Steven has updated his yahoo blog:
http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/stevenma_blog

Steven will be the narrator for tvb program on 世界文化遗产 The world culture inheritance premiering March 22 at 3:30 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvvP_4l2Kzc

Steven fans have always wondered if he ever read their posts in baidu and his other websites. Guess he does. Because posted on his blog as an entry is one of his fans, luot's article on him. Lucky luot - she will be in cloud 9 once she found out about it.

He picked her article because he says "I saw this essay on baidu, I posted it here not because it praises me but because she/he seems to understand me quite well, especially this phrase 自然風流 natural fung lao. Hoho! I accept. Beside thanking him/her, I would like to share the essay here. I hope luot and you all will not mind! 4th brother (signing himself as 4th brother, his fans' pet name for him because he's 4th in his family)


pixs included in blog

I have to say this, luot's article is well-written but then Steven fans' essays on him and reviews on his shows are overall very well-written and thought out, genuine but not overly saccharine.

eta: strange, but Steven seems to have taken a liking to Ah Gong, because yet again it's Ah Gong's pictures he uploaded onto his blog. Wonder why?

more of luot's essays

That's so funny! If I met him in person, I also might be tempted to yell out something similar. One thing I noticed about him when watching his series is how contagious his smille or laughter is. Whenever he smiles or laughs, I find myself smiling too! Or maybe I am just being biased, as usual....

By the way, thank you to those of you here who said A Journey Called Life is a must-watch. You were so right! Thank you! Thank you! I am loving every moment of it. Now I plan my whole day around it, so that I won't missed even one episode. Too bad I missed the first 3 eps.

(Off-topic, a bit...)
I know Akazukin will be like "eww!" at what I'm going to say next, but my view of Linda has changed since watching her in this series. I actually quite like her in this one. Never thought I'd say this, but Steven & Linda actually makes quite a cute couple! She's not over the top, and I'm finding her more likeable with each episode. Ep 8 just aired yesterday, and here we begin to see Onn starting to have feelings for Ga Ga ... it's actually really sweet the way he stammers and says "uh... no..." when she teases him that he is trying to court her. And while he is stammering his "no", his face totally says otherwise! Just love that.

Maybe I like Linda here because she plays this rough-around-the-edges kind of girl, a bad girl, and yet she's actually a good person inside. She portrays this character really well, in my opinion. She's appropriately loud and obnoxious when she needs to be, and yet she exudes a sort of softness/kindness. Which is why I think the Steven/Linda pairing works here...

Lol Where are you from? How come you get to watch A Journey Called Life on your local tv?
Well............ I do like A Journey Called Life too. Lol. I turned neutral to Linda cos' of Journey too. But anyway, I really like Steven inside Journey. He's chemistry with Kent Cheng's pretty good too! So, I am looking forward to the Dogs one!

Then check out this thread - a collection of Steven's different kinds of smile. collection of steven's smiles




I'm glad you did because AJCL is among my favorites too, but then again, not saying much because most of his series are favorites to me . haha! Go watch the missed episodes online. See how Kaka cons An On on an overpriced cellphone. Epi 10 or 11, that scene when Ah On calls Kaka stupid was so funny. "You're so stupid!" Their chemistry was good in this series unlike voh2. Did you know that Steven actually wrote the themesong lyrics?

As expected, fans flooded his yahoo blog with their own postings of "Steven, I/We understand you, too!"

eta: Strawberry67, about to. Hang on!

Steven's fans are so cute. Well, at least they should be reassured that he probably read what they wrote about him.

I'm also waiting for your translation on luot's writing.
自然風流 - this will be very hard to translate right? Actually, 風流 is a very subjective word, isn't it? It can mean a good thing but can also be connotated to a bad thing. Or am I mistaken this no-english-equivalent Chinese word?

lout describes his characters in domd1998, bh, steps, tbol and ends it with a personal note on herself. the article was posted on baidu 2008-5-25 13:38 at that time, she hadn't watched safeguards yet, but in her latter posting, she wrote about safeguards too.

posting piecemeal of translation so you don't have to wait too long for it.
1st part on kangxi Very rough translation - pls ignore grammatical errors

I've liked Steven for a long time now, have watched many of his series; all different characters, but always exuding freshness and naturalness. Domd is his earlier work. He had just started acting in series. Still very green around the edges. He himself had said he did not know how to act then. But what we saw onscreen was an extremely real and captivating Xiao Xuan Zi. I guess this was in part due to his own clean personality closely resembling that of the young Kangxi’s then; therefore, evoking a fairylike, dreamy kind of charisma that lured us.

