Downloaded from: ://bbs.ent.163.com/bbs/zhangguorong/169766.html
Location: No. 1 Gloucester Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Re : Leslie Cheung Memorial Scholarship
Now: One of the biggest scholarships in the institute
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts is located at Wanchai. Although the institute is not big, yet it is well scattered and organized and full of artistic atmosphere. After Leslie Cheung passed away for a year, his family set up a “Leslie Cheung Memorial Scholarship” there.
The scholarship will be awarded in May every year.
Ms. Chen Yunhui 陳蘊輝女士has already been working in the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts for 20 years. She recalled that before Leslie Cheung passed away, he already had the idea of setting up a scholarship already . She said, “He had a lot of affections towards the institute. A long time ago, when he was filming his musical TV movie 'Sunset in Paris', I had made some arrangements for him. I could feel his kindness already at that time. He was very polite and respected arts. He talked about his wish to set up a scholarship. Afterwards probably due to busy schedules, no agreement was reached after several discussions."
The exact date that the “Leslie Cheung Memorial Scholarship” was established was in 2004. At that time, Ms. Chen Yunhui was the Manager of the Public Affairs of the institute. She said, “After he passed away, his nieces and Mr. Tong attended our institute. They were thinking of establishing a scholarship under his name. The scholarship is divided into two parts, one is a scholarship in the amount of $100,000 to be granted to the most outstanding student; the other part will be funds to aid those students who have financial difficulties. Each student will receive $35,000 a year. Such assignment is to encourage outstanding students, as well as to help students from poor families.”
The scholarship will be granted in May each year. In the first year, Ophelia Cheung (the eldest sister of Leslie Cheung) who was very close to Leslie was there to attend the presentation of the scholarship. Then in the following years, the scholarships were presented by Leslie’s nieces and Mr. Tong. So far, four students have been benefited from the scholarship. Li Huiyun was one of them. She started to receive this scholarship in 2005 until 2007 when she was fully finished with the curricula of the institute.
“This scholarship had been a great help to me because although I had already obtained the Master Degree in mass media communication at the Baptist University, to continue study in order to get an arts degree was very difficult. Because this was the biggest scholarship offered by the institute, it had supported my school fees and living expenses for three years”, she said. After receiving the scholarship in the first year, Li Huiyun wrote a letter to Leslie’s nieces expressing her gratitude. Every year, when the Leslie Cheung Memorial Scholarship is given out to the recipient, Leslie’s family will come to the institute to meet with the recipient. “The number of people who receive this scholarship is very few, therefore they feel exceptionally close to each other.”
Li Huiyun has now graduated. She teaches English drama in a high school. In her spare time, she holds the post of a theatre director. She was not a Leslie fans in the past, yet “because of the scholarship, I feel so much closer to him. His song ‘Chase’ touches me especially. Every time when I listen to it, I feel that he is telling me that very often we try hard to chase something, yet what we really should look for and treasure is our family!”
Translated by Daydreamer
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Shu Kei: To Leslie Cheung, this movie is an exploitation
舒琪：這部電影對張國榮是一個剝削
Extract from “Leslie Cheung’s Movie World 3”
[Note: Shu Kei is the Dean of The School of Film and Television of The Hong Kong Academy For Performing Arts and a professional film critic]
Code Article: Rain Butterfly [Pinyin: Yu Die]
Downloaded from http://www.mtime.com/group/10017/discussion/85868/
Translated by Daydreamer 20080514
For Wong Kar-wai, “Happy Together” was a milestone in his career; for Tony Leung Chiu Wai, it could be said as a gain because at least it allowed him to steal some limelight in Cannes and won him another best actor’s title at the Hong Kong Film Awards; but for Leslie, it was a regret.
A regret because his performance was neglected. More accurately put, his performance was discriminated rather than neglected. Perhaps due to the movie critics’/jurors’ typical prejudice and fallacy, they intentionally cold-shouldered and desolated him. Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung were both nominated in the Hong Kong Film Awards as the best actor. Leung’s being elected was in accordance with expectation because his “I-gave-it-all-I-had” attitude in performing in this movie had gained additional credits from the majority jurors, thus yielding twice the result with half the effort; on the contrary, Cheung was only “playing what he was”, it therefore was natural for him to perform well; besides, he had already had too many awards, everyone felt that he could not care less for another one. This really was how many people in this circle felt. When Leslie Cheung was beat by Tse Kwan Ho 謝君豪 in the Golden Horse Film Awards for the category of Best Actor, Clifton Chi-Sum KO 高志森 said, “Hey, everyone is aware that Leslie knows how to act, but for this newcomer, he really needs this award in order to get more future opportunities. What does Leslie need an award for?”
Last year, when Shu Kei, the Dean of The School of Film and Television of The Hong Kong Academy For Performing Arts and professional film critic, was asked about his views towards the movie “Happy Together”, he said that to Leslie, it was an exploitation, or even an injury. He also had great reservation towards Wong Kar-wai’s motive in filming “Happy Together”.
“Wong Kar-wai asked me initially, ‘Do you think it a good idea to film a story about homosexuality?’ His implication was that when everyone in the world knew he was a heterosexual, as a director with heterosexual nature, would it be attractive to film a story of homosexuality?” Shu Kei felt that Wong’s question itself already contained an element of exploitation. At first, Wong Kar-wai told Shu Kei that he wanted Andy Lau and Anthony Wong Yiu Ming to play the roles, then later he changed them to Andy Lau and Leslie Cheung, and finally the cast went to Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Leslie Cheung. From this, one could tell Wong’s vision and idea. Shu Kei felt that Wong had a bad motive, therefore he did not like it.
Shu Kei emphasized many times the word “exploitation”.
“If my understanding is correct, one of the reasons why Leslie was not happy at the later stage was that Wong Kar-wai had exploited him. He made use of Leslie’s personal experience to put it into the film, thus fully exposed him. Leslie was not trying to protect himself, only felt that his personal experience and the character were two different matters, he did not believe he was the character in the film. After he figured out this later on he was not happy, because he felt that Wong Kar-wai had exploited him and was unjust to him. He therefore did not like this movie; or perhaps afterwards he was not willing to co-operate with Wong Kar-wai again.”
Leslie Cheung had once said, “Wong Kar-wai was intelligent to film a homosexual story as if it was any ordinary heterosexual story; in this respect, he was successful.”
Shu Kei responded, “First, since there were two big stars in this movie, the recognition of sexuality therefore would not cause any major problem; second, Wong Kar-wai declared his position right at the beginning that it was not a story about homosexuality, this declaration somewhat extinguished the restless feelings of the audience. But if it was not a story about homosexuality, then why did he film homosexuality? Very simple, it was a fallacy. Why did he deny it and make a clear distinction between the two? The question is whether you really cared about those characters or not.
He also said that, “Considering Hong Kong’s environment, Leslie’s willingness to play in “Farewell To My Concubine” and “Happy Together” required a lot of courage, but I believe that he was not satisfied. An artist, to a certain extent, wishes to express himself through his own work, such as movie or music. Unfortunately, those two directors had a great deal of deviation towards the cognition of homosexuality, in this respect, Leslie was relatively unfortunate. I believe he would have greater satisfaction in filming “Farewell To My Concubine” because it allowed him to have diversified performance, he would feel better when filming it. Also, Kaige cared about and protected him a lot. But the experience Leslie had in filming “Happy Together” was that he felt he was being harmed because from the starting point, it was an exploitation already. He had done all he could of what the director requested him to do, but I believe he totally disagreed with the director’s understanding towards the character of Ho Po Wing.
When discussed about the film critics’ and majority audiences’ one-sided favour over Tony Leung Chiu Wai and cold-shoulder towards Leslie Cheung, Shu Kei said, “There is no denial that Leslie played the role excellently, but because Wong Kar-wai intelligently made use of the audiences’ curiosity towards Leslie’s private life thus leading them to believe that Leslie was the character himself. The audiences felt that Leslie was merely playing his own self, therefore he did not require any performing skill. Actually that was a wrong idea. The ability to perform and whether playing his own self or not are absolutely two different things. The more the character is close to one’s real self, the more difficult it is to play because one has to expose oneself to other people, therefore that must be a performance.” Due to such a wrong conception and misunderstanding, audiences thought that Tony Leung had a better performing skill in playing the role of a homosexual as he is a heterosexual himself. On the contrary, the degree of difficulty for Leslie was not high at all. Not only the audiences held this same kind of view, even the so-called “specialized or professional” film critics also did so!
As Wong Kar-wai had won the Best Director Award in Cannes, how did Shu Kei appraise his directing techniques? Has he made any progress?
“I felt that after “Ashes of Time” and “Chungking Express”, Wong Kar-wai started to regress. Actually, “Happy Together” did not have sufficient contents, it almost could not be edited together. If you look at the movie closely, you can see that there were only a few scenes and he repeated them over and over again. Some of them were merely divided and used separately.”
But he had filmed many many things, for instance, the entire section that Shirley Kwan had filmed was cut.
“The problem was those things were just like puzzle pieces, they did not fall into place.” As a matter of fact, his method of creation is very dangerous. “2046” did not fall into place. “Happy Together” could be regarded as the beginning of the crisis.
After talking with Shu Kei about “Happy Together”, I changed the subject and asked him to compare Leslie’s acting skills with the other actors.
“It’s very difficult to make comparison, but Leslie’s superiority is that he took acting very seriously, especially when his acting skills started to mature, he truly believed that his acting was a kind of art.”
Since which movie?
“I would say since “Encore”. It possibly was not very clear at that time, but he was very much involved and had very strong faith, truly believing himself to be an artist.”
“At the early acting stage, he acted according to his own intuition; but at later stage, his life experience became richer and more knowledgeable towards movies, he became more and more earnest. He was fully absorbed in the movies, he undertook preparation work before the movies were filmed, he conducted research and spent a lot of time in understanding the characters. I don’t see a lot of Hong Kong actors who would carry out those tasks or even would have a sense to do so. Majority of the actors in Hong Kong merely use their talent to act. Some of them who are more skilful in acting techniques may be able to easily develop the expression of laughter, anger, sorrow and happiness, as a result are relatively natural. Most of the actors belong to the latter type. Not too many actors are capable and willing to ponder on the character to make it more lively. Most of them are not willing to spend their time to do so. You can count them on one hand.
Sometimes I felt that since Leslie had contributed so much to the movies, he surely hoped to be recognized, but if such a recognition is to be judged by awards, his giving and getting were never in direct proportion.
Shu Kei said, “This does not really matter, time is the best proof. Hereafter, Lesile’s status in China’s movie history will never be changed.”
I always felt that for Leslie not getting an award for the movie “Happy Together” was a regret and this had made him very unhappy.
“He might not necessarily be unhappy. Although it was his character that he needed others to recognize him, but he was very smart; if you did not recognize him, he knew how to teach you to do so”, Shu Kei said with a smile.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Extract from the book “He who won the hearts of all customers - Danny Lai”
Author: Chan Chung Kun, Danny Lai Ping Pui
Translated by Daydreamer 20080502
(5) Gorgor had made a special request – pp. 51-52
Leslie Cheung, the singer who has passed away was a personal friend of mine. In the ‘70s, he took part in a singing contest and only won second place. Disappointed with the result, he once leaned on my shoulder and cried. Both of us were not well off when we first met. We often went to the bar or disco to amuse ourselves. Gorgor later gained popularity in Asia. He came to Oriental Mandarin often for dinner. Having known each other for over twenty years, we became very familiar with each other.
In 1995, Leslie bought a house at Redhill Peninsula for $2,600,000. He especially requested me to arrange for Mandarin Oriental to cater a housewarming party there. All the guests who attended were popular stars in the show business. For waiters who would be working that night, Gorgor had a special request – apart from being good looking, they had to be of similar height with no pimples on their face. Moreover, they had to attend to the guests bare-footedly because the carpet in his new house was of light colour. Gorgor loved cleanliness, that is why he had made that special request.
In 1997, Leslie sold his big house at Redhill Peninsula for $6,800,000, making a profit of $4,200,000. I was happy for him and joked that with that sum of money he could pay his rent at Kadoorie Avenue for 420 months.
Gorgor loved to go to the Clipper Lounge on the mezzanine floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel for afternoon tea. Each time, he would order grey earl tea with a chicken pie. Afterwards, he would spend the afternoon in the gym of the hotel with a massage.
