THE LEGEND, A TRIBUTE
07.1.1
On a certain night, he drove me home. It was a windy, moonless peaceful night. Everything so gentle and tranquil. He let me look at the music rundown of his very first concert. I held it in my hand, smiled, and asked, will you perform 'American Pie'? He paused for a while, a short period of silence, then as if he had just awaken from a dream he said, it hasn't been decided yet. Not decided yet? I repeated after him. It's too long. He answered tenderly. Uh. Seems its been a long time since I last heard you sing this song. I thought it over.
"You do remember?" He asked. "I do", I replied, "That was the first time I saw you. On TV". He nodded. "How many years?" I tilted my head and asked. "Many". He looked puzzled. "Do you know how to sing it?" after a while he asked. "It was always on my lips back then". He smiled: "Great". We pulled over the car, and started chanting: A long, long time ago, I can still remember...
The last time I wrote about him, it as in 91 probably. A cover story for the movie magazine 'City Entertainment'. It was called 'A living legend from 23 through 34 – anecdotes of Leslie Cheung'. A random re-collection of some of the moments I shared with this friend. Ever since then, I have not written about him again. Until now.
07.1.2
November 8th last year. Cloud Gate was performing 'Cursive' at Cultural Center. After the performance our groups bumped into each other, and ended up going to 'Sun Dul Gee' for a late night snack. He was in high spirit that night. To find Mr. Cheung in good mood is not always the case. Especially over the past two years. But that night, he was so exuberant that we as friends were happy for him. He talked with animation about career plans with Tsui Hark, or skin care and skin replacement with Brigitte Lin and Shi Nan Sun, or any other silly things that friends talk about at the table during late night snack time. It was already past midnight, Tong, fresh from a round of ball game and was till in his sports outfit, came in his car to pick him up.
After that, I have never seen him again.
07.1.3
Weirdly, I only learnt about the Chinese name of Tong some time ago from newspapers. For many years I just kept calling him Daffy. Daffy. How he met a boy called Daffy at a party and how he found himself thinking about him incessantly even after a few weeks how he searched for him how they recognized each other how they fell in love how they walk through life together... When the story was told by the one in it, it inevitably has a taste of fairy-tale sweetness in it. To have met Tong was Leslie's biggest fortune in his life. Mr. Cheung did not believe in fate nor in luck. NO. He overflowed with self-confidence he was all about tough self-determination he was aggressive and competitive he believed he deserves everything he had achieved. Except for Daffy. He is a Guardian Angel given by God to him, so that the bird that has no legs can find a landing spot in this rapidly-changing, perilous whirlpool of life. Without the toughness of Tong, without Tong to fulfill his desire of being desired, the story of Leslie will never be the same.
07.1.4
The story of Leslie is composed of altogether a quarter of a century of continuous stage and silver screen images. Every time he appeared before the crowd he was always gorgeous. Every gesture was designed with unyielding attention. Every angle was the result of an ceaseless pursuit of impeccability. That is what is called a Legend. Ling Choi-Sun, Twelfth Master. Who can ever replace you? Ho Po-Wing, Cheng Die-Yi. Long hair flash of the panties JPG, red high-heels, Ou-Yang Feng, Ah Fei Yuddy. All the happy memories from the past why don't we chase them together?
07.1.5
Have never thought before, that he will once again be the topic of my article, that it is time for the full-stop. Have always thought that Legend is an everlasting thing, is never going to end.
07.1.6
A person so aggressive so competitive, has chosen such a brutal ending.
Leslie did not figure out, that this Legend is not his sole property, instead it is the output of mass devotion of thousands and thousands of people, that it is what the public look up to as an aspiring force. He did not have the right to selfishly choose such a brutal ending for this Legend. He did not have the right to randomly put a full-stop to this Legend and pretend this is just another very badly-told April Fools'joke.
He did not figure it out. Will never have the chance to figure it out now.
But the wind, blows on.
by Jimmy Ngai Siu-Yun
English translation by Julia Wong