Paper Clip - Those Unreasonably Passionate Women

那樣的痴情女子

Shenzhen Business News,. September 12, 2006

Author: Du Chiach'i

Source: Leslie Cheung Artist Studies http://www.leslie-cheung.com

Translated by Daydreamer on January 11, 2007

A long time ago, when I returned to Taiwan, my brother asked me which male star was being regarded as the most good looking one by the Hong Kong people. I told him that Hong Kong people generally regarded Leslie Cheung as the model of a handsome man. I still remember that he was so surprised that he could not keep his month shut and then said that if one asked the people in Taiwan, majority of them would not regard Leslie Cheung as good looking.

Of course, this dialogue should best not be mentioned in Hong Kong, otherwise on the serious side you would be beaten up; on the light side the friendship between you and your friend might be affected. I have experienced the latter case.

A friend of mine, like most of the women who are in their 30s, does not merely regard Leslie Cheung as the standard of a handsome man, they even treat him as their idol and dream lover – even though they all know that he is a homosexual. Two years ago when Anita Mui passed away due to illness, I told this friend of mine that although I felt pity of Leslie Cheung’s demise, however, I did not have much feeling. On the contrary, since Anita Mui to a certain degree was closely linked with the Hong Kong people, so even though I did not know her personally, I felt like I had lost a close friend.

After my friend heard this, she was not very pleased. Dear readers, take note that this friend of mine is not an ordinary housewife or an ordinary teenage girl, she is the professor of the faculty of cultural research in a university, as well, she is a poet. Shortly afterwards, I read a poem that she wrote. It talked about how completely discouraged she was after Leslie passed away. She shut herself in her house for several months as if shutting herself in a coffin. She even once thought of going along with him.

After I read that, my reaction was exactly like the reaction of my brother: I was stunned. As far as I know, she had only had one contact with Leslie before. In order to research on the culture of Hong Kong, through some contact, she managed to interview Leslie. She told others that Leslie’s beauty almost made her faint. Even so, I can understand it if one is to commit suicide because of one’s boyfriend or husband, but to commit suicide for someone who is so remote and who one does not fully understand, then that I really cannot understand!

And she is not the only one. In Hong Kong, there is a Leslie Cheung Fan Club. Every year, there are activities organized to commemorate Leslie. Surprisingly, my friends is not a member of the fan club, but she told me once that she had been invited by the fan club to give a speech.

Giving a speech?

Yes, she said. It was because the fan club felt that it was impossible to gather together every time merely to cry, to remember, to sing his songs, to look at his pictures or to watch his movies. If it goes on like this, once the people’s passion is not as strong, then the fan club cannot be maintained. Therefore it decided to do something making the activities more meaningful. Thus, in its activities, it always invites scholars or media people to discuss Hong Kong’s culture or the art of movies – of course, the contents will certainly be related to Leslie.

It is quite beyond expectation that a fan club can manage to organize this kind of activities, one therefore cannot despise their ability. Of course, for someone like me who is not a Leslie fan, the most surprising thing is that this group of women can be so unreasonably passionate!