Young Kangxi’s shoulders carried a heavy burden of responsibilities, naturally ‘aging’ him beyond his real age. However, the juvenile’s spirit could not be entirely suppressed. And Steven at that time, clean/pure and decent plus his greenness fitted the quality of 气质 of a teen disposition. But resided inside him was righteousness which could erupt as kingly aggressiveness / forcefulness. He became Kangxi, summarily transported into an ancient era to later transforming into a shrewd and enlightened emperor. Through a gesture, a smile, knitting of brows and bodily movements, he effortlessly and naturally brought forth a real life young Kangxi before us.


next is BH



a fan is way ahead of you, posted the many meanings (including in English) of fung lao on his yahoo blog
here you go!

羡鱼结网 2009-03-19 20:10

风流，我一直觉得是对人一种至高无尚的评价，马仔快来看哦。

------------------------引自百度的分割线--------------------------
风流
注音：fēng liú
(1) [distinguished and admirable]∶风采特异,业绩突出。如：数风流人物,还看今朝
(2) [talented in letters and unconventional in life style]∶才华出众,自成一派,不拘泥于礼教
如：是真名士自风流
(3) [dissolute;loose]∶放荡不羁
如：如此风流,竟以私奔方式完成一次不同凡响的婚礼
(4) [romantic]∶具有色情特点或色情上得到满足
如：风流小说
(5) [custom and culture]∶风俗教化
如：风流笃厚,禁罔疏阔。——《汉书·刑法志》
(6) [custom handed down from the past]∶遗风,流风余韵
如：舞榭歌台,风流总被雨打风吹去。——宋· 辛弃疾《永遇乐·京口北固亭怀古》
(7) [demeanor;bearing]∶风度;仪表
如：摇落深知宋玉悲,风流儒雅亦吾师。—— 唐· 杜甫《咏怀古迹》
(8) [charm]∶风韵,多指好仪态
如：[黛玉]身体面庞虽怯弱不胜,却有一段自然的风流态度,便知他有不足之症。——《红楼梦》

----------------------------------

2nd half of luot's article:
BH should be the one series that Chun Chun (her pet name for Steven) had most fun filming. Quan Jia Fu was adorable beyond words! So what if he is greedy and conniving? It is in these very scenes that Fook Tou was at his most mischievous, most adorable and most funny. Moreover, he is very tenacious towards true love. Despite abundant misunderstandings, he still relentlessly pursues his love. 这样的懂情趣会变通又专一的活宝男友. (stumped) no wonder Bak Hap despite been previously ‘divorced’ (cast off) still agrees to re-marry him. Steven’s portrayal was brilliant beyond words. The same face but put on Qian Jia Fu’s body; Xiao Xuan Zi’s heroic and majestic/ kingly/ stately bearing and his delicacy were all gone. Left with only that lovability. So lovable/adorable that one tends to overlook his handsomeness.

Then she went on to talk about his characters in Steps and BOL before concluding the article.
I will jump right into the translation of her conclusion - because what she wrote applies to most fans in general, not just Steven's

A very great list of definition for 风流, and probably the list has to be quoted as complete to be able to define the word. Especially love the character of the first set of words I bolded. Okay, so I'm not that wrong with my understandingm, the negative connotation comes in the third point.

Yes, in the ancient eras, that word usually has a good connotation - like used on Tang Bo Fu but not so good nowadays!

disclaimer: paraphrasing


Cheng Ka Chun in Steps is quite similar to Qian Jia Fu, in that he is not a true, serious heroic protagonist, but a regular joe (xiu yan mat) and not a little bit frivolous. Similarly clad in western suit, he differs from Tong Chi-Ko’s solid respectability. When I saw his wicked smile 坏笑, I almost swoon.

Tong Chi-Ko in TBOL exudes righteousness; suave and elegant and views evil as archenemy; astute and resourceful. He is very responsible to his family; tolerant and accommodating. He’s faithful to love yet not wishy-washy. A good man, a good big brother; a quintessential, classic tv series protagonist. This kind of character though good, can easily come across as being wooden and masklike. But his portrayal was convincing and very warm. chan chit亲切

He is truly like what he said, to portray each and every character with his heart. To evoke and fully portray his characters’ eccentricities and traits without contrivances, without over acting; but with a natural fung lao (自然的风流)。He is a very 灵气 actor. (sth like has a spiritual/special aura) Akazukin, help me translate 灵气.

But, no matter how good Steven is, in the beginning, I truly didn’t want to fall in (be captured, to succumb). I’ve watched his interviews; I do not like the Hong Kong media noisy style. I didn’t want to fall into the pain of pursuing a star 追星, to live vicariously through that person’s ups and downs. Too tiring! (san fu) I struggled for a long time, finally it’s Steven’s own person that helped me choose. He’s a genuine and bighearted person. His eyes shine with enthusiasm for his work and passion for life, but without consumed by the pursuit of fame and wealth; all very sunshine (yong kwong)/ (open) and transparent /clear. And so I’m reassured. I know he understands the real meaning of life (living). Regardless of the ups and downs in his career, he will live life with optimism and sincerity.

