Soft Film: Vintage Chinese Cinema

Fanny and Margaret: A Pretty Pair

2009-11-13T22:24:00.001-08:00

Here's a color pinup of Fanny Fan and Margaret Tu from Southern Screen No. 60 (February 1963). It was taken during the photo shoot about which I just posted.

Margaret and Fanny: Do the Twist!

2009-11-13T21:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a fun piece from Southern Screen No. 56 (October 1962) featuring Margaret Tu with Fanny Fan. (A scan of the original article is available here.)

Both stars were famous for their sex appeal, but whereas Fanny was pigeonholed as a bombshell, Margaret achieved recognition as a serious actress. It's been said that she stole the show from Lin Dai in Madame White Snake (1962). She even won Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Horse Awards in 1963 for The Second Spring, but she petulantly complained that her role was NOT a supporting role — backhandedly slighting both Li Lihua, the film's lead, and Loh Tih, who won the Best Actress award for Love Eterne (1963).

After a brief hiatus in the mid-sixties, Margaret and Fanny both returned to Shaw Brothers, but as decidedly lesser stars. Fanny achieved a new notoriety with her risque scenes in The Golden Buddha (1966) and Angel with the Iron Fists (1967), while Margaret seemed not entirely happy playing second fiddle to Shaw's new crop of fresh-faced beauties.

In an ironic twist of fate, Margaret and Fanny ended up starring together in their last film, Diary of a Lady-Killer (1969), as "loose" women and murder victims. As she always did in her nude scenes, Fanny owns the screen with a palpable sense of power (here it comes from seeing her in the shower with Chin Han, husband of Shaw's reigning queen Ivy Ling Po), but Margaret, on the other hand, looks quite degraded in her final, tawdry appearance on the silver screen. Six months after the film was released, she took her own life.

Well... that was a depressing little detour. Let us return to happier times, when the future of these two sexy young stars looked like nothing but blue skies!

FANNY FAN AND TU CHUAN

You will seldom see such a pretty pair together!

The two lovely dolls you see on this page are two of the brightest young stars of Shaw Brothers. In case you don't recognize them — which is most unlikely — they are Fanny Fan and Margaret Tu Chuan.

The photographer who snapped these shots considered himself the luckiest man in the world on that day. He happened on the two girls sipping a soft drink at Shatin Heights, then decided to attach himself to them for the day.

He ended up with these pictures!

Margaret Tu: Princess of the Milky Way

2009-11-12T16:43:00.000-08:00

Here she is... Hong Kong's Princess Margaret... also known evidently (see magazine cover) as "The M" (yes, I know it's a fanciful interpretation... but please indulge me). Fresh from her breakthrough year (1960), "The M" looks like she's ready to take down the reigning queens of Shaws (watch out Lin Dai and Loh Tih). An intoxicating blend of haughty and naughty, amorous and glamorous, Margaret Tu was truly one of the most unforgettable stars of the Chinese Silver Screen.

* Photo courtesy of the eBay Archive

A Dancing Competition: Margaret Tu and Cheung Ying-Choi

2009-11-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a cute piece from Screenland No. 26 (November 1961) showing Margaret Tu Chuan, from Shaw Brothers' Mandarin division, and Cheung Ying-choi, from its Cantonese division, going toe to toe. Both starred together that year in When the Poles Meet, the studio's attempt to cash in on the success of rival MP&GI's cross-cultural comedy The Greatest Civil War on Earth (1961). BTW, the romantic leads of the Shaw entry were none other than Patricia Lam Fung and Peter Chen Ho — both quite good dancers whom I'd also love to see go toe to toe.

A DANCING COMPETITION

Margaret Tu Chuan and Cheung Ying-choi are good friends but just friends and nothing more. They are good friends because they are both naive and childlike.

But this particular day they do not get along so well when they start to argue about dancing, both claiming to be the best. Finally, Cheung suggests hotly, "How about a dancing competition between you and me? The first one to stop dancing will be the loser." And he nominates me to be their referee.

"But that doesn't seem fair to me," I provoke, "you being a man and little Margaret..."

The 'little' bit does it. For Margaret promptly puts in, "Oh, don't you worry about me. We are starting right now!"

So they begin to busy themselves with their rocks and sways while I happily busy myself with my camera. They keep at it for one and a half hours without a stop, and do you know how many shots I took.... Oh, I think you are more interested in the other outcome, so I better tell you right away: Cheung stopped first and lost!

