Speech made by Lam Kee To in “The Shining Star – In Reminiscence of Leslie’s Artistic Life seminar” held in April 2005

The following is an excerpt from “The Shining Star – In Reminiscence of Leslie’s Artistic Life seminar” held in April 2005

Source: http://www.leslie-cheung.info/20050403.html
「寄語流星 流星語 ── 追憶張國榮的藝術生命」研討會
張國榮光影生命的三個階段──林紀陶 (中文） 2. 張國榮光影生命的三個階段.

Translated by Daydreamer on March 14, 2006

Speech made by Lam Kee To (“Lam”) (renowned scriptwriter)

Leslie is Still the Best

Thank you Dr. Lo for the introduction which clearly pointed out Gorgor Leslie’s importance, significance and speciality in the Hong Kong movies. First of all, let me talk about some of the feeling I have had recently. I am a critic, and actually my real job is a movie scriptwriter. All the time I have been involved in the creation of movies. I will also work with some of the movie workers who grew up with Leslie in creating scripts for the movies. In some of the scripts, including movies of both modern and ancient times, when we come to the point of choosing the actors for the roles, all of us at that moment will feel sad and downhearted, because for some of the scripts, the best actor for the role should be Gorgor. This really gives us a feeling of melancholy. Any products created by Hong Kong people, no matter they are ancient time stories or modern time stores, or for those movies that will go out of Hong Kong, they all belong to Hong Kong people’s movies, and they all will convey the themes and topics about us; we will discover that the representative of Hong Kong, one with the best image, is no one but Gorgor. It turns out that in the process of creating Hong Kong movies, we have never left Gorgor behind.

Little Brother’s Image in the Movies of the 80’s

Looking at Gorgor’s acting performance career, although he started making movies in 1978, but the one he really took part in is “Encore” filmed in the 80s. From a commentary perspective, his movie career can be divided into three stages. There are three stages of changes and we may use “Encore” of the 80’s as a line of division. In the early stage, Gorgor entered into the movie world bringing with him the image he established in the television and at the early stage of his career. All the directors deliberately tried to mold him as a rebellious youth. He himself was an idol singer, so this his image was also being used in his movies at that time. The movies at that stage include “Nomad”, “Encore” etc. His image is a direction and a path that an idol actor would follow.

To analyze the images of “big brother” and “little brother” in the movies, Leslie at that time was molded as a little brother. Everyone knows that the image of big brother at that time belonged to Chow Yun Fat. Leslie’s image in the movies was also an image of a little brother, a youth at home, carrying a sense of rebellion. Everyone should have deep impression of Leslie in his movies of the 80’s.

An Image with an Angle of Width in the 90’s

Gorgor grew up with a group of movie workers in the 90’s. Those directors who loved to make movies about “big brothers”, such as Tsui Hark, John Woo, etc. had been working very well independently; then came the 90’s, directors of movies about “little brother” started to emerge, including Wong Kar Wai, Peter Chan Ho Sin, Lee Chi Ngai, Gordon Chan Ka Sheung, etc. They could be called the post Hong Kong new wave movie workers of the second generation. They discovered that Leslie’s image could be molded in a more diversified way. Chow Yun Fat represented an image that Hong Kong wanted to change in the 80’s. The classic movie “A Better Tomorrow” has reflected that image of Chow Yun Fat. In the “A Better Tomorrow”, there happened to have a “big brother” and a “little brother”, thus Leslie played the “little brother”.

In the 90’s, Leslie made significant changes. Many times, we would use Wong Kar Wai’s “Days of Being Wild” filmed in the 90’s as the line of division. At that time, Wong Kar Wai’s story talked about a group of young people who grew up in the 60’s. To choose 60’s as the background mainly because 60’s was regarded by people as the period with the early shaping of the Hong Kong spirits, and it became mature in the 70’s. Bruce Lee was one of the classic people of the 60’s and he is the image of action. When Wong Kar Wai made the movie with the background of 60’s, he chose Leslie as the “playboy” of the 60’s, an image of a rebellious youth. At that time, the second generation directors loved to use Leslie as the representative of their movies’ image. They had discovered that Leslie was different from the image of a “little brother” in the 80’s. He could be on his own, as well possessing the acting skill with an angle of width. He could be cast to play many different roles and could afford to be molded for different images. Among them includes a role that even now everyone still agree could only be played well by Leslie alone, that is “Jia Bao Yu” [the main character in the famous classical novel of “The Dream of the Red Chamber, also known as The Story of the Stone” written by Cao Xue Qin]. I feel that actually it is not true that Leslie could play well the role of “Jia Bao Yu”; on the contrary, it was Jia Bao Yu who was very similar to Leslie Cheung. If you look at it closer, you will find that the image of Leslie is more three-dimensional than Jia Bao Yu. Leslie of the 90’s not only represented the the image of Hong Kong district, he even changed corresponding with and according to the value of Hong Kong. When more people started to know about Hong Kong, they also got to know the group of actors. Leslie’s angle of width also enlarged as the value and importance of Hong Kong grew bigger and greater. He was not merely a persona of the Hong Kong district.

Hong Kong of the 90’s, including its industrial and movie business, could not survive solely without depending on international relationship. The Hong Kong movies at that time had opened up a big market, and that situation had made Leslie to be the representative of that image, an image of the value of Hong Kong. His image also grew bigger and wider. “The Days of Being Wild” hints that a rebellious youth from Hong Kong did not want to merely stay in Hong Kong, he wanted to find his root, he had to go abroad to find out “Who I am”. At that time, Leslie himself did not only play in the movies produced in Hong Kong, he also made movies produced in Mainland China, including the “Farewell to My Concubine” and “Temptress Moon” directed by Chen Kaige, and “A Time to Remember” directed by Ye Ying. He managed to let the movie workers in Mainland China to realize that actors from Hong Kong could be molded. They could also find from Leslie the acting skill and qualify that could not be found in the actors in Mainland China. At that time, Leslie’s image had already jumped out of Hong Kong’s local image. His wide-angle performance skill and ability to be molded were not merely a persona representing Hong Kong.

Pursuing In-Depth Acting at the Later Stage

The third stage is the period after 1997. Gorgor did not merely ask for roles that could exhibit his wide-angle performance skill and ability to be molded, and he did not merely want to be an actor or a performer, he wanted to go a step further in movie making and producing. He wanted to transfer from the role of an actor to become a filmworker behind the scene, and even to be a director or scriptwriter. At that time, a lot of directors realized that Leslie was capable not only to act well and handle well in wide-angle acting performance, he could even act with depth. This could be found in the three movies directed or produced by Derek Yee, namely “Viva Erotica”, “Double Tap” and “Inner Senses”. Everyone can see that all these roles had double characters. These characters were much complicated than those wide-angle characters. These were roles with extreme characters. That concept could be found in “Viva Erotica” although it was not very significant. In it, the character, being a movie worker, struggled between the market of artistic creation and his concept towards movies. This extremity could very well reflect Hong Kong filmmakers’ in-depth view towards movie making. Everyone can see that Gorgor was very suitable in playing the role of the director in the movie. Derek Yee had used Leslie as his representative in the big screen. Later, Derek Yee was regretful that he did not invite Leslie to play the role of “Yin Thirteen” in the movie “The Sword of Master Three”. This movie meant a lot to Derek Yee because that was the first movie he played when he entered the movie world.
Here Derek Yee discovered Leslie’s ability to play characters of extremity. It also shows that Leslie’s acting skill had moved from the 90’s angle of width to the angel of depth. With the professional shooting as the background, the movie “Double Tap” doubly used the main role to bring out his predatory and tame natures. Many people believed that at that moment, Leslie should be given the best actor award. Although it was most regrettable that he did not get it, it is more important to have everyone’s recognition of his performance and success than to get an award. Then followed the movie “Inner Senses” in which he played the role that was even more difficult to handle. In the movie, he was a psychiatrist as well a patient. When he was in his real life, he was tortured by a memory that could not be forgotten which eventually became his nightmare. It was a role really hard to play. A very complicated role and at the same time he had to face a very complex story line. But Leslie could play the character so magnificently.
In these three stages, Gorgor kept changing. At last, I want to say that Gorgor’s angle of width is very big, but the most regrettable thing is that no one had ever molded Leslie an image of the future. Gorgor in ancient time, modern time, as an important person representing Hong Kong district, or in Mainland China at a place which was so unfamiliar to him, yet he could still play so well. In the space of time, Leslie should not only have the image of the past and the present, he could also have an image of the future. When Hong Kong has the ability to make some sci-fi movies, in choosing the main role, Leslie will certainly be a very important person.

Huang Lei: I owed him a debt of gratitude for appreciating and recognizing me

黃磊：他對我有知遇之恩

2004-12-9 23:28:49
Author: Meng Ching 作者：孟靜
Source: Joint Publshing Life Week 出處：三聯生活週刊

Translated by Daydreamer in 2006

When I met with Huang Lei, he was discussing the script of the TV series “The New Phantom Lover” with his crew members. Eight years ago, due to destiny, Huang Lei played in the movie “The Phantom Lover” with Leslie Cheung.

[THE FOLLOWING WAS WHAT HUANG LEI SAID]

On April 1, at about 6 o'clock, I received a brief message that Leslie committed suicide. I thought it must be a joke because it was the April Fool's Day. However, the news arrived one after the other, so I immediately made a phone call to Mandarin Films Limited（東方電影公司）, and was told that it was real. How come he chose to jump to death when he loved beauty so much?

He was a superstar when “The Phantom Lover” was filmed. Everyone called him “Gorgor”, and he would never let you feel remote from him. I remember well that before the movie was filmed, he invited the whole team to have Mutton Hotpot (涮羊肉shuan yangrou) at Hou Fok House口福居 [a famous restaurant in Beijing for traditional Peking cuisine]. He was especially caring and sent his regards to everyone in person. I played in that movie because of him. In the past, I played in Chen Kaige’s movie “Life on a String (邊走邊唱)”, while he was just finished filming the “Farewell to My Concubine”. He saw me in that movie directed by Chen Kaige and said, “This kid is not bad.”

