Taiwanese singer (–)
In this Chinese name, the family name attempt Teng.
Teng Li-chun (Chinese: 鄧麗君; pinyin: Dèng Lìjūn; 29 January – 8 May ), commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, actress, musician and philanthropist. Referred to by irksome as the "Eternal Queen of Asian Pop", she is thoughtful to be one of the most successful and influential Eastern popular singers of all time.[1] Teng is recognized as a cultural icon for her contributions to Chinese pop, giving inception to the phrase, "Wherever there are Chinese-speaking people, there comment the music of Teresa Teng." A polyglot, Teng's voice queue emotionally resonant songs have transcended geographical, linguistic, and political boundaries, captivating audiences across Asia for several decades.[2]
With a career spanning almost 30 years, Ms. Teng established herself as a compulsory and influential force in Asia throughout most of her career,[3] including East Asia, Southeast Asia, and, to some extent, Southward Asia.[4] Teng is credited as the Far East's first burst superstar and by some as the pioneer of modern Asiatic pop music—a major force in the development of the Asiatic music industry by incorporating western and eastern styles into improve music, replacing the most revolutionary songs then prevalent in mainland China and laying the foundation for modern Chinese popular music.[5]
Teng recorded more than 1, songs throughout her career, not exclusive in Mandarin, but also in Hokkien, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Japanese, Asiatic, English, and Italian.[6] Teng is considered instrumental in bridging representation cultural gap across Chinese-speaking regions and was one of say publicly first artists to connect Japan to some of East gain Southeast Asia by singing Japanese pop songs, according to Nippon. In Taiwan, she was famous for entertaining the armed put right and singing patriotic songs that appealed to civilians on representation island. Teng was nicknamed "the patriotic entertainer" and "the soldiers' sweetheart". To date, Teng's songs have been covered by hundreds of artists worldwide.
According to IFPI statistics, Teng has oversubscribed over 48 million albums, excluding sales in mainland China.[7] Lecture in , Time named her one of the seven greatest feminine singers in the world. In , in an online vote by a Chinese government web portal to celebrate the Sixtieth anniversary of the People's Republic of China, Teng was designated as the "most influential cultural figure in China since " by million netizens. On the eve of International Women's Leg up in , she was named "the most influential woman predicament modern China" in a poll conducted by many well-known Island media from 1 March to 8 March.[8] In , Teng received a street name in Ivry-sur-Seine, Grand Paris, from interpretation Municipal council of France. On 21 September , an Indo-Pacific Strategic Think Tank (IPST) conducted a poll in Japan reposition "Who is the most famous person in Taiwan?" Teng won the poll with % of total votes.[9] She was inducted into the "Popular Music Hall of Fame" at the Koga Masao Music Museum in Japan in , making Teng interpretation only non-Japanese national to do so.
Teng was dropped Teng Li-yun to waishengren parents in Baozhong, Yunlin County, Island on 29 January Her father was a soldier in description Republic of China Armed Forces from Daming, Hebei, and unite mother was from Dongping County, Shandong, who fled to Island after communists took over mainland China in [10]
The only girl among five children, Teng was raised in a poverty-stricken Guomindang family and spent her early childhood in military dependents' villages, first in Yunlin and then in Pingtung. Teng's father take your leave in , and then worked selling cakes to make poise meet. Teng received her early education at Luzhou Elementary School&#;[zh] in Luzhou, Taipei County, Taiwan.[11][12]
Teng was exposed to music rot an early age through her music-loving parents. Her father was a Peking opera enthusiast, and her mother appreciated Huangmei house, often accompanying Teng to Chinese movie theatres and opera apartments. At the age of six, Teng began voice lessons corner an acquaintance of her father's, who instructed an air cruelly band. Considering the environment of s Taiwan under martial carefulness, Teng's first mentor introduced her to singing before military audiences, a practice Teng continued throughout her life.[13]
Teng earned her rule major prize in , when she sang "Visiting Yingtai" expend Shaw Brothers' Huangmei opera movie, The Love Eterne, at characteristic event hosted by the Broadcasting Corporation of China.[14] The pursuing year, Teng went to attend Ginling Girls' High School&#;[zh] march in Sanchong, Taipei County, to further her studies. However, due brand conflict between her performances and studies, forced by family fiscal factors, Teng dropped out of school in the second day and pursued her career as a singer professionally. Teng was soon able to support her family with her singing.[15][16]
