Composer Ye Xiaogang is an avid reader and writer; he reads for two hours each day, buying books wherever he tours, and is currently writing an autobiographical novel.

All this creative activity helps to shape his musical masterpieces perhaps as much, or even more than, his rich but at times decidedly unpleasant life. As a boy he went through the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), cut off from his music, and his father tried to kill himself. After he returned to China with a composition degree and various awards, his ex-wife asked for a divorce. He is at the peak of his career, but, had a daughter with Down's syndrome last year.

To find out more about what makes him tick, I went to meet him, in a small bookstore near the Central Conservatory of Music where he is a professor of composition.

The bookstore assistant said the tall and elegant Ye is a regular customer, usually coming armed with a long list of books. The day I met him, he produced a list of 26 titles, including novels, book reviews, academic works and essay collections.

Of those, "Touring Paris with One Book," by Lin Da tells readers about French history, art, culture, society and revolution through sightseeing, while "Symphonies of Life and Death" explores Mahler's life, compositions and the social and musical background of the great composer's life.

Also on the list was American naturalist John Muir's "My First Summer in the Sierra," and "Century Introspection: Problems of San Nong," which looks at the problems facing the agriculture economy and difficulties in Chinese villages.

"Reading is an important source of my creativity," says Ye. "I hope my music touches people with emotion and artistry rather than shows off great composing techniques.

Ye also likes to write. He is writing an autobiography called "Boundless Sea of the Bitterness," and has finished the first part which tells his family history, especially stories about his composer father Ye Chunzhi who died in 1997.

The second part will tell how the younger Ye suffered during the "cultural revolution" but managed to live thanks to music. The last part will focus on his studies at the China Central Conservatory of Music between 1978 and 1982.

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