Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Jacky Cheung discusses life and death with his daughters

Awww, this is such a sweet article! When I read it a couple days ago, I knew that I just had to translate it and post it!

Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. :-)

P.S.:  A quick note:  Guess where Jacky went on his trip to the U.S.?  He was right here in Los Angeles!!  He took his daughters to Disneyland and Universal Studios (among other places) and was also spotted (not surprisingly) at LAX International Airport.  Obviously, I could kick myself for not knowing ahead of time!  LOL!

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Article originally published August 15, 2011


Translated by: llwy12


Jacky Cheung discusses life and death with his daughters

Having just turned 50, God of Songs Jacky Cheung just crossed an important age milestone in his life. Well aware of the limitations of human life, Jacky does not mind discussing his age and is not afraid of growing old. It’s no surprise then, that Jacky doesn’t feel that talking to his 11 year old and 6 year old daughters about death is taboo: “It’s better to let them understand and accept reality early on – some day, I will eventually leave them, so they need to learn to be independent and take care of themselves.” Jacky’s attitude is very open and candid, calmly confronting the task of teaching his daughters about the realities of life, including the difficult subject of coping with death. However, his calm demeanor seems to have the opposite effect on his youngest daughter Zia (張瑤萱), as she starts to cry upon hearing her Dad talk about leaving them.

Keeps himself healthy for the sake of his daughters

“I’m actually very much looking forward to old age, as I’m curious to know how I will be like when I grow old!” Jacky Cheung turned 50 back on July 10th – despite this year’s birthday being a ‘half century’ milestone in his life, Jacky did not feel the need to celebrate in any special manner and also did not feel any sadness towards growing old: “There’s no need to face old age with a heavy heart, as each milestone has its own distinctness and meaning – some people may feel very old at 80, while others may feel very active.” Jacky bluntly admits that he doesn’t dare to say that he is perfectly healthy and active, but he strives to be as healthy as possible for the sake of his daughters: “I try my best to maintain good health so that I can be with my daughters longer.”

World Tour concert will extend through next year; will most likely break 100 show record for the third time

For his birthday, Jacky’s daughter gave him a card that she personally made herself – on the card, she wrote: “Love you, love you, love you the most”. Such sweet words from a daughter who obviously adores him, however Jacky plays down the moment: “Whether that is truly the case or not, it really doesn’t matter.” Nevertheless, it is obvious that for this benevolent father, the joy of having his daughters is already enough to make him happy.

Currently in the middle of a World Tour concert, Jacky specially requested from his management company to give him 1 month off for summer vacation so that he could be with his daughters. During his time off, he accompanied his daughters on a trip to the U.S. for vacation, as his eldest daughter Zoe (張瑤華) was interested in taking summer classes there; originally, she was excited about taking classes related to criminal investigation – smiling, Jacky ‘complained’: “Who knew that she would end up losing interest in it?”

Prior to his birthday on July 10th, Jacky had already completed 60 shows of his World Tour concert and it is estimated that he will continue to perform up until his birthday next year – at this rate, he will very likely exceed 100 consecutive shows for the 3rd time in his career, and also break his previous record of 105 shows [for his 2007 “The Year of Jacky Cheung” World Tour]. However, Jacky reveals that his intention is not to break records: “Actually, those numbers have no meaning for me. My only wish is to allow more people to experience a new and fresh performance this time around.” He does admit that when he broke records the first time, he did have a ‘that’s awesome!’ feeling, but the second time, he started to feel that ‘breaking records’ is superficial and no longer felt the excited for the moment.

After his 2007 World Tour, Jacky initially thought that it was a good time to stop and perhaps retire: “But after 4 years, I discovered that I still had the energy and strength physically to continue performing – since I still had the ability, I figured I’d go ahead and do it.”

Jacky’s ½ Century Tour will resume again on 8/18 in Taiwan – he will perform for 4 days straight at the Taipei Coliseum. No matter how challenging the singing or dance moves may be, Jacky Cheung is ready to show his Taiwan fans that at 50 years old, he still has the charm and charisma to put on an awesome show!

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Chinese version:

張學友笑談生死 幼齡女兒嚇哭

記者劉衛莉/專訪

歌神張學友剛跨過「五十知天命」的門檻,他很認命,不介意談年齡、不怕老,還不避諱和才11歲、6歲多的2個女兒聊生死,「要讓她們早點接受事實,我總有一天會離開她們的,她們要學會照顧自己。」他態度開放、坦然面對,反倒把幼齡的女兒嚇哭了。

保持身體健康 想多陪女兒

「我滿期待,想知道自己老了會怎麼樣?」7月10日張學友度過50歲生日,人生過了半百,他既沒特別慶祝,也不特別感慨,「不必帶著恐懼的心情去面對老,不同年齡有不同味道,有人80歲就很老,有人仍活蹦亂跳。」他不敢誇稱自己現在仍是「一尾活龍」,「就是盡量維持健康,可以陪女兒們久一點。」

巡演到明年 可望3度破百

女兒親手製作生日卡,甜言蜜語寫著:「愛你愛你最愛你」,張學友輕描淡寫的說:「不管說的是真的假的,都沒關係。」其實已透露有女萬事足的幸福感。為了女兒,原本在進行「1/2世紀」演唱會的張學友,向經紀人要求「放暑假」1個月,帶著她們去美國上暑期班,大女兒瑤華本來興致高昂的選了刑事鑑識課程,「誰知她後來上了沒興趣。」

「1/2世紀」巡演在他生日前已完成60幾場表演,預計唱到明年生日前結束,應該會讓他第3度創下破百場的紀錄。他卻透露沒想過要再破紀錄,「其實那數字沒有意思,只希望讓多一點人看到這次新的表演。」他承認第1次締造紀錄時認為自己「好厲害喔」,但第2次又唱破百場時,只有「很膚淺」的心情。

2007年唱完「學友光年」巡演,他原以為應該差不多了可就此打住,「過了這幾年,發現體力還好,還可以繼續表演,能做就去做。」

「1/2世紀」台北場從8月18日起連唱4天,這次不管是對體能或歌喉都是一大挑戰,張學友已準備好,要讓台灣歌迷親眼見證50歲男人的魅力。

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