He was very good looking. His songs were so well sung that they were very pleasant to listen to. He still smoked at that time but quit afterwards. It was very cold then, in between shots, we would sit and wait in the reception room and smoke. He started to sing the theme song “The Phantom Lover” which was written by him. When I sang it, he would join in singing the harmony. He was a very affectionate and caring person. Someone you could hardly forget.

Fate always brought us together. In 1996 when I went to Hong Kong to make a movie. I happened to be in a building and someone told me that Leslie was also in that building. When I went to see him, he was filming the movie “Viva Erotica (色情男女)”.

The last time when we met, we were in Shanghai. He was making some promotions for the movie “A Time to Remember (紅色戀人)”, while I was doing promotions for my album “I think I am Sea (我想我是海)” and we happened to stay in the same hotel. The impression I had on that day was a very profound one. He peeled off the skin of some fruits for me to eat and we chatted for the whole afternoon. He did not have anywhere to go because he was too well known to everyone, so he could only stay in his room in the hotel.

He took special care of me when “The Phantom Lover” was filmed. At the end of the movie, there was a scene of heavy rainfall. It was in March and April, and fire hose had to be used to get the effect. The drama group bought Leslie a diving suit to wear because he was the main actor, while newcomers like us would not have that privilege. We could only wrap our body with clear plastic strips. However, it did not work and water still would go through it. After he finished filming, he passed the diving suit to me. At that time, he also gave me all the opportunities for promotion.

Many unforgettable things happened when the movie was made. For instance, the exchange and interlocking of insight and judgment. He was someone who would continuously ponder on new creation and ideas, including the roles of other people. One specific scene that I remembered clearly was after his face was burnt and disfigured, he suddenly removed the hood he was wearing. That was not a feeling of acting in a movie, but what really sent a chill through me was his expression.

I listened to his songs since my childhood. The newspapers also said that he was the youth idol of the 25-35 years old generation. When I went to junior high, I knew how to make pirate copies already. Whoever got Leslie’s new songs, I would give them a blank tape for copying. After Leslie came back [to sing], he had given me a copy of the special edition “Adore Leslie (寵愛)”. His songs are extremely pleasant to listen to. I love him singing the theme songs of “The Phantom Lover”, “The Bride with White Hair” and “Farewell to My Concubine”.

The thing Huang Lei wanted most was to say to Leslie who is now in heaven that “I miss you very much. I wish that you have your peace now and forget about the unhappiness.” Suddenly he said seriously that “Let’s not guess the cause of his death anymore. He must have his own reason to do so. From this incident, let’s reflect on how we should face the life and responsibilities.”

Okinawa Trip to Look For Gorgor (Okinawa Rendez-Vous)

Article written by Chow Shui Yum in May 2004

Translated by Daydreamer on November 3, 2004

This my trip to Okinawa really did not have much to do with Gorgor anymore. I sat on the beach everyday watching the sunset and the sunrise. It was really beautiful here. The water was so very clear that I could see the seaweeds. As well, I could feel the salty sea breeze blowing softly in my face. I looked at afar, but could not see the footprints left by him with my naked eyes . I did not even know if he and I were looking at the same sea. I rode on the speedboat circulating around each little island. Vaguely, I could see the hotel in his film [Okinawa Rendez-Vous], but I could not see the pretty little hut. I walked through all the big streets and small alleys to look for him, hoping that I might find an album of his, but, there was none. I had not eaten the Okinawasoba that Sammy asked me to try, perhaps I had already eaten it without realizing. The big wheel, which he used in his concert to tease Faye Wong, took me to the highest point , but I still could not reach his heaven...

Because I went on this trip with two non-Leslie fans, I really couldn't do more; even though they had been most understanding, but since we did not know the place too well, I could not spoil their holidays by keeping on searching for his footprints.

So..
So.. I thought this was it, going on a trip that did not have much to do with Gorgor. It was depressing to think why I had to come here all the way realizing well beforehand that I could not find anything. I should perhaps just stay home and watch his DVDs.

However, this proved me wrong. God must be watching me from above knowing how devoted I am, and Gorgor must also realize what I had done for him. No, I shouldn't say that, that's too embarrassing. I should say I was searching for his heart, and he definitely would know my love for him.

Dear all, what follows is a short story, a really really short story (if you do not regard this as a story), please forgive me if the way I put it down cannot express fully what I experienced and what I heard, but I will try my best.

As I said, I did not hold much hope, and it was my last day there before my departure. That evening, I went to the restaurant beside the beach for dinner on my own (my two friends decided to explore the red light area). It was good to be alone. What so special about that night was there was a 4-member band playing in the restaurant (they were not there in the previous two nights). There was not a single member in the band who was Japanese, they looked pretty dark, looked like they were from Indonesia.

One of them played the drum, the other two played the guitars, and the last one played a very funny looking percussion. They had been playing and singing some American country music. Those pieces were familiar to everyone, such as 'Take Me Home Country Roads', 'Are You Lonesome Tonight', 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes'... Sea breeze kept blowing through the windows stirring up my hair, the songs and the sound of the band echoed in the restaurant. I did not know why, even though it had not got a good sound system, the result was still extremely good and I did not find it too loud. I listened to it light-heartedly, drinking my cold water and eating my wonderful dinner. I thought it was not bad at all spending my last night in Okinawa like that, forgetting about all the worry and sadness.

And then suddenly I heard the song 'The Great Pretender'. Do you still remember that song? If you don't, you better do your homework.

Yes, this is the song played in the movie 'Okinawa Rendez-Vous', especially at the end of the movie, under the dark starry sky, the seabreeze was blowing, Faye Wong was wearing a white skirt, and he sitting on the stair; the music started, both of them were wearing a smile, romantic and sweet...

Right at this moment, hearing this song in Okinawa again with the sea breeze blowing was like a moment from the previous life.

After the band finished singing, without thinking, I started clapping my hands, but the only hand clapping sound was so sad and lonely. All the people turned around and cast a strange look at me; the four players also turned around and stared at me in a way which could not be explained. Then they bowed to the audience in the restaurant signalling that they were taking a break. Then, one of the vocals came towards me.

"....... [word spoken in Japanese]", he said to me.

I felt dizzy. He was not a Japanese but how come he spoke in Japanese? So I looked at him helplessly.

"May I sit down?" he said. This time he spoke in pure English, "Sorry, I thought you were Japanese. Then, are you Korean? Or did you come from Hong Kong or Taiwan?"

"Of course, you may", I said. "I came from Shanghai, China." I knew that not too many people from Mainland China went to Okinawa, the key was that the tourism there hadn't opened up a market in China. Most of the people who went there for vacations were from Hong Kong, Taiwan or Korea. That's why he made the mistake.

Moreover, I had been quite mad for a few days because I could not understand the Japanese' English and the Japanese either. But I was nervous to face the people who spoke pure English because my English was just similar to those of the Japanese people...

"I am David, thank you for giving us a big hand. We have been singing in this restaurant for almost five years, and very few people will clap their hands. I don't know if it is because we have not been singing too nicely", he shook his head with a smile.

"No, no, you sang wonderfully, especially the song you just sang 'The Great Pretender', that's my favourite song, I did not know that I would hear it tonight, you have given me a big surprise, I have to thank you."

"Really? You like that song?" When he said that, he looked at the bag lying beside me. That really was a bag that would attract a lot of attention because it had on it four key chains with Gorgor's pictures on it and two buttons with Gorgor's handsome face.

I captured his stare, and then he said: "You are a fan of Leslie Cheung?"

I was stunned, I didn't realize that a foreigner would recognize him at his first sight and ask me such a question.

"Yes, I am his fan. I have been loving him for many years. He is the greatest superstar in the Chinese society, and even in the whole Asia. I really love him very much. The reason I am coming to Okinawa this time is because he has made a film here in Okinawa and the name of the film is 'Okinawa Rendez-Vous'.

"Is it 'Okinawa...'?"

I could not hear clearly what he said after 'Okinawa', but my feeling told me that he said 'Okinawa Rendez-Vous'.

"I know that film!" he was very excited, "I've seen that, not just the film, but, I have met Leslie".

"What did you say!!!" I jumped up from my chair, and my scream scared the whole restaurant, and they once again looked at me surprisingly, they must have thought that I was a monster.

My scream had undoubtedly embarrassed David.

"Stay calm, stay calm", he blushed as he said it, "Do you want to hear what happened?"

"Sure!!!!", I said trying to suppress my mixed feelings.

He started to tell me. My English wasn't that good, and I hadn't got my recorder with me (if my cellular phone hadn't been stolen before getting on the plane, I could at least record it). I could just try my best to recap what he said, but I think, the essence was there.

"I just told you that very few people will applaud for us, but you just did, and I don't know why, it makes me start thinking of someone, yes, don't be too excited, that someone is Leslie Cheung. At that time, our band just started to sing in this restaurant. Unless we bowed at the end of the show, otherwise very few people would applaud after we sang each song. I guess that is a habit? Or perhaps, the people who dine here only treat our songs as the background music, and not as a kind of show. For us, this is sad, but there is nothing we can do about it.

In an evening in May, we sang as in the past, and quite unexpectedly, after a song was finished, there was clapping! And the clapping was from one person and then the whole table, I looked at that direction, oh my God! It was Leslie Cheung! Correct, I knew him already at that time, because I have seen 'Farewell My Concubine', and have seen the movie 'Moonlight Express', the one that he played with Takako Tokiwa. Besides, he is very popular in Japan. Many Japanese people like him crazily. I did not expect that he was in the restaurant then, and he had a lot of friends with him that evening having dinner together. When I looked into his eyes, he was smiling and looking at me with an encouraging stare. I have never seen in the past a stare that warm. He must have realized that we just started our singing career, that's why he started giving us a big hand. My heart was filled with gratitude, so I carried on singing harder than usual, and had chosen a few songs with happy atmosphere, because I wanted to make him happy. Originally, that was my idea because I did not even have the courage to go to him asking for his autograph (when David said that, he looked like a little boy), and quite unexpectedly, when we took our break, he waved to us. God, he was calling me, I was very excited then (smile).