This, is his off screen 自然风流

------------------------------------------------------

Steven sure knows how to get into his fans' hearts by signing off as 4th brother, his fans' pet name for him.
And before that he had signed off with 等我! Wait for me! Very perceptive!

edited: complete paraphrasing luot's article posted on Steven's yahoo blog.

Thanks for the brief transalation. I wonder what is Steven's defination of "fung lou" for himself since he likes what was written by lout.

Also noticed he always end his blog with "wait for me". That's very sweet of him.

Definitely the first 2 & 7th meanings.
However, I don't believe he thinks of himself as fung lao, (whichever connotation) rather I think he was more amused by luot's usage of those words on him. He wrote: 哈哈，我認了﹗ Ngo ying liu! Haha! I accept/resign to/ acknowledge/admit it. I could almost hear his amused chuckling when he wrote it.


The very first time he wrote 等我！! was in his 2006 blog entry as a title, no less.

Date: 2006-11-01 01:41
Wait for Me 等我！!
Missed you all, how are you?
Lately have been working day and night so no time to update, please forgive!
But I promise you if and when I have time I will come up and read your messages.
And will update my blog for you all to read!
Trust me! Wait for me!

I agree with what luot mostly said and had nothing that I can add. I especially like her comment on Chuen Ka Fuk character in BH. It is so true that it was when Chuen Ka Fuk is most mischevious that he is the most adorable. But I didn't feel any resemblance of Chuen Ka Fuk to his character in Steps when I watched it though. Jun can be playful sometimes but his way of thinking is definitely not as crooked as Chuen Ka Fuk.

The fan is so true about the tiring nature of pursuing a star. But Steven is a special one to make people his fans even though they are reluctant in turning into star's fans. For myself, I mostly become a female's fan, I don't know why, but that has always been so. I hardly follow any male artiste's news so Steven is the first one I dwelled so much in his thread and not just due to a particular pairing (although I have my favourites, but I do accept his other pairings though not all... yet?).



Spirited? An actor with great spirit?

Borrowing some pics from baidu:



I'm slow, I didn't realise that these two are different outfits until I saw these two screencaps. I never knew Ji Yuen had two outfits of the same materials with different linings.

More Ji Yuen's outfits: http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=542518256

luot didn't mean that Ah Jun's and Fuk Tou's characters are similar, only that they are not the serious, heroic protaganists; that they are just regular joes with a somewhat flippant attitude.
舞动全城中的程嘉俊有点类似全家福，不是正经严肃的英雄角色，而是普通的小人物，还有点玩世不恭. It maybe my translation is not precise enough.

How does an actor with great spirit look or act like? To me 灵气 is indescribable in words, rather it must be felt or seen or sensed. Just like these words 气质 & 大方 I can't find the precise English words for them. Although gracious is as close as could be to 大方 but still not totally that.


About the outfits, I guess I was slow too. Did you read what the thread starter wrote about her going crazy over those two outfits? haha!


-------------------------------
From Steven's Yahoo blog
Title: My Dogs 我的狗狗
Date: 2006-08-16 01:29
I really love dogs!
I recall when I was about 5 years old or so, an old lady neighbor gave us a dog! Its name was Xiu Lu, a newborn puppy born of a mongrel mother. Xiu Lu accompanied me for 6 years, and later because of the public housing rule against having a pet dog at home, parents were forced to give away Xiu Lu! That day I cried for half a day! Later heard that Xiu Lu, not long after living in its new home,….died of illness! After that, I owned two more pet dogs; one was a mongrel, Xiu Hak; the other, a pomeranian, Ah Ben!

Had Xiu Hak for less than even a year, because dogs were not allowed in the building, therefore, was forced to give it away to other people! Ben was the luckiest one. He was bought after we had moved, and lived with us for more than 10 years! But after 2001, when Ah Ben died of old age, I never had another dog again. First, no time to take care of it. Second, I’m afraid of going through the loss of yet another dog again; the feelings were awful! So, no matter where, if there are dogs around, I can’t resist playing with them! And dogs do not treat me like strangers at all, maybe because my body still retains a vestige of dog’s scent ba!

Dogs are truly men’s best friends, that I truly believe!
If don’t love dogs or have no time to take care of them, please, do not have them!
Also, once again I want to stress this: Dogs…are not for eating! 狗----不是拿來吃的! People who eat dogs, please do some self-reflection!
p/s the golden retriever was partner in a causal clothing advertisement.


http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/stevenma_blog/article?mid=507

----------------------------------


eta: pix

I'm from Malaysia -- we get it on one of our satellite TV channel. I guess that means you're not in Malaysia! Where are you from? Honestly very lucky to be on this thread with such well-informed people because I would not have known that it was airing!! Agree that his chemistry with Kent Cheng is good. I've said this before and I'll say it again... after seeing the curly hair so many times, I'm actually used to it now, and I'm also looking forward to Dogs. I think it will be a really funny one.