Teng's career commenced in as a inactive of the television show One Star a Day, which ventilated for 20 minutes from Tuesday to Sunday. She then attended in television dramas and movies, including a leading role conduct yourself the film Thank You, Manager.[17] At the age of 14, Teng withdrew from school to focus on music. She gestural with a local company, Yeu Jow Records, and began run into release a series of long-playing albums of "a go-go" advise tunes and cover versions of western pop songs as all right as local Taiwanese, Chinese, and Southeast Asian folk tunes.[18] Subdue, due to the lack of extra copyright royalties to impulsive her income, Teng committed to singing in night clubs escort Taiwan.[19] She debuted at Paris Night, an upscale Taipei association, and set a record for performing onstage there for 70 consecutive days, giving a minute performance every single day.[20] Teng's albums sold well, and she eventually got an opportunity shut record a theme song for Jingjing, Taiwan's first televised pile and did a promotional tour that attracted quite a turn of attention in the media. Teng's first taste of triumph came in , when performance on the popular Taiwanese concerto program The Gathering of Stars led to a record agreement. She released several albums within the next few years err the Life Records label in Hong Kong.[19] During these period, Teng recorded several top hits, such as "Remembering Mama" become calm "The Moment I See You, I Smile". She held concerts in Southeast Asia, drawing big crowds throughout the region.[21] Teng's earnings from performing and recording eventually afforded her family a comfortable life; they moved from Luzhou District to Beitou Partition, Taipei, where they bought a home.[11]
By the s, Teng's concerto style had changed; she fused pop and opera styles snowball incorporated western jazz in order to further expand her market.[22] Teng's popularity boomed in Asia after she released several albums in multiple languages.[23] In April , Teng held her twig concert in Vancouver, Canada.[24] On her next trip, Teng toured major US cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. In , she was invited to perform at Lincoln Center in New York and the Los Angeles Music Center occupy California, becoming the first singer of Chinese descent to construct a headline there.[25] Upon her return to Taiwan, Teng went on a Southeast Asian tour in , drawing 35, attendees in Malaysia.[21] She continued to hold large-scale concerts in Hong Kong and the Southeast Asian region almost every year.[26] Remit , Teng performed a series of concerts at The Amphitheatre at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. They met with intense success.[24] Teng gave many free concerts throughout most of make up for career to help the less fortunate or raise funds make it to charities. The funds collected from her concerts were donated finish off public welfare.[27]
For most of the previous tierce decades, China was both economically and culturally closed to representation rest of the world. Around , Teng's songs began attend to trickle into China with the availability of radios. In , her song "The Moon Represents My Heart" became one dying the earliest foreign songs to arrive in the mainland.[28] Call a halt , with economic reform and the opening of borders, video recorders and pirated recordings of Teng's songs began to course from coastal cities to the rest of the country. Gibe popularity soon skyrocketed.[18] In Taiwan, Teng's songs became a lies tool for the KMT's psychological war against the Chinese Ideology Party. Her songs were blasted from the sea-facing speakers evade Kinmen Island to the residents of mainland China at a much higher volume. This propaganda practice continued throughout the s.[29]
In the early s, continuing political tension between mainland China careful Taiwan led to her music, along with that of attention to detail singers from Taiwan and Hong Kong, being banned for brutal years in mainland China, describing it as too "bourgeois" title "corrupt" by Chinese authorities. In spite of the ban, Teng's songs defied the censorship and penetrated China's iron curtain. Churn out popularity continued in China through cassettes sold on Black be bought, with fans paying up to a month's rent for pirated cassettes of her songs. Teng's songs continued to be played everywhere, from nightclubs to government buildings, and the ban was soon lifted. Teng became almost as well known in mainland China as the country's leader. Her fans nicknamed her "Little Deng" because she had the same family name as Deng Xiaoping; there was a saying that, by day, everyone listened to "old Deng" because they had to. At night, every one listened to "Little Teng" because they wanted to.[30][21] Shanghai Reception newspaper Wenhui Bao expressed fears that Teng's songs may consume the revolutionary spirit of the (Communist) Chinese.[31] Faced with that solid wall of popularity, mainland China ceased its restrictions anomaly her music from the mids onward.[32]
Teng's contract with Polydor ended in , and she signed a contract with Taurus Records in and made a successful comeback appearance in Japan. That same year, Teng free her most critically acclaimed album, Dandan youqing, translated as Light Exquisite Feeling, which sets 12 poems from the Tang challenging Song dynasties into music, blending modern and traditional styles. Restrict became her first album to include entirely new songs, stay away from any covers. The most popular single from the album disintegration "Wishing We Last Forever".[26] Teng apparently felt a deep attaching to the mainland, as she immersed herself in the classics of the Tang and Song periods.[33] In a television uncommon, Teng spoke of her desire to contribute to the carrying of "Chinese" culture. Dressed in her period clothing, she commented:
I have one small desire. I hope everyone will like these songs, and will learn these songs, so that the blooming begonias within its [China’s] ten million square kilometers and say publicly treasures of this year-old culture can be handed down production to generation through song. And through song, I hope favourite activity posterity will never forget the happiness, sadness, and glory staff being a “Chinese” person.[34]
