Author of this article | 毛毛雨
Chief Editor | Dantantui
In November 2017, Zheng Zhihua, who had retired from the music scene for many years, participated in the recording of "Uncommon Changes". When Fang Lei sang "Don't Cry, My Lover":
Tonight I am blooming like an epiphany, withering at the most beautiful moment, and your tears will wither irretrievably...
Three sentences unfinished, 56 years old Zheng Zhihua cried and burst into tears. He was like a wounded child, which made people feel distressed.
He said:
"This song is my last words when I was 17 years old. At that time, I was young, and now the time has passed. I have learned restraint, but this song is still my favorite and the most It hurts me, and I cry as soon as I hear it. Don't ask me why." After the
program was broadcast, Zheng Zhihua posted a hot search on Weibo, and his various evaluations were also on the paper.
Among them is such a high praise, I really like it:
There is one and only one singer in China. In his song... there is love, love, sex, hatred, curse, and rebellion. , There is stubbornness, indomitable, and young and frivolous...
has a wide range of knowledge, talents, no one before and no one!
This is the singer Zheng Zhihua, a singer without Zheng Zhihua is the best.
In 1961, an ordinary family of Zheng Zhihua in Taipei fell to the ground.
Father is an ordinary local tailor, and mother is an ordinary woman with two older brothers and two older sisters.
The family lives in a very embarrassing situation due to the precariousness of the family.
When Zheng Zhihua was 2 years old, his father's negligence caused him to suffer from polio. Until he went to elementary school, he spent time fighting various drugs and treatments.
For six full years, the family did not know how much money and energy they spent on Zheng Zhihua’s legs.
Time and time again, the family's eyes were to learn that there is a good doctor somewhere, and they sparked hope, and time and time again, they frowned when the treatment failed.
This makes Zheng Zhihua feel that he is a burden to his family, so he is determined to break out of his own sky and live independently.
When Zheng Zhihua was 8 years old, he was encouraged by his family and neighbors while he was recovering from surgery. He began to learn to paint and read.
He especially likes Kafka, and he is obsessed with his books every time. Before he went to school, he had read all the literary masterpieces of Oriental Publishing House.
Whenever his father saw his plastered legs and read quietly, his father felt guilty for his negligence, but he was very pleased to see his son so well-behaved. He hopes that Zheng Zhihua will become a doctor when he grows up, have a fixed career, and not starve to death.
But Zheng Zhihua has his own thoughts at this time, and he does not like to follow the arrangement. He likes to paint and has thought about becoming a painter when he grows up.
The first painting he drew was Guan Gong, which was vividly painted and was praised by neighbors for "painting prodigy". This light overshadowed the haze of "handicapped children" and he began to become full of confidence.
However, when he went to school, he became a "rebellious student", he didn't like to go to class, even fights, bumped into the teacher on the spot, was fined to stand, and secretly did business.
At this time, no one would have thought that this mutilated and rebellious boy would be so dazzling on the music scene in the future.
Many children with physical disabilities are usually bullied by other children at school. But Zheng Zhihua had no experience in this regard.
When Zheng Zhihua was in elementary school, there was a boy who was a year older than him. He was notoriously naughty at school, especially bullying weak children and girls.
Once he saw the opportunity, deliberately chased Zheng Zhihua from behind, hooked Zheng Zhihua's crutches with his foot, causing him to fall severely, but fortunately Zheng Zhihua only frayed his elbow.
Zheng Zhihua looked up and saw that the boy was a full head above him. He could only outsmart him. He pretended to get up. The boy hurried over to kick him when he saw it.
At this time, Zheng Zhihua hit his leg with a crutches, and he fell into an unstable center of gravity. Zheng Zhihua immediately hit him on the head with a crutches. This was over. The boy was bleeding. Sew 12 stitches.
Since then, the naughty boy has become much more obedient, and Zheng Zhihua's title of "not easy to mess with" has spread throughout the school.
There is also a monthly test. The life and ethics test paper has a right or wrong question: I have to run quickly after class to go to the welfare agency to buy snacks?
Zheng Zhihua did not hesitate to choose the right one, but the result was wrong. Obviously, the answer is not in line with reality. Zheng Zhihua asked a teacher for theory.
He directly confronted the teacher in the classroom:
"The teacher's answer is wrong, because the class usually only lasts 5 to 10 minutes, and the welfare agency is far away from the classroom. It is definitely impossible to buy if you don’t run quickly."
The result is conceivable. The teacher was very angry, thinking that Zheng Zhihua didn't know how to pretend, and completely ignored the inconvenience of his legs. He was punished to stand for a class and wanted him to "surrender".