He was the one who started to chat with us and told us that we sang quite nicely. This really made us very happy. After chatting for a while, a girl at his table asked me if I know how to sing 'Country Road'. Then Leslie said immediately, "I know!" Then he turned to me and asked me if I knew that song. I said I knew and then he said "Why don't we sing that song together?" You really cannot imagine how I felt at that point of time (The writer: I was stunned now, to sing with Gorgor?!! God, if he asked me to sing with him, I would have fainted!) I gave my guitar to him, all of us sang and danced and the whole restaurant was like having a party. After the song was finished, there was hand clapping everywhere. I know that the big hands were given to Leslie because a lot of the people recognized him then, but I still felt very proud because I had sung a song with him. His voice was really perfect. (The writer: I remember that he sang that song in the 903 Live, his voice was so relaxed. I would never get tired just listening to it! The sad thing is I could not find the version that he sang. For those who have listened to Gorgor singing this song can compare it with the original, and you will find that Gorgor is always better than the original.)

He just played the guitar carefreely, waved his hand, and it was full of charm already! I do not know if some day I will be as good as him, but he is my idol, and especially his kindness, you know, I have seen a lot of stars, some of them I do not know, but they are very proud and arrogant, look like that they deliberately try to stay away from you. Leslie was different, the feeling he gave us is that of a superstar, but he did not act like an untouchable superstar. Although that was my only encounter with him, I could already feel that he's a very kind person.

To show my gratitude to him, I and the other three members of the band sang the song 'Flame in My Heart' from the movie 'Moonlight Express'. I saw him nodding with a smile, and I knew that he understood what I meant. That night when he left, he shook hands with the four of us and said a lot of words of encouragement. I just could not imagine that a superstar would treat an ordinary singer with so much care and kindness. So, when he... oh, sorry, I know you are very sad, me too, I cannot believe even now that that is real..."

We all fell into silence, the sound of the wave hit on our eardrums and hearts.

"David", his colleague was calling him. He looked at me apologically.

"Is there any song that you want me to sing for you?"

I think for a little while, "Can you sing 'Flame in My Heart'?"

He was stunned for a little while and then nodded his head.

"I still hear your voice, softly calling my name, but I know my answer in vain, cause I couldn't be with you..."

The song mixed softly with the sound of the guitar and chorus, I could no longer hold back my tears... I looked out the window with the sea breeze blowing in my face, I could not control my tears any more...

I said goodbye to them, and gave to David the buttons I had on my bag as souvenirs. He thanked me and said, "We will remember Leslie forever, like you, I am his fan!" My eyes turned red one more time.

Walking out of the restaurant, it was dark already. The sky became so unfathomable, except for the light coming from the few stars shining over the beach. At that moment, I thought I could see Gorgor sitting on the stairs in front of the patio smoking his cigarette. Without looking back, I knew he was smiling, the smoke from the cigarette was flowing towards the starry sky... his back is still that unbeatably young, time will never change his beauty, it never will...

On the day I left Okinawa, I carelessly left my camera in the hotel. There were not too many pictures in it and I have nothing to share here. The fortunate thing is there was not any picture in the camera that was related to Gorgor. My two trip-mates' pictures were just a few shots of Okinawa's beaches and seas. I believe what I saw was the same as what he had seen. If I remember it correctly, 'Okinawa Rendez-Vous' was made in May. Originally, this was quite a disappointing trip, but unexpectedly I encountered this incident on the last day of the trip. No matter how trustworthy that story was, and how accurate I had relayed it, there's one thing that I'm certain about, i.e. Gorgor's personality and his charm, those qualities of his would make anyone he met surrender to him.

How many more stories like this are out there? I must continue to search. Yes, there are Paris, Buenos Aires, Vancouver and also England... there are so many places. I will use my whole life to look for your footprints, no matter whether they are big or small, they are my most precious!

P.S. I forgot the name of that restaurant, because it was in Japanese which I don't understand, but the letters "NA" are in it. A very smart restaurant. If you go there, look for it.

Anita Mui Blamed Me for Being Bias Towards Leslie Cheung

梅艷芳怪我偏心張國榮

Source:“Ming Pao Weekly”, Issue # 1700, June 9, 2001

Article written by Florence Chan Shuk Fun
Downloaded from http://bbs.ent.163.com/zhangguorong/169517,0,50,0,40,1.html?userid=

Translated by Daydreamer on November 30, 2006

Anita Mui blamed me for being bias towards Leslie Cheung

Apart from Hong Kong, it has always been my wish to open up more overseas markets for the artists under our roof, so that their entertainment career could go to a higher level and to attract more overseas fans. I also hope to take Hong Kong’s cultural entertainment to the Chinese audience all over the world, to bring them happiness and to relieve their sentiment of homesickness.
In the 80’s, since Hong Kong’s TV series were very popular in the overseas, many entertainers therefore would go to Singapore and Malaysia etc. to perform on stage. However, the performance venues were normally quite small and most of them would be held in the nightclubs, the production therefore was relatively simple. Majority of the performance would use the tapes of musical instruments or local bands. Apart from the Southeast Asian market, I began to attempt and arrange for our entertainers to perform in Europe, North America, and Australia etc.

Thinking back of those years, the chance of performing overseas was very rare, therefore every time when the band and the dancers learned that there was an opportunity to go overseas to perform, they would sign up very enthusiastically. Everyone (including the singers, the band and crew members etc.) would not haggle over the remuneration, they merely wanted to have a chance to go abroad. Working abroad now and then are two different things; nowadays, majority of the band, the dancers and the behind-the-scene crew members have already been to most parts of the world to perform, so working abroad is not fresh to them anymore. If the number of performances is too small, they would either simply decline the invitation or demand for better terms and conditions. So it is a very big difference when compared to the past, just like heaven and earth.

A pair of foes

In the past, the Chinese people market was not very big, most of the audience worked in the Chinese restaurants. Since they could not go to the performance until they got off from work, therefore the time for the performance could not start until after 11:30 p.m. At that time, our production was quite big comparatively since we brought with us the band and the light and sound technicians etc. whom we had been using in Hong Kong. The singers would take care of their own make-up and hair styling.

At the very early stage, we had arranged for Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui to perform abroad on stage together. They were a pair of foes but if some unexpected events arose, they would take care of each other, thus turning the dangers into safety. Once, they performed in a theatre in England. Because the time for the set-up was very short, the acoustic effect was very poor. Leslie who always demanded a high standard, was supposed to rehearse first. However, unable to accept the poor condition, he therefore put down the mike and returned to the backstage. After Anita finished her rehearsal, we had to go to the backstage and sweet talk him into continuing with the rehearsal. Anita also helped in persuading him by saying, “The sound has just been fixed and the effect is pretty good now. It is acceptable.” Finally, he promised to continue with the rehearsal and performance that night.

In another time, in a nightclub in Malaysia, when Anita was performing, an audience got drunk and was making an uproar insisting to go on stage and sing with Anita. Leslie immediately came forward on the stage and helped her to decline that audience’s request and completed the performance that evening for her. The two of them can be said as the best partners.

Once in ten years ago, we had a lot of fun going to Australia. That was the first time for Chinese entertainers to set foot on the stage of the Sydney Entertainment Centre to do concerts (nowadays, a lot of Hong Kong entertainers still perform there). This venue is a bit similar to the Hong Kong Coliseum. It can hold about ten thousand people. In the past only the American singers could perform there. Even for local (Australian) singers, very few of them have ever performed there. Because there were not too many opportunities to perform in Australia, therefore many people signed up not caring how much they got for remuneration. They merely wanted to take part, just like joining a free package tour. That time, the performance was led by Leslie and Anita. The other guest stars included Lui Fong, Grasshoppers, and Pearl Law. Michael Lai was responsible for the behind-the-scene work, Lai Hok Bun was leading his big band, as well as other crew members, and the guest of honour was Chan Chi Keung (he only joined for fun)…etc. The local sponsor arranged for us to stay at the Regent Hotel in Sydney. Besides the performance and the rehearsal, we went to various attractions daily to do sightseeing as well as tasting the local gourmets. Apart from work, everyone had a good time together heartily enjoying the food and the scenery.

Once, when performing in France, Anita played hide-and-seek with some tour members in the garden of the hotel and went missing suddenly. Everyone thought that she had returned to her room, so the group was dispersed. However, we could not find her in her room so we returned to the garden and looked for her, and discovered that she was not feeling well and had passed out on a thick patch of grass. Luckily we found her on time.

Restaurants taking advantage of opportunities

In those years, when performing in Europe, a lot of the sponsors would arrange for our group of people to dine in some of the sponsors’ restaurants. Most of the time, those restaurants would take advantage of the opportunities. They would advertise in advance the date and time that the entertainers would appear (some would even say that they would sing there) in order to attract more customers. When the entertainers arrived, they would make up all kind of excuses to request them to sing on stage. In France, we had the following experience. They wished the singers to go on stage to accept the souvenirs but we insisted that they accepted them off the stage. They then made the host to go on stage to announce and even start playing the music, luckily we were all prepared, so when the music started, Michael Lai went on stage immediately and in a funny way requested that the music be stopped, and then happily accepted the souvenirs for the singers. On the other hand, those singers had already moved to the entrance, waving their hands showing their gratitude and then left immediately. Although many times, a deal was made in advance before attending the dinner, but this kind of things always happened in the past when touring in Europe and in the States because doing shows in those places relied very much on the sponsors most of the time.