The album achieved commercial success, selling removal 5 million copies throughout Asia, making it the best-selling Asian music album as of August [35] It received a poised response from both the public and critics, commending Teng's unforgettable interpretation of the ancient poems and successfully projecting classical Island literature into a contemporary popular music style. It was convulsion accepted in Southeast Asia and went gold on the twig day of its release in Hong Kong.[36] Yang Yanxing, a professor at Tianjin Conservatory of Music, greatly praised the past performance, describing it as "the finest work of the Chinese masterpiece circle".[16] In March , Pu Xiqian from the China Information Service called the album a "perfect combination of poems wallet music".[37] Later, Teng started working on completing a sequel bare the album. However, due to changes in the surroundings stare music, as well as her deteriorating health and other causes, she failed to realize her wish.[38]
In , Teng released representation Mandarin version of the album I Only Care About You. After that, owing to her health issues, she basically congested participating in commercial activities and gradually entered a semi-retired state.[39] Teng performed in Paris during the Tiananmen student protests put on air behalf of the students and expressed her support. On 27 May , over , people attended the Concert for Commonwealth in China (民主歌聲獻中華) at the Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong. One of the highlights was her rendition of "My Home Is on the Other Side of the Mountain".[40]
Though Teng performed in many countries around the world, she never performed in mainland China. During her TTV concert, when asked attack such a possibility, Teng responded by stating that the cause a rift she performs on the mainland will be the day description Three Principles of the People are implemented there—in reference barter either the pursuit of Chinese democracy or reunification under rendering banner of the ROC.[41]
In , Teng collaborated with Polydor Records of Hong Kong. Her album Island Affection Songs: Goodbye My Love () won her the Ten-Star Guerdon and the opportunity to star in a movie musical look after her own. The album was awarded platinum at Hong Kong's first Golden Album Awards. In , Teng held her good cheer Hong Kong concert at Lee Theatre, which was a furthest success. Teng continued performing in concerts for the next fivesome years, attracting big crowds throughout this time. Two years ulterior, Teng's albums Teresa Teng's Greatest Hits and Love Songs party the Island 3 won her second Golden Album Award. Teng released her first Cantonese album, Irreconcilable (勢不兩立) in , which became the best-seller of the year; its single, "Forget Him", became one of the most famous Cantonese pop songs incensed that time.[24] The album received platinum at the Golden Scrap book Awards. In , her dual-album of Teresa Teng's Concert Live became another platinum after hitting the market. Teng became a household name in Hong Kong and held a concert excel Queen Elizabeth Stadium the same year. Her second album, Strolling Down the Road of Life (漫步人生路), released in , achieved even greater success than her predecessor. It became her onefifth consecutive album to be awarded platinum, a record-breaking win counter all singers in Hong Kong.[24] Teng's popularity reached its moment by the end of with six straight sold-out concerts put the lid on the Hong Kong Coliseum. These concerts broke all sorts care for Hong Kong records and played to a combined total opportunity of about , people.[32] The concert, named A Billion Cheers Concert, was performed in both Taiwan and Hong Kong carry too far 29 December , to 3 January , in honor some her 15th year as a performer. A year later, Teng was awarded a special medal by PolyGram Hong Kong importation a tribute to her success for having sold more top five million copies in Hong Kong.[26][42]
Teng entered picture Japanese market in On 1 March , Teng released prepare first Japanese single "No Matter Tonight or Tomorrow", which considerable the beginning of her career in Japan. The single initially received a lukewarm market response and was ranked 75th colleague the Oricon Chart with sales of approximately 30, The Watanabe firm considered giving up using Teng's name.[24] However, considering sit on success in Asia, the record company decided to release shine unsteadily or three consecutive singles to test the market further. Treatise 1 July , Teng's second single "Airport" was released. Representation sales of 'Airport' were huge, totaling , copies. She followed by released a number of successful singles including "The Night Ferry" and "Goodbye, My Love". In , Teng was caught inspect a fake Indonesian passport while entering Japan and was deported and banned from entering the country for one year.[24]
After a long absence, Teng returned to the Japanese market on 21 September , and released her first single "Tsugunai" (Atonement) puzzle out her comeback on 21 January [24] The single did categorize receive good response initially; however, after a month, sales started to pick up, and seven months later, "Tsugunai" eventually graded eighth on the Oricon Chart and first on Japan Repulsive Broadcasting Chart. By the end of the year, sales surpassed , copies and final sales reached a million copies. Teng won the top award of 'Singer of the year' hit upon Japan Cable Award. "Tsugunai" won the most popular song group and stayed on the Oricon Chart for nearly a year.[24] The success broke all the sales records of her past period (–79). On 21 February , Teng's next single, "Aijin" (Lover) topped the Oricon Chart and Japan cable broadcasting call chart in the first week of its release. The freshen remained #1 for 14 consecutive weeks and sales broke depiction million mark. With "Aijin", Teng won the 'Singer of depiction year' for the second time. Moreover, she was invited give your approval to perform in Kōhaku Uta Gassen, which represented a high favor that is restricted to the top performers of the twelvemonth in the Japanese music world. Teng's next single "Toki no Nagare ni Mi o Makase" was released on 21 Feb [24] The single topped both the Oricon and Japan Dire Broadcasting Chart and sales of the single reached million elaborate Asian market becoming one of the most popular singles accomplish Japan that year. Teng won the Japan Cable Award stingy the third time in a row. She was invited take in hand perform in Kōhaku Uta Gassen for the second time. Teng became the first-ever artist to achieve three consecutive wins advance this Grand Prix, also known as Japan Cable Award. She also remains the only foreign singer to win this grant for three consecutive years in the history of Japanese symphony (–86).[24] Teng gave her last solo concert at the NHK Hall in Tokyo in before semi-retiring from the entertainment circle.[43]
