Basically I agree with Mossimo.
I am not academic or intellectual. I do not know in details about the economic and social situation in Hong Kong in the 60s and 70s. However, I do know that at least some Hong Kong stars who did not have normal childhood and proper schooling. For example, Chan Po Chu and Siao Fong Fong were famous child stars and dominated cinema industry in HK in the 60’s. They made about 500 films from the middle of 50s to the end of 60s. I do not think they went to a school to study. They must have studied by themselves and/or with a tutor because they went to study abroad in the 70s. They did not have normal childhood, either. Probably their families depended on their income more or less. I do not know if they talked about their childhood. I imagined that they had at least a support from their families. And the time is different from Anita’s.

Jackie Chan did not have normal childhood and proper schooling. He joined a Chinese opera institute at seven for 10 years. It was not his will to do but his parents’. He did not study as much as it should be but trained Chinese opera all day long. It is said that he cannot read very well. I do not know if it is true. The action director, Ching Siu Tung (HERO, THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGER) had a similar childhood as Jackie and he cannot read at all. Of course they are boys and had ‘brothers.’

When I think about Anita’s life, especially her childhood, I try to understand it from many angles. As a celebrity, she was reminded her childhood constantly by interviews and had a strong responsibility to stress the importance of study. That is I give her a credit. She did not have proper education but she studied herself very hard and accomplished a lot. All her hardship, inferiority complex, and insecure feelings made her excel her profession, at the same time, improve and approachable as a person.

But I think society and people in past were cruel to her because she was a singer at night clubs and restaurants. Like Angel wrote that people tend to look down those artistes such as singers and dancers. They and media said that Anita had a tattoo and abortions, and that was a drug addict with no reasons. They just amused that she would have been bad like a street girl because she used be a singer to earn money. Like Grandma wrote, those rumors, gossips and misunderstandings gave her damage and this kind of scar never goes away. Also she did not have family support, decent friendship and affection except from her elder sister. Those maybe make her insecure to love and to be loved.

She said that she had a crash to her tutor. Dose that mean after she left school, she had a tutor? Or was he her teacher at a school?

hmm..for the other celebrities as above, do they have inferior complex, too, w/the lack of proper education? I wonder. Is lack of education the primary source for Anita's inferior complex? Is it?

When Anita stepped down in 1991, from then on, was that considered a 2nd chance from fate for her to start a new beginning, yea? She was only 28, doesnt need family support, financially stable. Should she have taken up that much needed education to overcome her inferior complex? She was not illiterate, had read more n knew what was her major weakness. Instead she returned to the entertainment industry. And she did say she has no regrets for making that decision.

Can anyone give me an explanation? Woodstock? grandma? Mossimo? Angel? June? FB? AT? any dear readers?

Dana, Chan Po Chu and Siao Fong Fong were famous child stars, it's very different than Mui, because Mui was not famous as little singer. I don't know they have inferior complex, but I don't think so because they have a lot of fans when they were a child and they were 'movie' child stars, from the big screen, not like Mui, singing in Lai Yuen, an amusement park. Mui mentioned when she was little singer and wearing the singing dress for going to perform, people looked at her with strange eyes ? And we don't know how many times, Mui had to face these 'strange eyes' in her childhood...
I don't think lack of education is the primary source
for Anita's inferior complex, I think it's family support and love. And I think no matter how old you are, without love and concern, nobody can survive.

Woodstock, I can not open 'http://archives.mui-mui.org/nostalgia.htm', can you check please ? Thank you !

ana: actually I have already given my opinion in above postings, esp. the one on 09/17 for her inferior complex. If I post again, I might repeat what I have already said, really don't like to be called a long winded old great grandma

Okay, not to disappoint you, maybe I just add the following:

A person won't become less knowledgeable only due to missing proper schooling during childhood, because education and experience gained through life in the later years and through practical working experience can enrich your knowledge more than from books. Don't you remember even Tina Lau mentioned that even she is senior to Mui in age, Mui sometimes laughed at her being so naive when problems in work popped up. So in a way Mui is a very capable and knowledgeable person in her work related areas.

