[Music] Johnny Yip & Frances Yip -- The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

 

Poster for The Smiling, Proud Wanderer (1984)

Chow Yun-fat

Rebecca Chan

Jaime Chik

1. Chinese Poem of the Day:

 

程顥 (1032 – 1085)

 

秋日偶成

閑來無事不從容，睡覺東窗日已紅；
 

萬物靜觀皆自得，四時佳興與人同。
 

道通天地有形外，思入風雲變態中；
 

富貴不淫貧賤樂，男兒到此是豪雄。


2. As a song, The Smiling, Proud Wanderer ("笑傲江湖") is one of my all-time favourites.

As Wikipedia has noted, "笑傲江湖" "literally means to live a carefree life in a mundane world of strife" ("The Smiling, Proud Wanderer").

I have other-worldly tendencies and whenever I listen to this song, it just takes me far, far away from this world.

This song really appeals to the would-be Taoist (or Daoist) in me.

Yet as a Christian, I have to remind myself that what happens in this world is meaningful and important and that this is demonstrated by Jesus Christ coming to save and redeem the world.


3. The Smiling, Proud Wanderer was the theme song of a Hong Kong TVB television drama of the same name that was first aired in April, 1984.

The TVB television drama in turn was based on a martial arts and chivalry novel of the same name by Louis Cha (pen name: Jin Yong).

Louis Cha wrote this novel between 1967 and 1969 when the Cultural Revolution in China was in full swing.

In is well known that The Smiling, Proud Wanderer has many political allegories.

The following is Wikipedia's take of the allegories ("The Smiling, Proud Wanderer", Wikipedia):

In his afterword, Jin Yong mentions that The Smiling, Proud Wanderer can be read as a political allegory disguised as a wuxia novel. As an allegory, it can happen in "any dynasty or organisation".

Although Jin Yong did not leave any unequivocal evidence, many people believe that characters and factions in the book are representations of people and great powers of the late 1960s, the time when the novel was written. One popular interpretation believes that the Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance represents the Soviet Union, with its chief Zuo Lengchan as a personification of Joseph Stalin, while the Sun Moon Holy Cult emblematises China with Dongfang Bubai symbolising Mao Zedong. The other sects, including Shaolin, Wudang, and Emei, represent NATO and countries aligned with the United States. This idea relates very well to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, where the world is split into three superpowers: Oceania, Eurasia, and East Asia.

This heavily politics related book is written from an interesting perspective. Instead of looking at the situation from the point of view of a politician who is either seeking to start a rebellion or struggling to keep the world peaceful, the main character Linghu Chong is a lonely individual who does not seek supremacy in a power-driven world.


4. Many of Louis Cha's novels have been turned into films or TV dramas; and many more than once.

Wikipedia listed 4 films and 6 TV dramas that were adapted from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.

The 1984 Hong Kong TVB production was the first TV adaptation of this novel and it was 30 episodes long.

This TV drama starred Chow Yun-fat (who is well-known to western audience), Rebecca Chan and Jaime Chik.

Both Rebecca Chan and Jaime Chik were very pretty in this TV drama.


5. The Smiling, Proud Wanderer - the videos are scenes and stills from the 1984 TV drama:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1QLsg3rCMQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31BteUEeWeQ


6. The video quality of this recent upload is very good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga09VC8oNeg


7. This is uploaded on October 26, 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gCYpF_tXxo
 
The video is very nicely done.


7a. Added: Thursday, November 8, 2012.

Johnny Yip and Frances Yip in concert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ss5eIVMxLc


8. Very nice instrumental of the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxtbNUVH4J0

The actress in the first part of the video is Xu Qing, one of my favorite actresses of mainland China.

Xu Qing is the star of the 2001 adaptation of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer produced in mainland China.

But why would the producer of this video chose the star of the 2001 TV production for the theme song of the 1984 TV production?

Kind of confusing.