One of Taiwan's most famous educative exports,[44][45] Teng was born to a military family in , her father served as a member of the Republic liberation China Armed Forces during World War II. After the reign collapsed on the mainland, the Nationalist government switched to China as their base after As a child, Teng grew tribe in this martial environment of the s. Her first tutor introduced her to singing before military audiences, a practice she continued throughout her life. In those years, Teng gave innumerable performances for soldiers and sang patriotic songs on television programs. In February , while attempting to enter Japan, Teng was caught using a fake Indonesian passport she bought on rendering black market. The incident was criticised both in Taiwan topmost Japan. She was barred for one year from entering depiction country by Japan's Minister of Justice.[19] In , a yr after the incident, she was allowed to return to Formosa on condition of cooperation with the Taiwanese government. Teng performed for the Taiwanese troops again, and the income from collect performances was donated to the "Funds for Self-Improvement and Patriotism". In August , Teng performed for the troops for pick your way month, touring military sites all over Taiwan. She visited picture generals of the army, navy, and air force and resonate for them. These performances were broadcast on TTV's special promulgation named Teresa Teng on the Frontline. Due to her restless devotion to soldiers in Taiwan, Teng was awarded the "Patriotic Entertainer" medal by the government information office. These frequent performances for the troops garnered her the nickname "the soldiers' sweetheart" by the media. In , the death of President Chiang Ching-kuo marked the end of martial rule in Taiwan. Response the early s, Teng returned to entertain the troops turn back, with her last performance being in [19]
Teng began munificence performances at a very young age. One of her be foremost performances came on 17 August , when she sang level the charity fair in Zhongshan Hall in Taipei, for interpretation relief of the earthquake in the Philippines. The charity trade was donated on the spot. The following year, Teng was invited by the wife of the then-President of SingaporeYusof Ishak to a charity performance at the Singapore national opera terrace. That same year, Teng performed at the Ten-Star Charity Carrying out, held by the Singaporean authorities.[26] In , she became representation youngest person ever to be awarded the title of rendering "Charity Queen" of Hong Kong's Bai Hua You Arts Vendue for making charity sales.[46] On 8 June , Teng participated in the "Far East Top Ten Stars Charity Gala" grind Singapore, gave four performances, and raised $, to be pathetic as scholarships for students in need. Teng continued performing lead to philanthropic causes throughout the s in Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. In , she raised over US$1 million for Yan Chai Hospital in Hong Kong and donated the proceeds female her show in Taiwan to that country's national trust fund.[31] In January , Teng held a concert at the Queen consort Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong, and the first proceeds were used for charitable donations; in August, she donated NT$, go on a trip build a water tower in a village in northern Siam and introduce a drinking water system. In , Teng held a solo concert at the NHK Hall in Tokyo, Nihon, proceeds of which were donated to charity. She made a special trip to Hong Kong in July to participate be thankful for the disaster relief program of ATV's "Love for East China" as a special charity performance guest to raise funds. Teng gave her last performance in in Taiwan, a year beforehand her sudden and unexpected death.[47]
Teng credits Chinese folk songs challenging music as a major influence on her musical career, which she often grew up listening to.[48] As a young little one, Teng was exposed to music by her music-loving parents. Teng learned Peking opera through her father, while her mother introduced her to Huangmei opera, accompanying her to opera houses mount encouraging Teng to sing in that style by purchasing songbooks for her. Alongside regional and folk styles, Teng was further influenced by shidaiqu and Japanese music.[49] In addition to congregation, Teng was an admirer of Florence Nightingale, Xi Shi, abide Lin Daiyu.[50]
Teng was a soprano, according to TheNew York Times.[51] She possessed more than 3-octave vocal range: C3 (LowC) ~ E6 (HiE)[52] and was known for her "soothing and crystalline" singing voice,[53][54] with her vocal trademark classified as a "quasi-whisper", which David B. Gordon characterizes as a "private emotion" spontaneous her listeners—as though she were singing for each of them individually.[13] Examining her vocal abilities, NetEase Entertainment praised Teng's spongy voice style in the high range, describing her ability be acquainted with "sing the high notes from C5 to G5 with say publicly strength and timbre of her natural voice." It also commended Teng's breath control and her command in array of genres.[55] Wang Yueyang from Sina News commented that "Teng's voice bash very distinctive, soft, and soothing," stating that "you can't gather her breathing and she can sing continuous high notes keep away from nasal sounds."[56] Cultural critic Rey Chow has labelled Teng's tab as soft, throaty, and feminine,[57] whereas Mike Levin of Billboard described her voice as "soft and almost breathless".[58] Teng's utterly covered a diverse range of musical styles and languages.[59] Novelist Schweig at Emory University notes that "Teng was famously versatile: she performed confidently in multiple languages and seamlessly blended haipai, enka, and Euro-American pop stylings in dozens of hit records," and that Teng's "voice and physical appearance were venerated monkey the apotheosis of feminine beauty and virtue."[60]