Actually, in order to arrange for the whole group of people to go to Europe, merely for the air tickets and hotel accommodation, it was a huge sum of money already. The performance venue could not accommodate too many audience and the price of the tickets could not be too high either.

Anita loves to speak for the weak

I remember that this time when we went on tour in Europe, it was also the first time for the sponsor. In order for the sponsor to reduce some expenditure, besides I also wanted the entertainers to have a better accommodation, I therefore agreed to arrange for the entertainers and the crew members to stay in two different hotels; in fact, this way they could be taken care of more conveniently (just like in Hong Kong, the entertainers would stay in the Regent Hotel and then the crew members in the New World Hotel). But then when we arrived, Anita’s habit of speaking for the weak broke out again. She insisted that everyone should stay in the same hotel. Since the sponsor had already paid for both hotels, so in that situation, instead of saving some money, the sponsor had to pay even more. Besides, he did seek for my agreement in advance and my starting point was for the good of the entertainers. Seeing that the justice could not be redressed, Anita was upset and therefore did not cooperate with me afterwards. I therefore had to get David to temporarily look after her, while I only looked after Leslie, to avoid putting both sides in a difficult situation. After we returned to Hong Kong, Anita blamed me for being bias and that I only cared about Leslie and had neglected her. Actually I cared about both of them and would not be bias. However, I failed this time because in order to control the overall situation, I could not stay on good terms with everyone. Today, Anita is mature; besides she is the manager of two singers (Ho Wan Sze, Pang King Chi), she will certainly understand the method I used then to handle the situation.

The fight of two gangs

Another time was when I was on tour to the States with Leslie. We heard that there was a fight between two gangs, and we were almost being affected. The local sponsor was originally very enthusiastic, but after we arrived, we only saw him appearing two to three times. It turned out that he was concerned that someone would look for trouble and then frightened us off, that was the reason for the very few contacts. During the performance, I sat with him to watch the show; when we arrived at Canada, we then learned that the day when we performed in the States, since the sponsor feared that his enemy would disturb us (actually he had received the news beforehand), therefore a lot of bouncers were put on guard in and out of the theatre, and many weapons were also being placed in the theatre. He did not tell us beforehand because he was afraid that we would run away. I really could not imagine how Leslie could sing in the hail of bullets. I thought this type of plot could only be found in movies.

Loving your sincerity….. the story of preserved plums

愛你一片真... 雪花梅的故事

Source: Sudden Weekly, November 24, 2006 issue

Translated by Daydreamer on November 29, 2006

In Michelle's purse, there is always one or two packs of Wong Wing Kee's preserved plums, as well as her idol Leslie Cheung's handsome picture. She first fell in love with Leslie, then with the preserved plums.

Michelle has been following Gorgor for many years and she discovered that Gorgor's real self is as true as his songs, i.e. with genuine and good quality. Besides, he is very real and sincere to others.

Because of her love for her idol, she also follows his taste. Wong Wing Kee's preserved plums is one of Gorgor's beloved snacks, Michelle therefore also follows suit. After she tried it once, she discovered that it is different from any other brands because its sweetness does not give you an after-taste, it is soothing yet soft and easy to chew, like snowflakes. Since then, Wong Wing Kee's preserved plums becomes one of Michelle’s most favourite snacks.

After Gorgor left us, Michelle feels that nowadays we cannot find anyone as frank and sincere as Gorgor in the entertainment industry anymore. Today's singers are all packaged by the record companies. They are like marshmallows with a beautiful look yet does not taste good and the feeling is very unreal. Also the songs they sing do not have the taste like those of Gorgor.

On April 1 of every year, i.e. the day of Gorgor's death anniversary, Michelle will take a few packs of Wong Wing Kee's preserved plums to Gorgor's place to pay respect to him hoping that Gorgor will accept her sincere love to him.

Michelle is an Accountant

Address of Wong Wing Kee: 52 Jervois Street, Lee Kee Commercial Building, Ground Floor, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
王榮記地址：上環蘇杭街52號地下

Chen Kaige's self-critique at the Masters Lecture held in Greece: Seeing the world through the children's eyes

陈凯歌希腊办大师讲座影片自评 : 用孩子的眼光看世界

Source: Sina Entertainment
Date 2006-11-27
From http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2006-11-27/07441344514.html

Translated by Daydreamer on November 27, 2006

(Only the part about Gorgor was translated and posted here)

“Farewell To My Concubine”

I grew up in Beijing. I love this city. Say it more accurately, I loved this city when I was very young; it had modern tall buildings, as well as ancient architecture like the Forbidden City. Unfortunately, in the recent ten years, everything has changed. I live in Beijing, but sometimes I feel very puzzled as to where I am actually living in. You may say Beijing is like New York and Sydney, but where is our old Beijing. Some times I feel sorry because of this. I remember that several years ago I had filmed a movie called “Aged in Ten Minutes” with other directors. I regret that in my heart Beijing in a certain degree has vanished. Actually what has vanished is not merely the old constructions, but our life style. We have changed to another type of people, a type that doesn’t remember their origin anymore. I believe this is a tragedy. Therefore I filmed “Farewell To My Concubine”; I did so not merely to demonstrate the change of the society, but also to show how the life of people was being affected under the influence of the change of the society. I feel the film was made pretty nicely. I feel that Leslie Cheung was not merely a good actor, simultaneously he was a person with extremely good personality. I did not feel that I was working with a movie star. He could express what I asked for; he could express the soul of the character, and most importantly, we possessed the identical dream which is to make a great movie.

“Temptress Moon”

From this movie you may see our human nature. Many people said that this is a very dark movie. This is a movie that reveals the dark side of human beings. The camera shuttles back and forth in the old times, and my heart also shuttles back and forth in the old times. I cannot say that that was the best way to express this movie but I am sure that this was the movie that I wanted to make. A movie director may not necessarily be capable to make each movie a good one. There are ups and downs in everyone’s life, and that’s a fact. That’s the reason why my father told me that I should never give up.


A response by a fans .雨蝶. downloaded from http://bbs.ent.163.com/zhangguorong/169883,0,50,0,40,1.html?userid=

Last week, I watched from YouTube the six segments of Chen Kaige’s interviews, especially the part about his idea of filming the children, my heart ached….

I admire the children because they know nothing about the world, but they have confidence. Having confidence means that they have the ability to trust people, but we don't have …. If you have a pure heart forever, then you may tell yourself that you may continue to make good movies. [said by Chen Kaige]

Feeling Your Gentleness from the Touch of Your Fingertips 划过指尖的温柔

Author: 爱荣 Ai Rong
Date: 2006-11-06 14:58:13
Downloaded from: http://bbs.ent.163.com/zhangguorong/168448,1,50,0,40,3.html?userid=

Translated by Daydreamer on November 23, 2006

You’ve left us for many years now. Your songs have been listened to for many years and your concerts have been watched over and over again for a thousand times.

After watching them, my heart turned from excitement to tranquility, and then to the current state of silence. What makes me different from other people is that there is still a faint trace of palpitation deep in my heart.

Lately, I suddenly discovered that I have always had your everything blend into my life. Actually, my movement and action which are deeply affected by you all have your shadow in them.

Re-watching your performances, the ‘85 concert, then the ‘86, ‘88, ‘89, ‘97, and then the Passion Tour, I suddenly discovered that when you interacted with your fans, when you were close to them, and when you shook hands with them, I could actually feel in my heart your gentleness from the touch of your fingertips.

In ’85, you were young and full of inexhaustible fervor, yet you were also so helpless. Those fans who were crazy about you almost tore you apart. Then came ’89, you became very mature and were capable to keep the contact with your fans under control. The scene that touches me most is when you bent your upper body forward touching the fingertips of a fan. That fan did not know how fortunate she has been to have that honour. Then in the Passion Tour, your fast beat songs and your speedy run, with the coordination of your fans’ enthusiasms, you achieved the goal of a perfect performance and you were already in control of everything.

Your love towards your fans is all over the place; and your affection towards them can be seen everywhere.

Your love, we’ve known. Your affection, we’ve already accepted. However, that is not enough. Because of you, we are strict with ourselves; because of you, we always behave ourselves everywhere, as we do not want to smear the honourable title of a Leslie fan.

Some times, I would also think that if there was next life, I would ignore all consequences and use up all the resources to be close to you, to hug you, and to feel your gentleness. Some times, I would comfort myself that although I had not come face to face with you, there were innumerable people who are just like me. I would merely treat it as a dream.

In my mind, that scene can never be gotten rid of. In a flash memory, I always thought that how nice it would be if I were that fan. I know that is only a dream, therefore there will never be any more fantasy. Knowing that it will never be realized, I therefore keep it in my memory.

I remember that many years ago, my first time learning how to drink coffee, for somehow, I suddenly recalled that you said to your fans that you would open a coffee shop. I also thought that if at all possible I would certainly go to your coffee shop and taste the coffee. Many years later, in deep agony and despair, I still cannot give up my dream about the coffee. Even after you have left us, I still love the coffee as before, merely because of your touching promise to your fans, and because of your kindness to them.

Actually, no matter whether it is in the past, at present, or in the future, you have not left me at all. Actually, from your pictures, your songs, your movies, your performance, your everything, I can constantly feel your gentleness. Therefore, often when I am awake, I will close my eyes and imagine, imagine that your fingertips are gently touching mine, carrying a trace of warmth and a trace of gentleness.

Looking back again, my eyes are all moist and everything becomes a blur. Looking back again, our minds meet.

A little bit of envy and a little bit of jealousy. But helplessly I could only smile and say to myself that let’s meet again in our next life.

For those past years, I was lucky to have you accompanying me.

Gripping your hand that reaches out through space and time, let me stare into your eyes which are full of warmth, sincerity and tenderness.

At this moment, my fingertips again can feel your gentleness, and at this time, my heart for you is as before.