In 1995, to celebrate Christmas, Leslie had a drink with Danny and Danny’s three 契妹 God-sisters in the hotel
Carina Law, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and the banker Daffy Tong are my good friends
About Danny Lai:
Lai Ping Pui (Danny Lai), the Executive Vice President of the Oriental Mandarin Hotel, has been working there with loyalty for over thirty years. During his term of office, he was responsible for serving the former Chairman Jiang Zemin, former Premier Zhu Rongji, former British Prime Minister Mrs. Thatcher, etc., as well as the four former Governors of Hong Kong, and the two HKSAR Chief Executives.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Clipping - We all called him “Cheng Dieyi” - 20080330
We all called him “Cheng Dieyi” (Zhang Fengi 張豐毅, Chen Kaige 陳凱歌, Gao Jun 高軍)
2008.03.30 The Chongqing Daily
Translated by Daydreamer 20080425
Zhang Fengi: Think of him more each year
After five years, today when I mentioned the name Zhang Guorong to Zhang Fengi, who played the role of unparalleled overlord in “Farewell To My Concubine”, he still could not hold back his tears. On every April 1st, Zhang Fengi will quietly listen to “Bygone Love”, the theme song of “Farewell To My Concubine”. In his mind’s eyes, he could see “Yu Ji” Zhang Guorong’s eye expression which was as tender and soft as water. At that moment, he felt that Zhang Guorong was very close to him. He would fondly and earnestly remember the good old times they had spent together.
I was eleven days older than him
Zhang Fengi and Zhang Guorong were close, not merely because they bore the same surname, but because both of them were born in the same year and same month. Zhang Fengi was eleven days older than Zhang Guorong. Zhang Guorong’s Yu Ji look was dainty, with a charming temperament. Zhang Fengi said that “his eye expression was as tender and soft as water”, most suitable to play that role, while he himself was suitable to play the powerful and mighty “Overlord”. People said that Zhang Fengi and Zhang Guorong were the perfect match. That year, both of them spent the zodiacal year together. Zhang Fengi gave Zhang Guorong a red band to wear around his waist to scare away the evil spirits.
I called him “Cheng Dieyi”
All the recollection that Zhang Fengi had of Zhang Guorong came from the days and nights filming of “Farewell To My Concubine”. When the reporter interviewed him, Zhang Fengi was not used to calling Zhang Guorong “Gorgor”. On many occasions, he would accidentally call him “Dieyi”.
Zhang Fengi told the reporter, “Actually, many audience in Mainland China first learned of Zhang Guorong by his role as Cheng Dieyi. They therefore had the impression that Zhang Guorong was feminine, dainty and charming. In fact, Zhang Guorong from first to last had a heroic and masculine image, far from the image of Chengdieyi seen in the movie.
“In order to transform him into a Dan, the dramatic team and Zhang Guorong himself had put in a lot of efforts. In order to trim his eyebrows into a fine and elegant shape, he had to shave his eyebrows because they were too thick and straight. In order to maintain a slim body, Zhang Guorong who always worked out in a gym became so thin as seen in “Farewell To My Concubine” that he had shrunk down to a smaller size. Also, regarding his beard, Zhang Guorong’s beard was more voluminous than any average people. He had to shave twice a day because his beard grew over half of his face. Tony Leung Chiu Wai once said enviously, ‘Why Zhang Guorong may grow a full beard, while I may only grow a goatee’. In order to match the temperament of Dieyi, the make-up expert had to scrape Zhang Guorong’s face and then apply a thick layer of face powder on it in order to cover up the root of his beard, but from some shots we could still see patches of green (root of beard) on his face.”
“Later, when filming “Farewell To My Concubine”, Zhang Guorong even changed his walking and sitting posture. During that period of time, as you can see from the photos, he even sat with his legs tightly crossed. In fact, he was accustomed to sitting carelessly with his legs widely spread.”
He felt sorry when my buttocks were hit
Until now, Zhang Fengi still remembers well the beating scene of Duan Hsiaolou and Cheng Dieyi by their Master even they had become famous. “Originally, the film director said we could be beaten up with our pants on, but I thought it would be more meaningful if the Master beat us up on our buttocks, the way he did when we were small, so I suggested to have our pants taken off. Zhang Guorong at that time said unwillingly, ‘I don’t want to leave my buttocks uncovered’. I said, ‘I couldn’t care less. Let me do it.’ When it was finally filmed, it hurt so much when the plank hit on me that I became very pale. When it was Zhang Guorong’s turn, he got up right away after the beating scene was shot and people came up to comfort him. He suppressed the pain and said vigorously, “I am fine, I am fine.” Later, I heard someone said, “Why not go to the clinic to take a look and put on some ointment?” Only then that he could not stand the pain and became a bit anxious. He turned and shouted to the old man, “You beat me so hard that I am bleeding now!”
That year, the reporter from “Ming Pao” described the scene as follows: Before this scene was shot, I heard Chen Kaige said, “Now, hit on Zhang Fengi’s buttocks”. I thought it was a job. Zhang Guorong immediately clapped his hands happily in response. The actor who played the role of the old master thus lifted the “torture instrument”, gently hit on Zhang Fengi’s buttocks. The people present all laughed thinking that it did not look like a punishment at all. This was done again and again until Chen Kaige found that the beating was to his satisfaction. At that time, Zhang Guorong quickly pulled down “Brother Hsiaolou’s” long gown, with a face showing a lot of concern he said, “You can’t beat him anymore, it starts to bleed!” From this, we could tell how deep their friendship was and there was a mutual understanding between them.
Chen Kaige: In my dream, he said goodbye to me
Chen Kaige: In my dream, he said goodbye to me
Chen Kaige said that Zhang Guorong has given him a reply, death is the final curtain of the legend. With no applause, yet there were flowers that he knocked down accompanying him to fall down, he was all shattered but his face was not touched. Chen Kaige said in the past he had looked at many of Zhang Guorong’s pictures, in one of them, his eyes drooped down, so was his head, with a smile lurking round the corner of his mouth, sarcastically, as if knowing well in advance the denouement.
He put himself into the role too deeply
Chen Kaige recollects, “The first time I met Zhang Guorong was in Hong Kong. We sat opposite each other. Smoking a cigarette, he listened to me explaining the story of “Farewell To My Concubine”. I noticed that his fingers that held the cigarette shivered slightly, he was sitting there gracefully with his legs crossed and his face was very tranquil and calm. I said I was happy to have him play the role of Cheng Dieyi but I was not sure if he could play that role well. He said he could because he was one who could not divide acting from real life, that he possessed both femininity and masculinity, and he was Chengdieyi. At that time, I merely responded with a smile.
“After several months, we finished filming the scene of Duan Hsialou pledging to marry Ju Xian, thus causing Chengdieyi a great deal of woes and sadness. We then shot the next scene at the square outside Wumen at the Forbidden City. It was a night scene. We were to film the scene that after Chengdieyi accidentally found the sword that he promised to give to Duan Hsiaolou as a gift when they were small at Master Yuan’s house, he snatched the sword and went to see Duan Hsiaolou, however, he ran into the Japanese soldier who just happened to enter the city. For this scene, there was only one shot of Zhang Guorong. After all the lights were set up, we let him sit inside the rickshaw. When the camera started to roll, the Japanese soldier lifted the curtain of the rickshaw up with a saber. Zhang Guorong sat in the rickshaw, on his face beside the sword that he was holding, there was some messy rouge, especially near his month, there was a brush that resembled bloodstain. The despair and sad feeling expressed in his eyes made people shivered. After the camera stopped rolling, Zhang Guorong still sat there motionlessly, with tears falling down abundantly. I did not comfort him. I merely signaled to have the lights switched off letting him to stay in the dark.”
“Only at that very moment, I understood Zhang Guorong must have injected his complete personal sentiment and feeling into that character, thus allowing his performance to reach that boundary. It was precisely from that look of his that told us in full the issues of infatuation and betrayal that we wanted to tell in “Farewell To My Concubine”.
In my dream, he said goodbye to me
Chen Kaige confessed that “Farewell To My Concubine” which was filmed in 1993 was a movie that he had made with his utmost sentiment. For a long time after the movie was finished filming, he did not know how to withdraw from that story.
When Chen Kaige was frustrated about that, he unexpectedly dreamed of Zhang Guorong one night. “He was wearing a plain long gown that Chengdieyi used to wear in the movie. Still with that pair of eyes he smiled at me and said calmly, ‘Henceforth I bid you farewell’. At that precise moment, I suddenly woke up and discovered that my eyes were swelling with tears. I could not distinguish clearly whether it was Zhang Guorong or Chengdieyi that I dreamed of.”
And that farewell seemed to verify the cause and effect of life and death ten years later. Indeed, Zhang Guorang is Chengdieyi. All along, Zhang Guorong gives us an impression that he belongs to a bygone era, that is because only in ostentatiously prosperous old dreams that we will be able to find a pair of eyes like his.
And that farewell seemed to verify the cause and effect of life and death ten years later. Indeed, Zhang Guorang is Chengdieyi. All along, Zhang Guorong gives us an impression that he belongs to a bygone era, that is because only in ostentatiously prosperous old dreams that we will be able to find a pair of eyes like his.
Gao Jun: Zhang Guorong was most loyal
Gao Jun who was responsible for the promotion of “Farewell To My Concubine” then is now the Vice President of the New Film Association in Beijing. The Gorgor that he knew was forever a loyal person.
“To a certain extent, Zhang Guorong had to thank Raymond Wong Bak-Ming for being able to film “Farewell To My Concubine” because at that time, Zhang Guorong had a contract with Mandarin Film Pte. Ltd. According to the contract, he could not work with any other filming companies. However, Raymond Wong, the boss of Mandarin Film did not impose any restrictions on Zhang Guorong. On the contrary, he vigorously encouraged him to accept that movie saying that the script was really good and it would become Zhang Guorong’s masterpiece. This kind of thoughtfulness and broadmindedness was rare in a commercial world like this. To show his gratitude, from then on, Zhang Guorong filmed a Chinese New Year movie for Raymond Wong every year at a discounted remuneration. Even after his contract with Mandarin Film was over, Zhang Guorong kept on doing so.”
He was nervous at the beginning
Gao Jun said that during the filming of “Farewell To My Concubine”, Zhang Guorong had made everyone very happy. “Once he arrived in Beijing, he was like an arrow on string, ready to explode. On the one hand, he had to learn the skills of Peking operas, such as hands, eyes, gesture and walking; on the other hand, he had to learn how to speak the real Beijing dialect. For Zhang Guorong who did not even speak Mandarin well, it was difficult enough for him. Besides, filming was a non-stop mission. Every day, he had to arrive at the set at 10:30 a.m., and stayed there until 11 to 12 at night.”
To film “Farewell To My Concubine”, it was Zhang Guorong’s first time ever to go up north to Mainland China. His friends in Hong Kong were concerned about him, worrying that he would live a miserable life in Beijing. Zhang Guorong himself was nervous too. He brought with him a big box of medicinal supply which eventually became the crew’s first aid centre during the filming of the movie. He got sick at last as he was unaccustomed to the climate. He had high fever, bleeding nose and diarrhea and lost a lot of weights rapidly. He said it was good because that way he could conform to the image of the role.
When Zhang Guorong was not required to take part in the filming, Chen Kaige would allow him to take a vacation and go back to Hong Kong to rest. However, he did not do so saying that he wanted to maintain the mood in the movie, fearing that if he took times off, his attention would be diverted. At that time, the entire crew knew that he had a “long time girlfriend” in Hong Kong. They spoke on the phone at least once a day and he paid for all the charges himself. Never a cent was paid by the dramatic team.
He was very sad afterwards
Gao Jun said that Zhang Guorong had a very deep affection for the dramatic team of “Farewell To My Concubine”. He got along extremely well and frequently played noisily with all the team members. The whole crew said that he was a near-to-perfection person. His working attitude was first-class. He was diligent and willing to cooperate, and never showed any air. No one has ever met a super star like him who cared so much about other people.
