Movie "He Rijun Comes Again"
Don't cry, don't call me by name
"Don't cry, don't call me by name. This is the last sentence that Anita Mui left to the world before she passed away. On December 30, 2003, Anita Mui died in Hong Kong at the age of 40 due to lung failure caused by cervical cancer.
A month ago, Anita Mui, who was seriously ill, held her last concert at the Hung Hom Stadium in Hong Kong. Before singing the last song "Sunset Song", she asked tens of thousands of fans in the audience:
"Do I look good in a wedding dress? I'm a singer and an actor. This is not the first time I have worn this wedding dress, but none of them are my own. This is probably the regret of my life. But your love has filled this regret. I married myself to music, to you. ”
On November 6, 2003, Anita Mui sang at a concert in Hong Kong wearing a wedding dress (Photo/IC photo)
After saying "bye-bye", the figure disappeared from the stage. As for leaving, as early as 1995 at the "A Beautiful Echo" concert, Anita Mui once said to fans:
"If one day, when I leave this stage, this music scene, and this entertainment industry, how many people will really think of me? Will they remember the character of Anita Mui? I don't dare to ask you to promise, I only hope that when you open the window and look up at the stars in the sky after dinner one night, when you see one of the stars, you will remember a name that was once familiar, a friend who once brought you a little joy, her name is Anita Mui. ”
For those who are not familiar with Anita Mui, the first thing that is easy to see is her versatile style. That is the sign of the times of Hong Kong pop culture, and she can be elegant, sexy, noble, and reversible on the stage. This also set a genre standard for many star concerts since then: gorgeous and changeable stage shapes.
Anita Mui once sang in "Gratitude": "It's me in terms of image, but compared to that face, only my nature remains the same." ”
movie "Truant Weilong 3: The Year of the Rooster", Anita Mui and Stephen Chow
Regarding Anita Mui in the audience and the real Anita Mui, my friend Sammi Cheng wrote an article "Brave Woman" on the 5th anniversary of Anita Mui's death:
"I can't forget the night before you died, when I sat in your bedroom, and your hair was unusually short and childlike because of the treatment. I reached out and stroked your small, slippery head and smiled. You look at me, and somehow you smile yourself! I smell a silent goodbye tear hidden in these two laughs. At that moment in you, I have repeatedly experienced the extreme beauty of human nature, which is emitted from the heart, and has never had anything to do with the so-called beauty of people. You didn't put on a little makeup that night, your complexion was white and tender, the white pajamas were quietly attached to your delicate limbs, and your smile in front of you was like a fresh little white (lily), pure white, soft. There is an indescribable bravery in the willow-like body. Death doesn't scare you. What a brave woman! I thought to myself. Whether you are the peacock on the stage or the little white sheep on the sickbed, you are always the brave woman. ”
This kind of natural bravery runs through Anita Mui's life.
On July 24, 1994, Hong Kong, Anita Mui participated in a charity event (Photo: Visual China)
Daughter of Hong Kong
Anita Mui is the only "queen" among the "three kings and one queen" in Hong Kong in the 80s of the 20th century. In 2003, after Anita Mui passed away due to illness, the funeral committee issued a document titled "Farewell to Hong Kong's Daughter".
Anita Mui's rise to fame is related to the lifeblood of Hong Kong's times, in the 70s, when the external environment caused the colonial government to change its policies, the city's citizen class developed rapidly, the local culture rose, and Cantonese songs became popular. From the grassroots to the elite, she is in line with the intrinsic culture of Hong Kong's urban development, and this "Lion Rock Spirit" has become a "daughter of Hong Kong" recognized by the public.
On October 10, 1963, Anita Mui was born in a poor family in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. The family has two older brothers and one sister, the father died early, the mother supported the four children alone, and the family relied on the mother to run the dilapidated "Jinxia" song and dance troupe to make a living. Anita Mui began to sing with her sister at the age of 4 to subsidize the family. At that time, singing and acting were not considered a serious business, and Anita Mui was ostracized and ridiculed by her classmates when she was in school. Recalling her childhood, Anita Mui commented on "regret" and "hell".
On December 14, 2018, in Hong Kong, Anita Mui's mother introduced a photo of Anita Mui when she was a child (Photo: Visual China)
The days of singing, as she sang in "The Daughter of Song":
"Learn to sing, learn to practice songs, have been with those songs/Hungry, hungry, sing loudly, I'll feel better/Sing day and night, I don't know what is in the song/Still in the distance, I just want you to like me/I remember a little singer back then/She was very thin/I remember her in the not-so-high-end area/Sing some old tunes in the opera troupe/The old theater will never be satisfied/She acts and sings to stop her hunger"
Later, Anita Mui was discovered by musician Li Xiaotian. Li Xiaotian first heard that there was a newcomer with a similar voice to the singer Xu Xiaofeng, but when he heard that he was singing in a lounge, he frowned: "I generally know that a singer has a lounge experience, and we don't think much about it." Because you may wear heavy makeup, and the smell of wind and dust is full. But after meeting Anita Mui, he still changed his initial idea, and since then, the two have collaborated on many songs such as "Heart and Liver Baby", "Rouge Buckle", "Old Joy Like a Dream" and so on.
In 1982, at the age of 19, Anita Mui was invited by Li Xiaotian to participate in the first Hong Kong Rookie Singing Competition (later renamed the "Global Chinese Rookie Singing Contest"), and finally won the championship by singing Xu Xiaofeng's song "The Season of the Wind". At that time, the judge and famous ghost talent Huang Zhan directly gave a full score, while another judge, Gu Jiahui, said that there is no end to art, deducted one point, and gave him the highest score in the competition.