2005 Sound of the Wind and Shadow of the Moon, Fondly Remembered Leslie Cheung – by Huang Lo

2005 風聲月影，懷念張國榮--王路

Source: National University of Defense Technology Alumni Website

Translated by Daydreamer on February 28, 2006

Today is April 1st and it also marks the second anniversary of Leslie’s death. I have never thought that the fans of Leslie would still so fondly and sentimentally cherish the memory of him. It is as if only after his passing away that his true value becomes absolute. Not only fans from all over the world held different kinds of activities to commemorate him, even various big Chinese media websites, such as SINA, TOM, SOHU, have established special columns to recollect Leslie’s lifetime achievements. This did not happen to Anita Mui, nor to Roman Tam. Why?

It has already been two years now. For me who have had the predestined opportunity to work with Leslie should write something.

I remembered two year ago today in the morning, I rushed back to work. The other reporters from the News Department still had not showed up as yet. The office was empty except for myself. I was putting on make-up in preparation for the airing of a program. At that time, a young boy from the music section of our television station came in. In a very tranquil voice, he softly told me that: “Leslie Cheung has committed suicide.”

“Who?” I thought I had not been listening clearly.

“Leslie Cheung.” That young boy spoke gently as if trying to observe my expression.

“Oh? But why?”

That young boy shrugged his shoulders, but did not reply.

“How did that happen?” I asked.

“He jumped to his death.” That young boy paused for a second and said, “If you don’t believe, you may surf the internet. The news is all over the place.”

“I don’t believe.” I replied firmly. After saying that, I turned around and immediately rushed into the main control room of our television station.

The main control room is responsible for the side recording of the real-time news of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. After the clips are being slightly edited and reorganized, they will be broadcast in the North America area. We can therefore watch the first hand news without any delay.

I asked the attendant to reload the side-record tapes of that day wishing to have a look at the news about Leslie. The attendant pouted and pointed at the big platoon of monitoring device. I was startled that the big platoon of televisions was all broadcasting the identical piece of news. A very striking title – “Leslie Cheung has committed suicide”. Since the news just came out and many details had not been fully revealed, therefore the camera just remained there focusing on the spot where the accident took place, and kept on re-running the big splash of blood left behind by Leslie at the spot where he fell. I could not believe my own eyes nor my ears. Could that big splash of blood really belongs to him?

I felt extremely sad.

Afterwards the Los Angeles local broadcasting station interviewed me and asked me about my feeling towards Leslie as well as my evaluation of him. I told them that:




If I have to use a term to describe him, then Leslie is the rare beauty of the world.

He is transcendental and asexual.

He may love men and he may love women.

Men may love him, and so may women.

What does he represent?

He represents gorgeous beauty, daintiness and charm, despair and grief…. and many many more. We can find them all in him.

His death no doubt causes us a lot of sorrow but choosing to end his life this way, by diving down to death, seems to be the most perfect full stop for his legendary life. This kind of death completes his elegant demeanor as a superstar. Superstar is always like this, isn’t that so? Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Teresa Teng, Princess Diana …. The death of all these superstars often makes people feel sorry and heartbroken.

Leslie and I worked together in late 1994. At that time, I was shooting my first TV series “Under the Roof in Big Shanghai” directed by Xie Jin (謝晉). At that same time, I was also chosen by Chen Kaige to play the role of Mrs. Lau, a wealthy woman, in his movie “Temptress Moon”. In that movie, Leslie Cheung and Gong Li were the leading characters. In the drama team at that time, Zhou Xun (周迅 now a very popular actress), who hadn’t got the fame as yet, played a role similar to mine. My role in the movie was a simple one and was played against Leslie only. I played the role of Mrs. Lau, a lonely wealthy woman with high society standing, and Leslie’s role was a swindler controlled by some gangsters in Shanghai who used him to seduce rich wives and women in order to beguile them of their money. They called this group of gangsters “Ji-Bai-Dang吃白黨”.

The first time when I saw Leslie, I felt that he was very lean and fragile, and full of the air of intellectual. He was very quiet, so quiet that you would not even notice his existence. After his part was shot, he would always sit in a quiet corner by himself smoking, and would study the dialogues of his upcoming scenes. I felt that the way he smoked was like an immortal, entirely unreal and illusory, as if swinging far away in the middle of the air, making you scared of getting too close to him; rather you would only stay in one side and look at him from a distance. Sometimes he would take the initiative to talk to you, asking you some questions softly and precisely. For instance, he told me that I might stroke his hair and it did not matter if his hair was messed up.

The deepest impression he gave me is that once we were all having our meal, he however did not eat, instead he repeatedly ran up and down the stairs on the set for more than twenty times, making a noise of “tung” “tung” “tung”. It was because in the next scene, he would be filmed to be entering into the guesthouse running up the stairs. He was making good use of that time to practise while everyone else was having his/her meal. A big star like him treated his job so seriously certainly is something that we, junior actors, should learn.


The scene that Leslie and I were playing was one with intensive emotion and passion. Before it was shot, I was worried that I would get overly excited. But once we started shooting it, my worry was quite unnecessary. Leslie was very very caring and patient. Something worth mentioning is that there was a close-up shot in the movie of my return look. Leslie was not required to take part in that shot so he could take a rest. A staff was arranged by the director Chen Kaige to take Leslie’s place so that he might give me a guideline to draw my visual attention. But since that staff was only there giving me a visual line of sight, he therefore simply stood there with a poker face. When I turned my head to look at him and was full of deep affection, I felt that I was making an expression towards a piece of wood. I was not satisfied with that shot, and was getting ready to have a second try. Leslie pushed that staff away and said, “Let me do it”. When I turned my head that second time and caught Leslie’s affectionate gaze full of a plaintive expression, it was like an awakening to me and I immediately got the signal that my opponent was trying to give me. An international superstar who treated every scene with seriousness, and respected and coordinated with his opponents so earnestly, I could only use one word to describe him, which is “professionalism”.

Leslie has already gone, however, every time when I listen to his song or look at his performance, I feel that he is still living in this world, dancing and singing gracefully in some corner on earth.

Written by Huang Lo on April 1, 2005 in Los Angeles

Dialogue with the Star: Leslie Cheung

http://www.lesliesky.com/cgi-bin/topic.cgi?forum=35&topic=379&show=0

Translated by Daydreamer in 2006

I am what I am

“Hong Kong does not have any reporters. I could only see a bunch of “story-makers”, very disappointing and extremely awful “story-makers”, am I right? They do not have the qualifications to call themselves reporters! They just do not have such qualifications!”

This was the speech that Leslie made in the interview, with rage and anger.

Perhaps this is the sadness about the majority of the entertainment reporters in Hong Kong. Although we are doing the same business, but my colleagues of the local electronic and print-media section who also present at this interview were all too ready to agree with this remark. This is beyond the subject.

Before the interview took place, I [Man Hong] had prepared well with an intention to explore the real Gorgor. Gorgor who was sitting right in front of me has not set up a defensive wall. Instead, he spoke freely about music, career and life. Every single word he spoke in response to my questions, he seemed to have injected into them his enriched feelings and spirits, making the atmosphere very vivid and lively.

How magnificent! Just by reading the dialogue between Gorgor and me, you could feel Gorgor’s happiness, contentment, anger, and dissatisfaction……


Willing to sacrifice for the sake of art


Enjoying happy life

Hong: Man Hong
Leslie: Leslie Cheung

Hong: My dream has finally come true! I was your super fan ever since I was young. Fortunately Gorgor is still singing; otherwise, someone like me who is a nobody will never have the chance to interview you at such a close distance.

Leslie: Oh, come on. There you go again, saying that you have listened to my songs since childhood! Haha, thanks everyone for your support. As a matter of fact, I have not produced a record for almost seven to eight years. Luckily I am still making movies, therefore I managed to maintain a certain degree of exposure.

Hong: I thought that as a media worker myself, I should report more often on diligent artists like you. Apart from the gossip news that we see everyday, let’s look at it from another angle. Leslie Cheung in these years, he has faith in his heart, persistence and never-ceasing diligence and concern about his career. What is all that for?

Leslie: If you are a friend of mine, then you will understand very well what kind of person I truly am. All my friends and colleagues can tell you that Leslie Cheung is a real artist, one who works hard to pursue his ideal, one who has expectation and demands in his work and who is willing and ready to sacrifice.

I can say that I have never treated the fans who love me unjustly, nor have I ever disappointed them, because all the time I have devoted myself wholeheartedly to my work. Having worked for so many years, frankly speaking, the struggling process has been pretty uneventful. Until now, I have a group of friends who treat me sincerely. Haha, I cannot say that my status is high, but if you ask them what kind of person Leslie is, my friends from the circle would certainly speak many kind words for me.

Now, I do not have concerns any more and I won’t be bothered with materialistic things. The most important thing now is to make some good music and good movies so that the audience could feel the products with good quality and high standard.

Right now I am living with ease and frankness and have ego ideal, but don’t be mistaken, I am absolutely not arrogant.

It’s my prime time at this moment. Now I realized what life is. Today, you should feel lucky because you may see me perform and share my happiness. No matter where I performed, the positive reports would point out that you could eventually feel the happiness and relaxation that Leslie had brought you. That’s quite enough.

Hong: Today’s Leslie makes people feel that he is full of self-confidence, isn’t it because you have already grasped the true meaning of life and is not trying to persist in anything else; thus your self-confidence has naturally been increased? Or isn’t it because you are becoming more ambitious and therefore it won’t work if you don’t have any confidence?

Leslie: Ambition? Of course, I have ambition. At that time when I made up my mind to film “Farewell to My Concubine”, it already proved how big my ambition was. To me, making “Farewell to My Concubine” was a very big challenge. Imagine at that time I had to learn a lot of things that I did not understand at all; and the language was a hardship that was not easy to conquer. For the whole half year, I did not leave Beijing at all. Of course, I managed to grab a superficial knowledge of Peking opera only. You know that I am a Cantonese. It’s not bad at all that I can now speak Mandarin so fluently which is much better than a lot of Hong Kong actors.