* The original article is available here.

Animal Lover: Christy Yow

2009-11-08T23:08:00.000-08:00

In preparation for her role as legendary Malaysian burlesque performer Rose Chan, actress-model Christy Yow recently spent four hours overcoming her fear of snakes by making friends with a 3-meter, 9-kilogram albino python.

Wrestling pythons was one of Rose Chan's specialties and the highlight of her show. According to a news item that appeared in the U.S. press, Rose even took out "a license for a six foot long monitor lizard to brighten up [her] act" (Chicago Daily Tribune, March 22, 1957). This was just months after she reportedly lost consciousness when one of her 6-meter pythons coiled itself around her body (The Waco News-Tribune, December 27, 1956). It evidently took a full five minutes for Rose's "brawny stagehands" to free her from the python's stranglehold!

Last week I told you about the anonymous fan who offered Christy S$50,000 to strip at a charity screening (of her new movie Auntie Lucy) that she personally initiated in order to raise money for Pets Villa, a volunteer-run shelter for Singapore's stray cats and dogs. Christy had reportedly dared the fan to show up at the event, saying that she would strip if he brought the money as promised. Later she told the press that she was only joking and would never use sex to sell charity.

After the man's prurient proposal was published in a local newspaper, he immediately emailed Christy to apologize and asked how he could make amends. Christy suggested that he buy tickets for underprivileged seniors so that they could attend the screening. The shamed fan paid S$4,500 for 300 tickets, which allowed groups from the Geylang Old Folks' Home and two local senior citizens clubs to join in the fun.

Here's a photo from the October 31st event showing Christy Yow with Eric Khoo, director of the forthcoming Rose Chan film (which is scheduled for production sometime next year).

And here's Honey, one of the current residents of Pets Villa and, no doubt, a big fan of Christy!

Further Reading

"Christy Yow Plays with Python"

"She's Shamed by $50,000 Offer to Strip"

"A Successful Aunty Lucy Charity Screening"

* Photo of Christy Yow from The Daily Chilli; photo of Rose Chan from the Soft Film eBay Archive; photos of Eric Khoo, Christy Yow, and Honey from Homeless In Seletar

The Truth About Ming & Ling

2009-11-07T19:01:00.000-08:00

Ming & Ling in the early 1940s

Let the following be a lesson that all "truth" is provisional — especially here on this blog!

A couple of months ago I posted two songs allegedly recorded by vaudeville duo Ming and Ling. Ever since Nick Tosches added a chapter about them in the revised edition of his book Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll (1991), these "Chinese Hillbillies" became something of a cult item among rock music aficionados. And their legendarily obscure singles — "records so strange that they defy description" — took on a decidedly Holy Grail sheen.

Although Tosches acknowledges in his book that there may have been more than one Ming and Ling — and that the duo who recorded these wild rock-and-roll songs might not be the vaudeville duo who performed throughout the forties and fifties — his enthusiasm is so contagious that you want to believe they are one and the same.

Well, it turns out that this is not the case. I was recently contacted by Ling's son-in-law John Buckley, who set the record straight about Ming & Ling.

The duo only performed live and never made any recordings. Contrary to the story they gave the press, they are not cousins but in fact father and son. Ling's real name is Gregory Paguio, and he is not Chinese but half-Filipino and half-Irish. His father Ming's real name is Jose T. Paguio. Jose had played in vaudeville for many years before asking Gregory, who was just 17 at the time, to join him on the stage in 1940.

The two performed as Ming & Ling for more than twenty years until Jose's retirement in 1962, after which Gregory led an Oriental revue produced by former Forbidden City dancer Dorothy Toy. For the next five years Gregory toured the West Coast and Asia before retiring in 1967. I'm guessing that's him in the ad, surrounded by a bevy of Oriental dolls and looking very James Bond! Here's what one reviewer had to say about the show: "Toy, Ling and Oriental Revue at Three Rivers Inn shouldn't be missed by any who appreciates lively, daring, beautiful girls, Hawaiian songs and dances, Geisha Girl Shows, and fabulous costumes. M.C. Bob Ling surprises the audience with his delightful impersonations of Perry Como [and] Dean Martin" (The Syracuse Post-Standard, September 30, 1966).

