Teresa Teng’s Unfulfilled Dream: It’s a lifelong regret to visit relatives in the mainland and hold a concert.
When it comes to Teresa Teng, it can be said that it is a household name. Some people describe that Teresa Teng’s songs can be heard everywhere in the world where Chinese is spoken. Many experts believe that no one can surpass her artistic height and popularity in pop music so far.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the deepening of reform and opening-up in the Mainland, Teresa Teng’s songs spread all over China like a whirlwind, and her fans were really many. However, Teresa Teng, who has never set foot on his homeland in his life, has a long-cherished "root-seeking" past to return to the mainland, which is little known. When I was the Minister of Culture and Sports in the Hong Kong Branch of Xinhua News Agency, I had contact with Teresa Teng and did some work to help her realize her wish of "seeking roots" in the Mainland. In contact with her, she talked about her dreams more than once: going back to the mainland, holding solo concerts in several big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, meeting mainland fans, buying a house in Suzhou, and living a comfortable and leisurely life in the mainland in the future. Regrettably, her dream was "discouraged" by the highest authorities in Taiwan Province at that time, but it has not been realized.
This year coincides with the 60th anniversary of Teresa Teng’s birth, recalling the past as if it were yesterday. I wrote it in writing as a memorial to this famous, homesick diva.
I heard Teresa Teng sing for the first time
In the spring of 1985, I was invited to attend the Taiqing Gala in tvbi. That was the first time I saw Teresa Teng singing on the stage.
On that night, Hong Kong and Taiwan singers gathered together, each showing his charm. Teresa Teng, who is well-known at home and abroad, was the signing singer and the host of the "singing program" of the wireless TV station. Because of the support of many old friends and members of the Teresa Teng fan club invited in advance, the atmosphere of the party was very warm. Most of the songs performed by Teresa Teng are Cantonese and Mandarin songs that Hong Kong people love to hear, such as A Thousand Words, A Story of a Small Town, Where does the Wind Come from, etc.
At the end of the get-together, I happened to meet some friends from Hong Kong literary and art circles, including singers and composers who have worked with Teresa Teng, loyal fans of Teresa Teng, and overseas Chinese who came from the United States to watch Teresa Teng sing. Everyone praised Teresa Teng’s wonderful singing. I’ve only heard her singing on the radio and read articles introducing her in newspapers and magazines before, but seeing with my own eyes makes people feel that she is really a talented and rare superstar in the music world. She has a wide range of songs, and she can sing any national songs and Cantonese songs, including folk operas, minor songs, Tang poetry and Song lyrics, as well as English songs and Japanese songs. And I like the classical songs she wrote in Tang poetry and Song poetry best, such as Li Yu’s "Going to the West Building alone", Su Shi’s "I hope people will last for a long time", Fan Zhongyan’s "The grass is ruthless" and Xin Qiji’s "I want to talk about it" and so on. The national traditional singing method shows her unique singing style.
She looks beautiful in the typhoon. Sometimes she wears cheongsam on the stage, sometimes she wears a country girl’s blouse, and sometimes she wears a student’s dress. She is simple and generous and very youthful. The most rare thing is her good voice. Her lyrics are clear, her feelings are pure and lingering. The same song she sang is just different, with rhyme and flavor, euphemistic and delicate.
During the conversation, the words of an overseas Chinese caught my attention. He said that the reform and opening up in the mainland has formed a strong "root-seeking" fever among the vast number of overseas wanderers, and Teresa Teng is one of them. Her ancestral home is in the mainland and she really wants to go back to her hometown. At the same time, she also knows that there are many fans in the mainland. It would be better if she had the opportunity to sing and meet the fans.
At that time, in the special environment of Hong Kong, there were many favorable conditions to carry out personnel exchanges and cultural exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. After hearing that Teresa Teng has the desire to go back to the mainland to "find her roots", I came up with the idea of promoting her to return to the mainland for a concert as soon as possible.
See you at Shatian Racecourse, Teresa Teng.
One afternoon in the autumn of 1986, the wind was breezy and the sunset glow was gradually dyed. Comrade Chen Bojian, deputy director of Xinhua Branch, his wife and senior editor Hu Xiuya, and I went to Sha Tin Racecourse to watch horse races at the invitation of our Hong Kong friend Mr. Wu Duotai and his wife Ms. Zhu Lianfen (both of them are members of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Ms. Zhu Lianfen is also the president of the Hong Kong Writers Association). We drove around the foot of Lion Mountain along the seawall and headed for the racecourse. Mr. Wu and Sister Zhu greeted us at the door. Mr. Wu said: Horse racing is a special way of life for Hong Kong people. You have been in Hong Kong for many years, and it is rare to have a chance to watch horse racing at ordinary times. I invite you to come and play together today. I thought Mr. Deng Xiaoping said that after Hong Kong’s return to China, he ran and danced with horses. We said just look at it. Ms. Zhu said: You can’t just watch it. You don’t know what a real horse race is without betting. Everyone laughed.
