HMC Magazine
April 2005 Issue 54


Translated by Jessie of Kenforever

Thanks to TammyYip of Kenforever for the above cover scan.

Preface

The Ken Chu Before and After Music

I’m not really familiar with F4’s Ken Chu. I only heard of his personality, likes, background and so on from others. Getting in contact with Ken Chu gave me two different cognitions of him.

Perhaps it’s due to his fully packed schedule which made him mentally and physically exhausted (On the day he featured for HMC, he already did 2 interviews and still have 3 more to go!). Hence, he seemed to be a bit moody and agitated when we were choosing the clothes for photo-taking. I was worried for him by looking at his wrinkled eyebrows and weary eyes.

But fascinatingly, when he requested to change the music we were playing into the ones he like which were from his iPod, it seemed as if he suddenly turned into someone else and immediately became a bright soul. His glowing spirit changed him into a really gentle man!

From then on, I strongly believe that music can really change one’s life, and I understood that Ken Chu is born to work in this field.


Cover Story

Ken Chu’s Triangular Relationship

To be honest, I don’t have a really deep understanding of F4. To list out their past? I’m sorry; I only have limited to give. Today, only Ken Chu of F4 is before me, no one else, no comparisons, just solely understanding his background, views and then unearthing his three “separate” relationships.

First of all, we must have a concept of Ken Chu’s background:

He was born in Taiwan, and went to Singapore to further his studies when he was 9. After 8 years, he returned to Taiwan at the age of 17. After he became an artist, he visits Hong Kong all the time for promotions.

Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Though all three places are Chinese, when we carefully observe them, we’d discover that they all have different national characteristics. Today, we’re not going to analyze the political relationships of these places, nor are we going deep into the topic of the Four Dragons of Asia; instead, we’re going to start off with the tall and strong-built Ken Chu who’s right before us!


All from the Same Root

To me, one who has never lived in Taiwan and studied in Singapore, knows very little about life in these places. All I know is that they all possess a strong sense of traditional Chinese colors. Ken stayed in several places during his childhood, so what he sees and feels will certainly be different. So the first question I asked him was, “What do you think of the national characteristics of these 3 places?”

Without any hesitation, Ken replied definitely, “Comparing with any overseas country, these 3 places still preserves very much of the Chinese culture.” By Ken’s appearance, like his long hair, I thought that he had a westernized character…

“Nowadays, many youngsters will say: I’m Taiwanese, I’m Hong Kongese or I’m from Mainland China. I used to say that too, but now, I say I’m Chinese. No matter where you are, I’m very proud to be Chinese. In fact, not only in the context of our culture and history, many great theories are developed by us, and are much more advanced than the others. Personally, I’m rather “Chinese”, for I really appreciate Confucianism and Taoism. I believe that many foreign countries have not yet pursued our Chinese way of thinking.” I have never thought that Ken’s mind would be so full of Chinese concepts. You can understand how much he loves his national traditions in just a simple conversation.

Ken says that he takes Chinese tradition with honor. He admires the glorious 5000 yeared culture and remarks his outstanding nationality semblance, “I am born like this, with black hair, black eyes, yellow skin, in every sense, a Chinese.” Many people like to dye their hair to catch up with the trend. Ken looked into the mirror and told me he would not, because a Chinese should give out the flavor of Chinese.


Home Sweet Home

Besides Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, Ken has also lived in Thailand and Malaysia for some time. Having been to so many places, he must know a lot. Under the same blue sky, is the world really different? “More or less, there are differences, but the difference is not because I’ve arrived in Taiwan or in Hong Kong. Each place is so big and everyone is an independent individual, as you run in all directions, you will have completely different views. I studied in Singapore, grew up in Taiwan, and worked in Hong Kong, on the other hand, my family came from Nanjing, therefore that’s my ancestral origin. Having several statuses is hard for me to tell what my national character is!”

After some thought, Ken said, “I have been to these places back and forth since infancy to maturity, but I haven’t adapted myself to any place in particular. You can say I’m good at settling into new places. Every place I go to, I’d do what the locals do, because it’s very easy for me to accept the views people have at different places. Umm…you just have to give me two weeks, then I’ll get used to that place.” Of course, once you enter township, you have to follow the customs (a Chinese saying-jessie), on the other hand, this training he had since childhood has developed him a sense of confidence and thus making him more independent and stronger in mind. However, even the man of steel will be tired at times. Having spent so many years outside running to and fro, there is certainly a place he loves most.

“I like Taiwan more, because I was born in Taiwan and I grew up in Taiwan. At least I think no matter what I want to do and where I want to go, it’s convenient here.” I believe, to any person, home is the best place for rest.


Eat What’s on the Chopping Board

Perhaps you might not think that cooking is an act of independence, but I always do, for eating is a natural act of living. Ken Chu, who is highly independent, is also one who likes to eat and cook. “The weather, culture and environment of a place affects the ingredients and dishes. I like everything. There’s nothing I don’t like to eat, nor do I have any special preference, because my personality is that I have the guts to try everything! When I went to Thailand and China, I tried a lot of strange things, like insects, bats and much more!”

Though there are so many appetizing cuisines, cooking is entirely a different stream. Ken remarks that he usually starts off by eating, “Paying attention to the “sense” and techniques of how others cook. Why did they do it this way? What flavor will this make?” You can say it’s a question of observing, thinking and practicing. “For example, when I visit a restaurant and see that grilled egg, I will ask, why is the egg grilled? How do I grill it?” And then, if I like it, I’d try it out at home. The result? “Should be delicious, if not, why would I try to make it?” Ken’s confidence in his cooking is “overflowing”!


First Aspiration

Having just promoted his debut album “On Ken’s Time”, his Hong Kong fans were delighted to know that there is a Cantonese song – 100 Days of Separation. Ken smiled while recalling, “Mandarin songs, Cantonese songs is just a matter of the environment to me. I recorded it for 3 days in Taiwan and then for another 3 days in Hong Kong. It wasn’t completed in Taiwan because no one talked to me in Cantonese, so it was hard for me to get into it. The song was completed in Hong Kong, because people talked to me in Cantonese, which made it easier for me to make it.”

Regardless of what language you use, music itself is the media for communications. Professional musicians have their own attitude to enjoying music. Ken remarks that his attitude is genuine, “What really touches me, is neither the fancy stage, nor the illusions and how glittering the performance is. What I care is purely the music which moves me. Good music impresses people, and can be sensed by one’s heart.” Ken believes that fancy music doesn’t suit him, so in his present and future albums and his performances, he hopes that he can make the most out of the basics.

“I think that pop music is made out of plastic. It looks really attractive, but if you strike it, it would fall into pieces. You get enough of it after listening for some time. In terms of music, I prefer what’s made of wood. It feels solid and even though you’ve put it there for a long time, you can still be infatuated with it. You can listen to it for so many times, with different feelings each time.” Regarding this, I have the same feeling. Regardless of the lyrics or the melodies, oldies always manages to strike a chord and are worth listening to for hundreds of times.


Notes

On the day of the interview, Ken had this weary look on his face. We asked his manager if this trip to Hong Kong is very busy.

“Before we came for this interview, there were 2.” And then?
“3 more”
Oh, that’s tiring!
“There’s no way out, because our trip is short so we have to make full use of every minute, every second.”

As soon as Ken went into position, it seemed as if he immediately recharged himself to posing before the camera. And after that, attentively doing the interview.
I can feel from my heart, how professional he is.


~The End~