Thanks for the link, Tamaya. Will check it out for sure. Ah, I guess I have to wait till Monday to see the "you're so stupid" scene. I've been looking forward to it since I read your post on it on the AJCL thread. And yes, I also saw on that thread that Steven wrote the lyrics. I have been listening to the theme song non-stop since I started watching this series. It's so touching! I read the translation of the lyrics, and I liked it, even though some people said it was grammatically wrong and that Steven is new at writing lyrics. Is that true that the grammar is wrong? Anyway to me it's a non-issue. The words of a song is actually poetry, and that means the writer/poet has the license to form the poem in whatever way he/she sees fit. Poetic license, mah!

By the way, anyone here have any ideas how/where I can find Steven's "greatest hits" CD in KL? I've been looking everywhere, and because it's been so long since the release date, I can't find it anywhere.

Steven and Kent's chemistry will only get better, overshadowing Steven & Linda's. Their affection and care for each other was so palpable it warms the heart to watch them, and to know that the world is full of love after all. After this collaboration, their bonding was so strong that Steven reportedly has become a regular dinner guest at Kent's house. "Dogs" would only strengthen their friendship. About the lyrics, don't see any grammatical errors myself, (Chinese has proper grammar?) but then I've only a shallow grasp of the Chinese language. But totally with you on poetic license for songs and poems.

reposting the lyrics here for Akazukin's opinion

Ajcl brought back some recollections to share with you all. A HK fans shared her meeting with Mazai during AJCL promotion in steven-ma.org. During the AJCL promotion, Nini was about 17 years old then. It was her first meeting with Steven, but Steven not only remembered her after a 2-year lapse, (* see blog entry below) but acted liked an old friend when she introduced herself to him. Steven has a knack for making his fans feel special.

Paraphrase:
Meeting my idol 2008/3/17
......After the games, the promotion ended. The host said it was time for picture taking at Fok Wah. So I went over there. I squeezed and jostled through the crowd but still I couldn’t snap Mazai’s photos. Too crowded. After snapping some, I wondered aimlessly towards the backstage, very unhappy. Later I saw the security, thinking this must be the place. I waited a while, but still no Mazai. Went around to the front stage, and there he was doing an interview earnestly! I snapped some more pictures! After the interview, I hurriedly towards the entrance, and saw Mazai. Without thinking twice (though I was scared) I hurried to him and below is our dialogue:

Me: Mazai
S: Hello!
M: I’m Nini ya! 妮妮
S: Ah! (suddenly exclaimed loudly, scared me - hak sei ngoh)
Sensed the clicking of cameras around us, click click click
M: Why did you yell so loudly? ( I pointed to the surrounding photographers)
S: Don’t worry, they're not reporters
M: oh!
S: You’re so tall now! Have grown much!
I didn’t know how to respond
S: Yeah, last night I just updated my blog.
M: I know
Some onlooker said she left a message there.
S: You’re xxx?
Forgot her name. Then he turned around to speak to me
S: How’s your health?
I nodded my head and smiled
S: keep it up!
I smiled and nodded my head again, I was so shy, I didn’t know what to say
Later, someone asked Mazai to take pictures with her
When I was about to be separated from him by the crowd, I said,
M: Me too!

Mazai instantly said: OK! This person, I must take pictures with her. (touched!)
Someone, without being asked, helped us take our pictures. (So very nice)
(Being held in Mazai's arms gave me a very secured feeling)
Finished snapping, (Ah! I was the first one) the crowd surged and took away Mazai (I thought, Ma goh goh, don’t leave)
Seeing the commotion, the security told Mazai: Lets go, time’s up.
So Ma goh goh left. Back home, happy for the whole day, he truly sek ngo.! Ma goh goh, I love you!




Steven dedicated a blog entry to Nini. She was also featured in one of his chapters in his book: Egg came first or chicken!

Calling everybody to give Nini an encouragement!
請大家給『妮妮』一個鼓勵!
2006-09-01 00:11

Nini is a 15-year-old girl who is a chronic lupus patient. Because of her pains from the disease, Nini suffers terribly and is very unhappy! So I hope all of you here will leave a message of support and encouragement to her. Wishing her to continue be brave in her battle against the disease demon. And to wish her speedy recovery of her health!

Thank you, everybody!
p/s Nini, this small photo of a xiu ma is my special gift to you. Hope you’ll like it.

Note: Knowing that Steven is her daughter’s idol, Nini’s mother wrote a letter to Steven telling him of her daughter’s admiration for him and of her disease, and to have him give Nini a bit of encouragement. And so Steven wrote that entry for her.

compare:


The boy could be Steven's son?