“When the filming of the movie came to an end, he was reluctant to part. He once again treated the whole crew to dinner, at which he was so sad that he burst into tears. He toasted everyone present, one by one. He drank three bottles of Maotai [Note from Daydreamer: A very famous Chinese liquor with a 53% alcohol content] and twelve glasses of white wine. Since he was not used to drinking that much, he threw up in his room for four hours and could not get up. Zhang Fengi and Gong Li tried to comfort him by saying that there would be opportunities in future to gather together, but Zhang Guorong said, “It won’t be the same; even if we meet again in future, the mood will be different.”
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Prose Poem written by Gorgor Leslie Cheung ---"Event of No Return"
Prose Poem written by Gorgor Leslie Cheung ---"Event of No Return" elects from "Leslie Cheung’s Prose Collection"
J, once again, I went to the seashore alone to listen to the sound of the tide.
…I deeply believe that before the Nth century, the sea was here which had completely recorded the story about us.
…Rotating in the fluctuating great waves, so long as the thought goes into the sound of the sea tides, the spray of memory will get splashed…..
…Once our foot prints marked a trail on the sand in this beach here, welcoming the gentleness of the seascape; an arc was dragged by the flow of that shoulder-length hair of yours which swept pass my gaze gently and swiftly, at once it turned into innumerable amount of circles.
…Thereafter, the circles started to revolve around us incessantly.
Translated by Daydreamer 20080416
哥哥張國榮寫的散文詩---《不再的舊事》 選自《張國榮散文集》
J，我又單獨來海邊聽潮聲了。
一直深信，N個世紀以前，這裡就有一片海，已經把我們的故事，完整的紀錄下來。
回轉在起伏的浪濤裡，只要思維旋進海潮的音鳴，記憶的浪花被飛濺了。。。。。
曾經我們比肩地印下足跡，在這一彎的沙灘上，迎向海景的柔和，那披肩的長發，拖成一道弧，從我凝視的眼帘掠過，頓時圈成無數的圓。
此後，圓開始在我們周遭不停的旋轉。
J, once again, I went to the seashore alone to listen to the sound of the tide.
…I deeply believe that before the Nth century, the sea was here which had completely recorded the story about us.
…Rotating in the fluctuating great waves, so long as the thought goes into the sound of the sea tides, the spray of memory will get splashed…..
…Once our foot prints marked a trail on the sand in this beach here, welcoming the gentleness of the seascape; an arc was dragged by the flow of that shoulder-length hair of yours which swept pass my gaze gently and swiftly, at once it turned into innumerable amount of circles.
…Thereafter, the circles started to revolve around us incessantly.
Translated by Daydreamer 20080416
哥哥張國榮寫的散文詩---《不再的舊事》 選自《張國榮散文集》
J，我又單獨來海邊聽潮聲了。
一直深信，N個世紀以前，這裡就有一片海，已經把我們的故事，完整的紀錄下來。
回轉在起伏的浪濤裡，只要思維旋進海潮的音鳴，記憶的浪花被飛濺了。。。。。
曾經我們比肩地印下足跡，在這一彎的沙灘上，迎向海景的柔和，那披肩的長發，拖成一道弧，從我凝視的眼帘掠過，頓時圈成無數的圓。
此後，圓開始在我們周遭不停的旋轉。
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Chapman To’s Message to Gorgor
Translated by Daydreamer 20080415Dear Gorgor:
We now have Blogs on-line. For those who want to write a letter but dare not send it out for fear of being returned, they don’t have to leave it in their bedside table anymore.
The last time I bumped into you were at Dr. Cheung’s clinic. I don’t think you will remember!
I will never forget the first time I met you. It was at the Chinese restaurant in the Grand Hyatt Hotel. How handsome you looked in that black suit, and how nervous I was then.
At the dinner, you asked Sandra (Ng Kwun Yu) whether she was making any movie. She said she was filming the “Dance of a Dream” in which she had to dance with Andy.
“Even though it is a comedy, you still should dance seriously!”
You were the only Maestro that I’ve ever met.
I did not have the fortune to collaborate with you.
Although I have never been under your guidance, I am stealthily learning from you. You are a role model to all actors for your determination and persistence in art performance.
Those who do not act well probably are happier than you, yet they are not splendid at all.
After you left, Wong Kar-Wai could only use Jude Law. There is no more star in Hong Kong. We haven’t made any effort to succeed but have degenerated as the media’s volunteer helpers. All these years, they have done better than us. Very few people go to the cinema. All big productions are in Mandarin dialect. Small productions that had a good box office came from the same director called Yi Nianchen.
Sandra’s daughter has started schooling. She is very well.
Herman Law has moved to the Prince Building. He is still very good in cutting hair. His shop is very big and the business is good.
All your fans are very fortunate and are well because they have once loved you!
From a little fan
We now have Blogs on-line. For those who want to write a letter but dare not send it out for fear of being returned, they don’t have to leave it in their bedside table anymore.
The last time I bumped into you were at Dr. Cheung’s clinic. I don’t think you will remember!
I will never forget the first time I met you. It was at the Chinese restaurant in the Grand Hyatt Hotel. How handsome you looked in that black suit, and how nervous I was then.
At the dinner, you asked Sandra (Ng Kwun Yu) whether she was making any movie. She said she was filming the “Dance of a Dream” in which she had to dance with Andy.
“Even though it is a comedy, you still should dance seriously!”
You were the only Maestro that I’ve ever met.
I did not have the fortune to collaborate with you.
Although I have never been under your guidance, I am stealthily learning from you. You are a role model to all actors for your determination and persistence in art performance.
Those who do not act well probably are happier than you, yet they are not splendid at all.
After you left, Wong Kar-Wai could only use Jude Law. There is no more star in Hong Kong. We haven’t made any effort to succeed but have degenerated as the media’s volunteer helpers. All these years, they have done better than us. Very few people go to the cinema. All big productions are in Mandarin dialect. Small productions that had a good box office came from the same director called Yi Nianchen.
Sandra’s daughter has started schooling. She is very well.
Herman Law has moved to the Prince Building. He is still very good in cutting hair. His shop is very big and the business is good.
All your fans are very fortunate and are well because they have once loved you!
From a little fan
Friday, March 07, 2008
煙花燙_Scalding Fireworks
主唱: 王若卉 詞: 陳淑芬/曾一鳴 曲: 劉宏基 編曲: Chris Babida
(To download MP3, go to http://www.ileslie.hk/tc/lyrics.html)
是誰那麼慌
剪破四月的時光
飛鳥和別姬 都碎在鏡子裡
誰刻過你的手掌
寵愛畫得那麼長 那麼長 那麼長
給我這個信仰
永把當年情不忘
在人間 在天上 還是你 我一生中最愛
百惠傳奇繼續吹 盼下輩子再遇上
夢死醉生 煙花燙
因為相信你是從未離去才會不曾絕望
至少有愛幫我在心底圓謊
把距離 鋪成一條河 從此後 用天涯相隔
你在何方 都一樣
因為要做一個有心的人會注定悲傷
但信無苦無痛在他方延續你的輝煌
因為愛過共同渡過的人才終身難忘
當風再起時 陪你再唱
Translation of the old version of this song's lyrics was done by Phoenix of USA. (Thank you, Phoenix, for such a beautiful translation)
SCALDING FIREWORKS
Who’s in such a state of agitation
Cutting through April’s time and space (Jarring April’s stillness)
Bird in flight and Farewell Concubine both shattered in the mirror
Whoever etched your palm
Lovingly etched it with strokes so long so long so long (with such love and tenderness)
A3
Give me faith
That the love that we had before will never be forgotten
Whether on earth or in heaven Only you are my most beloved
May your legacy lives on Hopefully in our next life we will meet again
A living death Scalding fireworks
A1
Only in believing that you haven’t really left me have I been prevented from despairing
At least there is love to help me sustain the illusion within my heart
The distance rolling out like a river From now on we are separated by the vast open sky Wherever you are It matters not
A2
Because to be a benevolent/caring/giving person is to be destined to a life of anguish
But believing you are no longer in pain but in peace wherever you are to continue your glory
Because those who we love and gone through life together with will forever be with us in our hearts \When the wind blows, singing with you again in accompaniment
RAP (in Cantonese)
Wind Continues to Blow Benevolent/caring Man Chase and Chase
You still have so much passion left in you, How can you say you’re giving up just because you wanna give up
Having gone through life together Every night a living death To continue to live wont be easy (how do I live?)
I willingly fall in love with you and will treasure the love my whole life through
From now on it becomes a past (bygone) memory
I know The love that we had before in my heart will never cease (I will never stop loving you) The love for my one and only one, is a fire that burns in my heart most nakedly (an all consuming passion)
Its glow and brilliance unabated as I look back in time (in reminiscence)
Repeat A1/A2/A3
Published by Fun Music Limited©(P) 天星唱片有限公司
Thank you, Mrs. Florence Chan, for your love for Leslie
(To download MP3, go to http://www.ileslie.hk/tc/lyrics.html)
是誰那麼慌
剪破四月的時光
飛鳥和別姬 都碎在鏡子裡
誰刻過你的手掌
寵愛畫得那麼長 那麼長 那麼長
給我這個信仰
永把當年情不忘
在人間 在天上 還是你 我一生中最愛
百惠傳奇繼續吹 盼下輩子再遇上
夢死醉生 煙花燙
因為相信你是從未離去才會不曾絕望
至少有愛幫我在心底圓謊
把距離 鋪成一條河 從此後 用天涯相隔
你在何方 都一樣
因為要做一個有心的人會注定悲傷
但信無苦無痛在他方延續你的輝煌
因為愛過共同渡過的人才終身難忘
當風再起時 陪你再唱
Translation of the old version of this song's lyrics was done by Phoenix of USA. (Thank you, Phoenix, for such a beautiful translation)
SCALDING FIREWORKS
Who’s in such a state of agitation
Cutting through April’s time and space (Jarring April’s stillness)
Bird in flight and Farewell Concubine both shattered in the mirror
Whoever etched your palm
Lovingly etched it with strokes so long so long so long (with such love and tenderness)
A3
Give me faith
That the love that we had before will never be forgotten
Whether on earth or in heaven Only you are my most beloved
May your legacy lives on Hopefully in our next life we will meet again
A living death Scalding fireworks
A1
Only in believing that you haven’t really left me have I been prevented from despairing
At least there is love to help me sustain the illusion within my heart
The distance rolling out like a river From now on we are separated by the vast open sky Wherever you are It matters not
A2
Because to be a benevolent/caring/giving person is to be destined to a life of anguish
But believing you are no longer in pain but in peace wherever you are to continue your glory
Because those who we love and gone through life together with will forever be with us in our hearts \When the wind blows, singing with you again in accompaniment
RAP (in Cantonese)
Wind Continues to Blow Benevolent/caring Man Chase and Chase
You still have so much passion left in you, How can you say you’re giving up just because you wanna give up
Having gone through life together Every night a living death To continue to live wont be easy (how do I live?)
I willingly fall in love with you and will treasure the love my whole life through
From now on it becomes a past (bygone) memory
I know The love that we had before in my heart will never cease (I will never stop loving you) The love for my one and only one, is a fire that burns in my heart most nakedly (an all consuming passion)
Its glow and brilliance unabated as I look back in time (in reminiscence)
Repeat A1/A2/A3
Published by Fun Music Limited©(P) 天星唱片有限公司
Thank you, Mrs. Florence Chan, for your love for Leslie
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
To Differentiate and To Recollect
翠袖乾坤：辨別與記憶
Wen Wei Po (香港文匯報) Supplement
Date: February 17, 2008
Author: Man Kit Wah
http://paper.wenweipo.com/2008/02/17/OT0802170003.htm
Downloaded from http://bbs.ent.163.com/bbs/zhangguorong/47126124.html
Translated by Daydreamer on February 20, 2008
Once in a commemorative activity for Leslie Cheung, a junior high pupil stood up and said, “I really envy those of you who grew up with Gorgor for having the opportunity to spend the different phases of life with him together, and for knowing such a beautiful personage …” He said this seriously as if talking about a piece of art.
Lately, people mourned the death of Heath Ledger, the actor in “Broke Back Mountain”. Beautiful people passed away one after the other. If looking at it from an all-alike perspective, they were possibly like a river that flew by, or like the surf we saw, while riding on a ferry, which stirred up and then submerged again in the sea. No matter how best our eye sight follows the surf, it nonetheless comes and goes without a trace. If we look at it from an all-different angle, then all of them may leave footprints in our hearts, none of them should be left out, and none of them can be replaced.
