116 Facts About Teresa Teng

Teng Li-Chun, commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, actress, musician, and philanthropist.

Teresa Teng recorded more than 1,700 songs throughout her career, in her native language, Mandarin, but Hokkien, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Japanese, Indonesian, English, and Italian.

Teresa Teng is considered instrumental in bridging the cultural gap across Chinese-speaking regions.

Teresa Teng was one of the first artists to connect Japan to some of East and Southeast Asia by singing Japanese pop songs, according to Nippon.

Teresa Teng was nicknamed "the patriotic entertainer" and "the soldiers' sweetheart".

In 2009, in an online poll by a Chinese government web portal to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, Teresa Teng was selected as the "most influential cultural figure in China since 1949" by 8.5 million netizens.

Teresa Teng was inducted into the "Popular Music Hall of Fame" at the Koga Masao Museum of Music in Tokyo in 2007, making Teng the only non-Japanese person to be inducted.

Teresa Teng was born Teresa Teng Li-yun to waishengren parents in Baozhong, Yunlin County in Taiwan on 29 January 1953.

Teresa Teng's father was a soldier in the Republic of China Armed Forces from Daming, Hebei, and her mother was from Dongping County, Shandong, who fled to Taiwan after communists took over mainland China in 1949.

The only daughter among five children, Teresa Teng was raised in a poverty-stricken Kuomintang family and spent her early childhood in military dependents' villages, first in Yunlin and then in Pingtung.

Teresa Teng's father retired in 1957 and then worked selling cakes to make ends meet.

Teresa Teng received her early education at Luzhou Elementary School in Luzhou, Taipei County, Taiwan.

Teresa Teng was exposed to music at an early age through her music-loving parents.

Teresa Teng's father was a Peking opera enthusiast, and her mother appreciated Huangmei opera, often accompanying Teng to Chinese movie theatres and opera houses.

At the age of six, Teresa Teng began voice lessons through an acquaintance of her father, who instructed an Air Force band.

Teresa Teng earned her first major prize in 1964, when she sang "Visiting Yingtai" from Shaw Brothers' Huangmei opera movie, The Love Eterne, at an event hosted by the Broadcasting Corporation of China.

However, due to a conflict between her performance and studies, forced by family economic factors, Teresa Teng dropped out of school in the second year and pursued her career as a singer professionally.

Teresa Teng was able to support her family with her singing.

Teresa Teng then appeared in television dramas and movies, including a leading role in the 1967 film Thank You, Manager.

At the age of 14, Teresa Teng withdrew from school to focus on music.

Teresa Teng signed with a local company, Yeu Jow Records, and began to release a series of long-playing albums of "a go-go" dance tunes and cover versions of Western pop songs as well as local Taiwanese, Chinese, and Southeast Asian folk tunes.

However, due to the lack of extra copyright royalties to increase her income, Teresa Teng committed to singing in nightclubs around Taiwan.

Teresa Teng debuted at Paris Night, an upscale Taipei nightclub, and set a record for performing onstage there for 70 consecutive days, giving a 90-minute performance every single day.

Teresa Teng's albums sold well, and she eventually got an opportunity to record a theme song for Jingjing, Taiwan's first televised series.

Teresa Teng then did a promotional tour that attracted attention in the media.

Teresa Teng released several albums within the next few years under the Life Records label in Hong Kong.

Teresa Teng held concerts in Southeast Asia, drawing big crowds throughout the region.

Teresa Teng's popularity boomed in Asia after she released several albums in multiple languages.

On her next trip, Teresa Teng toured major US cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Teresa Teng continued to hold large-scale concerts in Hong Kong and the Southeast Asian region almost every year.

In 1983, Teresa Teng performed a series of concerts at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Teresa Teng gave many free concerts throughout most of her career to help the less fortunate or raise funds for charities.

Around 1974, Teresa Teng's songs began to trickle into China with the availability of radios.

In 1978, with economic reform and the opening of borders, cassette recorders and pirated recordings of Teresa Teng's songs began to flow from coastal cities to the rest of the country.

In Taiwan, Teresa Teng's songs became a propaganda tool for the KMT's psychological war against the Chinese Communist Party.

Teresa Teng's songs were blasted from the sea-facing speakers from Kinmen Island to the residents of mainland China.

In spite of the ban, Teresa Teng's songs defied the censorship and penetrated China's iron curtain.

Teresa Teng's popularity continued in China through cassettes sold on Black market, with fans paying up to a month's rent for pirated cassettes of her songs.

