Lang Lang, which means "brilliance of the sky", was born in Shenyang, China, and is of Manchu ethnicity. His father Lang Guoren (郎国任) is also a musician, who plays the erhu. At the age of two, Lang watched the "Tom and Jerry" episode "The Cat Concerto" which features the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt. According to Lang, this first contact with Western music is what wanted him to learn piano. He began lessons with Professor Zhu Ya-Fen at age three. At the age of five, he won first place at the Shenyang Piano Competition and played his first public recital.