Perhaps we should be proud that we have the ability to differentiate, otherwise, massive memories will be buried. To remember all unique people and things will unavoidably cause regrets and pain, but perhaps that was once the source of happiness!
At school when we discussed about the philosophy of Plato, we had the following criticism towards his world of idea: If every thing and substance in the world all has a prototype in the world of idea to correspond with it, to show the imperfection in the real world, then how can it be explained? Because if in the real world there is a pot of half filthy water, we then may say that in the world of idea, there also happens to have such a pot of half filthy water prototype which is entirely alike. If that is the case, then there is no difference at all.
For those people whom we know and love, because of our sentiment, each of them is a unique prototype in our mind. Do you think Johnny Depp and Leslie Cheung are a little bit alike? That is merely some one-sided impression. Without an unreachable prototype in another world, but only at this time and place or at some time and place there really once existed an individual whom we met and sparked a bright and radiant light.
Wen Wei Po (香港文匯報) Supplement
Date: February 17, 2008
Author: Man Kit Wah
http://paper.wenweipo.com/2008/02/17/OT0802170003.htm
Downloaded from http://bbs.ent.163.com/bbs/zhangguorong/47126124.html
Translated by Daydreamer on February 20, 2008
Once in a commemorative activity for Leslie Cheung, a junior high pupil stood up and said, “I really envy those of you who grew up with Gorgor for having the opportunity to spend the different phases of life with him together, and for knowing such a beautiful personage …” He said this seriously as if talking about a piece of art.
Lately, people mourned the death of Heath Ledger, the actor in “Broke Back Mountain”. Beautiful people passed away one after the other. If looking at it from an all-alike perspective, they were possibly like a river that flew by, or like the surf we saw, while riding on a ferry, which stirred up and then submerged again in the sea. No matter how best our eye sight follows the surf, it nonetheless comes and goes without a trace. If we look at it from an all-different angle, then all of them may leave footprints in our hearts, none of them should be left out, and none of them can be replaced.
Perhaps we should be proud that we have the ability to differentiate, otherwise, massive memories will be buried. To remember all unique people and things will unavoidably cause regrets and pain, but perhaps that was once the source of happiness!
At school when we discussed about the philosophy of Plato, we had the following criticism towards his world of idea: If every thing and substance in the world all has a prototype in the world of idea to correspond with it, to show the imperfection in the real world, then how can it be explained? Because if in the real world there is a pot of half filthy water, we then may say that in the world of idea, there also happens to have such a pot of half filthy water prototype which is entirely alike. If that is the case, then there is no difference at all.
For those people whom we know and love, because of our sentiment, each of them is a unique prototype in our mind. Do you think Johnny Depp and Leslie Cheung are a little bit alike? That is merely some one-sided impression. Without an unreachable prototype in another world, but only at this time and place or at some time and place there really once existed an individual whom we met and sparked a bright and radiant light.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Elvis Presley v. Leslie Cheung (an article written by a fan)
Written by kendy-85
Date: 2008-01-29 04:37:59
Downloaded from http://bbs.ent.163.com/bbs/zhangguorong/45704126.html
Translated by Daydreamer on February 6, 2008
In 1977, Elvis Presley died putting an end to his 22 years of performing career; that year, Leslie Cheung entered the entertainment world after participating in a singing contest. Twenty-six years later, people define Leslie using the same evaluation they used on Elvis Presley: Immortal Legend.
It is difficult for Leslie to attain the influence that Elvis had achieved in the music world; however, Leslie definitely surpassed Elvis in movie-making in view of the massive poorly-reviewed movies that Elvis had made. Elvis had a chaotic private life which directly affected his music creation and performance in the late period of his career. Leslie, on the contrary, was a highly disciplined person. He had never stopped transcending himself until the end of his life. Nonetheless, in cultural icon evaluation, the Americans proudly put Elvis in the third place. In China, Leslie was ranked seventh, yet this result had aroused much public controversy leading to a great deal of debates in the forum; even mass media joined in making it the hottest topic of the day. For Elvis and Leslie who were of different cultural backgrounds, which one of them was luckier?
Leslie had an inborn aristocrat quality, while Elvis rose to his success by singing black people’s African-American music. The only similarity is that both possessed a magnetic mellow voice and a sexy stage image which was most controversial. Hong Kong’s most valuable lyricist Lam Chik in answering reporter’s questions said that the reason he always wrote sentimental lyrics for Leslie is because Leslie possessed a voice like Elvis Presley. During the eight long years that Leslie had striven, he did once plan to imitate Elvis. At the 1986 Expo performance, we could see Elvis’s shadow in Leslie when he sang “Stand Up”: his voice, his action on stage and especially eye expression which was very much like that of Elvis’s. He first twisted the hip and flung the head, then took up the microphone and threw the stand away, following with a 360 degree turn. Unfortunately, he carelessly fell over on stage when returning to the backstage after shaking hands with the audience; but the Leslie that we saw from that part of the video clip was so loveable, with a childlike air that was possessed by him only.
The young Elvis and Leslie were very much alike: radiant, handsome, and sexy like a good-looking young man found in the ancient Greek myths. However, in Elvis’s middle age, in addition to taking drugs massively, he also over-indulged in food and drinks, and lived an extremely intemperate private life. At the age of 42, he completely collapsed and died. On the contrary, years had not added any signs of aging on Leslie’s face. More so, with the passage of time, we saw holiness and purity in his face, just like an angel. His gracefulness made people fear to look at him directly. These two people, however, did have one similarity, which is fatal attraction, especially towards females. When they were on stage, the audience forgot about themselves. Westerners usually expressed their emotions more directly, very often they would rush to the stage like mad as if they wanted to tear Elvis apart and swallow him alive. In Leslie’s concerts between 1985 and 1989, the audience showed great enthusiasm and passion also. So long as Leslie shook hand with them, his hands would become swollen with fingernail scratches all over. Sometimes, the audience even tried to pull him off the stage.
Leslie was born in 1956, the year when Elvis was discovered by the renowned manager Colonel Parker, then started his path to become a super star. Elvis passed his childhood in poverty. His grasp of music came from experience gained in early years singing in choirs. Leslie, however, studied abroad in England for seven years. At that time, it was the golden age of British music. Leslie who was deeply affected by the music could never forget the singers like Elton John, etc. In his 22 years in the music world, Elvis had brought us a lot of pleasant listening music. Most interestingly, not counting the four to five years of Leslie’s retirement from the music world, he also was in the music world for almost twenty-two years.
Let’s talk more about their differences.
Elvis was a real blue-eyed boy. Throughout his whole life, he was controlled and protected by his recording company. He earned a huge sum of money for his company and for himself, and was a super idol throughout his life time. Even when he was overweighed and in bad shape, people still believed that so long as he shut himself up in the recording studio, he would sing some beautiful songs that could lift people’s soul and spirit. Even after his death for half a century, his image still appears in different kinds of products. Until now, he and Marilyn Monroe are still the irreplaceable sexy symbol in the European and American music and film world. Regarding his private life, Elvis was almost secluded from outside, but in his private world, he had no scruples at all. From the very beginning, he did not have to put in too much efforts. Lyrics and melodies of his songs were relatively simple yet fine and perceptual, also very typical, and possessed a special kind of magic power, especially conformed to young people’s rebellious personality. The whole world was really rocked and rolled by his music. Because of this, he in fact became a priceless commodity. In his music and especially in the massive Hollywood movies, he unceasingly duplicated himself in order to guarantee a profit, until one day he was tired of doing so. In the later period of his career, he attempted to make some changes, but was not too successful, as a result he went back to his old route. When he was not making movies, he would appear on television. Even so, people were still full of hope and anticipation, until at the end they had to face his departure with sadness.
Leslie was different. His delicate and handsome face along with talent in music did not really bring him any immediate success. He strove for eight years before holding his first personal concert. Another big difference is that from the very beginning, Leslie resisted to be used and controlled by other people. Before 1989, he was dominated by his recording company. Majority people did not believe that he would give up everything to retreat at the very peak of his career, yet he really did so. His reason to come back to the showbiz afterwards was not to earn a living or to make a profit like the other ordinary performing artists did. Regardless of the 1989 final encounter concerts, or his come-back in 1995, Leslie had only one goal, he wanted to be himself, to do something that he liked to do, to be a “fucking good artist”. He indeed had achieved that goal by using his own power and strength. The pressure that he faced was different from Elvis’s, although it was just as severe. Elvis’s pressure came from how many copies of records he could sell and how good the box-office record of his movies was. Yet for Leslie, he had to face with his own image being twisted and smeared by the media. Throughout his career, he had always been on his own, a lonely individual facing disputes and criticisms from the outer world.
A very important reason to compare Leslie with Elvis is that in definition both of them were idols of true significance. Both of them led the trend in music. For 20 years, their good music emerged one after another incessantly. However, their own charm and charisma from beginning to end had been more glamorous and alluring than their music. No matter what kind of Elvis’s music you are listening to, be it fast or slow, his eminent hip-twisting movement as well as affectionate- or sly-eye expression will spontaneously go into your imagination. Leslie was more so, no matter how pleasant-listening the songs were, no matter how beautiful the stages had been decorated, they could never surpass his own charisma which would affect audience’s emotion greatly and melt their hearts. In particular, when Leslie sang other people’s songs, that feeling was even more intense. It is very difficult to tell precisely what special characteristic or quality these two people possessed that could challenge people’s innermost feelings and emotions. External factors like perfect outer appearance, uninhibited temperament, exceptionally gifted voices, etc., are possessed by all other entertainers as well, but only Elvis and Leslie could simultaneously take people, with different demands and requirements, to a facsinatedly state. Moreover, without the need of singing or saying a word, simply did something casual, audience’s mood would be stimulated and they would follow them involuntarily.
However, Leslie obviously had more self-awareness towards innovation and change in music. The media once queried about his 1997 concerts since no one could forget the Leslie in the year 1989. Radically he did not have to add any new tricks or new elements to his 1997 concerts, all he needed was simply sing some old songs, then the audience would be satisfied. Injecting new elements into the concerts would have gains and losses, then why took the risk to do so? Until now, people will still sigh and wonder what made Leslie decide to come back when thinking of the indefinite ordeal he had endured mentally and physically. Since he understood full well that an entertainer should retire at his most glorious moment, then why afterwards he could not be as natural and determined as he used to be in 1989? No one can answer these questions. Just as an internet friend said, “The absolute real Leslie has left behind a lot of puzzles for us to solve. However, there will never be any answers to them; or perhaps the answers to those questions have already been staying in our hearts unobtrusively and imperceptibly.”
Perhaps Elvis was not too happy after all, but he had never had much restraint in his private life; that is to say, he could have many different ways to vent his emotions without the fear of affecting his image. Even though he might face dreadful void and loneliness after numerous absurd behaviours and actions, it still could not match the depression that Leslie had suffered for 20 years. From a certain perspective of significance, Leslie’s depression could be said as the prime culprit that led him to give up his life, however, it could also be a kind of wealth for him. The illness of depression, or perhaps the so-called source of pain and agony is actually a kind of calmness and consciousness, a kind of extreme sensitivity towards the essence of human nature, a kind of thorough understanding towards the meaning of life …. Leslie had said so himself that an actor must understand the nature of human being, that way he could make some of the characters that he played more persuasive as if he had injected life into them. However, if an actor was too involved in the characters, then he would be possessed by evil spirit, that’s what we call “evil in the heart”. Perhaps that is the reason why whoever possesses big wisdom will probably attach to some kind of religion at the end. Seeing Leslie in extreme pain and agony in his final days, his good friend Alan Tang Kwong-wing tried to make him see the bright side of life, but when Tang was speechless, Leslie said to him, “You thought you knew them all?”
Of course, I do have some reservations towards the way of seeing things because no matter who he is, so long as he exists in this world, he is merely a mediocre individual, with seven-emotions [footnote 1] and six sensory pleasures [footnote 2] interacting. If he can find a gap, it will not be hard for him to reach a certain state of balance, and there is no need to go to extremes. One thing though is certain about this tragedy. Psychological studies of nowadays came from the Western world, attention paid to the Chinese people is by far not sufficient, that probably is the reason why even the psychologist was unable to cure him. Besides, Hong King is a place of extremity and complexity. For those who believe in Western medicine will at the same time consume Chinese herbs; and those who seek help from psychologists will also ask for assistance from Wong Tai Sin [footnote 3]. It is probable that Chinese medicine and Western medicine may have opposite effects; similarly, psychologists will never agree with Wong Tai Sin as they hold different opinions and never trust one another.