Teresa Teng's songs continued to be played everywhere, from nightclubs to government buildings, and the ban was lifted.

Teresa Teng became almost as well known in mainland China as the country's leader.

Teresa Teng's 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.

That same year, Teresa Teng released her most critically acclaimed album, Dandan youqing, translated as Light Exquisite Feeling, which adapts 12 poems from the Tang and Song dynasties into music, blending modern and traditional styles.

Teresa Teng apparently felt a deep attachment to the mainland, as she immersed herself in the classics of the Tang and Song periods.

Later, Teresa Teng started working on completing a sequel to the album.

In 1987, Teresa Teng released the Mandarin version of the album I Only Care About You.

Teresa Teng performed in Paris during the 1989 Tiananmen student protests on behalf of the students and expressed her support.

In 1975, Teresa Teng collaborated with Polydor Records of Hong Kong.

In 1976, Teresa Teng held her first Hong Kong concert at Lee Theatre, which was a tremendous success.

Teresa Teng continued performing in concerts for the next five years, attracting big crowds throughout this time.

Teresa Teng released her first Cantonese album, Irreconcilable in 1980, which became the best-seller of the year; its single, "Forget Him", became one of the most famous Cantonese pop songs at that time.

Teresa Teng became a household name in Hong Kong and held a concert at Queen Elizabeth Stadium the same year.

Teresa Teng's popularity reached its peak by the end of 1983 with six straight sold-out concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

Teresa Teng then released a number of successful singles, including "The Night Ferry" and "Goodbye, My Love".

In 1979, Teresa Teng was caught with a fake Indonesian passport while entering Japan and was deported and banned from entering the country for one year.

Teresa Teng won the top award of 'Singer of the year' from Japan Cable Award.

Teresa Teng won the Japan Cable Award for the third time in a row.

Teresa Teng was invited to perform in Kohaku Uta Gassen for the second time.

Teresa Teng became the first-ever artist to achieve three consecutive wins of this Grand Prix, known as Japan Cable Award.

Teresa Teng remains the only foreign singer to win this award for three consecutive years in the history of Japanese music.

Teresa Teng gave her last solo concert at the NHK Hall in Tokyo in 1985 before semi-retiring from the entertainment circle.

One of Taiwan's most famous cultural exports, Teresa Teng was born to a military family, her father served as a member of the Republic of China Armed Forces during World War II.

In those years, Teresa Teng gave many performances for soldiers and sang patriotic songs on television programs.

In February 1979, while attempting to enter Japan, Teresa Teng was caught using a fake Indonesian passport she bought on the black market.

Teresa Teng was barred for one year from entering the country by Japan's Minister of Justice.

Teresa Teng performed for the Taiwanese troops again, and the income from her performances was donated to the "Funds for Self-Improvement and Patriotism".

Teresa Teng visited the generals of the army, navy, and air force and sang for them.

That same year, Teresa Teng performed at the Ten-Star Charity Performance, held by the Singaporean authorities.

On 8 June 1973, Teresa Teng participated in the "Far East Top Ten Stars Charity Gala" in Singapore, gave four performances, and raised $400,000 to be used as scholarships for students in need.

Teresa Teng continued performing for philanthropic causes throughout the 1970s in Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

In January 1982, Teresa Teng held a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong, and the first proceeds were used for charitable donations; in August, she donated NT$160,000 to build a water tower in a village in northern Thailand and introduce a drinking water system.

In 1985, Teresa Teng held a solo concert at the NHK Hall in Tokyo, Japan, the proceeds of which were donated to charity.

Teresa Teng made a special trip to Hong Kong in July 1991 to participate in the disaster relief program of ATV's "Love for East China" as a special charity performance guest to raise funds.

Teresa Teng gave her last performance in 1994 in Taiwan, a year before her sudden and unexpected death.

Teresa Teng learned Peking opera through her father, while her mother introduced her to Huangmei opera, accompanying her to opera houses and encouraging Teresa Teng to sing in that style by purchasing songbooks for her.

Alongside regional and folk styles, Teresa Teng was influenced by shidaiqu and Japanese music.

Teresa Teng was a Soprano, according to The New York Times.

Teresa Teng's voice covered a diverse range of musical styles and languages.

In 1987, Teresa Teng recorded the song "Summer Christmas", a cover of the Japanese song "Merry X'mas in Summer", originally recorded by Kuwata Band member Yoshisuke Kuwata.

Teresa Teng composed the lyrics of both songs in Mandarin and included them on her 1987 Mandarin album, I Only Care About You.