What a cute picture!

i really think Steven's fans (and especially the Chinese-writing ones) are a lucky lot, because he genuinely engages with them, he is sincere and really gives them his attention and affections, and he is a man of letters - loves to inspire others and share with them his thoughts and views. I cant read Chinese, so count myself really lucky to have found this forum, where we get fantastic translations of his writings into English!! Thanks very much for all your translation efforts and news postings here, much much appreciated!!

I must admit that I only follow news about Steven (which is why you only see me in this forum)- I enjoy watching some other actors, but I don't follow their news - and I do it because he truly inspires me, i respect his views and reflections on life, which have truly helped me through some of life's rough patches.

Wow, that last photo that Tamaya posted - the boy has an uncanny similarity to Steven when he was young -- really could be his son!! He would be so happy to have children, he loves them. Hope that happens for him someday soon.

Hi, purpleswallow, how long have you been a Steven fan?

Steven’s Warm House is one of the earlier Steven fansites that is still operating. Therefore, it is an excellent source of Steven’s old news, old pictures and screencaps on his earlier series. Incidentally, it also has the most firsthand reports of Steven-fans encounters/gatherings.

Getting to know Steven through his fans continues:
From: steven's warm house温馨马仔小屋's records
07-02-04 13:56 by: 桔子.我是猫
Time flies, how many Steven fans have accompanied Steven from one phase to another phase of his journey? How many fans because of Steven have traveled the journey together? They witnessed Steven’s efforts, and also witnessed Steven’s fortitude, in addition to witnessing their own growth….

Perhaps with the passing of time or changes in their lives, some of them have vanished from the forum(s); but the name, Steven Ma, still resides in their hearts; and the beautiful memory of their journey with Steven still lodged in their memory. And now, we want to assemble these beautiful memories together and interlace them into a strand of colorful & luminous pearls – A Steven Fans’ Memoir. Steven fans, I sincerely hope that we can use love, hope and selfless dedication to illuminate this pearl strand, to let it dazzle like the stars above illuminating our youthful years.

“That year, that month, that person - Ma Mi's Memoir” 【那年 那月 那人——马迷回忆录】records the journey of Steven fans will soon be released, please stand tune.

To new fans, this is new knowledge.
To old fans, this is reminiscing.

There were several interviews done, but I'll start with this first.
Date:2007.02.03
Place: Taiwan – Sichuan, China
Interviewee: FanA (阿尔萨兰)Webmistress of a now defunct Steven’s Taiwan fansite (2001-?). Fan since 1999 Quote: Actually really wish when he first started out, I was there to support him, to like him. 其实很希望 他出道时 就能支持他喜欢他
Interviewer: I(桔子) webmistress of Steven’s Warm House.

An Excerpt of their online interview:
I: You said if it wasn’t for that face-to-face meeting, you would have been just a regular fan. Does that mean you don’t see yourself as a regular fan?

FanA: Well, I’ve like him for such a long time, as for that ardent enthusiam, that’s gone. I now look upon him more like a relative, like a friend ba

..........................
I. En, I remember reading an article on another celebrity. Inside was a remark that said, what Scorpio celebrities attract is not the fanatic fans, rather, they are admirers. I appreciate this comment because I think the usage of admirers is very appropriate.

fanA: Very true! He has the kind of charisma that makes one fall in love with him (or another meaning, charisma that inspires admiration) 倾心的魅力. Which is why at the time when I liked him a lot, I never thought of myself as a fanatic fan. My feelings towards him were mild/calm sincerity. I guess many people were that way too.

I: Mild? Don’t think so. haha! I believe it’s more a blending of rationality and passion. Passionate yet tempered.

FanA: Maybe

I: Because that’s the impression you gave me. Oftentimes, when I was being impulsive you would even restrain me.

FanA: I’ve a more reserved personality.

I: but you’ve been crazy before too
FanA: When I was crazy, I would get jealous too, and also get mad.

I: Besides being crazy during that 探班time (Steven-fans meeting), what other occasion were you craziest? And you mentioned jealous?

FanA: craziest? I don’t recall ever being that. Because there weren’t any opportunities for me to act that way. As for jealousy - only over minor stuff. Every fan, especially those whose feelings are deeply engaged, there’s none that will not be jealous over some petty incidences.

I: such as the Taiwanese gf?
FanA: Not only that, even those actresses in the photos kissing mouth to mouth with him; I’ll be jealous.
I: Hahahaa! Well, as to that….

FanA: After all his past, we can’t participate in it anymore
I: Does saying this give you a twinge of sadness?

FanA: En! Actually really wish when he first started out, I was there to support him, to like him.
I: En! True! Sometimes I feel that way too. Even though I could get to know his past from other people, and even felt emotional at hearing it, but still there’s this blank in my memory of him. I’ve this slightly dissatisfied feeling. Bu gan xing!