So it is not "the lack of proper education " that makes her feel inferior. What we should say is that her family background makes her feel inferior. Get what I meant? That is what Angel explained Mui was from Lai Yuen Playground where lower class sought their entertainment, and she sang even in the streets and new territories. Just a little singer singing in the streets, if you read over the lyrics of the "Daughter of Songs", you will understand what kind of suffering she had gone through, her childhood singing life was full of tears and humiliation . It is entirely different from the life of those prominent child movie stars.

"Family background" is also related to your family environment, your parents and siblings. What kind of family members she has you all know very well already.

Since she lacks self confidence in real life, she needs assurance and love all the time from her family, friends or society. Did she get from them? I don't think so. She can't find a loved one that is of course most deadly. Friends, in her interviews, you can see her definition of friends. It meant she can never expect anything from them. I remember in a TVB interview, someone openly laughed at her that she could not survive anywhere because her English is poor, and she could not drive. And another one mentioned she was most pitiful as a little girl had to support her friend. Though all these comments didn't mean to be hostile, instead were out of sympathy, or they were just teasing her, they sounded very sensitive to Mui, I believe. Then she never got any recognition from the society for all the philanthropic work she had done. JC of course won't feel inferior lar, he was adored like a hero everywhere, even though lots of his statements don't make sense strictly speaking. But he has been bestowed with honorary degrees from here and there. Though Mui kept on saying she didn't care about any of those titles, deep down when she was all by herself, would she ask herself why she couldn't get them? Why others could get acknowledgment so easily, why she could not, though she worked harder and contributed more than others? Don't forget she was just a human being like you and me when not on the stage. She actually was not treated fairly by this society, comparing with other artistes. All these actually might have caused her to feel inferior, in turn she might attribute it to her family background.

Anyway, in Chinese saying, "when you are situated in the highest position, you will be loneliest", Mui could be well described as this. She could not share her burdens with others, and others might never be able to know and understand how she really felt. She could only entrust herself to her Buddha, who brought her balance and peace, and then eternal happiness.

I have said all I want to say. ana, please don't ask me to comment again

Dana, I was thinking giving you this example, when you accidently hurt your arm and you get a wound on your arm, others concern about you and you take good care of it, your wound would recover fast and you can not see any scar. But if no concern, no love, after recovering, the scar might be still there, everytime when you look at that scar, you would remember how pain it was when you hurt yourself.

yea, Angel, its so sad, those people are heartless. Instead of showing more sympathy, they regarded her w/contempt.

Yep, I do understand what you mean, Angel. What Anita needed most during her growing up stage is parental n family love. A 5yr old is more sensitive to feelings of others, can understand relationships among people, similarities n differences in other families. As a child she deserved to be loved w/out constraint, w/out reserve but the ma was one of a kind ..


Gosh! Wake up! Woodstock! The moon is up! Your floor did break n you were deprived of your sleep, yea?

I dont mind you being long-winded, Woodstock, as I do get a clearer picture now. Im truly glad that I did ask again, otherwise, Ill missed out an additional piece of valuable n satisfying information. Thank you! No further questions from dana, your honour .. O Me To Fu

Woodstock:ived finished this thread from starting. you can be a good teacher. i learned more about Mui and also her religion. from the discussion Mui always worry what people think i say people who looked down on others are not great people too. her past was sad but she did not keep it a secret. Mui is a saint. my dear cute little Dana this is especially for you for you have a realy good name.


In Praise of Dana (Giving)


From Nagarjuna's Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom
(Dharmamitra Translation)

Question: What benefits does dana bestow that the bodhisattva abiding in the prajnaparamita therefore fully perfects it?

Response: Dana brings all manner of benefits. Dana serves as a treasury which constantly follows along with a person. Dana destroys suffering and bestows bliss upon people. Dana is a good guide which shows the way to the heavens. Dana is a storehouse of goodness for it draws in good people. ({Chinese Textual Note:} Giving draws in good people as a result of one's setting up causes and conditions {i.e. karmic affinities} with them. Hence the text reads "draws in.")

Dana constitutes [a source of] peace and security. When one reaches the end of one's life one's mind is without fear. Dana is a mark of loving kindness. It is able to rescue everyone. Dana is able to gather together blisses and is able to rout the invaders of suffering. Dana is a great general which is able to defeat the enemy of miserliness.

