I had the most idyllic weekend, honestly. Perhaps being down with the flu wasn't such a bad thing after all. I had the opportunity to sit my butt in front of the television and was fortunate enough to catch three prominent people in the film and music industry, namely:

Mr. Chen Kai Ge (director of He Ni Zai Yi Qi [Together with you], Jing Ke Ci Qing Wang [The Emperor and the Assassin]and his latest movie, Wu Ji[The Promise]).

Mdm. Zhou Xiao Yan ( soprano and now music teacher, China)

Chen Kai Ge is no stranger to the film industry. A very much acclaimed director, his movies have touched the hearts of many. Miss Yang Lan of Sun Television channel managed to ask him a few questions on his career... here are some of my favourite quotes from Mr. Chen-his witty response sent me into fits of laughter. Beyond the humour, you cannot but agree with him that it is the bare truth.

YL-Miss Yang Lan, the interviewer

CKG-Chen KaiGe, interviewee

YL: Mr. Chen, having made so many movies in your lifetime, have you ever thought of leaving behind a legacy... something which people would remember you by?

CKG: Absolutely not. Let me ask you a question. Do you think people want to look at the portrait of Mona Lisa just because they remembered it was painted by Michael Angelo? No. They want to look at the portrait because humans have the desire to satisfy their curiosity. It is just a matter of curiosity that spurs them to flood towards the Lourve Museum and nothing more. They want to know what is the hoohah all about. So I do not expect anybody to remember my works because of me. I prefer to concentrate on producing works of good quality.

YL: Tell us about your wife (Ms Chen Hong, a famous actress in China) and how the both of you ended up together. Was it because of her stunning good looks?

CKG: No, it was more than that. She had a very strong character about her which drew me to her instantly. She wrote me a letter, which I now quote:

"I shall not pursue further on the stage of our relationship. I am sure you have never ever thought of getting married. Neither have I. But at this stage, I believe it is something which should be done."

I admire her for her strength. She is a person who "ba da shi dang pi shi, ba xiao shi dang da shi" [to treat a significant matter as if it were nothing at all, and to treat an insignificant matter as greatly important].

YL: How is that so? Please give us an example.

CKG: For example, during the filming of Wu Ji, one of my investors decided to pull out of the film. Instead of wailing and panicking, my wife immediately said " Leave this to me, I will handle it" and she went about solving the problem without thinking twice. That is what I mean by "ba da shi dang pi shi".

On a separate occassion, she found out that one of the crew members was hurt in an accident while filming on set. Despite my objections, she insisted on going to the scene of the accident to make sure that everything necessary had been done and that the injured crew member was well taken care of. This is what I call "ba xiao shi dang da shi".

I owe a lot to her for her support and involvement in Wu Ji. As executive producer she was involved from beginning to end. There were nights, when we were done for the day, and she would wash her face in a basin of water. I could not differentiate between the tears that fell from her eyes and the droplets of water from the basin. I knew that I loved her.

***

Mdm Zhou Xiao-Yan, a talented soprano in the early 20s to 30s was one of the few musicians who received her music education overseas. Born in 1917, she has since retired from professional singing and dedicated a large portion of her life to music education.

In Coach's Notebook, Carmen in Shanghai, written by Mary Dibbern, an accompanist and vocal coach, she said the following of Mdm Zhou:

(my emphasis)

Excerpts from the interview between Yang Lan and Mdm Zhou:

YL: You are now 88 years of age. You look really good. Do you ever feel that age is catching up with you?

ZXY: Not at all. In fact, I feel even younger than ever.

YL: At a time where most scholars would have opted to stayed on in the foreign country which they completed their studies, you chose to come back. Why?

ZXY: I suppose it was a natural course of events. My father gave me the following words of advice before I left for France-" Always remember that you are Chinese and never let your people down. I now have the ability to send you overseas to pursue your studies. Upon completion of your studies, remember to come back and serve your country." So when I finished my studies, it seemed the right thing to do to come back to China. I never regretted my decision.

My father was a very patriotic man. He was proud to be Chinese and he taught me to be so.

Videos of Madame Zhou featuring her with her students in their concerts were truly touching. One of her students cried as he sang an ode to his beloved teacher.

YL: Would it be possible to say that the relationship between you and your students have surpassed the average relationship between a teacher and a student?

ZXY: Yes, you could say that. So much that my children blamed me when they were younger for not spending enough time with them. But my son wrote me a letter after he attended my 80th birthday party:

I was very touched after reading this letter.

YL: Tell us about your relationship with your husband.

ZXY: (Chuckles) Well, I didn't really have a good impression of people in the film industry at that time, and he being a director did not score well in my books initially. But he proved to be quite a charming person and the rest is well, history.

Perhaps the most difficult times that we went through, was his final years preceding his demise. He used to say that old age was the most unbearable stage of life that one has to go through. Death is not something which should be feared. One is born not because he made a choice, but because he was chosen. It is sickness at old age, which makes life unbearable.

The sparkle in her eyes as she speaks, reminds me how one can age beautifully and still be just as charismatic as one was in her younger years. Its all in the mind.

...

Two interviews with the most prominent figures in their respective professions, sharing with us their great words of wisdom. Kudos to Yang Lan for her efforts in her programme, "Yang Lan One on One."