FOOTNOTES:
Note1: Seven emotions are happiness, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, desire
Note 2: Six sensory pleasures derived from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind
Note 3: An immortal, one of the most popular gods in Hong Kong
Date: 2008-01-29 04:37:59
Downloaded from http://bbs.ent.163.com/bbs/zhangguorong/45704126.html
Translated by Daydreamer on February 6, 2008
In 1977, Elvis Presley died putting an end to his 22 years of performing career; that year, Leslie Cheung entered the entertainment world after participating in a singing contest. Twenty-six years later, people define Leslie using the same evaluation they used on Elvis Presley: Immortal Legend.
It is difficult for Leslie to attain the influence that Elvis had achieved in the music world; however, Leslie definitely surpassed Elvis in movie-making in view of the massive poorly-reviewed movies that Elvis had made. Elvis had a chaotic private life which directly affected his music creation and performance in the late period of his career. Leslie, on the contrary, was a highly disciplined person. He had never stopped transcending himself until the end of his life. Nonetheless, in cultural icon evaluation, the Americans proudly put Elvis in the third place. In China, Leslie was ranked seventh, yet this result had aroused much public controversy leading to a great deal of debates in the forum; even mass media joined in making it the hottest topic of the day. For Elvis and Leslie who were of different cultural backgrounds, which one of them was luckier?
Leslie had an inborn aristocrat quality, while Elvis rose to his success by singing black people’s African-American music. The only similarity is that both possessed a magnetic mellow voice and a sexy stage image which was most controversial. Hong Kong’s most valuable lyricist Lam Chik in answering reporter’s questions said that the reason he always wrote sentimental lyrics for Leslie is because Leslie possessed a voice like Elvis Presley. During the eight long years that Leslie had striven, he did once plan to imitate Elvis. At the 1986 Expo performance, we could see Elvis’s shadow in Leslie when he sang “Stand Up”: his voice, his action on stage and especially eye expression which was very much like that of Elvis’s. He first twisted the hip and flung the head, then took up the microphone and threw the stand away, following with a 360 degree turn. Unfortunately, he carelessly fell over on stage when returning to the backstage after shaking hands with the audience; but the Leslie that we saw from that part of the video clip was so loveable, with a childlike air that was possessed by him only.
The young Elvis and Leslie were very much alike: radiant, handsome, and sexy like a good-looking young man found in the ancient Greek myths. However, in Elvis’s middle age, in addition to taking drugs massively, he also over-indulged in food and drinks, and lived an extremely intemperate private life. At the age of 42, he completely collapsed and died. On the contrary, years had not added any signs of aging on Leslie’s face. More so, with the passage of time, we saw holiness and purity in his face, just like an angel. His gracefulness made people fear to look at him directly. These two people, however, did have one similarity, which is fatal attraction, especially towards females. When they were on stage, the audience forgot about themselves. Westerners usually expressed their emotions more directly, very often they would rush to the stage like mad as if they wanted to tear Elvis apart and swallow him alive. In Leslie’s concerts between 1985 and 1989, the audience showed great enthusiasm and passion also. So long as Leslie shook hand with them, his hands would become swollen with fingernail scratches all over. Sometimes, the audience even tried to pull him off the stage.
Leslie was born in 1956, the year when Elvis was discovered by the renowned manager Colonel Parker, then started his path to become a super star. Elvis passed his childhood in poverty. His grasp of music came from experience gained in early years singing in choirs. Leslie, however, studied abroad in England for seven years. At that time, it was the golden age of British music. Leslie who was deeply affected by the music could never forget the singers like Elton John, etc. In his 22 years in the music world, Elvis had brought us a lot of pleasant listening music. Most interestingly, not counting the four to five years of Leslie’s retirement from the music world, he also was in the music world for almost twenty-two years.
Let’s talk more about their differences.
Elvis was a real blue-eyed boy. Throughout his whole life, he was controlled and protected by his recording company. He earned a huge sum of money for his company and for himself, and was a super idol throughout his life time. Even when he was overweighed and in bad shape, people still believed that so long as he shut himself up in the recording studio, he would sing some beautiful songs that could lift people’s soul and spirit. Even after his death for half a century, his image still appears in different kinds of products. Until now, he and Marilyn Monroe are still the irreplaceable sexy symbol in the European and American music and film world. Regarding his private life, Elvis was almost secluded from outside, but in his private world, he had no scruples at all. From the very beginning, he did not have to put in too much efforts. Lyrics and melodies of his songs were relatively simple yet fine and perceptual, also very typical, and possessed a special kind of magic power, especially conformed to young people’s rebellious personality. The whole world was really rocked and rolled by his music. Because of this, he in fact became a priceless commodity. In his music and especially in the massive Hollywood movies, he unceasingly duplicated himself in order to guarantee a profit, until one day he was tired of doing so. In the later period of his career, he attempted to make some changes, but was not too successful, as a result he went back to his old route. When he was not making movies, he would appear on television. Even so, people were still full of hope and anticipation, until at the end they had to face his departure with sadness.
Leslie was different. His delicate and handsome face along with talent in music did not really bring him any immediate success. He strove for eight years before holding his first personal concert. Another big difference is that from the very beginning, Leslie resisted to be used and controlled by other people. Before 1989, he was dominated by his recording company. Majority people did not believe that he would give up everything to retreat at the very peak of his career, yet he really did so. His reason to come back to the showbiz afterwards was not to earn a living or to make a profit like the other ordinary performing artists did. Regardless of the 1989 final encounter concerts, or his come-back in 1995, Leslie had only one goal, he wanted to be himself, to do something that he liked to do, to be a “fucking good artist”. He indeed had achieved that goal by using his own power and strength. The pressure that he faced was different from Elvis’s, although it was just as severe. Elvis’s pressure came from how many copies of records he could sell and how good the box-office record of his movies was. Yet for Leslie, he had to face with his own image being twisted and smeared by the media. Throughout his career, he had always been on his own, a lonely individual facing disputes and criticisms from the outer world.
A very important reason to compare Leslie with Elvis is that in definition both of them were idols of true significance. Both of them led the trend in music. For 20 years, their good music emerged one after another incessantly. However, their own charm and charisma from beginning to end had been more glamorous and alluring than their music. No matter what kind of Elvis’s music you are listening to, be it fast or slow, his eminent hip-twisting movement as well as affectionate- or sly-eye expression will spontaneously go into your imagination. Leslie was more so, no matter how pleasant-listening the songs were, no matter how beautiful the stages had been decorated, they could never surpass his own charisma which would affect audience’s emotion greatly and melt their hearts. In particular, when Leslie sang other people’s songs, that feeling was even more intense. It is very difficult to tell precisely what special characteristic or quality these two people possessed that could challenge people’s innermost feelings and emotions. External factors like perfect outer appearance, uninhibited temperament, exceptionally gifted voices, etc., are possessed by all other entertainers as well, but only Elvis and Leslie could simultaneously take people, with different demands and requirements, to a facsinatedly state. Moreover, without the need of singing or saying a word, simply did something casual, audience’s mood would be stimulated and they would follow them involuntarily.
However, Leslie obviously had more self-awareness towards innovation and change in music. The media once queried about his 1997 concerts since no one could forget the Leslie in the year 1989. Radically he did not have to add any new tricks or new elements to his 1997 concerts, all he needed was simply sing some old songs, then the audience would be satisfied. Injecting new elements into the concerts would have gains and losses, then why took the risk to do so? Until now, people will still sigh and wonder what made Leslie decide to come back when thinking of the indefinite ordeal he had endured mentally and physically. Since he understood full well that an entertainer should retire at his most glorious moment, then why afterwards he could not be as natural and determined as he used to be in 1989? No one can answer these questions. Just as an internet friend said, “The absolute real Leslie has left behind a lot of puzzles for us to solve. However, there will never be any answers to them; or perhaps the answers to those questions have already been staying in our hearts unobtrusively and imperceptibly.”
Perhaps Elvis was not too happy after all, but he had never had much restraint in his private life; that is to say, he could have many different ways to vent his emotions without the fear of affecting his image. Even though he might face dreadful void and loneliness after numerous absurd behaviours and actions, it still could not match the depression that Leslie had suffered for 20 years. From a certain perspective of significance, Leslie’s depression could be said as the prime culprit that led him to give up his life, however, it could also be a kind of wealth for him. The illness of depression, or perhaps the so-called source of pain and agony is actually a kind of calmness and consciousness, a kind of extreme sensitivity towards the essence of human nature, a kind of thorough understanding towards the meaning of life …. Leslie had said so himself that an actor must understand the nature of human being, that way he could make some of the characters that he played more persuasive as if he had injected life into them. However, if an actor was too involved in the characters, then he would be possessed by evil spirit, that’s what we call “evil in the heart”. Perhaps that is the reason why whoever possesses big wisdom will probably attach to some kind of religion at the end. Seeing Leslie in extreme pain and agony in his final days, his good friend Alan Tang Kwong-wing tried to make him see the bright side of life, but when Tang was speechless, Leslie said to him, “You thought you knew them all?”
Of course, I do have some reservations towards the way of seeing things because no matter who he is, so long as he exists in this world, he is merely a mediocre individual, with seven-emotions [footnote 1] and six sensory pleasures [footnote 2] interacting. If he can find a gap, it will not be hard for him to reach a certain state of balance, and there is no need to go to extremes. One thing though is certain about this tragedy. Psychological studies of nowadays came from the Western world, attention paid to the Chinese people is by far not sufficient, that probably is the reason why even the psychologist was unable to cure him. Besides, Hong King is a place of extremity and complexity. For those who believe in Western medicine will at the same time consume Chinese herbs; and those who seek help from psychologists will also ask for assistance from Wong Tai Sin [footnote 3]. It is probable that Chinese medicine and Western medicine may have opposite effects; similarly, psychologists will never agree with Wong Tai Sin as they hold different opinions and never trust one another.
FOOTNOTES:
Note1: Seven emotions are happiness, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, desire
Note 2: Six sensory pleasures derived from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind
Note 3: An immortal, one of the most popular gods in Hong Kong
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Lasting Legend - Leslie Cheung (Part 1)
By RTHK
Downloaded from YouTube
[Note from Daydreamer: Dear friends, please follow the YouTube links I state herein because I just found out that there are more than one version of this episode being posted on YouTube. As a result, the episode was broken up into parts differently. If you have to rely on this translation to understand the episode, I strongly recommend that you use the links I used to prepare for the translation. Enjoy!!!]
Translated by Daydreamer on January 13, 2008
不死傳奇 - 張國榮part1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZjirIi5_8w&feature=related (run time 9:15 min.)
不死傳奇 - 張國榮part2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2rsu0Qdh7Q&feature=related (run time 8:43 min.)
不死傳奇 - 張國榮part3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sb-qr3K2bE&feature=related (run time 8:52 min.)
不死傳奇 - 張國榮part4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0gVY2ycE4E&feature=related (run time 8:05 min.)
不死傳奇 - 張國榮part5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yugbJkDgw4&feature=related (run time 9:07 min.)
Hostess / Narrator: Karen Mok
PART 1 from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZjirIi5_8w&feature=related
[Fans showing Gorgor’s memorabilia]
[The song “For Your Love Only” was played]
Fan: Here is where Gorgor lived in the 80s.
[TV showed set where “Days of Being Wild” was filmed]
Antique Shopowner at Cat Street (“SO”): Gorgor once shot a scene here.
SO: Every year at the anniversary of his death, many tourists [fan friends] from the States, Taiwan, Beijing, Shanghai will come here.
Reporter: From all over the world?
SO: Yes, there are also people from Shenzhen. They all know how to come here. Most of them know how to come. Some come every year. I can recognize them when I see them. Among them, there are a few, whom I recognize, have come here before.
Reporter: Are you a fan yourself?
SO: Yes, I am.
Reporter: You are too?
SO: Here on this key chain, I have put his photos.
SO: On this side also. [Showing her key chain to the reporter]
SO: About him … how should I put it … I really don’t know how to describe. He was very friendly, really nice. He wouldn’t put on air or be arrogant. [She looked at Leslie’s picture]
SO: Once every two or three days, I will take the picture out and look at it.
