Today’s google doodle celebrates the 65th birthday of Taiwan-born singer Teresa Teng, whose sweet voice and music was the soundtrack of Asia in the 1970s and 1980s. Teng sang in Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Indonesian and English. “Evoking for many precious memories of childhood and happier times, her legacy endures to this day”, writes the Doodle description. The Doodle currently only appears in Japan, Mainland China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Bulgaria and Iceland, which is a shame because I would love for more people in the world to know about Teng.
The doodle by Cynthia Yuan Cheng shows Teng singing one of her most famous songs, “The Moon Represents My Heart.” “By providing an alternative to the mostly revolutionary songs then prevalent in mainland China,” it writes, “Teng’s emotional rendition of this old Mandarin favorite catapulted her to instant and long-lasting fame that lingers to this day.” Teng is especially dear to me and my Taiwanese family. “The Moon Represents My Heart” which has countless amounts of covers, is a sweet and gorgeous love song. Whenever I encounter other Taiwanese kids, even ones who have never been back to Taiwan since their parents immigrated, we all inevitably know the words. I once sat in a bar in a room full of people singing it, and it never fails to make me feel nostalgic and at home.
Teng was known as one of the “Five Great Asian Divas”. No karaoke session was ever complete without your aunt singing “甜蜜蜜” or “Goodbye My Love“. “何日君再來” is one of my mother’s favorite songs and my dad likes talking about how her songs would play every night when he was in the training stage of his military service. I’m spending the day listening to her greatest hits on Spotify, and it’s been a great decision so far.
Teng died on May 8, 1995 of a asthma attack in Thailand. In Taiwan there’s a Teresa Teng Memorial Park that includes a large statue of the singer, stone carvings, greenery, and a giant piano that visitors and play on. Her songs are played throughout in many languages.
Happy birthday, Teresa Teng.
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Published: Jan 29, 2018 09:18 am