Well, it's good to finally know the truth about Ming & Ling's alleged recordings. Although this may technically disqualify them from being "Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll", they remain one of the most fascinating acts from the twilight years of vaudeville. Now, if we can only get our hands on their 1949 appearance on the "The Milton Berle Show"!

Many thanks to John Buckley for contacting me and generously providing the photos of Ming & Ling. If you are interested in learning more, feel free to email him (buckley1969@gmail.com).

Finally, let me give a shout out to John's son Brian Buckley, who is himself an up-and-coming singer-songwriter, and to "Ling", who is still with us today.

Remembering the good old days: Jose and Gregory Paguio

Christy Yow: Becoming Rose Chan

2009-11-02T22:23:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I posted about the casting of model Christy Yow in Eric Khoo's upcoming biopic about Rose Chan, Malaysia's legendary "Queen of Striptease".

Well, it seems that Christy is already experiencing what it's like to be Rose Chan. A week before the recent charity premiere of her debut film Auntie Lucy in Singapore, Christy received an anonymous email from a "fan" promising to donate S$50,000 (US$36,000) to the Animal Lovers League if she stripped at the event.

"Since she has to strip for the [Rose Chan] movie sooner or later, if she is willing to do it that day, I will donate S$50,000," the sender wrote.

Asked for a comment, Christy said, "The sender should not have made the request. This is humiliating [to] me. You should not ask for returns when it comes to charity."

Nevertheless, Christy was reported as saying that if the sender had the courage to attend the show, then she would strip. But she added, "I can only show my back."

She also allegedly made a counter-offer. "If the person donates this sum of money, I will discuss with the director of Mei Gui Xiang [The Charming Rose] to let him view our shooting."

Is all this just a clever PR stunt, or is it a case of life imitating art imitating life?

Besides her reputation as "Queen of Striptease", Rose Chan was also renowned as "Queen of Charity" because she often donated part of the proceeds from her performances to charities, such as orphanages, homes for the elderly, institutions for the blind, and sanatoria for tuberculosis patients.

No word yet on whether Christy actually bared her back for Singapore's orphan cats and dogs, but as she rapidly becomes Southeast Asia's hottest sex symbol, she might consider growing some thorns to protect herself from the wolves.

Further Reading

"Christy's $50,000 Strip Offer"

"Fast Track to Fame for Christy Yow"

* Photo of Christy Yow from The Tomboy Photo Project; photo of Rose Chan from the Soft Film Collection

Bai Guang: Durian Lover

2009-10-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

Now here's a woman after my own heart, a fellow lover of the forbidden fruit.

According to the caption that accompanied this cartoon, Bai Guang loves durian so much that she wishes she could be born a nyonya and stay in Singapore for good.

The funky fragrance of durian is definitely not for those with delicate taste. Let Yan Jun and Li Lihua turn up their noses at your catch, Miss Bai. I will gladly join you in a finger-licking feast for two!

Thanks to Oldflames for sending the "Stars' Dream Journey to Singapore" spread from which this comes.

Bai Guang: Lady Bodhisattva

2009-10-29T23:58:00.000-07:00

Ah... Bai Guang, my lady bodhisattva... although you are infamous as the supreme bad girl of Chinese cinema, your devotees find nothing but sweetness in your sour beauty, as they single-mindedly follow the tantric path towards your white light.

"I'm a Female Bodhisattva" by Bai Guang
from Courage in the Spy World (1949)

Translated lyrics can be found at my new favorite blog, Ambuscade from Ten Sides. The breathtaking pinup of Miss Bai comes from International Screen No. 23 (September 1957).

Who's the Moddest Queen of All?

2009-10-26T23:55:00.000-07:00

Why, it's Angela Yu, of course!

A great big thanks to Oldflames for sending this mad mod cover and providing the title of this post.

Name those Fortunes!

2009-10-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, kung fu fans! Who can name all of Master Yu Jim-yuen's "Little Fortunes" in this photo from The Birth of Yue Fei (1962)? I'll start off with the easy ones: Sammo Hung (standing in the middle, looking a bit bewildered) and Mang Hoi (top row, far right). Which one is Jackie Chan? I'm tempted to say the scowling fellow in the top row, far left. But I have a hunch he might be one of the little shrimplings.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Master Yu's China Drama Academy, the training ground of a generation of stuntmen, fight choreographers, and action stars who revolutionized martial-arts movies. Try imagining Hong Kong cinema without Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, and you'll realize the depth of their influence. And those two big shots are just the tip of the iceberg. Die-hard fans will have their own personal favorites, whether it's Yuen Biao or Yuen Wah.