In 1988, Teresa Teng wrote the lyrics for the song "We Are the Stars" in both Chinese and Japanese versions and sang it on stage with Japanese musician Yuzo Kayama on 29 October.

In 1992, Teresa Teng penned the lyrics for what was later revised into a song, "Star's Wish", after she died.

On 8 May 1995, Teresa Teng died suddenly and unexpectedly while on holiday in Chiang Mai, Thailand, at the age of 42.

Teresa Teng had complained of having respiratory difficulties since the beginning of the year.

Billboard stated that Teresa Teng's death "produced a unified sense of loss throughout all of Asia".

Over 200,000 people lined up outside the funeral home, waiting to bid their last farewells to Teresa Teng, causing traffic in Taipei to come to a standstill.

Teresa Teng's funeral was broadcast on television stations across many Asian countries, while radio stations in Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong devoted their entire programming schedules to her music for two days.

Teresa Teng was posthumously awarded the Ministry of Defense's highest honor for civilians, the KMT's "Hua-hsia Grade One Medal", the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission's "Hua Guang Grade One Medal", and the president's commendation.

Teresa Teng was buried in a mountainside tomb at Chin Pao San, a cemetery in Jinshan, New Taipei City overlooking the north coast of Taiwan.

In 1995, a tribute album, A Tribute to Teresa Teng, was released, which contained covers of Teng's songs by prominent Chinese rock bands.

In May 2002, a wax figure of Teresa Teng was unveiled at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.

Teresa Teng emerged as one of the biggest singers in the world in her heyday of the 1970s and 1980s, with many considering her the most famous Asian popstar of her time.

Teresa Teng is credited by some as an enlightener and a pioneer of Chinese vocal performance 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.

Teresa Teng blended traditional Chinese folk music with Western pop and jazz, opening the doors to the musical creations of later generations.

Teresa Teng became the earliest guide for composers on how to arrange music for popular songs, and numerous musicians reproduced their work by imitating her.

Teresa Teng taught that people could sing with another part of their voice, which was later named "popular singing".

Teresa Teng became popular in Japan and Southeast Asia, and to some extent, South Asia, 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, and one of the first artists to break through linguistic and cultural barriers, garnering recognition and acclaim from cultures across much of the region that had previously been confined to national borders.

Teresa Teng's songs have been covered by hundreds of artists all over the world, such as 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 American musician Kenny G, Kiwi pianist Carl Doy, Cuba's leading a cappella musical band Vocal Sampling, among others.

Teresa Teng's songs are featured in various international films, such as Rush Hour 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 1974, Teresa Teng entered the Japanese market, two years after Japan severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Teresa Teng was extremely popular in Japan throughout the 1970s and 1980s, having lived off her royalties in the country after semi-retiring in the late '80s.

For Japanese, Teresa Teng was more than just a popular singer.

Teresa Teng taught us about the profundity of Chinese culture, whether in her birthplace of Taiwan, her ancestral home of China, or Hong Kong, which she loved throughout her life.

In 2007, Teresa Teng was inducted into the "Popular Music Hall of Fame" at the Koga Masao Music Museum in Japan, making her the only non-Japanese national to do so.

Teresa Teng, who continues to be loved across national and ethnic boundaries, still shines as a voice uniting Asia through song.

In 2008, Teresa Teng was the only singer to be selected among China's 30 outstanding people in 30 years of reform and opening up.

Over 24 million people voted, and Teresa Teng came out as the winner with 8.5 million votes.

Teresa Teng's singing can be heard in every corner of the town.

The city features the "Teresa Teng Hanging Garden" and the "Teresa Teng Art Center", including a statue of the singer.

Teresa Teng has a street in her name in Ivry-sur-Seine, Grand Paris.

Later on, Teresa Teng became a Buddhist and spent her last six years living quietly in France.

In 1971, Teresa Teng met her first boyfriend, Lin Zhenfa, a Malaysian paper tycoon, and they soon fell in love.

Later, Teresa Teng, accompanied by her close friends, went to the cemetery to pay respects to her boyfriend.

In 1980, while in the US, Teresa Teng met Jackie Chan, who was filming in Hollywood.

In 1982, Teresa Teng was engaged to Beau Kuok, a Malaysian businessman and the son of multi-billionaire Robert Kuok.

However, Teresa Teng turned down the proposal, and the marriage was hence called off.

In 1990, Teresa Teng met French photographer Paul Quilery in France, who was a friend of a guitarist in her band.