There was still some time to leave the competition, and Zhu Lianfen walked to the next hall. Soon she came back and said to me, "What a coincidence, Teresa Teng is here today. You are in charge of cultural work. Do you want to meet her?" At that time, Taiwan Province was still in opposition to the mainland because of its three noes policy of no contact, no negotiation and no compromise, so I said, "As long as she doesn’t mind, of course she can." When we entered the hall, I saw Teresa Teng chatting and joking with some young people. Ms. Zhu called Teresa Teng over and only said to her, "I’d like to introduce you. This is Mr. Han. Let’s talk." He walked away. Teresa Teng’s dress surprised me. She was wearing jeans and faded a little. No makeup, pretty and generous, full of energy. For some unknown reason, she casually asked me, "Are you from Taipei?" I’m a little surprised. Didn’t Ms. Zhu introduce me to her? I said to her bluntly, "No, I’m from Beijing. My name is Li Han. I’m glad to meet Miss Deng here today." And handed her a business card. She paused after reading it, a little embarrassed. In order to ease the atmosphere, I then asked, "I heard that you want to go back to the mainland. Is that true?" She replied frankly: "The mainland is my hometown, and I have been looking forward to going back for a long time. If possible, I would like to hold a solo concert and meet my fans to thank them for their support and care. Just don’t know how to get there? " Teresa Teng seemed to have something to say when the bell rang, so I had to say to her, "Your idea is very good.The horse race has started. We’ll have a chance to meet again later, and then we’ll talk about it in detail. "We hurried to say goodbye.
Invite Teresa Teng to the movies.
After I reported my conversation with Teresa Teng at Shatian Racecourse to the branch leader, after the branch study, I decided that Comrade Peng Yanyan from the Literature and Art Department of our department and I would further contact with Teresa Teng.
One afternoon, we invited Teresa Teng and her secretary to see a movie at Southern Film Distribution Company (a company that distributes China films to Hong Kong, Macao and Southeast Asian countries). There were many films. We took out the China film list and asked her to choose. She looked through the pages carefully and carefully. Finally, she chose two films reflecting the life in the mainland in the 1930s: Camel Xiangzi and Thunderstorm. In a small projection room that can accommodate 20 or 30 people, only the four of us can watch and talk easily. We prepared some refreshments and watched two movies all afternoon.
Teresa Teng was fascinated, but his mood seemed dignified. After watching it, she said with emotion: "I like these two movies very much. As an artist in Taiwan Province, it can be said that it is a blow." I didn’t quite understand what she said at that time. Then she added: "I thought that mainland films were all for publicity, but I didn’t expect to make such a good art film. Some scenes moved me to tears."
After listening to these words, I realized what she meant by "a blow to the head". I don’t believe what she said was polite. I have come into contact with some people in Taiwan Province’s literary and art circles in my work, and their feelings about the mainland are somewhat similar to those of Teresa Teng.
It’s time for dinner. We invited Teresa Teng to dinner at the Liyuan Hotel where she stayed. I asked her if she liked Chinese food or western food, and she said that western food didn’t suit her, but Chinese food was better. After serving, Teresa Teng added, "I can’t eat such a rich dish. I just saw Tigress, Xiangzi and Aunt Lu’s family in the movie, and I felt very sad. I can’t bear to eat such good food now. I will even think about these stories when I sleep in these two or three days. " Her dignified expression shows her tender and kind nature. I think this is probably related to her poor family when she was a child and the ups and downs she encountered in her artistic career. So we turned the topic to the question of her returning to the mainland.
I asked her what specific thoughts she had about going back to the mainland. She said: I heard from my parents that there is an aunt in my hometown of daming county, Hebei Province who has never met before. If I can go back, I must visit her old man’s house. Speaking of holding a solo concert, she said: I heard that many young people in the mainland like my songs, and I am certainly very happy if I can sing. For those who have difficulties in life, tickets can be free. As for the income from the performance, I would like to donate it to public utilities in the Mainland, including the construction of public toilets. In addition, she and the secretary also talked about some specific problems in performance, such as lighting, sound, and making audio tapes and CDs. We said that we are responsible for reflecting these problems to the relevant mainland units, and if there is a possibility of holding a concert, the organizer will negotiate with Miss Deng to solve them.
Dream blocked, lifelong regret
With the deepening of contact, the branch leaders decided that Peng Yanyan and I would go to Beijing to report to the Ministry of Culture about Teresa Teng’s return to the mainland. At that time, the leaders of the Ministry of Culture attached great importance to this matter, thinking that Teresa Teng was quite influential in Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas music circles, and there were many fans in the Mainland. It would be a good thing if she could come back to visit and even hold a concert in a certain range, so we should strive for her to make it. However, since the Taiwan Province authorities had not lifted the martial law against the mainland and pursued the "three noes" policy at that time, whether Teresa Teng could go back to the mainland to visit relatives and hold a concert depended on the attitude of the Taiwan Province authorities. As expected, Teresa Teng never contacted us again, so the matter was shelved. Many years later, I learned from an article in Hong Kong’s "Hong Kong News" that Teresa Teng’s dream of "seeking roots" failed to come true because of the "dissuasion" of the highest authorities in Taiwan Province.
One day in May, 1995, I was startled to see the report of Teresa Teng’s death in Thailand from the Reference News. After a moment of silence, many past events came to mind. I didn’t expect Teresa Teng, who was only 42 years old, to leave the world so early. In recent years, great changes have taken place in cross-strait relations compared with the 1970s and 1980s. After the realization of the "three links", people on both sides of the strait have freely traveled, and economic, trade and cultural exchanges have changed with each passing day. Working together to promote peaceful development and create a better future for the Chinese nation has become the consensus of more compatriots on both sides of the strait. It is conceivable that if Teresa Teng were alive, her dream would be closely linked with the great "Chinese Dream" and realized. Unfortunately, she was born at an untimely time and died young, which turned out to be a lifelong regret.
On the occasion of commemorating the 60th anniversary of Teresa Teng’s birth, I hereby dedicate a poem of Seven Laws:
Miss Teresa Teng
Make-up has no jeans, absolute beauty Wonderful Girl.
The charm of the music world floats all over the world, and the wanderers miss their hometown deeply.
Cross-strait exchanges and dreams are fragrant.
On the day of the return of heaven on earth, the tomb on the top of Jinbao Mountain is not yellow.
Note: Teresa Teng’s cemetery is located in Jinbaoshan, Taiwan Province. (Author: Han Li)