Next month the Hong Kong Film Archive is presenting a small retrospective to celebrate the early films of Master Yu's students. It will include two other films from the early 1960s featuring the "Little Fortunes" when they were kids.

For a fun read, check out these reminiscences of the "Seven Little Fortunes", which appeared in translation all summer long at HKSAR Film No Top 10 Box Office.

And finally, here are two clips: the first is from Seven Little Valiant Fighters (1962), which will be shown in the Hong Kong Film Archive's retrospective, and the second is from Dragons Forever (1988), featuring Sammo, Jackie, and Yuen Biao in a hilarious three-way scuffle.

Christy Yow is Rose Chan

2009-10-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

Back in May I posted about director/producer Eric Khoo's search for an actress to play Rose Chan in his upcoming biopic about Malaysia's legendary "Queen of Striptease". After looking for a year and a half, he has finally chosen Christy Yow, a Malaysian model who caused quite a stir last December when she appeared in a bikini on the cover of FHM Singapore and was quickly dubbed "36C Christy" by the local tabloid press.

Christy is certainly sexy enough, but it remains to be seen whether she has the necessary chutzpah to portray the indomitable Rose Chan, who besides stripping was famous for wrestling pythons and having motorcycles ride over her.

Production on the film is scheduled to start late next year in Shanghai. Here's wishing Christy great success in channeling Rose's wild spirit!

Further Reading

"Khoo Finds His Rose"

"Busty Malaysian Actress to Play Queen of Striptease"

"I'm Really Just a SHY GIRL"

"The Girl Next Door: Model Christy Yow is Making Heads Turn in Asia"

"Not Just Your Girl Next Door (Although She Is)"

Christy Yow's Southern Exposure

* Photo of Christy Yow from The Daily Chilli/Asia News Network; photo of Rose Chan from the Soft Film Collection

Soft Film Video Jukebox: PixelToy & at17

2009-10-17T01:31:00.000-07:00

A musical oasis in Hong Kong's wasteland of prefab Cantopop, record label People Mountain People Sea is the home of my two favorite Hong Kong bands, PixelToy and at17. Both are featured in this charming DIY video for the song 漂亮 ("Beautiful"), which appeared on PixelToy's debut album Science of Love (2005). They are joined by PMPS founder, Hong Kong alt music pioneer, and drama queen, Anthony Wong Yiu-ming.

Behold the Banned!

2009-10-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

You don't even know what this is, but you know you want a look.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you if this was the work of the film censorship board of Singapore or Malaysia, nor if the movie itself was censored or just this particular lobby photo.

What... do you really want to see it?

I don't know if it would be in your best interest. There was a good reason that this abhorrent image was banned some forty-odd years ago. Why risk opening a Pandora's box of degeneracy?

From your ravenous eyes and twitching hands, I can tell that you are not dissuaded. You are hell-bent on gambling away your moral well-being for a taste of the forbidden.

Very well then... behold the banned!

A Little Chung Ching to Chase Away those Winter Blues

2009-10-12T21:57:00.000-07:00

I'm definitely starting to feel a little depressed now that the days are getting shorter, the skies greyer, and the air colder. With a rainstorm on the way, all I want to do is crawl under my comforter and sleep for a long, long time.

Then I remembered this bright and cheery Chung Ching pinup that Oldflames sent me back in June. It's just the tonic for turning my sad into glad!

Ting Hao: What's Up, Tomcat?

2009-10-11T01:17:00.000-07:00

This post goes out to YTSL, who mentioned Kitty Ting Hao's gender-bender You Were Meant for Me (1961) as one of the Cathay films whose DVD release she had been eagerly awaiting. Alas, it failed to materialize before the series was discontinued, and the movie now remains tantalizingly just out of sight.

I'm sure that YTSL and I aren't the only ones turned on by the notion of seeing Kitty in drag. Doesn't she look dashing with suit and cigarette? Whenever I look at this photo, I can't help but think of Anita Yuen in She's the Man, He's the Woman (1994) — that wonderful film which helped turn me into a Hong Kong movie fanatic so many years ago.

Hopefully, Kitty's You Were Meant for Me will become available to the masses some day in the not so distant future. In the meantime, long live the People's Republic of YouTube!

* Photo of Kitty comes from the Yau Leung collection 昨夜星光 (1940s-1960s).

