The Legless Bird

春天該很好，你若尚在場。 Spring would be a grace, were you still in its embrace.

This album is dedicated to the memory of Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (張國榮, 12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003). Like the legendary legless bird he brought to life on screen, his spirit remains in the winds of our collective memory. Through these frames, we remember the grace, the beauty, the artistry, and the soul of the one and only Gor Gor (哥哥, older brother in Cantonese).

The pictures are all taken with my Sony ILCE-7M4 camera (Tamron 28–75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 lens and Sigma 100–400mm f/5.6–6.3 DG DN OS lens).

Drunk on Death

The wine, Drunk on Death (醉生夢死) is brought to Ouyang Feng (acted by Leslie). It has a very special power, it can make you forget your past. But can it?

Huang Yaoshi drinks it, and he seems to forget his past. When Ouyang Feng eventually drinks it, he realizes: The wine was a joke played by the woman he loved. It can’t make you forget your past. Instead, it is the desire to forget that makes you unable to forget.

Many times in our lives, we try to forget something, but we can’t. Instead, the harder we try to forget, the deeper it is rooted in our minds. Hence, rather than trying to forget, we should learn to live with it.

Ashes of Time

Ashes of Time (東邪西毒) is the film that includes Drunk on Death. The film is about love, hate, and everything in between. It makes you immerse into the world of the characters, feeling their passion and pain.

Loving a person is by no means easy—failure, regret, and powerlessness are inevitable. But even so, we should never give up loving. Rainbow will appear after the rain, as in this picture.

Days of Being Wild

The film, Days of Being Wild (阿飛正傳), tells the story of a wild boy Yuddy (played by Leslie) with a strong desire to find his birth mother. Having never known his birth mother and raised by a foster mother, he grew up to be cold and ruthless toward every woman who entered his life. Yuddy’s strong desire finally leads him to the Philippines alone, where he gets involved in a big trouble and eventually dies. His life is always pushed by a strong force, and he can never stop. He always tells this story to people he meets:

I heard there is a kind of bird that has no legs. It can only fly and fly. When it gets tired, it sleeps in the wind. The bird only lands once in its life, and that is the moment it dies.

It sounds unrealistic, but it is actually happening to most of us. In most time of our lives, we are always born with a strong motivation to achieve further and further. But what if such motivation vanishes one day? We will sink into a void. This is what happens to Yuddy. So, find sources of motivation that keeps you flying, say, people you love, happiness you enjoy, or anything that won’t be easily affected by the world.

Happy Together

Happy Together (春光乍洩) tells the story of two lovers, Ho Po-wing (played by Leslie) and Lai Yiu-fai (played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai), who travel from Hong Kong to Argentina in search of a better life. However, their relationship is tested by financial hardship, infidelity, and cultural differences.

Life is not always as expected. Even if we know the final destination, like the Iguazu Falls in the film, only Lai Yiu-fai makes it there in the end. There are always regrets and unfulfilled promises in life. Try to accept them, and keep your passion alive.

At the End of the World

In Happy Together (春光乍洩), Ho Po-wing and Lai Yiu-fai travel to Argentina, the opposite side of the world from Hong Kong, which is why it is called “At the End of the World”. At the end of the world, they try to start over several times, but it doesn’t work out. Every new round is just a repetition of the previous one. Their fate is doomed by the difference of their personalities.

Love in Houston

“Love in Houston” (侯斯頓之戀), embodies a tough road trip with twists and turns. Getting disoriented, running out of fuel, and engine breakdown are not obstacles in the journey. Instead, they are part of the journey. Life is a winding road with unexpected events. We don’t necessarily know the exact destination, nor the exact path to get there. Don’t get panicked in the face of unexpected events, because they are also the meaning of the journey.

The Way We Were

This song, “The Way We Were”, is sung by Leslie in his farewell concert. When he sang this song, he told the audience:

I’m not a greedy person. I only hope that if one day, when we happen to mention the top singers of the 1980s in Hong Kong, you might casually bring me up. Even if it is just a passing mention—Oh, ‘Leslie Cheung? I remember him. He was quite decent.’—that’s really enough for me.

Sometimes, we may meet with obstacles, hardships, or even tragedies. But when looking back, we will find a lot of great memories that we should cherish throughout our lives. All the memories, good or bad, shape us into who we are today. Don’t be greedy, don’t have a very high expectation—just be happy with what you have.

Wind Blows On

Last, but not least, the best song for farewell, “Wind Blows On” (風繼續吹). The song carries the sorrow of lovers’ separation. Tears fall like rain at such a heartbreaking moment. How painful it is when you find it is impossible to be with people you love! It is even more painful when the people you respect and love the most leave you forever.

Miss You Much, Leslie!

2003 was a sad year for Hong Kong. It was the year when Leslie and Anita Mui passed away. Although I was just a baby when you fell from the sky, your voice and figure have always been in the memory of me and many others. You are forever in our hearts!