FanA: True, which is why I so diligently collect old news, magazines on him, hoping to fill in this blank in my memory.

I: That's why it is better to appreciate the present now because we have our own memories

FanA: en!
I: Conversely, these memories to the new fans will be stuff they will regret not having. Haha!
................

I: Last question, having like Xiao Ma all these years, what is your deepest feeling on it?
FanA: That’s tough to answer, like what?

I: like use a phrase to describe your feelings for supporting him all these years, just whatever.

FanA: Ok then, Mazai, if you still don’t find a girlfriend to marry, then I might not be able to get myself married off.

I: hohoho! Will this give him pressure? Hahaha!

FanA: Hahaha! Because of him, I have squandered (?) 耽误 many of my youthful years ya. But if he doesn’t get marry, I think I will find it hard to give up ba!

I: The pressure just got bigger
FanA: Aren't you the same too?
I: lets change the subject hehe!
FanA: I purposely call you out haha
I: Anything else you wish to add to?
FanA: Mazai, take care of your health, of yourself, we’ll always support you!

edited: expand translation of dialogue

That little boy really looks exactly like Steven when he was a baby! Purpleswallow, you're right, it's downright uncanny! Tamaya, is it just some random child or does he say who it is? If it's a relative, then that could explain the striking similarity. Otherwise, maybe it's his secret love child. Doubt that, though, because from what he's said before on really wanting kids, I think he would be proud to parade his son around if that were the case. Then again, relationships can be very complicated matters -- maybe he has his reasons for keeping such things private.



I just read this from Tamaya's post above (Steven's blog entry -- "My Dogs"), and just about fell over laughing. I love the way he says "...please do some self-reflection!" Totally agree, though. Dogs are friends, they are not food! I have three dogs whom I love like my own children, and quite horrified at the thought of people eating dogs. I suppose those people will argue that it's the same as eating cows or chickens, but no, sorry, I can't accept that!


Tamaya, thanks for the translation of the interview between the two webmistresses. Nicely chosen! Funny and wistful at the same time. Cute how she laments that she's holding out till Steven gets married, because she can't bring herself to give up just yet.

Thought this one comment was funny, considering that we all just recently poked fun at the crazy sinais trying to rip off Steven's shirt:


Of course, I personally like to think that Steven has that x factor that attracts people of all ages and backgrounds. And although that may include screaming teenagers and crazy sinais, it seems to me like most of his fans are intelligent and calm (not nuts or stalkers). I don't read any Chinese, so I'm just assuming that based on things I'm reading on this thread...

Hoho! I guess what she's trying to say is that Steven fanbase skewed toward the admiring kind over the fanatic kind. But you're right, Steven attracts all kinds of people, screaming teenagers and crazy sinais notwithstanding. Right now, the largest age group in baidu fanbase is between 14 to 20 years of old, according to its poll.

Hi gals, I'll try (stressing try) to assemble pertinent info from the other 8 interviews and group it under appropriate topic titles, instead of translating each interview individually. Base on their separate responses, Steven old/loyal fans came across as being very articulate. Incidentally, all of them said they had gotten over their ardent enthusiasm and starstruck awe for Steven, now they view him as part of their extended family. That though they don't post regularly anymore in fansites, they still care about him a lot.

Wow, I haven't been in this thread for a night, at look at all the posts! Great jobs, guys, keep it up!



Agree, an english word seems lacking when it comes to translating those chinese words. But I guess, an explanation like you did in brackets will be sufficient and good besides those words. For myself, I regard an actor that has spirit as someone who put life to the character as opposed to those who has no spirit as in the character they played come off as pale and hollow in their hand.
As for 气质, I will translate it to demeanour but like you said, it isn't really a precise word for it. I agree gracious would be the closest when it comes to 大方.
These are all the exact reason why I love Chinese language, I love how short words can mean something that you need a lot of words to describe it in English. And the sentence tends to be more brief, when getting the same thing across.



Didn't catch on that one, didn't know she went crazy over those two outfits. What did she say? Actually, before knowing those two are different outfits, 'it' is my most favourite of Ji Yuen's. But knowing the different linings now, I actually prefer the orange one. Of course, her casual clothing when he was an official is very nice too, but I just think those two outfits, although more simple, is more unique and Steven looks very handsome in it. I believe not many people can pull of those two costumes that well.



I totally sympathise with what he felt about the dog. To be honest, I don't keep a pet myself as I know that it will die sooner than me and I'm very afraid of going through the pain. I think dogs do have instinct with them, they tend to get closer and friendly to those who like dogs. Maybe they do sense that Steven is someone who likes dogs.


Can't give any opinion on the grammar because my Chinese does not qualify. But I do feel that he puts a lot of his outviews in life into the lyrics. He can definitely do more lyrics.