Remembering Kitty Ting Hao

2009-10-09T23:04:00.000-07:00

Oldflames sent me these charming pinups of Kitty Ting Hao a few days ago, and I felt that I should pay tribute to Miss Kitty, just in case anyone got the impression from my recent post that I was a hater when it comes to MP&GI's "Little Darling".

Both photos exhibit that mixture of cute and spunky that made Kitty the cat's meow for movie fans then and now. But there was more to Kitty than meets the eyes. I recently discovered this amusing — yet unintentionally revealing — description of Kitty in International Screen No. 38 (December 1958):

While the vivacious girl is ambitious, proud and astute, there is no denying that she is a very likable girl who is still a "big baby" at heart. Now, I'll let you in on a secret. She has to have a pint of milk as a nightcap every night. You may see nothing strange in that. Yes, a lot of people do take milk before going to bed — but not out of a baby's feeding bottle, as she does.

It seems that hidden behind the "Little Darling" was a spoiled princess with ambitions for the crown. Through her relationship with Robert Chung, MP&GI's general manager, Kitty jockeyed for the position of studio movie queen. When it became known to the other actresses that Kitty's salary had suddenly become second only to top box office draw Lucilla Yu Ming, charges of favoritism flew through the air. Helen Li Mei even flew to Singapore to personally lodge a complaint with MP&GI president Loke Wan Tho.

The whole affair was quite scandalous, causing Robert Chung to resign in 1962. A year later Kitty left the studio, married some other fellow, and gave birth to a son. She tried to make a comeback in Cantonese films, starting in 1964, but there was no returning to the "Little Darling" that audiences had so loved. In 1965, Kitty separated from her husband, and in 1966, after her last film, Four Sisters, she moved with her son to the United States. But for whatever reason, she was unable to make a fresh start: on May 23, 1967, Kitty Ting Hao died from an overdose of barbituates.

It turns out that today happens to be Kitty's birthday (she would have been 70 years old). In memory of her spunky charm and undeniable talent, here is a clip of Kitty and Helen Li from Between Tears and Laughter (1960).

Further Reading
Kitty Ting Hao biography by Paul Fonoroff

Hitchcock à la Hong Kong

2009-10-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

Check out this cool flyer for Black Cat, the Cat Burglar (1956), a remake of To Catch a Thief, starring Ng Cho-fan, "The Movie King of South China", and former Miss Saigon Tsang Lam-si. Talk about your Cantonese quickie — it was released less than two months after the original played in Hong Kong!

Treatment for Wolves

2009-10-04T23:19:00.000-07:00

Here's another one of those wacky Screenland pictorials (No. 27, December 1961). This time around our favorite fatty Peng Peng gets cured of his lasciviousness by "Doctor" Cheung Ying-choi and Siu Keun, a popular Amoy actress from the 1950s who some 16 months later would become one of the hottest stars on the Mandarin screen. That's right, folks: this young lady is none other than Ms. Ivy Ling Po!

A scan of the original is available here.

Pang Pang, despite his unusual bulk, was as fond of women as he was fond of eating. One day, he went to a friend's house and saw a nurse at the house opposite. He called to her as if he knew her.

The pretty nurse, Siu-kuen, did not know Pang Pang. But he insisted that he knew her. Siu-kuen had to admit it. She even invited Pang Pang into her house. He of course jumped at the offer and went.

Siu-kuen told him that this was the bungalow of her doctor whom she had followed here to take a rest. She said that she would introduce the doctor to him. Pang Pang said that was fine. After a moment, Cheung Ying-choi came out, claiming that he was the doctor.

Pang Pang wanted to get rid of the doctor, so that he could be with Siu-kuen alone. He complained of a stomach ache, and the doctor brought instruments.

It was the biggest hypodermic needle in the world, and also a thermometer which was one foot long, which he forced into Pang Pang's mouth. Pang Pang was quite scared of these huge things, but since the girl was there, he didn't mind much.

After taking his temperature, Cheung said it was necessary for an injection. Pang Pang was taken aback. "But your needle is so big!" he stammered. Cheung Ying-choi smiled, "But so is your own body."

As he said so, he motioned Pang Pang to remove his pants. When his fat buttock was exposed, Cheung held the needle like he was holding a rifle. He aimed carefully and pushed it down into Pang Pang's flesh.