In the same year, Anita Mui signed with Huaxing Records and launched her first album "Heart Debt", officially stepping into the music scene. At that time, the sweet route was popular in the Hong Kong music scene, and Anita Mui was obviously not this route.
movie "Rouge Buckle", Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung
In the midst of controversy and doubts, Anita Mui insisted on her personal style, and released the record "Red Anita Mui" the following year, which directly hit five platinum sales, and became an instant hit with the title song "Red Doubts".
Later, the song "Bad Girl" made Anita Mui fall into accusations of "moral turpitude". "Bad Girl" was banned and slapped by her mother, but it didn't change Anita Mui. She felt righteous towards people and songs, and insisted on singing "Bad Girl" at the concert.
In her singing career, Anita Mui is known as "after the concert", and she has held a total of 292 concerts throughout her career, and has been recognized by the World Records Association as the female singer with the most solo concerts of Chinese in the world. In the five years from 1985 to 1989, Anita Mui won the most popular female singer in Hong Kong consecutively, and the record sales exceeded 10 million copies.
movie "Drunken Fist 2", Anita Mui and Jackie Chan
Outside of Hong Kong, Anita Mui can also be called the "Asian diva". In 1988, Anita Mui was invited to the Seoul Olympics in South Korea as the only Asian female singer to perform the "Olympic Prelude Extravaganza" with the world's superstars.
In addition to singing, Anita Mui started her own career in the film industry. At the age of 26, Anita Mui won the "24th Golden Horse Awards", "8th Academy Awards", Golden Dragon Award and Asia-Pacific Film Festival Award in one fell swoop, becoming the fourth actress.
Kwan Jinpeng, the director of "Rouge Buckle", said: "I have seen what it means to be a natural artist! Everyone has talent, texture and ability, but Anita Mui has no one to learn. ”
Director Johnny To praised Anita Mui as the best female artist in modern times, born chivalrous. She and Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Cheung acted in "Three Heroes of the East" There is a scene where everyone throws their cloaks and walks out in slow motion, and Anita Mui's natural chivalrous feeling is stronger than the other two. ”
The movie "Three Heroes of the East", from left: Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui
The road is still my way
"Alluring the country and the city is my great name. Only the beauty of the country is indispensable. I was born noble and glamorous to the end. Turn sentient beings upside down, blow ashes without cost, and accept you as my ......"
At the end of their lives, when Anita Mui was suffering from cervical cancer and Leslie Cheung was suffering from acid reflux, the two performed a song "Fanghua Peerless" on stage without rehearsal, which was called "the peak stage of the HK Phil".
On April 8, 2002, Leslie Cheung kissed Anita Mui's hand at a concert (Photo: Visual China)
Anita Mui, who is at the peak, is not invincible, but is keen to promote younger generations, and only has righteousness for friends and the country.
Once, Anita Mui saw the performance of the Grasshopper Band and thought that these young men were very talented, so she invited them to her concert as guests, which accumulated the first fans for Grasshopper.
At the farewell concert, Anita Mui introduced her junior brother Eason Chan to tens of thousands of fans in the audience, saying that she firmly believed that he would make a difference in the future. Later, Eason Chan missed Anita Mui and said: "I miss you twice a year, I think of you on October 10, and I think of you on December 30 every year." ”
In addition to her career, Anita Mui has always been enthusiastic about public welfare and caring for her family and country. In 1993, when the immigration wave in Hong Kong was hot, Anita Mui firmly believed that Chinese should be self-reliant. She gave up her newly acquired Canadian passport and decided to stay in Hong Kong to do her part for the country. At a time when people in Hong Kong are panicking, she calls for unity and takes the lead.
"If there is a disaster in China, my heart will hurt all of a sudden, and I will be very anxious. But sometimes, someone does something bad, and as a Chinese, I feel very ashamed. On the occasion of Hong Kong's return to China in 1997, "Movie Story" interviewed Anita Mui to ask about her feelings about the return, and Anita Mui said this.
From left: Leslie Cheung, Leung Ka-fai, Anita Mui, Kwan Zhilin, Jin Yanling, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau and Huang Zhan during the recording of the program (Photo: Visual China)
Anita Mui, Jackie Chan and others initiated and established the Hong Kong Performing Artists Association, and in 2001, Anita Mui became the first female president of the association. She has traveled to many places in China for charity relief many times.
In the outbreak of SARS in 2003, Anita Mui, who was already suffering from cancer, concealed her illness and made every effort to organize the "Thrive Action" and "1:99 Charity Concert" in the Hong Kong performing arts industry, raising more than 23 million yuan for the benefit of the world.
At the last moment of her life, Anita Mui held the last concert in her life, "Anita Mui's Classic Golden Melody Concert".
Jacky Cheung once commented: "Anita Mui is a very 'man' woman, very righteous, and she always rushes to pay for friends dinners." I think Anita Mui really belongs to the stage, she can control the whole stage, and the stage is like her home. ”
Along the way, from the grassroots to the peak, from appearance to departure, Anita Mui's true colors have not changed, like a chivalrous man standing on the stage and showing himself, as said in the song "Walk My Way Alone":
"Walk my way alone/But faith is full of the road/Loneliness is full of heart/Who is encouraging in my ears/I have decided to walk the long road/Beat with my heart/Proudly dance alone and never stop/I don't want to care when the end will come/Walk my road alone/But faith is full of road/The road is still my way/Accompany me when I am lonely"
Southern People Weekly reporter Han Ruxue
Editor-in-charge: Chen Yafeng