9.  The Lyrics in Traditional Chinese:


笑傲江湖 -- 葉振棠 & 葉麗儀

女：那用爭世上浮名   世事似水去無定
男：要覓取世上深情   何懼奔波險徑
女：也亦知劍是無情   會令此心再難靜
男：那恩怨未曾問
女：縱是相聚也短暫
男：心中
合：此際情也可永

* 合：那懼千里路遙遙   未曾怕風霜勁
女：心中獨留
男：此生還剩
女：多少柔情
男：悲歡往影
女：過去悲歡往日情境
男：此際情
合：笑傲天際踏前程   去歷幾多滄桑
女：歲月匆匆再不問
男：心中
合：此際情也可永

Repeat *

女：歲月匆匆再不問
合：此際情也可永


10. The Lyrics in Simplified Chinese:


笑傲江湖 -- 叶振棠 & 叶丽仪

女：那用争世上浮名   世事似水去无定
男：要觅取世上深情   何惧奔波险径
女：也亦知剑是无情   会令此心再难静
男：那恩怨未曾问
女：纵是相聚也短暂
男：心中
合：此际情也可永

* 合：那惧千里路遥遥   未曾怕风霜劲
女：心中独留
男：此生还剩
女：多少柔情
男：悲欢往影
女：过去悲欢往日情境
男：此际情
合：笑傲天际踏前程   去历几多沧桑
女：岁月匆匆再不问
男：心中
合：此际情也可永

Repeat *

女：岁月匆匆再不问
合：此际情也可永


11. Names, Words and Phrases:

Cheng Hao (Traditional Chinese: 程顥; Simplified Chinese: 程颢).

Chow Yun-fat (Traditional: 周潤發; Simplified: 周润发).

Cultural Revolution (Traditional: 文化大革命; Simplified: 文化大革命).

Frances Yip (Traditional: 葉麗儀; Simplified: 叶丽仪).

Jaime Chik (Traditional: 戚美珍; Simplified: 戚美珍).

Jin Yong (Traditional: 金庸; Simplified: 金庸).

Johnny Yip (Traditional: 葉振棠; Simplified: 叶振棠).

Louis Cha (Traditional: 查良鏞; Simplified: 查良镛).

Martial arts and chivalry novel (Traditional: 武俠小說; Simplified: 武侠小说).

Rebecca Chan (Traditional: 陳秀珠; Simplified: 陈秀珠).

Xu Qing (Traditional: 許晴; Simplified: 许晴).


References:

"Cheng Hao", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Hao
(accessed 2012-11-04).

"List of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer characters", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Smiling,_Proud_Wanderer_characters
(accessed 2012-11-04).

"List of TVB series (1984)", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_TVB_series_%281984%29
(accessed 2012-11-04).

"The Smiling, Proud Wanderer",  Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smiling,_Proud_Wanderer
(accessed 2012-11-04).

"The Smiling, Proud Wanderer (1984 TV series)", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smiling,_Proud_Wanderer_%281984_TV_series%29
(accessed 2012-11-04).

End.

[Music] Frances Yip - Shanghai Beach

1. It is common to classify a Chinese singer as either an idol-type or a talent-type.

The two categories, of course, are not mutually exclusive.

An idol can have talent and a talent can become an idol.

Frances Yip is definitely a very talented singer.

In a career that spans over forty years and is still going, Frances Yip has recorded more than 80 albums.

But to most Chinese, Frances Yip's signature song will always be "Shanghai Beach".
 

2. "Shanghai Beach" is the theme song of a Hong Kong TVB's television drama of the same name that was aired in March, 1980.

Curiously, the official English translation of the TV drama is "The Bund".

TVB should have opted for the most appropriate "Shanghai Beach" instead of using the rare word "bund".

The drama is a period piece set in Shanghai in the 1920s when China was in turmoil.

(But when in the 150 years before 1980 was China not in turmoil?)

The music and lyrics very powerfully expressed the emotional impact of a drastically changing era on a people and on the individual persons.

As Frances Yip said, wherever she performs, the audience will not let her end a performance until she sang "Shanghai Beach".

And Frances Yip has performed in over 30 countries on 5 continents.
 