But Zheng Zhihua, the bull, didn't lower his head.
can't kill me, it will only make me stronger , this principle also applies to Zheng Zhihua. His crazy participation in competitions, his unyielding personality allowed him to prove himself time and time again.
Many years later, he recalled:
In addition to racing, I participated in all the competitions, and then I had to practice as an excuse, not going to class, from art, calligraphy, to speech, labor, and I must take the first place. One, because of this, the teacher will let you continue to participate. This is how my 6 years of primary school passed. After the
penalty station incident, Zheng Zhihua gradually understood:
The so-called "be obedient in school!" means "obedient" means knowing that the facts are right, but in order to take the first place, you must To write an "X" on the test paper, to be obedient means not to tell the truth.
He saw the sadness of education.
is also this time, it has completely inspired Zheng Zhihua’s fighting spirit, so that he can understand it; no matter what he does in the future, he will do it to the extreme, and let others admire it. To live wonderfully.
After graduating from junior high school, Zheng Zhihua ushered in the first major choice in his life:
is to listen to his father’s words and go to university to become a doctor; or to go to a college, jump out of the routine life, and leave early Society, live out your own wonderful?
The former, because of their excellent performance, is within reach. The latter, like a lost lamb, is out of reach.
Many people would choose the former, it is safe, but Zheng Zhihua did not hesitate to choose the latter.
This made my father angry. Father Zheng said angrily: "With your grades, there is no problem in studying at a top medical university in Taiwan. What can you do when you study in a technical secondary school?"
Father no Let Zheng Zhihua study a junior college, he simply ran on crutches to sign up. He clearly knows where to go at the first crossroads in his life.
Maybe this decision is wrong, but what if it is wrong? At least they can have their own autonomy.
After graduating from junior college, Zheng Zhihua went to work in an engineering company, but his nine-to-five life made him lose the vitality that young people should have. Unwilling to be so lifeless, he resigned and became a vagrant.
The house leak happened in the evening rain, and business with friends collapsed. Zheng Zhihua thought about the meaning of life for the first time.
With his unyielding personality, he wants to make a commercial film Dongshan ZaiBeginning, so he had a naive idea to "advertise".
When a person has no money, is in debt, has no family background, and even so-called friends, they are also shocked to hear that Zheng Zhihua's business is closed, and they evade. All he has left is a personality that will not admit defeat!
One day Zheng Zhihua accidentally discovered that there was an essay advertisement in the newspaper that said recruitment; copywriter (advertising text writer) and AE.
He thought: Isn't it just writing? I can too. So he nominated himself to apply. In this way, Zheng Zhihua successfully entered the advertising company.
Although Zheng Zhihua is a novice, he is particularly able to endure hardships and stand hard work, and he can also give ingenious opinions. He took the position of creative director in just a few months.
Once, a boss who makes shampoo came to the door, hoping that Zheng Zhihua could help make an advertisement, and the advertisement must have a song.
At that time, the company asked a well-known musician to help write lyrics and music, but the customer was not satisfied.
Zheng Zhihua wrote a song "Happy Girl" by himself.
I didn’t expect this song to become popular unexpectedly, and it also attracted the attention of the record company owner.
The boss suggested that he release a solo album, Zheng Zhihua said contemptuously: "I am a cultural person, no way". He feels that actor actors are a lowly industry.
finally couldn't withstand the boss's instigation, plus out of curiosity, Zheng Zhihua went to the recording studio for the first time to audition. Whoever thought, he fell in love with the microphone from then on.
Just like that, Zheng Zhihua, who doesn't understand the staff, released his first album "The Story of the Youngest One".
my colleague ridiculed him when he knew it;
"I heard that you made a record? I really admire the record company. It will go bankrupt and lose everything."
Zheng Zhihua This was angered, and he immediately asked the secretary to write a 10-year contract, and threatened:
"If you succeed in 10 years, you have to kneel and apologize. If I lose, I will pay you even if I lose money. 3 million Taiwan dollars." The
colleague was terrified: "I'm joking, don't take it seriously."
Zheng Zhihua replied: "Who is joking with you? After reading the signature, I will leave tomorrow. "
Perhaps what my colleagues didn't know was that the cynicism Zheng Zhihua received while walking along the way was enough to destroy the will of most people. But Zheng Zhihua, who is naturally conceited and rebellious, is never afraid of being defeated.
There is a sentence in "The Old Man and the Sea":
People are not born for failure. A person can be destroyed but cannot be defeated. Also in Zheng Zhihua's world, there has never been a word of failure.
The day before leaving the advertising agency, Zheng Zhihua saw a few playful children on the street. Among them was a boy in the advertisement for Boer Tea (Couple) created by him. One of the formulas:
Poropoye Boro Mo Poruo Mi......
