Top 10 Interesting Facts about Teresa Teng

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Top 10 Interesting Facts about Teresa Teng

Teresa Teng was born on 29th January 1953 in Baozhong, Yunlin Republic of China(Taiwan). Her traditional surname was Teng Li-Chun. She was a Taiwanese singer, actress, musician, and Philanthropist.

Being referred to by some as “Asia’s eternal Queen of pop”, she became a cultural symbol for her participation in Mandopop, bringing about the phrase, “Wherever there are Chinese people there is the music of Teresa Teng”.Her great influence on Asia popular music and entire Chinese society pushed her to become one of the most successful and influential Asian in history.

Here are some interesting facts about Teresa Teng.

1. She was born into a poor family

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Teresa was born to a poor family in Bhaozhong Township, Yunlin County, Taiwan to Waishengren parents. Her father was a soldier in the Republic of China Armed Forces and her mother was from Dongping, Shandong. She was from a family of four brothers three older and one younger.

She schooled at Luzhou Elementary school in Luzhou District and then went to Ginling  Girls High School in Sachong Township, Taipei County, Taiwan. Her talent for music was discovered at the age of three. Her father’s friend became her first voice teacher.

She sang in various singing competitions and her flawless cast won the hearts of the judges. She received her first major prize in 1964 when she sang at an event hosted by the Broadcasting Corporation of China. She quit school to pursue music professionally and was able to support her family.

2. She is the first ever artist to achieve 3 consecutive wins in Grand Prix

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In 1975, Teng collaborated with Polygram Records of Hong Kong, and her album Island love song “Goodbye my love “won her the Ten-Star prize. The album was awarded Platinum at Hong Kong’s first Golden album Awards. In 1978, her two albums Teresa Tengs Greatest Hits and Love songs of the Island 3 won her second Golden Album Award.

In 1980, her Cantonese album Antagonist became the best seller of the year and won her Platinum Golden Awards. In 1982, her dual album for Teresa Teng’s live concert became another platinum. In 1983, her second album The Long Journey of Life achieved even bigger success than her predecessor which became the 5th album to be awarded platinum and a record-breaking win among all Hong Kong singers.

In 1984, her monumental concert named A Billion Applause Concert was performed in honor of her 15th year as a performer and was awarded a special medal by Polygram Hong Kong later in the year as a tribute to her success.

3. Teng is widely known as the Prodigy of Taiwan or Diva of Asia

Teresa Teng is the best known and most beloved singer in the history of modern East Asia. She quickly emerged as a Mandarin pop sensation among Overseas Chinese. Teng proceeded to take Japan by storm as an upcoming singer of pensive Japanese ballads in her twenties.

Her fame spread far into the people’s republic of China by the late 1970s, where her careful making of ’30s Shanghai classics made her a symbol of their social movement. In the early 1980s, her career reached its high point with a 5th-anniversary tour including six days of concerts at the Hong Kong coliseum.

She is remembered both for her absolute talent as a singer and performer and also as an image of the cultural unity of greater China.

4. She was voted the most influential cultural icon in China

Teresa is considered one of the greatest singers in Asian recording history. She enjoyed her career spanning 30years with her powerful ballads and folk songs. She was not only a household name in Taiwan and mainland China, her popularity spread throughout Asia. In 2009, in an online poll conducted by a government Web Portal to celebrate China’s 60th anniversary, almost 24million people voted for Teresa Teng as the most influential cultural icon in China since 1949.

5. She was a renowned singer in the whole of Asian countries

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Teresa started her music career in the 1960s when her heartrending love songs were immensely popular in the late 1970s. After her first performance in a singing contest in her teens, she began performing in public. Some of her popular albums included Dandan Young(Faded feelings in 1983, I’m in your debt in 1984, and The Unforgettable Teresa Teng in 1992).

Her best-known songs were “The Moon Represents My Heart” from Love in Hong Kong in 1977, “Goodbye My Love” in 1974, “Tian Mi Mi” in 1979, “May We Be Together Forever” in 1983, and “I Only Care About You” which she released in Japan 1986. Teresa is considered one of the greatest singers in Asian recording history.

6. Some of her songs were featured in movies

In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings film released in 2021, consists of a playlist of 48 credited songs from various artists with Teresa Teng being one of them. The Crazy Rich Asians film released in 2018 consists of 102 credited songs from various artists with Teresa being one of them and The Game film released in 1997, consists of 56 credited songs from various artists including Teresa Teng. In Hong Kong film comrades, Almost a Love Story features the legacy of Teng its story.

7. Teng has a huge following in Japan

For the Japanese, Teresa Teng was more than just a popular singer. She connected Japan to its Asian neighbors by performing Kayokyoku. She taught the Japanese about the deepness of Chinese culture even though her birthplace was Taiwan, her ancestral home China or Hong Kong, which she loved dearly. This gave her a huge following in Japan despite reports that she was shortly barred from the country for having a fake Indonesian passport in 1979.

8.Tengs surname was Deng Lijun

Deng is a Chinese surname derived from the state of Teng(Imperial clan descendants)in the Western Zhou Dynasty. It can also be used as an alternate spelling of the Chinese surname Teng used especially in Taiwan focusing on the Wade-Giles transliteration of Mandarin Chinese. She has the same surname as that of Deng Xiaoping China’s paramount leader making people jokingly call her “little Deng”.

9. Teresa Teng’s second-childhood

Teresa has never been married but was linked to some high-profile romantic partners. Her 1st boyfriend was Lin Zhenfa a Malaysian tycoon who died of a heart attack in 1976 then she met Jackie Chan a Hollywood actor in 1980. In 1981, she met Beau Kuok a Malaysian businessman and in 1990, she was a French photographer Paul Quilery whom they dated for 5years before her passing in 1995.

10. She was given state honors at her burial

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Teng died of severe asthma in Thailand at the age of 42 in 1995. Her funeral in Taiwan became the largest sponsored funeral in the country’s history. She was given a state honors funeral with Taiwan’s flag wrapped around her coffin. Among the high-ranking officials in attendance was President Lee Teng-Hui.

Teresa Teng was a Taiwanese singer, actress, musician, and philanthropist whose songs popularity remains in Japan on karaoke rankings and about 3 million of her CDs and DVDs have been sold in the country since her passing.