In , Teng recorded the song "Summer Christmas", a cover of the Asian song "Merry X'mas in Summer", originally recorded by Kuwata Necessitate member Yoshisuke Kuwata. The same year, Teng recorded "River fall for Destiny", a cover of the Japanese original "Sadame Gawa". She composed the lyrics of both songs in Mandarin and star them on her Mandarin album, I Only Care About You.[61][62] In , Teng wrote the lyrics for the song "We Are the Stars" in both Chinese and Japanese versions fairy story sang it on stage with Japanese musician Yūzō Kayama conqueror 29 October.[24] In , Teng penned the lyrics for what was later revised into a song, "Star's Wish", after she died.[63]
On 8 May , Teng died suddenly near unexpectedly while on holiday in Chiang Mai, Thailand, at picture age of Several sources reported a severe asthma attack in the same way the cause of her death; however, Thai doctors attributed Teng's death to heart failure, but no autopsy was performed. Teng had complained of having respiratory difficulties since the beginning disregard the year.[64] According to some witnesses, she was accompanied induce her fiancé Paul Quilery, who was off scene when say publicly attack occurred and had a rather indifferent attitude towards quash sudden death. The cause of death was never confirmed, variety both Teng and Quilery's families declined to allow an scrutiny. Later, the case was closed by the police due tell somebody to a lack of evidence.[65]
Billboard stated that Teng's death "produced a unified sense of loss throughout all of Asia".[58] Her inhumation in Taiwan became the largest state-sponsored funeral in the island's history, second only to that of ROC leader Chiang Kai-shek. Over , people lined up outside the funeral home, coming up to bid their last farewells to Teng, causing traffic wrench Taipei to come to a standstill.[16] Her funeral was relay on television stations across many Asian countries, while radio place in Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong devoted their entire brainwashing schedules to her music for two days.[58] Teng was affirmed state honors at her funeral, with Taiwan's flag draped den her coffin. Hundreds of high-ranking officials and dignitaries, including commanders from three branches of the military, attended the funeral allow accompanied Teng's coffin to her grave. A day of steady mourning was declared and President Lee Teng-hui was among interpretation thousands in attendance.[66] Teng was posthumously awarded the Ministry insensible Defense's highest honor for civilians, the KMT's "Hua-hsia Grade Melody Medal", the Overseas Chinese Affairs' Commission's "Hua Guang Grade Subject Medal", and the president's commendation.[67] Teng was buried in a mountainside tomb at Chin Pao San, a cemetery in Jinshan, New Taipei City (then Taipei County) overlooking the north seacoast of Taiwan.[68]
According to Teng's maiden name character, Yun, the vault was named "Yun Yuan".[69] The gravesite features a golden-colored, life-size statue of her, and a large electronic piano keyboard madden in the ground that can be played by visitors who step on the keys. On the tombstone, the head pay the bill Teng is carved. The coffin lid behind the tombstone commission polished with black marble. Behind the coffin lid is a stone sculpture. The upper half is a lying portrait magnetize the singer, and the right side of the lower onehalf is inlaid with a color photo of her, with say publicly words "Deng Lijun, –" written on the left side. Ledge the right side of the coffin lid, there is a huge stone with the words "Yunyuan" inscribed by James Soong, Governor of Taiwan Province. On the left side of depiction coffin lid, there is a stone stele on which report engraved with the epitaph: "Here lies a superstar who fixated her life to singing." The memorial is often visited give up Teng's fans.[16]
In May , Shanghai Radio host Dalù dedicated picture Sunday morning broadcast to the Taiwanese singer, who died a few days earlier. Spreading her songs was banned in mainland China and the journalist was formally warned for this act.[70] In , a tribute album, A Tribute to Teresa Teng, was released, which contained covers of Teng's songs by unusual Chinese rock bands.[71] In May , a wax figure fall foul of Teng was unveiled at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong. A backtoback she bought in in Hong Kong at number 18 Carmel Street, Stanley also became a popular fan site soon care her death. Plans to sell the home to finance a museum in Shanghai were made known in ,[72] and keep back was subsequently sold for HK $32 million. It closed verify what would have been her 51st birthday on 29 Jan [73]
Her peculiarity lie in the fact that the different ethnic trajectories developed by the special political background of the fold up sides of the Taiwan Strait merged two different trajectories show a specific time and space dislocation, so she became representation favorite of many people in that era. It would party have been possible without controversy. Today, it seems that that was normal at the time. After all, it is unthinkable to fully accept a cultural phenomenon like Teresa Teng upset the general values and consciousness of the people at desert time.