The pic of that boy in Disneyland certainly resemble Steven's childhood pic. I believe he is one of the tourist that went to Disneyland and took a photograph with him? If only we get to see the boy acting as Steven's character's and Tavia's character's son in Stars of Love, it will be a blissful scene to see him carrying the little boy on his shoulder around the Disneyland with Tavia. Why can't they make the ending like that instead of some wired twist??



Steven is so nice. I believe his encouragement has helped Nini a lot mentally. Not only did Nini feel touched, I feel touched at this heartwarming care he has for his fans too. And it's great to know that two years later, we get to know that Nini is well and had the chance to meet him again.



Yeah, I notice a lot of his fans' posts show that they admire him more than the fanatic kind. There are some posts who don't even hesitate to provide criticism, like his ah Kung's hair? I think most of his fans got attracted by his great acting skill and charisma first. And then, they get to know his writings etc. So it isn't all about looks, although I think he looks good looking enough. Besides fans, I think he has a lot of people who like him but who are not so fanatic to follow his news. They don't go to his site and posted messages but they do have good opinions about him.

Actually, most of his fans, including myself, were attracted by his looks first than his acting. We had 眼缘. Among his mainland fans, it was Xiao Xuan Zi who first bewitched them with his angelic look and flawless complexion. To baidu netizens, Steven's Kangxi is arguably their most favorite domd kangxi of all times. His characters' good looks in WTLB and Pitnol only deepened his enchantment on them. His acting, truth be told, was secondary to his looks. Until BH and Safeguards.


Akazukin, I'm right now doing a very condensed translation of his fans' write-up on their meeting with Steven in Hengdian while he was filming LOW. There's an incident that truly shows up Steven's character. The incident part is in the spoiler if you wish to preview it.





thread starter going crazy over Ji Yuen's outfits. Muttering to herself. haha!

大海探班
Shanghai fans’ Meeting with Steven at Hengdian
2005/ 12/ 26

Finally the day arrived; luckily the weather wasn’t too cold, probably around 5-10 degrees Celsius. KaKa, Xiao Feng and I boarded the train for the 4- hour ride to Yi Wu for our 3-day excursion to visit Steven Ma in Hengdian filming LOW. After checking in our hotel we staked out at its lobby. It was about 6 pm then. Soon, vanload after vanload of thespians was dropped off at the front entrance but we did not recognize any of them, until we spied Sonija Kwok. Assuming us her fans, she, of her own accord, graciously took pictures with us. She was pretty in person and I complimented her as such. She smiled and nodded. Soon after, we saw Moses arrived. While having our pictures taken together, I asked him if Mazai had returned. He did not know but guessed maybe not yet. While waiting we saw Moses’ loyal fan, Ammy. Since she was by herself here, she decided to room with us. It was getting close to dinner time and the lobby had become crowded. Amongst its milling guests were Moses, Liu Dan, Chris Lai, Kenny Wong, John Chiang .. and many others that I had no names for. Gradually, the lobby crowd left for dinner outside.

At around 6:15 pm, while we girls were talking, Ammy suddenly shrieked, ‘Ma Jun Wei!’ Xiao Feng and I looked around, “Where? Where?” And then, Ammy let out yet another shriek, this time louder still, “Ma Jun Wei!!” I saw him now. Mazai was coming down the staircase with a group of colleagues. My first reaction was to ready the camera, while Xiao Feng still asked, “Where?” Ammy shrieked for the 3rd time, “Ma Jun Wei!!!” I saw Mazai started, stunned for at least 3 seconds. Xiao Feng finally saw him and unable to contain her excitement, shrieked, “Ah” at the highest possible decibel. Mazai, who had since managed some steps, was again stunned (for about 5 seconds) at hearing Xiao Feng’s shriek. That was a long walk down the staircase for Mazai. Seeing him about to leave the hotel with his colleagues, we rushed over to him and told him who we were. Mazai immediately stood still and, without being asked, took pictures with us. While we were taking pictures, his colleagues came in from outside to make trouble; here dragging Mazai away; there urging him to hurry; and next, separating us from Mazai, and holding him tight, simpered: Come come, let’s take some photos together…. Xiao Feng became agitated and entreated him: “Bang bang mang lah, please lah, shuai ge, (haha! Actually should call him shuai uncle) give us a few more minutes ma.” Mazai grinned and told them to stop fooling around, and even booted the whole lot of them out the door. After their exit, the world became much quieter. And we presented our presents to him. Later, Ammy requested Mazai to sing pitnol themesong, which he did. About 15 minutes later, Mazai took his leave of us, promising to meet again tomorrow in Hengdian. Mazai later told us that he actually came back quite early that day, took a nap and upon waking up felt hungry so ate a bowl of instant noodle. He wanted to skip dinner altogether but he had to keep his dinner appointment with his friends - lucky for us he did.