Almost two feet of the needle went in and Pang Pang bellowed like a pig being tortured. "Don't move," Cheung warned seriously. "Otherwise the needle may break and will require an operation to get out."

Pang Pang gritted his teeth and appealed, "Please take it easy." "I have tried my best," Cheung declared. "Now don't move, I'm going to inject the medicine." "How many c.c.?" "It is not how many c.c. It's two pounds!"

After Cheung finished injecting the two pounds of medicine, Pang Pang cried in despair, "I'm going to die!" Cheung took a look and was secretly shocked. For the medicine had made Pang Pang's belly swell real big!

Pang Pang could not move a foot. He held on to his belly and moaned, "I sure am going to die this time!" Cheung called Siu-kuen out and winked at her. "We have succeeded," he told her proudly.

Seeing Pang Pang, Siu-kuen could not help wanting to laugh. She told Cheung, "This is exactly the kind of treatment for wolves!" "He should have had enough this time," Cheung replied.

Happy Autumn Moon Festival

2009-10-03T13:09:00.001-07:00

Best wishes to all my friends and readers!

Lam Fung: The Teen Fashion Never Ends

2009-09-30T22:46:00.000-07:00

Here are two more of Patricia Lam's "Teen Fashion" cards that I found at a shop in Mongkok during my recent trip to Hong Kong. As always, Pat looks positively perfect!

Rebecca Pan: My Indie Music

2009-09-28T23:09:00.000-07:00

Wow... this is like a dream come true: all of my favorite Hong Kong indie bands covering the hits of HK pop pioneer Rebecca Pan.

The just released My Dream My Way My Indie Music was produced by Rebecca herself and is something that I *highly* recommend to anyone who follows this blog. It comes packaged with an attractively designed, 88-page book that is chock-full of photos of the artists, as well as vintage pics of the lovely Ms. Pan.

Here's the track list, along with two sample songs and links to videos by the musicians featured on the album. And let me just add that even though I'm not a fan of Cantopop king Eason Chan, his cover of "Chinese Blues" totally rocks!

"Nee Nee Wo Wo" (1961) by PixelToy

"Solid Gold Rickshaw" (1967) by Ketchup

"Essence of Love" (1966) by Chet Lam

"Mágica Luna" (1961) by the pancakes

"Bengawan Solo" (1962) by at17

"I've Seen You in My Dreams" (1974) by Rebecca Pan & Chet Lam

"The Protest" (1974) by Gayamyan

"I Wonder Why" (1968) by my little airport

"J'attendrai" (1961) by Rebecca Pan

"Chinese Blues" (1962) by Eason Chan

"My Hong Kong" (1965) by Rebecca Pan & HK Indies

"Siboney Amor" (2009) by Rebecca Pan

* YOU CAN BUY THE ALBUM HERE.

Hold That Pose, Josephine!

2009-09-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

If you think holding a smile for the camera is hard, try holding one of the poses in this lobby photo for Ma Yongzhen from Shandong (1965). Yep, that's a teenage Josephine Siao in the background, grappling with martial-arts choreographer Han Yingjie — 28 years before she played Jet Li's kung-fu fighting mom in Fong Sai Yuk!

Lux Soap Keeps My Blog Smooth and Soft

2009-09-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered how I keep Soft Film so soft? Well, it's no secret. Like Gracie, I use Lux Soap. Are you tired of those unsightly blemishes caused by a bad diet of constipating film criticism? Then lighten up and use a little Lux. Remember: Soft Film is sexy!

* Thanks as always to Oldflames for keeping me well supplied with the good stuff!

Learning Mandarin with Zhou Xuan

2009-09-24T23:22:00.000-07:00

Lyrics card for Zhou Xuan's "Song of Four Seasons"

I'm very excited to tell you about Ambuscade from Ten Sides, a new blog that's sure to become a great English-language resource for Mandarin-impaired fans of classic Chinese pop like myself. So far, blogger Remorseful Prober has been focusing mainly on the legendary "Golden Voice", Zhou Xuan. Besides providing biographical information and translated lyrics for some of her songs (such as "Shanghai Nightlife", "Picking Betel Nuts", and "Lover's Knot"), he has also generously made available for download several out-of-print collections of her songs.

To celebrate this wonderful new blog, here is Zhou Xuan singing one of her signature hits, "Song of Four Seasons" from the 1937 film Street Angel. Okay everybody, let's learn Mandarin with Zhou Xuan!