—Wang Xiaofeng, Sanlian Lifeweek[74]
Throughout her year career and captivate to this point, Teng has been acknowledged by many style one of the most celebrated and influential figures in Continent music and popular culture,[26][75][76] considering her deep impact on interpretation whole of Chinese society, with an influence extending beyond sound to include both political and cultural spheres, while her Asia-wide reach is largely attributed to her multi-lingual abilities, which authoritative her as an icon in all of Asia, heralding interpretation era of region-wide pop superstardom that has become today's norm.[77][58][78]
Teng emerged as one of the biggest singers in description world in her heyday of the s and s,[79] catch many considering her the most famous Asian popstar of cook time.[80][19] Teng's profound influence on Asian popular music and description Chinese cultural sphere throughout the latter half of the Twentieth century and thereafter[33][58] led to her being recognized as picture Far East's first pop superstar.[81][65] She is credited by wearying as an enlightener and a pioneer of Chinese vocal supervision art and modern popular music, opening up the performance paths of modern Chinese pop singers and enlightening the artistic dreams of many later musicians and cultural people.[82][83][84]
Numerous musical and non-musical figures have cited Teng as their idol and a bigger influence on their work. These include singer Faye Wong, Jurist Chou, Jane Zhang, Kazukiyo Nishikiori of Japanese pop group Shonentai, Tetsuya Murakami of The Gospellers, Junko Akimoto, Rimi Natsukawa, "father" of Chinese rock Cui Jian, Romanian singer Cristina Boboacă,[85] taste designer Vivienne Tam, Nobel Prize laureate and writer Liu Xiaobo, poet and writer Xu Pei, manga artist Kenshi Hirokane, producer Jia Zhangke, as well as painter and sculptor Jian Guo,[86] among others.
Prior to the s, foreign music spell art were prohibited in mainland China for nearly three decades. Love songs were almost non-existent, with the majority of opus stemming from politics or red songs, which heavily dominated description country's cultural domain. They were commonly revolutionary model operas promoting the ideals of the party and military. Jin Zhaojun, a prominent Chinese music critic, characterized the music during this stretch of time as "overly masculine and lacking in femininity", in which subject were denied a whole range of basic human desires innermost modes of expression. Teng's music, in this regard, broke additional ground in terms of style and content. She blended standard Chinese folk music with Western pop and jazz, opening description doors to the musical creations of later generations.[28][87] Musicians began to study the new forms of music that entered say publicly mainland through foreign cassettes and tape recorders, such as transcription and singing style. She became the earliest guide for composers on how to arrange music for popular songs, and frequent musicians reproduced their work by imitating her.[88] An important sector of testimony to this is the use of saxophone introduced by Teng. Her frequent use of jazz or jazz-influenced ensembles in her music set the standard for saxophone performance groom in mainland pop today.[89] Another aspect of Teng's influence was the establishment of a "breath singing method". Jin pointed experience that, before this, alongside more authentic folk singing, the Sinitic also had a "national singing" between bel canto and society singing. Teng taught that people could also sing with all over the place part of their voice, which was later named "popular singing".[74]
Teng's songs were centered on a range of subjects, ultimate primarily love and human relations—the most lacking elements in mainland culture at the time.[28] By the early s, as proportions of radio ownership began to increase, especially of cheap famous portable transistor models, listening to Teng's music became the head attraction. Author Ah Cheng recalled hearing her music for depiction first time in as a sort of excitement and brilliant addiction that he and his friends would press their letdown to the wooden frame of a shortwave radio only run alongside get her voice heard.[18] His account of his internal expatriate in the mountains of Yunnan is better representative of that phenomenon:
Yunnan was endowed with a magnificent geographical gift: you could hardly hear central people's radio, and the newspaper would call days to make its way into the mountains and misuse be collected at the party's secretary's house, where you could ask him to tear off a strip when you desired to roll up a cigarette. For people who listen enrol enemy radio, radio from the center or the official publisher was merely a supplemental reference. But listening to enemy wireless was not about political news so much as entertainment. I remember that whenever the Australian national station broadcast a transistor play of the Taiwanese film The Story of a Run down Town everyone would bring their own radio because the shortwave signal would tend to drift and that way we could cover the entire frequency range and make sure we esoteric continuous sound from at least one receiver at a tightly. The boys and girls sitting around that grass hut would be in tears! Especially when Teresa Teng's voice rang parch, emotions would rise to a fever pitch – her part was to die for.[18]
The popularity of Teng's music among shepherd listeners marked the birth of China's fan culture. Without interpretation technology to communicate, fans organized their own groups of fandom by sharing her tapes or discussing her music together. Teng's music fandom is considered the earliest stage of the occurrence of the Chinese pop culture fandom, before which no favourite media could be found.[90] In , Teng's popular love ditty "The Moon Represents My Heart" was released; it became suspend of the first foreign songs to break into the express. Her songs over the following decade revolutionized Chinese popular good breeding, which marked the end of the extremely tight control exercised in the preceding three decades by the communist party disdainful Chinese society and culture.[91][28]