3. A search in YouTube yields many instances of this song.

A concert version of the song in the original Cantonese:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uBkWv8L0eg
 

4. This version has the Cantonese pronunciation hard sub into the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM8Y0_OnFgg

Those who do not speak Cantonese can follow along.
 

5. A Mandarin Chinese (or Putonghua) version of the song with different lyrics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBKsfoTxi50

More than one person commented that the Cantonese original sounds much better.

I concur.
 

6. In this version, the video are scenes from the 1980 TV drama:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoX5iYiSTro
 

7. I like the video of this version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THM6Ob4y7Z0

Frances Yip first sang in Mandarin and then Andy Lau sang in Cantonese.

The video is most appropriate for this song.

The actor in the video is Andy Lau.
 

8. A Vietnamese cover version of the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXgUonG5c4Q
 

9. The music in classical guitar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAMVLOiO9NM

Very good.
 

10. Frances Yip is so grand in this concert version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHpA_YtTNHw
 

11. A Cantonese cover version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ram9lDpa7A
 

12. In this cover version by Andy Lau, there is both the Cantonese lyrics (top) and Mandarin lyrics (bottom):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsxcYMf3xmU

Andy Lau sang the song first in Cantonese and then in Mandarin.

There is no doubt that the Cantonese lyrics are much better than the Mandarin ones.

As one person commented in YouTube, the Mandarin lyrics lost the "powerful mojo" that was in the Cantonese.

Yet the Mandarin lyrics were written many years later than the Cantonese.

One should not tinker with a classic if one cannot do it better.

Are there reasons other than musical for the Mandarin lyrics?

Puzzling.
 

13. The arrangement and accompanying musical instruments for this version are very interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvIW_vwHBp4
 

14. Vietnamese parody of the song?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfTsu8q_1SU

Funny video!
 

15. A very competent Vietnamese cover version (first and third part):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cKWJixV7Dg
 

16. Frances Yip performs the song in a Malaysia concert in 2011:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctwSBXshFjw

 
17. The Cantonese Lyrics in Traditional Chinese:

上海灘 - 葉麗儀

浪奔   浪流
萬里滔滔江水永不休
淘盡了世間事
混作滔滔一片潮流

是喜   是愁
浪裡分不清歡笑悲憂
成功   失敗
浪裡看不出有未有

＊愛你   恨你   問君知否
似大江一發不收
轉千彎   轉千灘
亦未平復此中爭鬥

＃又有喜   又有愁
就算分不清歡笑悲憂
仍願翻   百千浪
在我心中起伏夠

重唱　＊,＃

仍願翻   百千浪
在我心中起伏夠


18. The Cantonese Lyrics in Simplified Chinese:

上海滩 - 叶丽仪

浪奔   浪流
万里滔滔江水永不休
淘尽了世间事
混作滔滔一片潮流

是喜   是愁
浪里分不清欢笑悲忧
成功   失败
浪里看不出有未有

＊爱你   恨你   问君知否
似大江一发不收
转千弯   转千滩
亦未平复此中争斗

＃又有喜   又有愁
就算分不清欢笑悲忧
仍愿翻   百千浪
在我心中起伏够

重唱 ＊,＃

仍愿翻   百千浪
在我心中起伏够

 
19. Names, Words and Phrases

Frances Yip (Traditional Chinese: 葉麗儀; Simplified Chinese: 叶丽仪)

Andy Lau (Traditional: 劉德華; Simplified: 刘德华)

Bund (Traditional: 外灘; Simplified: 外滩)

Idol-type (Traditional: 偶像派; Simplified: 偶像派)

Shanghai Beach (Traditional: 上海灘; Simplified: 上海滩)

Talent-type (Traditional: 實力派; Simplified: 实力派)



References:

"Frances Yip", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Yip
(accessed 2011-12-26).

"葉麗儀", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%91%89%E9%BA%97%E5%84%80
(accessed 2011-12-26).

"上海灘 (1980年電視劇)", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E7%81%98_%281980%E5%B9%B4%E9%9B%BB%E8%A6%96%E5%8A%87%29
(accessed 2011-12-26).

End.