I hope that every movie that I make will have a certain degree of difficulty. For instance, in the movie “Double Tap” which I made at the beginning of this year, I played the role of a killer who had some psychological problems. I was able to accomplish a breakthrough in acting by playing that role with a lot of sincerity. In fact, not many actors are willing to play that kind of role because that will destroy their images. However, I don’t really care. I would like to try out different roles.

At the same time, the recognition and demand in my singing from the Asian market is the energy and force that has pushed me to look for more new creation. Do you know how much I enjoy trying out new attempts?


Asking the media for justice

Hong: Then you do enjoy possessing the achievements you have right now?

Leslie: I admit that I really have been to many places and occasions that very few people have ever had the opportunity to go; such as the Oscar Academy Award Ceremony, Golden Globe Award, Berlin Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival ….. I have a wish: If my music can be played in the Grammy Award Ceremony one day, then I really do not have any more regret in my life!

Never underrate the Asian entertainers. We certainly will go beyond the boundary one day, holding our heads high, into the international market. In respect of movies, Asian entertainers have received many international awards; for instance, Tony Leung Chiu Wai has recently got the Best Actor Award in Cannes.

I discovered that this world is getting smaller and smaller. Even Jacky Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh have all managed to successfully go to Hollywood. It’s not that difficult!

Hong: From my perspective, no matter it is acting, singing or standing in front of the audience, you are always confident and composed in every single second; is that the real you?

Leslie: I don’t know whether you have ever listened to one of the songs “I” in my latest album which is my self-portrayal. In the lyrics, there are a few sentences which read “I forever like the way I am”, “open and upright”. I feel that people have to respect one another and must also know how to respect and love themselves. If you (those paparazzi) surreptitiously took the pictures of me and still said that I was wrong, then it really cannot be justified!

As you have just said, I had indeed let loose and become more relaxed. I do not want to achieve something which is overly startling, nor am I trying to resist anyone. I only want to ask for some justice for myself and for some other entertainers who deserve some protection.

I really found it repugnant because some reports did intentionally twist the facts. For example in the reports on Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Anita Mui, the reporters never talk about the breakthrough in their music or movies. They only talk about the photos they have stealthily taken which reveal the artists’ bodies or problems relating to their love affairs. This is absolutely nonsense because those are our private affairs and we basically do not have to explain to the media or to the public about them.

Once, they (the Hong Kong entertainment reporters) asked an entertainer [here Leslie refers to himself] why he did not give them an opportunity to interview him. It is not a matter of whether or not to give them an opportunity, the point is I have been in this field for so many years, the public knows better than me as to what I am doing. So don’t start asking me, “Leslie, how many years have you been in this field?”

If you come to interview me, that means I have to set aside some of my precious time to do so; therefore, you have to do some good preparation! Actually, I know well what their intention is; that is, merely to shoot a few pictures, then go back to the office and make up some stories. I feel like I was being cheated! I opened up my heart to tell you the truth, but what I got in return was a report of an exclusive interview with some astonishing and false contents.

Once, a reporter from China asked me if I agreed that the relationship between entertainers and media should be very close. I absolutely agree to this viewpoint because it is an interactive relationship. It’s a matter of taking advantage of each other’s strength, so you praise me and I praise you. In this way the entertainer’s name may be more widespread, and his or her movies or music may be enhanced to a more international standard. However the facts have been twisted continuously, and so the only thing I could do is to hide in my house every day.

When one has been continuously exploited by people in his own country, it has already become a game that I don’t want to play anymore. Of course, I have good relationship with the media in Asia. I am merely criticizing some reporters who behave badly.


Happiness comes from love in the heart. I treasure my group of intimate friends

Hong: From your smile and the way you talk, I could feel that you are very happy. But from listening to your songs and watching your movies, I feel that you have a very high expectation and are not the kind of person who can be satisfied easily.

Leslie: Really, I am a standard Virgo and you know how picky the Virgos are! Happiness comes from love! I love my family very much. However when my mother was still alive, I would not call home every day even though I was missing her greatly. But I will let my family feel that I am always around when they need me.

Also, the biggest gain I made in this circle is that I have made a bunch of good friends. Even though there are twisted reports, they will still stand by me and keep off those rumors and slanders on me.


Man Hong’s feelings expressed in words: Forever a brilliant superstar

Man Hong, a super fan!

There was once a little boy who was only seven years’ old. He was ignorant of everything; but every year when the HKTVB broadcast the Golden Songs Awards Presentation, he would love to stand before the television and screamed “Leslie! Leslie!” When Leslie came on stage to accept his award and sing, that little boy would sing and dance along, giving a free entertainment for his friends.

“Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Monica!”

“As unruly as the wind in the past ….”

“The wind continues to blow, cannot endure to be far away….”

“Lowering my eyes while turning off the light….”

“Who will understand these feelings of mine….”

This little boy who has been shouting the word “LESLIE” more often than the word “dad”, no matter doing it aloud or just in his heart, has grown up and spent his autistic childhood with his [Leslie’s] songs. The first English word he learned was “LESLIE”. The first popular singer’s voice he listened to was “LESLIE’s”. Therefore, he only believes in LESLIE!”

Since 7 years’ old, this little boy has been singing his [Leslie’s] songs in front of the television. To date, this little boy is 27 years’ old already. He really has to thank him [Leslie] for keeping on singing. Otherwise, this little boy will never believe that a dream can really come true!

This was my prologue when I interviewed Leslie for the first time.

I suppressed my excitement in my heart. I always reminded myself that I should not show my feeling. I had to be careful to behave well in front of such an artist who was so professional. At least I had to produce a program with him professionally. In front of us, there were four cameras from the television channel; and on the table there were two print-media recorders. How could I not be on guard?

Frankly speaking, I suddenly felt that this interview with him was very exceptional! It also makes me feel that we should keep on learning modestly and humbly. Man Hong, now you have the chance to interview so many entertainers; no matter famous or not, it surely is a privilege to have them appear in front of you.

LESLIE is an artist with extremely rich sentiments. We can use the word righteous to describe him. All you need to do is to cherish his professionalism and performance (special editions of his albums and stage performance). He does not want you to care about his other things other than that. He is very sentimental; therefore, at the end of the interview, he cried! (I was very touched too, and that was absolutely unintentional.)

Lastly, I wish to tell you Leslie: No matter what type of person you are and no matter what special kind of person you like, I will always support you! Because you are indeed a very brilliant superstar!


Note from Translator: Date of this interview is unsure. According to the text, it looks like it was taken place in China after the release of the album ‘Greatest Heat’ in 2000.

My “A Time To Remember”- Director Ye Daying's Response

Director Ye Daying's Response posted in his Blog
on 2006-11-11　09:08:25
http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/4a6c42cf010006rc

Translated by Daydreamer on 2006-11-12

[Note from Daydreamer: Thank you, Director Ye Daying for loving Leslie.]

My “A Time To Remember”

Your responses [to my Blog message] pulled me back to the deepest recollection.

Oh, my God, I just don't expect that there are so many people who still remember so well the lines of “A Time To Remember”!

I also especially love those lines. You posted them back on the blog's response, and when I read them again I felt like reading writing of someone else, and it seems as if the scene when those lines were written was right front of me.

There are certain things that one does not dare to touch so easily, there is recollection that cannot be recalled too often, they will lead us to a state of inexplicable pain, a kind of hidden sorrow in heart. Today, it looks like that our hidden sorrow was not merely of Leslie Cheung, but also of the sadness brought by the story of “A Time To Remember”…..

Frankly speaking, for many years, I didn't dare to dissolutely recall “A Time To Remember”, from the story of the movie to the real world, I didn’t dare to let myself immerse into her [the movie]. I remember that when I studied at the movie institute, I had a desire to tell a love story like this one – a touching and brave story that would fascinate you as well as make you feel heartbroken. A story that would make those who understand her being deeply carried away by her, and tears would fall down quietly, without any noise…..

After “A Time To Remember” was made, I did not know what I should film for a long time. She was a kind of completion, a kind of realization, a kind of pride, a kind of addiction in my heart!

“A Time To Remember” was like a long-forgotten dream that I had made many years ago, and that time I was not even fourteen years old. It felt as if that kind of story could only be told at that age.

Actually, everyone can be a story himself. Leslie's story is so splendid. He did not wait for the ending to come as predestined, instead he came forward and let the story finish earlier. Only this way has made so many people who love him feel so regretful. He is a maestro; he understood the values of sacrifice! As for us, we are to slowly taste and appreciate the story that he left us.

“…. that building was very tall, she stayed in the air for a long time…..”

When we have the chance, let's revisit that scene. We finished that scene in one shot, more than five minutes long without any pause. I remember that after that scene was shot, Leslie was very excited and said to me, “Director, you mustn't edit it!” Afterwards, when editing that part, I did cut it up once. When I think of it now I feel regretful, but how could I know what would happen afterwards?

Let's stop here for now and allow me to answer some of the friends' questions;

Thank you Leslie fan-friends' warm invitation. Because of my work commitment, I don't have time to go and attend your activities, but please believe that when you hold commemorative activities, my heart will be with you.

About the music of “A Time To Remember”, I am setting up a small website with Xu Lei, and I will put my movie music on it. Perhaps if I have the chance, I will invite the friends from Sina to add the music of the theme song.

I am not in Germany. I am right now shooting the TV series “Xian Incident” and I am running about the sets at Xian, Nanking and Beijing.

About Leslie's stills and work pictures of “A Time To Remember”, I will find time to organize them after my present work is over. So please understand.

Once again, thanks for all your responses.

I wish that everyone will remember our deceased friend and face everything that's going to happen today in a good mood!