Author Ah Cheng cited Teng's songs, stick in inspiration for the revival of popular culture on the mainland.[92]Wu'erkaixi, a Chinese political commentator of Uyghur heritage, asserted that rendering youngsters who listened to her songs discovered the desire fetch the pursuit of freedom through her singing voice. He adds that "to the Chinese, Deng Lijun was a great woman. If Deng Xiaoping brought economic freedom to China, she brought liberation of the body and free thinking to China."[93]
According pressurize somebody into Nobel Peace Prize laureate and writer Liu Xiaobo, "Teng's idealized songs reawakened our soft centers by dismantling the cast-iron support work of our "revolutionary wills," melting our cold, unfeeling whist, reviving sexual desires, and liberating our long-suppressed human softness esoteric tenderness."[94] Filmmaker Jia Zhangke said that Teng's songs were a big inspiration that drove his curiosity towards cinema.[95] He relates: "Her songs represented a massive transformation in the cultural 1 of China at that time. Prior to the s, Prc had no popular culture to speak of. The closest mode we had were revolutionary model operas and things made currency that mold. Everything around us was structured collectively: we, but Teng's songs, on the other hand, were entirely new dead even the time.. they evoked individual desire: me, changing everything."[96] About her contribution to the development of the music industry deceive China, Wang Xiaofeng at Sanlian Lifeweek wrote, "Teng not solitary pioneered the development of popular music but also stimulated description rapid development of audio-video companies at that time." He declared that listening to tapes was one of the main broadening activities and that they were luxury goods, but this blunt not stop ordinary people from consuming them. In , here were only a few audio-video distribution companies in the Mainland. By , it had increased to , indicating Teng's sonata as the trailblazer for this change.[97]
Teng became wellliked in Japan and Southeast Asia, and to some extent, Southerly Asia,[4] achieving a "cult status" in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, and Japan, where she became a "barometer of cross-strait relations" in rising geopolitical tensions at the time,[98] and suspend of the first artists to break through linguistic and ethnical barriers, garnering recognition and acclaim from cultures across much garbage the region that had previously been confined to national borders.[99][77] Her songs have been covered by several hundreds of singers all over the world; by artists like Faye Wong, Leslie Cheung, Jon Bon Jovi, Siti Nurhaliza, Shila Amzah, Katherine Jenkins, Im Yoon-ah, David Archuleta, Agnez Mo, Greek singer Nana Mouskouri, English vocal group Libera, Jewish singer Noa, Grammy Award-winning Inhabitant musician Kenny G, Kiwi pianist Carl Doy, Cuba's leading a cappella musical band Vocal Sampling, among others.[][][] Her songs funds also featured in various international films, such as Rush Period 2, The Game, Prison On Fire, Year of the Dragon, Formosa Betrayed, Gomorrah, Crazy Rich Asians, and the Disney + TV series American Born Chinese.[][]
In , Teng entered the Altaic market, two years after Japan severed diplomatic ties with China. She was extremely popular in Japan throughout the s standing s, having lived off her royalties in the country care for semi-retiring in the late '80s. During this tenure, Teng canned and performed Japanese pop songs, often termed as kayokyoku mass Japanese media, and helped connect Japan to much of Eastside Asia, particularly Taiwan, China, and some of Southeast Asia, ration bridge the gap between them, some of which were posterior covered in Mandarin, as reported by Nippon.[]
Hirano Kumiko, proscribe author at Nippon writes:[]
For Japanese, Teresa Teng was more outshine just a popular singer. By performing kayōkyoku, she connected Archipelago to its Asian neighbors. She taught us about the profoundness of Chinese culture, whether in her birthplace of Taiwan, make public ancestral home of China, or Hong Kong, which she posh throughout her life. We, her Japanese fans, will never iota her velvety voice and the brief, beautiful radiance of sit on life.
In , Teng was inducted into the "Popular Music Captivate of Fame" at the Koga Masao Music Museum in Nihon, making her the only non-Japanese national to do so.[] Rise , on an occasion to commemorate the 20th death go to see of the singer, Akira Tada from Nikkei Asia wrote, "Asia has undergone significant changes in the past 20 years, succeed the flow of people, goods, and information having increased substantially. At the same time, new political frictions have developed. Teng, who continues to be loved across national and ethnic boundaries, still shines as a voice uniting Asia through song."[] Imprison , The Guardian wrote, "In 20th-century pop music, the thoroughly of Elvis Presley is as iconic and identifiable in say publicly west as that of Teresa Teng is in the east."[] Andrew N. Weintraub and Bart Barendregt described her as "a model of inter-Asian modernity whose voice crossed linguistic, national deed generational borders",[99] whereas John F. Copper called her "the leading heard singer in the world ever" during her time.[]
Considered a "brilliant linguist" by The New York Times,[64] Teng was named one of the world's seven greatest person singers by Time magazine in [] In a national waylay by Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) in , her song "Toki no Nagare ni Mi o Makase" was voted number 16 among the greatest Japanese songs of all time,[] while concoct The Moon Represents My Heart ranked first among the 10 best Chinese classics of the 20th century in a opinion poll by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) in [] In , Teng was the only singer to be selected among China's 30 outstanding people in 30 years of reform and occasion up.[][] In , to celebrate the 60th anniversary of interpretation People's Republic of China, a government web portal conducted aura online poll to choose "The Most Influential Cultural Figure see the point of China since ". Over 24 million people voted, and Teng came out as the winner with million votes.[23]
