Biography of Jacky Cheung - The Legend of Immortality

Author: Zhang Guoxiang, Long Xiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: How many decades can a lifetime hold? Who can stand firm in the Chinese-language music industry for 20 years? When the name Jacky Cheung is mentioned, you might be surprised. Yes, since stepping into the entertainment industry in 1984 by winning the Hong Kong Eighteen District Amateur Singing Competition, he has been in this circle for 20 years. In these 20 years, his star has risen step by step, and his reputation has been steadily maintained. Even with the rising power of the young king Jay Chou, Jacky's fan base remains vast and stable. He is a legend, an ever-young legend that is far from being complete. Legends always give people a sense of being unreachable, but Jacky Cheung was not born with such brilliance. He is a legend not so far away, a star son who came from a seafarer family.
Jacky Cheung's father was born in Tianjin and later moved to Shanghai with his parents, so his childhood was spent in this metropolis. After the liberation, the family moved to Hong Kong. Since his uncles and brothers were all sailors, Jacky's father naturally chose seafaring as his lifelong profession. The life of a sailor was very monotonous and dull until one day, while sailing to Sydney, Australia, his father stumbled upon a church and his life became vibrant. It turned out that the church had a club specifically for sailors. There, Jacky's father learned to dance with the local believers. Perhaps he was born with a natural talent for dancing, he quickly became a dance master and won the crown of the "King of Dance" in the church's country dance competition. From then on, every time he landed in a new country, he would immediately go to the local nightclubs to dance. In this way, his monthly salary was spent entirely on dancing. At the time, dancing was considered an improper hobby, so in the eyes of others, he became a "spendthrift." Fortunately, Jacky's father knew when to stop and finally returned to Shanghai, leaving behind the dance halls he loved and marrying the girl who had been waiting for him for years—his mother.
Jacky Cheung was born on July 10, 1961, in Hong Kong. At the time, his family of three lived in a cramped house in Sau Yip Chung, and their life was very difficult. Jacky's father named him Jacky, hoping he would always be humble and eager to learn, taking in the strengths of others, and becoming a useful person. Jacky was the second child in the family, with an older brother and a younger sister. His brother was introverted, while his sister was quiet, but Jacky was naturally mischievous and energetic. During his childhood, even his friends called him "Bai Yan Zai" (a troublemaker), which shows how mischievous he was. Back then, he loved running around on rooftops, jumping from one to another, completely unaware of what "death" meant. In fact, a single misstep could have sent him tumbling down. Even now, thinking about it, he still feels scared.
When he was ten years old, the family had a dog, and Jacky had a wild idea to lasso it like a Western cowboy in the movies. As a result, for two whole weeks, the dog would chase him whenever he saw him, forcing Jacky to constantly run for his life. It was really "karma." Listen to what Jacky Cheung himself has to say—"Whenever someone asks me about my childhood pranks, I always get excited. Can you imagine any child being like me? Slapping a mantis to death on the ground? Or chasing flies with a thin bamboo stick, or shooting mosquitoes with a rubber band—amazing skills? These excessive behaviors always earned me a scolding from my mom, but the fearless me would only tremble and surrender when she threatened me with a mouse, then obediently go study."
In his memory, the most thrilling experience was when he was around 13 or 14 years old. He and his cousin went up the mountain to catch golden silk cats, starting from Sau Yip Chung. But the way up was easy, and the way down was hard. They couldn’t find their way back, and the cousin started crying out of fear. Jacky then had an idea to follow the mountain canal down. After escaping, they realized they had climbed over an entire hill and had traveled from Sau Yip Chung to Sau Cheung Wan—a long distance. Fortunately, they didn’t have any accidents on the mountain. When they got home, it was already dark. Thinking about what might have happened if they were still wandering in the pitch-black mountains, they were too scared to tell their family.
Another time, while playing with his cousin, Jacky was accidentally slashed in the face by his cousin with a knife. Later, Jacky recalled, "My mom wrapped me in a tablecloth and rushed me to the hospital. But the foolish doctor didn’t give me an anesthetic, and I passed out from the pain. It took five stitches to fix the wound." These five stitches were in a very noticeable place on his cheek—right cheek, below the eye, between the nose and ear. They not only gave Jacky the pain of needles but also, unfortunately, left a scar that would never fade. When the wound healed, some mischievous classmates at school started calling him "Scarred Jacky." Because of the scar, Jacky was often teased by his classmates. Later, the optimistic and cheerful Jacky gradually overcame the hidden pain of the scar and took it in stride. When talking about the scar from his childhood, he said, "Having a scar on the face makes people see a lot of 'past.' Besides, as long as I smile brightly, the scar becomes a 'smile mark,' and I remind myself to smile often."
Jacky Cheung truly did just that. Whenever he smiled as he walked onto the stage, a thunderous applause would erupt from the audience. He wasn’t an idol who won fans with his looks but a () who won them with his singing talent. For a long time, his songs have remained popular, and his albums have sold more than the other three "big three" kings, showing that the scar from his childhood did not harm Jacky Cheung’s status as the god of music.