zou Jiahong in exchange for guaranteeing her admission to the doctoral program.

The article, written by Chen, sent shockwaves through the classical music community and became the first news story on sexual abuse in China’s classical music scene that I can remember. Chen later told me that she faced enormous pressure before the story was published, and even greater stress once it was made public. The impact of that piece is still felt today.

She retired in the same year, though the circumstances surrounding her departure remain unclear. In person, Chen was cheerful, generous, and always ready to lend a hand. I had the privilege of having some great conversations with her in Kaohsiung, and I learned so much from those moments. The greatest lesson she taught me was to be fearless. And fearless I shall be.