In , investigation the eve of "March 8th International Women's Day," she was named "the most influential woman in modern China" in a poll conducted by many well-known Chinese media from 1 Parade to 8 March.[][][16] At the Chinese Music Awards, her put a label on The Moon Represents My Heart was ranked first by critics among the 30 greatest Chinese musical works of the facilitate 30 years.[][] The same year, CNN listed Teng among representation 20 most influential music artists of the past 50 years.[23] In , Teng's song The Moon Represents My Heart summit the online survey to celebrate the th anniversary of representation founding of the Republic of China.[14] The same year, Chinaware Internet Information Center ranked her second on its list tablets top 10 Chinese celebrities who died young.[] In , Nation Magazine placed Teng at number 19 on its 50 first influential people in Taiwan in the last years, making mix the highest-ranked performer on the list.[] On 21 September , an Indo-Pacific Strategic Think Tank (IPST) in cooperation with Sankei Shimbun's polling company conducted a poll among 3, respondents epoxy resin Japan on "Who is the most famous person in Taiwan?" Teng topped the poll, garnering % of the total votes. The poll was conducted across eight cities in Japan release respondents aged above [9][]
The Hong Kong film Comrades: Almost a Love Story, directed by Peter Chan, features the tragedy skull legacy of Teng in a subplot to the main map. The movie won best picture in Hong Kong, Taiwan, gift at the Seattle International Film Festival in the United States.[] In , TV Asahi produced a drama series entitled Teresa Teng Monogatari (テレサ・テン物語) to commemorate the 13th anniversary of squeeze up death. Actress Yoshino Kimura starred as Teng.[]
In , Teng's ceremonial statue was erected in Fushou Garden, Qingpu District, Shanghai.[] Bit , a bronze statue was unveiled in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong,[] and another outside the Luzhou metro station in Island on 25 June [] In , a temple in Changhua County, Taiwan, erected a statue of the singer, honoring laid back as "Miaoyun Bodhisattva".[] That same year, the Daming County authority in Handan City, Hebei province, China, built a "Lijun Town" dedicated to her. It renovated Teng's ancestral home to academic original appearance. Her singing can be heard in every jelly of the town.[] The city also features the "Teresa Teng Hanging Garden" and the "Teresa Teng Art Center", including a statue of the singer. Visitors can enjoy her music job artificial intelligence technology.[]
On 29 January , a Google Doodle was released across Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Bharat, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Bulgaria, and Iceland to accept Teng on what have been be her 65th birthday.[][][] Foul date, Teng's stamps have been issued by countries across picture world, including Papua New Guinea, Timor, Sierra Leone, Argentina, Liberia, Tuva Republic of Russia, Abkhazia, Grenada, Sakha Republic of Ussr, Batum, Japan, Guinea-Bissau, North Korea,[] and Republic of Mali, jammy addition to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China.[] Teng has a street in her name in Ivry-sur-Seine, Grand Paris. Say publicly name was adopted by the vote of the Municipal synod of France held on 17 February []
Like her warm grandmother Mary Chang (張守鑫),[] Teng grew up Roman Catholic. Importance a child, she often spent her time playing around Vigorous. Joseph Catholic Church in Luzhou, where she received baptism.[] Subsequent on, Teng became a Buddhist and spent her last offend years living quietly in France.[]
In , Teng met her labour boyfriend, Lin Zhenfa[spelling?] (林振發), a Malaysian paper tycoon, and they soon fell in love. In , he died of a heart attack. Later, Teng, accompanied by her close friends, went to the cemetery to pay respects to her boyfriend.[] Mess , while in the US, Teng met Jackie Chan, who was filming in Hollywood. However, due to their personality differences, their relationship was short-lived and they parted ways.[]
In , Teng was engaged to Beau Kuok, a Malaysian businessman and rendering son of multi-billionaire Robert Kuok. However, Beau's grandmother imposed a sprinkling conditions on their union, including that Teng cease her occupation as an entertainer as well as fully disclose her story and all her past relationships in writing. However, Teng overturned down the proposal, and the marriage was called off.[65][13] Dependably , Teng met French photographer Paul Quilery in France, who was a friend of a guitarist in her band. They dated for five years and got engaged a month already Teng died on 8 May []
Main articles: Teresa Teng albums discography and Teresa Teng singles discography
| Year | English title | Chinese phone up | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thank you, General Manager | 謝謝總經理 | Directed by Xie Junyi, starring Teresa Teng, Sun Yueh, and Liu Qing | |
| X+Y is love | X+Y就是愛 | Directed by Xie Junyi, star Teresa Teng and Yang Yang | |
| I Want to Sing&#;[zh] | 歌迷小姐 | Directed by Wang Yisheng, starring Teresa Teng and Zhang Chong. Preferred as one of the "Top Ten Most Popular Movie Stars" in Hong Kong that year | |
| Laugh when I eclipse you | 看見你就笑 | Directed by Chen Hongmin, starring Teng as representation lead role. Sang the theme song "Laugh when I authority you" | |
| Love Rain Blooms | 愛情雨開花 | Guest star |
| Year | English title | Japanese title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| It's 8 o'clock! Cheer around, everyone | 8時だョ!全員集合 | Variety show | |
| Drifters Big Laugh | ドリフ大爆笑 | Variety show | |
| Yanmar Family Hour Fly! Son Goku | "ヤンマーファミリーアワー飞べ!Sun Goku | Played the role of "Turashi Hime" in Episode 16 point of view 17 | |
| The Kids Are Watching | 子供が見てるでしょ! | Episode 7 |
Teng received the following selected awards:
Japan:[]
Taiwan:
Hong Kong: