[2] He held the civilian rank equivalent to general in the PLA Air Force Political Department Song and Dance Troupe.

[citation needed] He first rose to prominence in 1964 for playing in the opera Sister Jiang, earned critical acclaim, and he was personally interviewed by Chairman Mao Zedong.

[5] On October 27, 2015, a military vocalist Yu Wenhua (于文华) made up a rumor on Sinaweibo - "Teacher Yan Su died of illness at PLA Air Force General Hospital in Beijing".

[6] "My father has been into a deep coma after acute cerebral infarction for more than twenty days, at present, his situation is stable, it's fair to say that he had the potential to wake up, but risk is often with opportunities, thank you for asking."

[7] On February 12, 2016, Yan Su died at the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, in Beijing.