[RED – 1997 Crossover Concert was played]
Karen Mok: I will definitely consider myself as Gorgor’s first fan.
Karen Mok: When I first met him, he was singing in the Rediffusion’s song contest.
Karen Mok: My mom was a senior official at that TV station, so whenever there were big variety shows that required little kids to present flowers, I would be one of them.
Karen Mok: When Gorgor sang, he was dressed in white. Extremely cool! He sang “American Pie”, an English song. He danced and sang, really stylish; it was just fascinating and pleasant to watch.
Narrator announcing: The 7th contestant is Mr. Leslie Cheung from Hong Kong. He is 20 years old, a student.
[“American Pie” was played]
Michael Lai: He sang “American Pie” which was 7 minutes long. I said, “Man, when you are in a song contest, we can only spare you 3 to 4 minutes”. He said how could he bring out the mood of the song if it had to be cut short. I said I knew that would affect the feeling but nothing could be done since show time for each contestant had to be equal.
Michael Lai: He was very skinny, with dark complexion. He also carried some air of royalty.
[“American Pie” continued to play]
Mrs. Mok Ho Mun Yee (Karen Mok’s mother, former vice manager of Rediffusion TV): I and my boss went backstage. When Steve Wong Chek Chiu [then boss of Rediffusion] saw Leslie, he went to him and shook his hand. In front of us, he said, “Leslie, I’ll make you a star”. Leslie’s happiness and hope were expressed in his eyes. When we had eye contact and looked at each other, we knew it would be the case.
[“American Pie” continued to play]
[Showing TV series “Make a Wish” clip, the song “Need You Every Minute” was sung by Leslie]
Narrator: For Leslie who had just started his showbiz career, the title of a runner-up from the Asian Song Contest did not help him to have a smooth sail. He joined the then Rediffusion TV and went through a period of hard time, full of bitter memories.
[Song “Need You Every Minute” continued to play]
Leslie: At that time, my image was not very pleasing as I was really uptrend, wearing a suit and a navy’s hat; my outfit was avant garde.
Leslie: While I was singing, I saw a hat being blown at me, it looked really familiar and when I took another look, it was my own hat.
[Song “Silently Swimming Upstream” was played]
Lo Kwok Jim (lyricist): When I wrote “Silently Swimming Upstream”, I was describing the Leslie whom I knew at that stage, because he was very ambitious and full of confidence, believing that he would emerge and be successful.
Florence Chan: He was an artist full of confidence. Even at moments of despair, he never thought of giving up his performing career. He only thought of finding a new company or new performing ways to strive forward in this circle.
[1983 TVB Variety Show clip was played]
Narrator: In 1982, Gorgor joined Capital Artists Recording Company, like a wind-up spring waiting to explode, waiting for the arrival of the 80s, the golden era of Hong Kong’s pop music.
Michael Lai: At first, he tried to imitate different singers. Later, I felt that he should set up his own unique way, I therefore played Elvis Presley’s “Are You Lonesome Tonight” for him. After he finished listening to it, I asked him to try to lower his key a bit. It was my view that, first, singing in a lower key would make his voice sound more manly and sensual. Second, those who listen to the songs are not singers, so if they unknowingly follow you to hum or sing along, then you are half way to success already.
[Song “Wind Continues to Blow” was played]
Leslie [excerpt from his radio autobiography]: “Wind Continues to Blow” was my first record at Capital Artists Recording Company. When it first came out, the response was not ideal. I could say it was worse than what we expected. But perhaps I was lucky, people loved it more and more after listening to it many times. The number of people writing to the radio stations to dedicate this song got larger and larger. It therefore began my new stage. I signed up with TVB as its contract singer.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Lasting Legend - Leslie Cheung (Part 2)
Part 2 from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2rsu0Qdh7Q&feature=related
Leslie [excerpt from his radio autobiography]: It therefore began my new stage. I signed up with TVB as its contract singer.
[Song of “Fallen Family” was played]
[Song of “Once an Ordinary Girl” was played]
Lo Kwok Jim: He did not like to follow the contemporary rule of singing a song. According to the term used in Cantonese opera, he was touching the string and then sliding up and down [Note of translator: I believe he means “like striving to not follow the fine balance demanded by Cantonese opera”]. He did not conform completely according to the rhythm.
[Song of “Refuse to Play” was played]
Michael Lai: For those good boys who always stick to the rules it is difficult to rise and become popular. It’s got to be those who, apart from possessing some playful nature, should also be at the same time naughty, because in the artistic field, there is something called “the brush of God”; with that stroke, that splash of red in the picture, like that expression “ah”, it can hit the audience and grab their attention.
[Song of “Monica” was played]
Florence Chan: How popular was “Monica”?
Florence Chan: Because of “Monica”, the sale of his album reached the number of 400,000 copies. Really incredible!
[Song of “Monica” continued to play]
[Karen Mok came out from the backstage]
Karen Mok: I believe Gorgor’s stage charisma is irreplaceable.
Karen Mok: A very important point that he taught me is when standing on the stage, I have to strike a pose, i.e. you have to set up a pose so that all the people’s attention is on you.
[Song “Side Face” was played at the same time.]
Karen Mok: Another golden sentence of Gorgor’s that I like very much is “haau4, leng3, jing4, cyun3”.
[Song of “Red” was played – clip from Red - 1997 Crossover Concert]
Karen Mok: When you have sex appeal, that is “haau3”.
Karen Mok: “leng3” means beauty, it requires no further explanation.
Karen Mok: “jing4” is a kind of manner, apart from your outward appearance.
Karen Mok: For “cyun3”, I think this is the most classic one, i.e. sometimes you yourself do not have to care about what other people think or whether the audience are there supporting you or others, you just ignore their existence [laugh].
Leslie: No one can drive me over the edge and make me quit. If I do not stay in this field any more, it’s because it’s my choice and I will retreat with glory. [excerpt from James Wong et al’s interview of Leslie in 1989]
[Song “Wind Continues to Blow” – clip from Final Encounter (1989) was played]
Florence Chan: Hong Kong was the last stop of Leslie’s 1988 World Tour. During the world tour, he repeatedly told me that, “I feel the pressure is really great. I want to have my own life. I don’t want to do it anymore. I feel that Momoe Yamaguchi (山口百惠) can retire at the age of 21, I can …”. Actually the retirement of Momoe Yamaguchi affected him a lot.
[Song “Fear Not Able to Encounter Again” (1984) was played]
Eliza Chan: I think he was very clever. I think he understood full well that if he continued to stay in the singing field and did not take a break, he could never present yet another fresher image. The only thing that could enable him to establish or breakthrough himself was to take a break.
[Clip of Sam Hui’s Retirement Party was played]
Leslie: I sing here purely because this is a private party, besides, Sam is my favourite artist so tonight I will have to make an exception and sing again.
[Leslie singing “Silence is Golden”]
Narrator: No one would believe that in 1989 when it was the peak of Gorgor’s career, he would make the decision to retreat. As well, no one could foresee that when Gorgor came back from the retreat he would give us so many surprises. [Song “Silence of Golden” goes on]
[Song “Chase” was playing] Gorgor came back to the singing field in 1995
Hui Yuen (Musician): When he returned and was involved in music recording, he didn't have the burden of being a pop idol. His artistic pursuit became higher.
[Leslie at music studio with Hui Yuen]
Hui Yuen: You could see that the songs he chose or the songs that he invited others to write for him, starting from “Chase” until the end when he asked people to tailor-make the songs for him, you could tell that his taste got higher and higher.
Lam Yik (Lyricist): Perhaps without the burden of music awards or any other elements, he could record songs that he liked. Themes of songs were beyond the basic elements of a pop singer, thus gave me an opportunity to put my imagination and creative ideas into lyrics.
[Song “Blame You for your Beauty” (1996) was played]
Lam Yik: The most unforgettable one was the song “I” at the latter stage of his career. “I” is a song through which he ignored the others and openly sang out words that were from the bottom of his heart, exposing his identity.
[Leslie speaking at the Passion Tour]
Leslie: The theme of “I” is other than knowing how to love each other, the most important thing is to know how to appreciate yourself.
[Song “I” (2000) was sung at the Passion Tour – clip]
Chan Wing Go (Concert Producer): Leslie was a very brave, creative and uptrend performer. He wouldn’t worry whether the audience would accept it or not, ...
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Leslie [excerpt from his radio autobiography]: It therefore began my new stage. I signed up with TVB as its contract singer.
[Song of “Fallen Family” was played]
[Song of “Once an Ordinary Girl” was played]
Lo Kwok Jim: He did not like to follow the contemporary rule of singing a song. According to the term used in Cantonese opera, he was touching the string and then sliding up and down [Note of translator: I believe he means “like striving to not follow the fine balance demanded by Cantonese opera”]. He did not conform completely according to the rhythm.
[Song of “Refuse to Play” was played]
Michael Lai: For those good boys who always stick to the rules it is difficult to rise and become popular. It’s got to be those who, apart from possessing some playful nature, should also be at the same time naughty, because in the artistic field, there is something called “the brush of God”; with that stroke, that splash of red in the picture, like that expression “ah”, it can hit the audience and grab their attention.
[Song of “Monica” was played]
Florence Chan: How popular was “Monica”?
Florence Chan: Because of “Monica”, the sale of his album reached the number of 400,000 copies. Really incredible!
[Song of “Monica” continued to play]
[Karen Mok came out from the backstage]
Karen Mok: I believe Gorgor’s stage charisma is irreplaceable.
Karen Mok: A very important point that he taught me is when standing on the stage, I have to strike a pose, i.e. you have to set up a pose so that all the people’s attention is on you.
[Song “Side Face” was played at the same time.]
Karen Mok: Another golden sentence of Gorgor’s that I like very much is “haau4, leng3, jing4, cyun3”.
[Song of “Red” was played – clip from Red - 1997 Crossover Concert]
Karen Mok: When you have sex appeal, that is “haau3”.
Karen Mok: “leng3” means beauty, it requires no further explanation.
Karen Mok: “jing4” is a kind of manner, apart from your outward appearance.
Karen Mok: For “cyun3”, I think this is the most classic one, i.e. sometimes you yourself do not have to care about what other people think or whether the audience are there supporting you or others, you just ignore their existence [laugh].
Leslie: No one can drive me over the edge and make me quit. If I do not stay in this field any more, it’s because it’s my choice and I will retreat with glory. [excerpt from James Wong et al’s interview of Leslie in 1989]
[Song “Wind Continues to Blow” – clip from Final Encounter (1989) was played]
Florence Chan: Hong Kong was the last stop of Leslie’s 1988 World Tour. During the world tour, he repeatedly told me that, “I feel the pressure is really great. I want to have my own life. I don’t want to do it anymore. I feel that Momoe Yamaguchi (山口百惠) can retire at the age of 21, I can …”. Actually the retirement of Momoe Yamaguchi affected him a lot.
[Song “Fear Not Able to Encounter Again” (1984) was played]
Eliza Chan: I think he was very clever. I think he understood full well that if he continued to stay in the singing field and did not take a break, he could never present yet another fresher image. The only thing that could enable him to establish or breakthrough himself was to take a break.
[Clip of Sam Hui’s Retirement Party was played]
Leslie: I sing here purely because this is a private party, besides, Sam is my favourite artist so tonight I will have to make an exception and sing again.
[Leslie singing “Silence is Golden”]
Narrator: No one would believe that in 1989 when it was the peak of Gorgor’s career, he would make the decision to retreat. As well, no one could foresee that when Gorgor came back from the retreat he would give us so many surprises. [Song “Silence of Golden” goes on]
[Song “Chase” was playing] Gorgor came back to the singing field in 1995
Hui Yuen (Musician): When he returned and was involved in music recording, he didn't have the burden of being a pop idol. His artistic pursuit became higher.
[Leslie at music studio with Hui Yuen]
Hui Yuen: You could see that the songs he chose or the songs that he invited others to write for him, starting from “Chase” until the end when he asked people to tailor-make the songs for him, you could tell that his taste got higher and higher.
Lam Yik (Lyricist): Perhaps without the burden of music awards or any other elements, he could record songs that he liked. Themes of songs were beyond the basic elements of a pop singer, thus gave me an opportunity to put my imagination and creative ideas into lyrics.