Dana is a marvelous fruit which is loved by gods and men. Dana is a path of purity travelled by the worthies and aryas. Dana is the entryway for the accumulation of goodness and meritorious qualities. Dana is a condition for the accomplishment of works and for the gathering together of a multitude. Dana is the seed of the treasured fruit of good actions. Dana is the mark of the good person endowed with meritorious karma.

Dana destroys poverty and cuts one off from the three wretched destinies. Dana is able to preserve and protect the fruit of blessings and bliss. Dana is the primary condition for the realization of nirvana. It is the essential dharma for entry into the multitude of good people. It is the vast repository of good repute and praiseful commendation. It provides the quality of being free of difficulties in the midst of the multitudes. It is the cavernous mansion of the mind's freedom from regret. It is the origin of good dharmas and of one's cultivation of the Way. It is the dense forest of every manner of delight and bliss. It is the field of blessings for the reaping of wealth, nobility and peaceful security. It is the bridge across to the realization of the Way and entry into nirvana. It is traversed by the aryas, the great masters, and those possessed of wisdom. It is that which everyone else, those of minor virtue and lesser intelligence, should emulate.

Mui Fan: I'm glad that you finally finished reading the complete thread, I assume even include the part that has been moved to archives. I also feel happy that you have learnt more about Anita Mui, that is part of our goal for setting up this forum, because we wish we can know more about Mui and also during discussion we can learnt more from each other.

However, I can never be a good teacher. But I know among our readers, some of them can really be good teachers if they pursue in that profession, unfortunately they don't.

Thanks for your research in the name of "Dana". It is a beautiful name, we know that already, but not in such detail. Also I think our lovely young lady here does deserve this name. She is well loved by all of us here

Wow ! Dana, you must be very happy to have such beautiful name !

Thanks for the details, Mui fan !

anything for my forever Mui Jei n my cute little Dana.
some nice meanings of anita.
name origin:hebrew from israel
traits:gracious,merciful,selfless loyal, very emotional, suspicious of strangers, limited intelligence but practical nature.
some superstitious of the stage:
Some of the most superstitious people in the world are actors and actresses, many of them abiding most religiously by certain rules which are declared to ensure kind treatment from the Fates. The following are some of the more interesting " unwritten laws" of the stage:
When rehearsing a play, the actors ensure that they are perfect in every line except the last one, or tag, as it is called. This is never uttered until the first night of the actual performance, when the success or otherwise of the production is ascertained by the extent of the applause which follows the last line.
If an actress receives flowers as a present, she may wear them before or after the performance, but considers it to be very unlucky to wear them when she is actually on the stage. Artificial ones are generally used instead.
When making up, an actress regards it as a sign that she win receive a good contract if she accidentally smears some lipstick on to her teeth.
If an actor or actress notices a loose thread of cotton clinging to a person's clothes, be or she will pluck off the thread, pass it three times round the head and then tuck it down the neck of his or her garments. The cotton foretells a new contract and the "magical" rite is said to ensure its receipt.
To whistle in the dressing-room is strictly "taboo," as also is the singing of Tosti's "Good-bye." Should anyone be guilty of either of these "sins," he or she must go out of the dressing-room, turn round three times and then knock on the door and ask for permission to be admitted.
To quote Macbeth is to invite ill fortune to visit you.
All manner of dolls and mascots are kept in an actress's dressingroom in order to bring her success, while every telegram of congratulation is pinned to the wall and dearly treasured.
i remember Mui always wear the flower when fans give in concert, do anybody think if Mui do not wear the flowers will she be still alive now?

MuLaN_Mui

At the index page of this website there is the blue banner above section about the Classic Moment Live Concert, that is the link to Mingpao for ordering this book, but the deadline for ordering was long overdue. So please don't pay by your visa card and order by internet.

Maybe you should call the phone # they provided (852)2515 5230 (Mr. Lau) to find if they will accept new orders.

As far as I know this book was sold out long time ago, and I doubt if they will ever publish it again even there is still further demand for this book as the legal case between Modern Beauty and Mui Music is still pending.