He was suddenly stunned for a long time. It turned out that his job is a kind of social education, not just an advertisement. At the end of his six-year advertising career, he has no regrets. Isn't the new beginning a better education?
He deeply feels that even if there is no bet, he still hopes that he can use his singing to convey a kind of power.
Zhang Ailing said: "Become famous as soon as possible", but Zheng Zhihua only started to get involved in the music scene at the age of 28. At that time, Taiwanese singers Luo Dayou and Li Zongsheng were already popular in half the sky.
's career set sail again, Zheng Zhihua, with his extraordinary talent in music, and a rebellious drive to admit defeat, soon released three more albums.
1992 album "Private House Song" was released. After singing the song "Sailor", the audience burst into tears and the applause lasted. Zheng Zhihua succeeded again.
The sonorous and powerful song penetrates the warm and cold of the world, like a bright lamp in the night, illuminating the confused soul. People met this disabled Taiwanese singer overnight.
Since then, Zheng Zhihua has been labeled "inspirational".
Zheng Zhihua said, "The legs are like this, can you still not be inspirational?"
He wrote in his autobiography "Private Talk":
Value judgment is the black death of modern society No one is immune, but I want to be temporarily immune.
Obviously, Zheng Zhihua, who is rebellious, does not want to be judged by such a value and does not want to be imprisoned by this new label.
Because of this prejudice and his own incompleteness, Zheng Zhihua is different from all famous singers. He cares about this society and goes deep into this society.
In 1993, Zheng Zhihua released an album "The Weeping Actress", which included the song "Great Citizen".
At that time, this song was popular in Taiwan. The sharpness of the lyrics reflected the status quo of Taiwan at that time: dirty Taipei was covered by corrupt officials.
Pretend not to see the gap between the rich and the poor. This is no longer an island where good people live. Courtesy, justice and shame are not as important as banknotes. This is no longer an island suitable for poor people to live.
Because this song is too straightforward and realistic, it was rumored that Zheng Zhihua was jailed for 7 years because it offended the Taiwan government.
Later he clarified in an interview that it was unnecessary, but he chose to quit the music scene and wanted to live another life.
As a singer, Zheng Zhihua and his songs have brought us more than just a simple pile of melody and words.
is a shock of the soul, a sublimation of the soul, and more, a reflection on life and reality; a sound that can hear life, stories, and pictures.
Zheng Zhihua dare to do what others do, express his attitude with singing:
"I believe that singing has the power to promote progress."
in In "Tutorial", he boldly criticized the education system in Taiwan at that time.
In "The Middle Class", we can also see the leopard, the plight of the bottom of society.
In "Fallen Angels" he described the fate of an inspirational and sad woman.
In "The Great National", he looked at Taiwan's social development coldly, and social injustice made people angry.
The majestic "Sailor" that has spread all over the country reflects that people choose to be comfortable with the progress of society, and should be brave as a sailor when encountering difficulties.
He can always find the pain points of society and expose the dark side of reality.
He boldly uses his works to truly influence society.
However, in traditional pop music, in Taiwan where the Kuomintang is in power, Zheng Zhihua is more like an outlier, rebellious and out of touch with society.
Osho once said: "Rebellion itself is compassion. It is not a way of responding to life. Out of compassion, a savvy person becomes a rebel."
Zheng Zhihua sings Compassion in the heart.
We can see his compassion in his sharp eyes.
We can see his rebellion in his realistic lyrics.
He is alone, walking alone on the trail.
Now that Zheng Zhihua has retired from the stage for more than 20 years, he has long since passed, but as a symbol of an era, his songs will always exist in people's hearts.
Take a look at Zheng Zhihua's life.
Maybe some people think that his success depends on talent, after all, he can write refreshing songs without knowing anything about music.
Maybe some people think that his success depends on hard work, because every time he succeeds is not groundless, but persistent perseverance.
Maybe some people think that these two factors are indispensable. After all, the genius martial arts novelist Jin Yong said before his death that I keep reading for 4 hours a day.
All the thick and thin hair is hard to move forward that you can't see.
Long Yingtai wrote in "Dear Andre":
"Our era seems to be an era without a mark. We can't even find the topic of rebellion, so we all retreated. Little self.”
Therefore, many people choose to accept their fate and choose to compromise.
But in Zheng Zhihua, what we see is: he has a free soul, a rebellious heart that does not yield to any rules, and a natural stubbornness.
Nowadays, there are many changes in the world, people are impetuous, in the era of lack of compassion and indifference.
Fortunately, there are also rebels like Zheng Zhihua, like a lighthouse in the dark night, like stars lighting up lights, illuminating our way forward.
Reference materials: "Zhi Zai Shuo", "Legend of Zheng Zhihua"
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