[Song “Blame You for your Beauty” (1996) was played]
Lam Yik: The most unforgettable one was the song “I” at the latter stage of his career. “I” is a song through which he ignored the others and openly sang out words that were from the bottom of his heart, exposing his identity.
[Leslie speaking at the Passion Tour]
Leslie: The theme of “I” is other than knowing how to love each other, the most important thing is to know how to appreciate yourself.
[Song “I” (2000) was sung at the Passion Tour – clip]
Chan Wing Go (Concert Producer): Leslie was a very brave, creative and uptrend performer. He wouldn’t worry whether the audience would accept it or not, ...
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Lasting Legend - Leslie Cheung (Part 3)
Part 3 from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sb-qr3K2bE&feature=related
Chan Wing Go: He wouldn’t worry whether the audience would accept it or not. He wanted to let his fans and audience know, in his heart, what kind of a person he was.
[Clip of opening song at Passion Tour 2000]
Florence Chan: Passion Tour was a very daring attempt. I remember that at that time, after the media watched the performance, we met them face to face. They all praised that the performance was great. However, the next day when I looked at the newspapers, the facts were twisted, they smeared Leslie’s image badly. [Paper clippings shown]
Eliza Chan: I immediately surfed the internet to take a look, and I said, “What's he doing?” At that time, he was wearing a beard and long hair.
[Song “Big Heat”, clip from Passion Tour was played]
Eliza Chan: When I returned to Hong Kong, the first thing I did was go to his concert. After watching that, I felt that he had insight and guts. On stage, it is a must to have good singing and dancing skill, but the requirements he set for himself on stage and his ability to walk a new path so nicely, I think probably there won't be another one after him.
[Song “Big Heat”, clip from Passion Tour continued to play]
[Lok Fung sorting out her pictures of Leslie with background music “Spring Summer Autumn Winter]
Lok Fung (Professor, author): I don’t know if other people will agree with me or not, yet I insist that in eight to ten years time when we talk of Hong Kong culture we will talk of Leslie Cheung still and realize that he is a very important component.
[Song “And Who Else” was played]
[Lok Fung opening the door of her office]
Lok Fung: There is one here also.
Lok Fung: He was a pop singer, thus could not break away from the production mode of the pop industry, for example markets, statistics, yet he would find some gap or space to do something that he wanted to do, making some special elements that he believed could be changed and varied, to go beyond the norm and exhibit them on stage, for example, man can express and show the feminine side, or perhaps whether we need to change or broaden our views a bit towards men and women.
[Clip of song from Passion Tour was played 03:10 of 08:52]
Lok Fung: Since he could do it, then why don’t we show more people or make an in-depth study? I am really interested to know how the cultural environment of Hong Kong could produce someone like him, I am really interested in finding this out. I could say that I use my own way to understand him, but this does not mean that that is him. Artists do not want to be understood; because then they can retain some mystery. It would not be fun if we know everything. If Gorgor said to me one day that he was not as I wrote him to be, then I would smile and say I understand why you say that.
[Clip of dance at TVB Variety Show in 1984]
[Clip of 2001 Hong Kong Movies Award Ceremony]
Leslie: Having been in this field for so many years, without realizing it, I have made almost 70 films. In these 70 films, I have played many different roles, such as, a weak scholar who bumped into a ghost, a swordsman who escaped to the desert from love, a Dan [female Peking opera leading actress] played by a man, Master Twelve, as to more modern ones, a cold-blooded killer, and many many more.
[Clips of various movies were played]
Karen Mok: This is “Viva Erotica”, filmed in 1996. That was my first time officially collaborating with Gorgor. At that time, I could not believe I would have the chance to play with my own idol. In it, I played as his girlfriend, there was also a love scene.
[Clip from “Viva Erotica” was played]
Karen Mok: Of course, apart from playing the role as my boyfriend, we would never forget Gorgor’s other excellent performing skills that we saw on big screen.
[Clip from “A Better Tomorrow” was played]
[Clip from 22nd Ten Golden Songs Award with Gorgor singing the theme song of “A Better Tomorrow” and Ti Lung presenting him a scarf.]
Ti Lung (Actor): In “A Better Tomorrow”, I collaborated with Chow Yun Fat and Leslie. It produced a very outstanding result, and our collaboration created a spark.
[Clip from “A Better Tomorrow” continued to play]
Tsui Hark (Director): In “A Better Tomorrow”, the role of the younger brother was a very important one. At that time, Leslie came to mind immediately when we thought of the candidate for that role. He was the best choice and no one else.
[Clip of "A Better Tomorrow" continued to play]
Tsui Hark: The elder brother was in prison and the whole family was ruined as a result of his past profession, so when the younger brother became a policeman, his mentality was very unbalanced. The role of a young man with an image of rebellion was most suitable for Leslie. Probably someone has already mentioned that the expression in his eye was very similar to that of James Dean’s. Actually eye expression of this type has a kind of lethal force to ordinary people, but after you knew him well, you would feel that it was a very special kind of charisma and charm. Thereafter at that time, when we filmed “A Chinese Ghost Story”, the first thing we had to do was to pull Leslie closer to the audience.
[Clip of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was played]
Ching Siu Tung (Director): Actually, there was a scene I especially like, which is when both of them were in the water. Although they seemed to be kissing, actually they were trying to pass oxygen from one to the other.
[Clip of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was played]
Ching Siu Tung: I originally estimated that it would be a difficult scene to shoot, yet when it was filmed, it only took two takes and eventually we used the one that was taken the first time, that is to say, he could immediately handle that kind of feeling – the romantic feeling when he and Joey Wong were kissing in the water.
[Clip of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was played with Sally Yep singing the song]
Stanley Kwan (Director): I believe that I am not the only person who has the feeling that Leslie has an air of royalty about him.
[Clip of “Rouge” was played]
Stanley Kwan: His facial feature, his manner and movements all carried a kind of scholarly gracefulness and an air of sophistication.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Chan Wing Go: He wouldn’t worry whether the audience would accept it or not. He wanted to let his fans and audience know, in his heart, what kind of a person he was.
[Clip of opening song at Passion Tour 2000]
Florence Chan: Passion Tour was a very daring attempt. I remember that at that time, after the media watched the performance, we met them face to face. They all praised that the performance was great. However, the next day when I looked at the newspapers, the facts were twisted, they smeared Leslie’s image badly. [Paper clippings shown]
Eliza Chan: I immediately surfed the internet to take a look, and I said, “What's he doing?” At that time, he was wearing a beard and long hair.
[Song “Big Heat”, clip from Passion Tour was played]
Eliza Chan: When I returned to Hong Kong, the first thing I did was go to his concert. After watching that, I felt that he had insight and guts. On stage, it is a must to have good singing and dancing skill, but the requirements he set for himself on stage and his ability to walk a new path so nicely, I think probably there won't be another one after him.
[Song “Big Heat”, clip from Passion Tour continued to play]
[Lok Fung sorting out her pictures of Leslie with background music “Spring Summer Autumn Winter]
Lok Fung (Professor, author): I don’t know if other people will agree with me or not, yet I insist that in eight to ten years time when we talk of Hong Kong culture we will talk of Leslie Cheung still and realize that he is a very important component.
[Song “And Who Else” was played]
[Lok Fung opening the door of her office]
Lok Fung: There is one here also.
Lok Fung: He was a pop singer, thus could not break away from the production mode of the pop industry, for example markets, statistics, yet he would find some gap or space to do something that he wanted to do, making some special elements that he believed could be changed and varied, to go beyond the norm and exhibit them on stage, for example, man can express and show the feminine side, or perhaps whether we need to change or broaden our views a bit towards men and women.
[Clip of song from Passion Tour was played 03:10 of 08:52]
Lok Fung: Since he could do it, then why don’t we show more people or make an in-depth study? I am really interested to know how the cultural environment of Hong Kong could produce someone like him, I am really interested in finding this out. I could say that I use my own way to understand him, but this does not mean that that is him. Artists do not want to be understood; because then they can retain some mystery. It would not be fun if we know everything. If Gorgor said to me one day that he was not as I wrote him to be, then I would smile and say I understand why you say that.
[Clip of dance at TVB Variety Show in 1984]
[Clip of 2001 Hong Kong Movies Award Ceremony]
Leslie: Having been in this field for so many years, without realizing it, I have made almost 70 films. In these 70 films, I have played many different roles, such as, a weak scholar who bumped into a ghost, a swordsman who escaped to the desert from love, a Dan [female Peking opera leading actress] played by a man, Master Twelve, as to more modern ones, a cold-blooded killer, and many many more.
[Clips of various movies were played]
Karen Mok: This is “Viva Erotica”, filmed in 1996. That was my first time officially collaborating with Gorgor. At that time, I could not believe I would have the chance to play with my own idol. In it, I played as his girlfriend, there was also a love scene.
[Clip from “Viva Erotica” was played]
Karen Mok: Of course, apart from playing the role as my boyfriend, we would never forget Gorgor’s other excellent performing skills that we saw on big screen.
[Clip from “A Better Tomorrow” was played]
[Clip from 22nd Ten Golden Songs Award with Gorgor singing the theme song of “A Better Tomorrow” and Ti Lung presenting him a scarf.]
Ti Lung (Actor): In “A Better Tomorrow”, I collaborated with Chow Yun Fat and Leslie. It produced a very outstanding result, and our collaboration created a spark.
[Clip from “A Better Tomorrow” continued to play]
Tsui Hark (Director): In “A Better Tomorrow”, the role of the younger brother was a very important one. At that time, Leslie came to mind immediately when we thought of the candidate for that role. He was the best choice and no one else.
[Clip of "A Better Tomorrow" continued to play]
Tsui Hark: The elder brother was in prison and the whole family was ruined as a result of his past profession, so when the younger brother became a policeman, his mentality was very unbalanced. The role of a young man with an image of rebellion was most suitable for Leslie. Probably someone has already mentioned that the expression in his eye was very similar to that of James Dean’s. Actually eye expression of this type has a kind of lethal force to ordinary people, but after you knew him well, you would feel that it was a very special kind of charisma and charm. Thereafter at that time, when we filmed “A Chinese Ghost Story”, the first thing we had to do was to pull Leslie closer to the audience.
[Clip of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was played]
Ching Siu Tung (Director): Actually, there was a scene I especially like, which is when both of them were in the water. Although they seemed to be kissing, actually they were trying to pass oxygen from one to the other.
[Clip of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was played]
Ching Siu Tung: I originally estimated that it would be a difficult scene to shoot, yet when it was filmed, it only took two takes and eventually we used the one that was taken the first time, that is to say, he could immediately handle that kind of feeling – the romantic feeling when he and Joey Wong were kissing in the water.
[Clip of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was played with Sally Yep singing the song]
Stanley Kwan (Director): I believe that I am not the only person who has the feeling that Leslie has an air of royalty about him.
[Clip of “Rouge” was played]
Stanley Kwan: His facial feature, his manner and movements all carried a kind of scholarly gracefulness and an air of sophistication.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Lasting Legend - Leslie Cheung (Part 4)
Part 4 from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0gVY2ycE4E&feature=related
Stanley Kwan: His facial feature, his manner and movements all carried a kind of scholarly gracefulness and an air of sophistication. [Clip from “Rouge” was playing]
Stanley Kwan: Apart from an air of sophistication, inside him, I believe, he possessed a very special quality: a feeling of softness and femininity. This special quality fitted well into his role. When he was old at the end of the movie, he made you feel that he was living a frustrated life and did not even have Fleur’s courage to face death, etc. It is because of this special quality in Leslie that it injected into the character a sense of doubt and puzzlement, thus enriching the character a great deal.
[Clip of “Days of Being Wild” (1990) was played with Yuddy dancing]
Wong Ka-Wai: For Leslie Cheung, actually I like his past works more than those he made at the later part of his career. Many many years ago, I saw an episode he made for the RTHK “The Woman in My House”. At that time, I felt that Leslie was very special. [Clip of “The Woman in My House” was played.] He was not a super singer then. Afterwards he started to become popular, and took part in the shooting of movies, such as “A Chinese Ghost Story”, “A Better Tomorrow”. His performance at that time made me feel that he was over confident, giving you an impression that he was trying to demonstrate the skill of acting. That was not what I like. [Clip of “Days of Being Wild” was played] So when we started to collaborate, I told him to restrain a bit and not to treat acting as a kind of performance.