Link: http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/4a6c42cf010006rc

Director Ye Daying's Message "My Friend" posted in his Blog

Following was downloaded from the Director of "A Time To Remember" Mr. Ye Daying's Blog site posted on 2006-11-07 09:30:43

http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/4a6c42cf010006ol

Translated by Daydreamer on 2006-11-10

That year, I was shooting the TV series “Passing By Happiness”. After dinner, I received a call from a friend saying that he [Leslie] had an accident. At that time, I thought which bastard would play such a joke on us because that day was the April Fool’s Day. On my return to the drama team, I made a few calls to my good friends in Hong Kong and it was finally confirmed.

Shortly after that, reporters started to call me. I could hardly say anything, merely feeling tears swelling in my eyes. I therefore turned off my cell phone.

I remember that the last time we met was in a disco in Beijing. My mood was very down at that time insanely hanging out all day. I did not want to make any movie nor to do anything at all. I remember that at that time, I was about to leave the room, as soon as the door was opened, I unexpectedly saw Leslie walking towards me. He gave me a big hug for a long time. He said, “Brother, what happened to you?”.

We then settled down in another room. He and I had a very long talk. He told me how he struggled step by step since childhood in order to get to his present state. He said he cherished everything that he possessed. He also said, “We should learn how to treasure things. We should make movies!”

I don’t want to guess why he made that choice. I could only accept it as a fact that my good friend has gone. In my heart, I always remember him as well as the days we spent together when we made the movie.

Towards someone who pretended that he knew the fact, saying why he [Leslie] made that choice, what I wanted to say here is that that director did not have anything better to do. What do you think you are? Do you consider yourself as someone who knows everything about the Hong Kong entertainment world? Are you bored or not? When your film was not nicely made then you wanted to use the gossips to attract people’s attention. You should come forward and apologize to the deceased, and to those audience who love Leslie.

This morning, I did not know why I wanted to say these out.

MESSAGE BY 流浪的榮迷
Downloaded from http://bbs.ent.163.com/zhangguorong/168572,0,50,0,40,46.html?userid=

Notes from Daydreamer: 流浪的榮迷, A Time to Remember is also my favourite movie of Gorgor’s too. Because I love Jin, because I love Gorgor, I love what you’ve written.

哥哥，我们的红色恋人！

靳的故事、靳的精神、靳的音乐、靳的形象、靳的笑脸、靳的身影、
靳的声音、靳的围巾、靳的俄罗斯文学、靳的一切一切，永存我心！

“我要告诉你们，此刻，正有一群顽强的战士，
正不屈不挠地在坚持着他们自己的信念，他们的理想，他们的主义，
他们的名字叫——红军！”

亲爱的靳，我们都是您的战士，让我们千万次地为您呐喊——
“太阳出来了！”
“太阳出来了！”
“太阳出来了！”

永远怀念红色恋人哥哥張國榮!

Gorgor, our red lover!

Jin’s story, Jin’s spirit, Jin’s music, Jin’s image, Jin’s smiling face, Jin’s shadow, Jin’s voice, Jin’s scarf, Jin’s Russian literature, Jin’s everything, will forever be in my heart!

“I have to tell you, at this moment, there is a group of tenacious warriors, indomitably persisting they faith, their dream, their ideology, their name is – red army!”

Dear Jin, we are your warriors, let us cry out for you thousands of times----

“The sun has come out!”
“The sun has come out!”
“The sun has come out!”

Forever cherish the memory of our red lover Gorgor Leslie Cheung!

Following is Message posted by Ashley Yao in her Blog on November 8, 2006 re Director Ye's message

After reading this message, I was very sad …. very very sad …. haven’t been so sad for a very long time……

“Brother, what happened to you?”
“We should learn how to treasure things. We should make movies!”

We could almost see his then facial expression, tone, and lively appearance….

Such a kind person, being so kind to everyone….
Seeing that Director Ye was so similar to all of us who did not want to mention his name, instead he merely said, “he”, “he”, naturally we all understand that kind of sentiment ….

Remember well that after he left us, Director Ye was interviewed by CCTV. He spoke incoherently, broke down and then choked with sobs. Basically no matter what the host asked him, he merely stayed absent mindedly in his own state of mind and kept saying “Why did he leave, why did he leave…..”

Director Ye is not the noisy type of person all along so he was in what kind of mood to offend a live person for someone who’s already dead…..

Actually He Ping was innocent. He merely explained how dangerous depression is. Looking at his original speech, he has not told any lie. Even if Florence Chan came out and made a speech, it would be the same thing. He was merely made use of by the media who did not have any conscience, summarizing a thought quoted out of context, setting up a subject to win audience’ attention, making up a vulgar type of news…..

In this world, there are people who are heartless, and luckily there also exist some people who are loyal and sincere.

Jacob Cheung: “The Kid” has made a profit

Posted by monicamok
on 2006-11-04 19:02:25
at http://bbs.ent.163.com/zhangguorong/168328,0,50,0,40,17.html?userid=

(Only the part about Leslie was extracted) 2006-11-04 Hangzhou website

Translated by Daydreamer on November 9, 2006


Jacob Cheung: That Year I collaborated with Leslie on the movie “The Kid”

At that time, Leslie Cheung was only paid $1 as his remuneration. Since a contract had to be signed, he therefore had to accept that $1. However, as a director, Jacob Cheung also had his own persistence. That same year, more than twenty directors in Hong Kong started an alliance of originality and creativity, hoping that without taking any remuneration, they would film some not-too-commercial movies. Eventually only he and Leslie Cheung had fulfilled the promise in filming the alliance’s one and only movie “The Kid”. Now when speaking of it, Jacob Cheung still did not feel regretful, however he felt sorry for “Gorgor”: “He has put his body and soul into this movie, but at that time, he only took $1 as his remuneration. At that time, that movie had not attracted much attention, therefore he also felt it regretful. This matter has continuously been bothering me until now….” He said that this June, the copy right of “The Kid” was sold to the Malaysian television the second time, therefore some profit was made. This in a way seems to give back to Leslie some justice. “Because of this movie, a company was set up by Leslie and me. I wish that following “The Kid, this company will keep on existing….” When Jacob Cheung talked about this, his voice somewhat choked up and his eyes turned red.

Only In Eden Would You Know Spring [A sentence extracted from the aria of Peking opera “Peony Pavilion遊園驚夢”]

Author: Ashley Yao (author of “Leslie Cheung’s Movie Life” published in March 2006)

Date of submission: February 6, 2006, 14:11 hours

Translated into English from Chinese by Daydreamer on July 28, 2006

“Only in Eden Would You Know Spring”
--- A collection of thoughts after attending the "Farewell to My Concubine" Art Exhibition – Shanghai Stop

It turned out that for the costume of Yu Ji (虞姬) (the concubine in the opera), there was embroidery even along the inner part of the gown ……

It turned out that the scabbard of the treasured sword was covered with python skin and was set with gems ……

It turned out that the box of head ornaments that Yuan Siye (袁四爺) gave to Deiyi (蝶衣) as present was so exquisite and brilliant ……

It turned out that the two desk lamps we saw in the powder room were standard antique lamps and could hardly be found anywhere else nowadays. When the movie was made, the stage prop experts used old candlestick holders to transform into two lamps ……

It turned out that Thomson and Oriental Entertainment had well in advance made preparation to shoot the special edition of the making of the film; thus several boxes of news brief films were made ……

It turned out that Leslie Cheung not merely could enter into the role he played swiftly; he could also pull himself out of it as quickly ……

It turned out that the sad and pitiful scene of Chen Dieyi greeting Duan Xiaolou at the city tower after Xiaolou was released from prison was actually shot in a very merry mood. After Dieyi was spat on by Xiaolou, he was at a loss and puzzled, then the director who was satisfied with this scene shouted, “Cut!” Cheung Gorgor however continued to hold on to that despaired facial expression for another two seconds, then suddenly burst into a naughty laugh and called out to the direction where Xialou had departed, with an urgent and tight glottis: “Don’t go away as yet!” ……

It turned out that it was a very complicated shot for the scene in which he was wearing the ceremonial hat smoking, then heard the hawker shouting “candied gourd”. Director Chen spoke endlessly beside him: “…… you first hear it, then realize it, then think of it, then you suddenly cough……” Cheung Gorgor kept nodding, took a look at the front of his costume, continued to maintain the smoking posture, then said to someone, “Come and help me fix my costume here a little bit.” Then they began to shoot. He did exactly as was told by the director, “first hear it, then realize it, then think of it, then suddenly cough”, then the director shouted “cut”. Cheung Gorgor was pleased with himself and smiled, he jumped forward using the step of Cha-Cha and stretched out his hand making a “OK” sign, then probably realizing that the scene was not finished, he then jumped back on to the staircase right away ……

It turned out that before shooting the scene of his singing the opera arias “Peony Pavillon (牡丹亭)” for the Japanese soldiers, he was sitting on the movie set happily and relaxingly using a folding fan to cover up half of his face, looking at the camera playing “hide and seek” ……

It turned out that at the scene of Juxian going to the jail to visit Dieyi, he and Gong Li (鞏俐) had taken a nondescript working photo together: Gong Li maintained the look as in the movie, sitting on the chair with a very calm face, but he stood there beside her, with a face full of dirt and the whole body full of dust, leaned against Gong Li and smiled brightly ……

It turned out that at the scene where he was having a drink with Yuan Siye, he laughed so vigorously that he was in a complete mess, thus he had to put his hand on his mouth trying to stay calm, and then turned towards the director and asked in a drawn-out voice, “May I laugh, Kaige, may I laugh?” ……

It turned out that it took a long time to shoot the scene of his playing Peking opera with Yuan Siye. At the rehearsal, he and Ge You (葛優) [the actor playing the role of Yuan Siye] rushed out of the door hand in hand, stood at the foot of the stairs rocking back and forth, embracing together, then he flung off Ge You’s hand, grinningly using his fingers to poke at Ge You……