Stanley Kwan: Director Wong Ka Wai has really explored the deeper part and innermost world of Leslie, something that we could not see ourselves.
[Clip of “DOBW” was played – segment of Poon Dik Wah talking to Yuddy]
Poon Dik Wah (Singer/Actress): That role was not easy to play, but Leslie was perfect for it. He had that gaze and mentality. At that era, there was no one else who could play this role except Leslie.
Narrator: “Day of Being Wild” has brought Leslie his first Best Actor Award, but to take his performing skills and charisma to the international stage, it is the following movie which must be mentioned.
[Clip showing Leslie, Tsui Fung, Chen Kaige at the Cannes Festival]
[Yokohama, Japan]
Ginice (Hong Kong fans): Here is the venue in Yokohama Japan where the “Farewell To My Concubine” Art Exhibit is being held. The exhibition had already been taken place once in Hong Kong and once in Shanghai before coming here. This time, the Hong Kong and Japanese fans collaborated together and this exhibition has been officially approved as part of the ‘Year of Chinese-Nippon Cultural and Sporting Exchange 2007’.
[Clip of “FTMC” was played]
Franny (Japanese fans): For Leslie and his fans, “Farewell To My Concubine” is a very meaningful movie. After having learned of the Peking opera and Chinese people through this movie, one will have special passion, feeling and interest for this movie.
[Clip of “Farewell To My Concubine” continued to play]
Ginice: This is a Peking opera mock stage. In the centre behind this embroidery, there is a screen so that every hour, clips and production high-lights can be played.
Ginice: This is the poster for the metro stations in France. [The poster was showed]
Ginice: This is the cinema poster displayed in Spain. [The poster was showed]
Ginice: Original script of the movie. [The script was showed]
Ginice: The fan really took it to her heart; she has saved the ticket of the movie. [showing the cinema ticket]
Ginice: You can see that this is the make-up room at the Peking opera backstage.
Ginice: This is his set of hair ornaments.
Franny: For us, the main purpose is after the visitors return home from this exhibition, they will watch this wonderful movie “Farewell To My Concubine” again. Of course, another main purpose is for more people to learn of and then find out more about Leslie who was such a wonderful artist.
Male Japanese Fan: From a man’s point of view, I feel that Leslie had his soft side, yet at the same time, he possessed the charm of a man, and very handsome.
Female Japanese Fan: Leslie definitely was a super actor. I respect him all the time.
Female Japanese Fan: After I knew Leslie, he changed my life. I become more enthusiastic about everything. In the past, I only cared about Japan or the things happening in Japan, but after knowing Leslie, things have changed, I will watch Hong Kong movies, [paper clips about Farewell To My Concubine was played], and am interested in things about Hong Kong. This has widened my views towards the world.
[Song of “A Thousand Dream of You” was played when Leslie spoke]
Leslie: Movie is a team work, but under the guidance of a good director, the roles that some actors play on the screen may become unforgettable, as if having given them life. [Clips of various movies were played]
Leslie: Therefore a good actor may give himself countless numbers of lifes.
[Clip of “Viva Erotica” was played and Gorgor asked whether the movie was well directed]
Karen Mok: On April 1, 2003, the April Fool Day, something that was most unbelievable happened.
Voice of News Anchor: At the evening, Actor Leslie Cheung fell down from a hotel in Central and died. He was 46. According to the police, Leslie Cheung fell down at around 6 p.m. from the Oriental Mandarin Hotel in Central and was sent to the Queen Mary Hospital.
[Song of “Fearless of Loneliness” and clip of Gorgor’s funeral was played]
Karen Mok: It is very hard to describe this incident. Feeling that it was very unreal; something that was impossible to happen.
Lam Yik: Until now, I still haven’t got the nerve to listen to his songs at home again.
Poon Dik Wah: I feel it is a pity, and I miss him very much. Because now, don’t just say now, even in the past, there was no one like him in the singing field.
[Showing paper clip with a headline of depression being the possible cause of death]
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Lasting Legend - Leslie Cheung (Part 5)
Part 5 from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yugbJkDgw4&feature=related
Florence Chan: He had never given himself up. After he got this illness, he had persisted and struggled for a long time. But most unfortunate, at the end, this tragedy happened. This was not his decision.
Ti Lung: A tragedy; a tragic persona. Don’t stir up any more unhappy recollection. Let’s only remember the happy moments of him.
[Fans counting down at Avenue of Stars on September 12, 2007, Leslie’s birthday]
Fans: Let’s sing Happy Birthday together.
[Clips of Leslie’s birthday party intertwined with gathering at Avenue of Stars]
Yan: Today is September 12, 2007, we have a birthday party for our most beloved Leslie Cheung. We wish that by means of this birthday party, we may link up all the fans together to continue Gorgor’s spirits, as well as look at video clips that we may not have the chance to see before. Although Gorgor has left us for so many years, in our hearts, he is always with us.
[Song “No Need for More” was played, as well as clip of Wax Museum]
Male Fan from Taiwan: My whole family is his super fans.
Singaporean Fan: In Singapore, I started to like him after watching one of his TV episodes “Gone With the Wind”.
[Song “Going Through Together” was played; screen showing “Old Main Street, Aberdeen”]
Leslie: I hope that all of you will support me on this fundraiser, okay? I can tell you, donations received from these cards will all go to the Kids Cancer Foundation. The proceeds have now reached $600,000 from the first performance to now, i.e. the twentieth performance.
[Clip showing volunteers of Friends of Gorgor visiting elderlies]
Representative of Friends of Gorgor: Because the impression that Gorgor gave us is truth, kindness and beauty. His kindness was well known to everyone because very often at his concerts he would raise money for the cancer foundation. [Clip of Red 1997 Crossover Concert was played]
Rep.: We want to extend his kindness to those who are in need. Apart from the ability to help, we can also broaden our vision.
[China, Dalian]
Ashley Yao: Today, at the Dalian Light Industry Polytechnic University, we are holding the Remembering Leslie Cheung Movie Show. Throughout the year of 2004 in 13 provinces, over 90 movie shows had been held in 20 high schools. I feel that by using this format, we may spread Gorgor’s artistic achievement. I feel that as an actor, his artistic achievement will last forever and stand the test of time. Therefore although he is not here anymore, we will never give up but keep on playing his movies in order to spread his artistic achievement everywhere and generations to come.
Female Chinese Fan: I feel that he was really talented.
Female Chinese Fan: He was very talented and very diligent. He was a role model to us, the university students.
Male Chinese Fan: I do like him. I believe I will try to find out more about his movies.
[Clip of Red 1997 Crossover Concert was played]
Ashley Yao: After he passed away, I felt very regretful because, for example, when I attended his concert in the past, he shouted from the stage asking people to all stand up and dance because theyhad promised him that they would, maybe I was the only one in the whole stadium who remained seated. At that time, I felt that even if I clapped my hands, he might not be able to hear it; and if I screamed, he might not see it, it was meaningless to do so. Now that I think about it, I feel that loving someone you should express it and let him know right away. He had given so much to the world, surely he would love to see some returns wishing that we would express them out right. Besides, he has left us so many things, we cannot merely look at them once. We should help him to let more people know about them.
Florence Chan: These albums were made by Gorgor’s fans in Mainland China. They made them with hearts.
[Showing the albums]
Florence Chan: These were pictures taken when we first met with names of places and people. Some of the pictures were new to me. Here, it was taken on November 26, 2001 when we were watching Elton John’s concert. For me, I couldn’t remember that was taken at Elton John’s concert. They would collect all these memorabilia. Really with a lot of hearts.
Florence Chan: In all these years, there are so many people who love him so dearly, [weeping] have done so much for him.
[Running clips of memorial events]
Florence Chan: I wish that next year (2008) I can produce a memorial concert to remember him. Originally, I was planning to do a memorial concert in the 10th anniversary of his death so that I may probably do it better, but who can tell what will happen in ten years, I don’t know whether I am still alive at that time. I don’t want to leave this world with regrets.
[Clip from “Days of Being Wild” was played. Leslie: Because of you, I will remember that minute. From now on, we are friends of one minute. This is a fact, you can’t take it back.]
Karen Mok looking at her watch, while Leslie was saying [audio clip from his 1985 radio autobiography]: In the future days to come, I will do more things to make you feel that in my artistic life I can give you what you want, because in this showbiz, I will not be staying for too long. I will only work for a while and then retreat. But before the arrival of such a date, I really wish that I can make everyone of you remember me, try not to forget me. I can only say that I am very grateful for your support. Thank you.
[Karen Mok laying a red rose on the floor of the stage.]
-END-
[Special thanks to Jackie for editing]
Friday, January 11, 2008
Gorgor’s Old Diary
Posted by 滴血怨毒
Date 2003-02-02 14:01:41
Downloaded from http://bbs.ent.163.com/bbs/zhangguorong/107876.html
Translated by Daydreamer on January 11, 2008
Gorgor’s Old Diary (My New Year Gift)
Author's notes: The New Year has arrived, a time to get rid of the old stuff and welcome the new ones. I do not know what new stuff I am expecting, but there are plenty of old stuff. The first day of the new year, my friend called me and I went to his place. There I saw him holding an old magazine. He said he found this magazine from his drawer and this would surely bring him luck in the year of the goat. This magazine was an 1989 issue, volume 4, of the “Overseas Stars”. With my shaking hands, I turned the page to page 173 and saw "Diary of the Star – Leslie Cheung" (1988, 8, 28-9, 3).
Sunday
Just finished the 23 performances. I was totally relieved but suffered from insomnia. Perhaps it was the consequence of having spent one whole month at the Hung Hom Coliseum. Now that everything is back to normal, inevitably there is a sense of void or emptiness. Actually the 23 performances did not make me feel tired, on the contrary, I feel really exhausted after finishing them because I could not hear the whistles and screams of the fans any more.
Monday 
I attended the press conference of Michael Lai’s "Michael Lai and Friends Concert". This concert will be held in November at the Hung Hom Coliseum in which I will sing with Jacky Chan, Anita Mui and David Lui Fong for approximately twenty minutes every night. Originally I planned to not performing any more this year, however, in view of my friendship with Michael and that the first song "Chasing" that I sang was composed by him, I will do so as an exception.
[Note by Translator: See http://www.lesliecheung.cc/Concert/Michaelai/report(eng)/report(eng).htm, a report by a fan who attended the concert.]
Tuesday
I had purchased a property in London two years ago. At that time, it worth £400,000, and now the price has gone up to £450,000. During these three years, the price of the properties in London has gone up and the sterling pounds are staying strong, therefore, purchasing properties in London as an investment is a wise decision. In a short while, I will travel to Europe. Vienna is going to be my first stop where I will watch some operas. Then I will go to Paris as well as London where I will purchase property and go to the theatres. London is a place that I will definitely stop by because I have already scheduled to meet with George Lam there. A real estate broker will be there to show him some properties for consideration.
Wednesday
Apart from making movies, I very much enjoy travelling, reading, and watching people. Travelling may allow us to look at and know more of the outside world, reading may increase our knowledge, and observing people may help me to understand human nature more. Actually, each individual is like a book himself having his own story. Looking at one’s outward appearance is like looking at the cover of a book. Then after further contact and communication, you will feel as if reading the contents of that book. Very interesting.
Thursday
To live solidly is the best attitude towards life. One has to live with pride, and has to know how to distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong and never does anything that is bad and incorrect. [NOTE by author: this is a quote from "Mencius"] [NOTE by translator: Mencius, born 372-289 BCE(?), was a Chinese philosopher who was arguably the most famous Confuscian after Confucius himself.] I am in favour of the theory of “rather go without than have something shoddy”. Therefore I do not have a lot of friends but they are all good ones.
Friday
In order to take good care of my vocal cord, I avoided consuming cold and stimulating food. Also, I tried to sleep for 10 hours each night. Now that the concerts were over, I may change my lifestyle a bit. I may eat wholeheartedly and also play majong with my friends. However, I still cannot shake away the sense of loss as I really miss the Hung Hom Coliseum.
Saturday
The world-renowned international Broadway opera "CATS" is planning to perform in Hong Kong. The person-in-charge invited me to play one of the important characters about which I am really excited. The only downside is that one has to leave Hong Kong and go to New York in 1989 to train for one year.
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