It turned out that when Ge You disguised as the overlord, Cheung Gorgor was by his side, with a quick and powerful movement, he had performed a complete version of the suicidal scene of Yu Ji: he whirled around twice on the same spot, both hands, with the fingers like orchid, pressed down firmly, turned around, drew out the sword from the waist of the overlord, ran a half circle, looked at the sword once, then with a sigh said, “It’s done with!” With an effort he cut his neck horizontally, then freeze-framed. Then what followed? Then he finished his part by moving the sword in an attractive way like dancing and then putting the sword at the back, walked away valiantly ……

It turned out that he learned his suicidal movement from Mei Lanfang (梅蘭芳) [the most famous opera actor who played female roles in Peking Opera]. If you have seen the original version, then you would know that Mr. Mei also looked at the sword the same way, then sighed softly and said, “It’s done with!”, then turned around and lift up the sword … He impersonated that so well that it was completely smooth. Imagine how much hard work he had put in to achieve this ……

It turned out that when Deiyi came out to answer the curtain call and accepted the banner of “Graceful talent throughout the generations”, that scene was longer than we saw. He did not merely come out from the side of the stage, lowering his body with a smile, he even walked to the other side of the stage, used both of his hands to draw an arc in a very graceful posture in front of his body, then raised his orchid fingers and waved to the audience gently ……

It turned out that the original version of “The Drunken Beauty (貴妃醉酒)” was much longer than the one we saw on the big screen. After he threw away the wine glass, he not merely slowly lowered his body to an almost lying position, he even managed to maintain the upper part of his body erect; and while the audience was applauding, he slowly raised himself up from the extremely difficult posture whereby both of his legs were folded ……

It turned out that he had performed many other segments of “The Drunken Beauty” that had not been shown on the big screen, for instance, flinging the long flowing silk sleeves ……

It turned out that in the Peking opera “The Drunken Beauty” scene where we saw him continuously spinning three times on the stage was cut from the same scene that we saw in the news brief. Even in the news brief, the scene of his movement was not complete either. At the beginning of the news brief, we already saw him spinning rapidly. He continued on and spun rapidly on the same spot twelve times, it was twelve times! His both feet remained at the same spot on the stage throughout the revolving movement, and then swiftly laid down like a fish resting, with his face accurately facing the audience! ……

It turned out that the concubine's head crown was much heavier than we thought. After he laid down on the stage and was required to change his position in order to make some special shots, he tried very hard to lift his head but failed, he therefore asked the staff: “Please give me a push ……”

It turned out that the saying of “Experts look at the details, while laymen only see the fun” is correct. Guo Rui (郭睿) of the Shanghai Peking Opera Theatre, who was originally from the Mei Lanfang School, pointed at the screen and told us about Cheung Gorgor’s hand movements. He said he not merely had his hands shaped accurately, moreover, each movement he made was specially “round”. His ability to pay attention to all these tiny details showed that he was really very professional ……

It turned out that merely looking at the last stage pose of the Peking opera “Peony Pavilion”, one could tell that that pose required a lot of technique and skill: what Cheung Gorgor had achieved was the standard posture of “four credits and five laws” [Notes from translator: “four credits” refers to various dances, such as sword dance, knife dance and other forms of dances; “five laws refers to hands, eyes, body, footwork etc.”], i.e. the right foot had to lift up feebly, putting all the strength on the left foot, the lower part of the body had to stand sideway, the upper body had to turn 90 degrees, in order to show the gently beauty of the curve of a feminine body … his left hand was the posture of a orchid palm, and the right hand was holding the fan; his eyes has expressed the most essential element of a “dan’s [female role’s]” performance, that is “charming” ……

It turned out that Cheung Gorgor has been extremely modest from the beginning to the end: “Regarding Peking opera, I only have superficial knowledge about it. I have merely studied it for three months, which was an accelerated class. Everyone should not expect too much from me ……”

It turned out that in the shooting of each Peking opera scene, his Peking opera teacher Diao Li (刁麗) was sitting below the stage, and after each performance, he would look at Diao Li. If Diao Li shook her head, that meant he did not pass and the scene had to be re-shot ……

It turned out that his orchid fingers were not so very soft and curly at the beginning; they were the results of being pulled hardly by his Peking opera teacher ……

It turned out that Tsui Hark and Nansun Shi had also paid a visit once while the movie was being shot. Tsui Hark said amazingly that, “Cheung Kwok Wing’s look has changed completely!” ……

It turned out that his demand on himself was harsher than a director’s. We could see that several times when he was half way through the Peking opera, he would make a stop sign to the musicians beside him, and then shouted out loud saying: “Sorry, sorry!”

It turned out many versions have been shot on the scene of burning the costumes; this time we could eventually see him sitting on the stair of the entrance hugging a white cat, slightly turned his head towards the sky and murmured softly ……

It turned out that originally there was a version in which the fire was set from the back roll of the costumes, then he stared at the fire, and silently made a sigh ……

It turned out that in the movie, when they first met, Gong Li originally intended to cast a scornful look at him ……

It turned out that Zhang Feng (張豐毅) would make faces ……

It turned out that when they were having lunch boxes on the movie set, someone found a fully cooked centipede in his food ……

It turned out that when Cheung Gorgor watched “The Farewell To My Concubine” in Hong Kong for the first time at the premiere show, his tears started to pour down like rain after the movie was played for 15 minutes: “It was because I know how did Chen Kaige film my youth part in the movie, those little young actors were really being beaten up. Seeing that part of the movie reminded me of their miserable experience, that’s why I cried ……

It turned out that Li Chun (李春) who played the role of young Xiao Si (小四) [the role of the godson of Leslie in the movie] is now a lead opera actor, not a “dan (旦) [female role]”, but a “xiaosheng (小生) [male role]” …….

It turned out that Li Chun has not changed much over these ten plus years. It seems that everyone who has contact with Cheung Gorgor manages to stay young forever … …

It turned out that at that time, Li Chun was extremely nervous before he met with Cheung Gorgor knowing well that he was a superstar. He even took the trouble of figuring out how to address him. But after they met, Cheung Gorgor asked him friendly of his age and where he went for his school, and even touched Li Chun’s head and said “Good boy…” From then on Li Chun called him “Brother Kwok Wing” ……

It turned out that the copper water basin that was being put on top of Xiao Si’s head did contain real water and a heavy plank. It therefore was very tough to lift it up. Every time when the director shouted “Cut”, Cheung Gorgor would personally help him to take the basin down immediately ……

It turned out that after three years, Li Chun participated in the filming of Cheung Gorgor’s other movie “The Phantom Lover” playing the role of an audience in the theatre …… After the movie was made, six female schoolmates of his made him to go to Cheung Gorgor for autographs, but he was so worried that Cheung Gorgor did not recognize him any more that he merely asked the staff for help. As a result, Cheung Gorgor came out and received him personally and said: “Xiaochun! When did you arrive? Why didn’t you ask for me in the first place … …”

It turned out that before the concerts in 1997, Cheung Gorgor came to Beijing to choose the young Peking opera actors to be his dancers. He also especially invited Li Chun and a group of old friends to dinner ……

It turned out that after the concerts in 1997, Cheung Gorgor made a special trip to Beijing to express his thanks to the principal of the Peking opera school. Knowing that the principal did not know Li Chun, he enthusiastically introduced him to the principal right away ……

It turned out that there were two versions for the ending of the movie “Farewell To My Concubine”, because when the movie was screened in Mainland China, the higher authority felt that since Dieyi managed to endure the hardship laid on him by the Kuomintang and later by the Japanese, she therefore should not have committed suicide when China was in a time of peace and prosperity. It therefore requested the Overlord shout out “the imperial concubine” rather than “Dieyi” in order to enhance the theatrical effect ……

It turned out that the movie “Farewell To My Concubine” that we saw in this art exhibition was a “combination of the two versions” copy: The overlord shouted “Dieyi”, that was the old version; then the song of Sandy Lam’s "Bygone Love" started to play, that was the new edition; but Sandy Lam only had time to finish off the first sentence of the song, then it changed back to the old version with gongs and drums ...... for me, I really could not tell the difference at all ……

It turned out that Cheung Gorgor has once said explicitly that, “I am not Cheng Dieyi. I also do not want to be Cheng Dieyi. To be honest, I am far more fortunate than him.” The smiling face of him on the screen could not be concealed ……

It turned out that he was very happy in making movies: “Many people treat making movies as a job, but for me, making movies is an entertainment. Of course, it was very painful to entertain other people, but I am entertaining myself ……”

It turned out that the Peking master Zhang Man Ling (張曼玲) [the teacher of Leslie in Peking Opera] was full of reservation before she first met Leslie: “Although he is a super star in Hong Kong, I am also a senior artist in Mainland China, I cannot lose my dignity.” Eventually, when her car almost approached the hotel, she could see from afar that this super star was already there waiting for her at the entrance of the hotel. On seeing the approach of the car, Leslie hurriedly climbed down the stairs, helping and supporting the senior artist to alight the car, and said, “Master Zhang, how are you? My name is Cheung Kwok Wing.” – he said “My name is Cheung Kwok Wing” and not “I am Cheung Kwok Wing”, the difference between these two is by far a big one ……

It turned out that during the shooting of the movie, he and Diao Li [one of his opera teachers] became close friends. He even praised her, as well as praised himself, by saying: “Teacher Diao, you are an artist, so am I!” ……

It turned out that he felt lost and disorientated after the movie was filmed, but still said to the reporters in a poetic way that: “I have carried with me the sorrow of parting, as well as the silk underwear given to me by the crew members and the antique knickknacks, in addition, I am going to bring to Canada the flu bacterium germinated in Beijing!” ……

It turned out that his sentiment towards the drama team of the “Farewell to My Concubine” was far deeper than we could imagine, thus causing him to get drunk and cry at the wrap-up dinner and later to go to Europe to relieve his weariness after the whole crew was disbanded. Without knowing the reasons behind the whole cause, I even quoted what was written by the media in my articles that he was unable to pull himself out of the role of Deiyi, therefore he had to go away for a vacation. I was really talking nonsense, and should be chopped into pieces ……