The lobby meeting was captured in the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DXuo9sUcTk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wUtpoHU5Oc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5Fj8N0p3HQ

A condensed paraphrased version of 大海探班 revised version of her 2005 dec 26-28th meeting with Steven in Hengdian.
source: http://www.xici.net/b284854/d50130396.htm

eta: youtube links

Remember me asking you if you've ever come across an exceptionally high # of users in Tavia thread like I did in Steven's several times. That I was so stunned I prtscreen that page and asked a AF crew if it was a glitch? The highest # I've ever come across was 98. I just wish you lurkers would take time to post now and then.

It unbelieveable what we fans can do when we meet our idol. I believe we support them in different ways too.



Honeydaisy, i am from Malaysia too. I can't get any of Steven's cd here despite high and low searching from small to big cd shop. But i finally got all of his collections through a friend from Hong Kong.

大海探班 (2) contd from post# 1278
2005/12/27
Shanghai fans’ Meeting with Steven at Hengdian
After a restless night due to all the excitement, we finally got up at around 4 am to get ready for a brand new day. At around 6 am we went downstairs; thespians were already trickling down too. Ah Mo (Moses) came down at about 6:30 am and Ammy wheedled a ride from him to Hengdian. Soon after, our long-awaited refined gongzi儒雅公子finally made an appearance, his presence instantly brightening our eyes. Attired in full costume, he looked different from yesterday, extremely shuai.

I greeted him good morning and he politely reciprocated in kind. We exchanged some pleasantries. Then out of necessity, I made an excessive demand of him: “May we ride with you to Hengdian because 江南水乡is only open to the public at night but is closed during the day.” Mazai said fine. But his assistant standing beside him, countered: “It’s better if you go there yourself.” I understood his assistant’s misgivings, she did not want outside influence to distract her artiste. But Mazai was very understanding. He turned to his assistant and chauffeur, and said: “They came all the way from Shanghai.” Then he turned back to us, and said: “Get into the van ba!” Just like that we were fortunate to ride with Mazai in his van. Mazai sat behind the chauffeur; Xiao Feng and I sat behind him; and Kaka, behind us. Mazai turned around to chat with us, showing us his profile; very elegant, very beautiful, especially his nose; indescribable beyond words. Mazai fiddled with his beloved flute, lamenting that its coating was slightly chipped, but did not know why. Mazai said: “Because of some flute playing scenes, I especially took some lessons from a teacher.” As we were praising his professionalism, Mazai chipped: “Only had one lesson, though.” (hoho!)

Finally reached our destination, this was our first time entering the filming grounds. So we stuck to Mazai and his assistant, Xiao Hua. During Mazai’s free time, we took more group pictures, shot the breeze, and relaxing in each other’s company.

I really did not want to bring up this incident but it had been such a long time already and thought I should at least mention it; after all, Mazai did help us so much, so very much. Three security guards suddenly appeared on the grounds and approached us; suspecting us trespassing, they accosted us and demanded to see our work permits. Mazai was at work then, so I ran to look for him, and found him nearby. I quickly explained our situation to him. His assistant, Xiao Hua said: “You stay here!” Later, I saw from afar Kaka and Xiao Feng sitting quite relaxingly over there with Mazai seated beside them, snacking on some tidbit. He even offered some to them, totally ignoring the security. I thought maybe everything was fine now so I walked over to join them. The 3 guards besieged us, glaring at us. Mazai said to them: “Let them stay ma. No problem lo!” But the guards were immovable and were fierce to us. When Mazai saw their attitude, he retorted: “They are just young girls, why are you so fierce ma?” A quarrel almost started out among them, seeing thus, we immediately said to Mazai: “We’ll just leave. We’ll talk when you get back to the hotel tonight.” Mazai could see our unhappiness but there was nothing he could do except say: “Ok, you all leave then. We’ll chat at the hotel.” And so most reluctantly we set out to leave the filming grounds.

We thought that would be the end of the matter but instead they took us to a room for interrogation. They wanted to know who gave us the ride to the grounds. If we disclosed his identity then they would let us go. We thought if we told them, Mazai and the chauffeur would sure to get into trouble so our lips were zipped, even at the risk of being beaten to death! (note: such melodrama! Hoho!) (Actually, they knew who gave us the ride because when we got off the van, somebody greeted the chauffeur. He must have informed the security and was in cahoots with them to seize this opportunity to extort some money from us.)

A condensed paraphrased version of the source below.
http://www.xici.net/b284854/d50130396.htm
tbc

And the affectionate bashing of Ah Gong continues... We love u therefore we speak our mind!!l ol!

I say why is Gongzai squatting like a dog there? zhan hai mo ying cheong..
话说恭子怎么像狗一样蹲着？真没形象……
quote from: baidu own 采苕

Tamaya, I guess I'm in same predicament as many of Mazai fans, not even sure if I can call myself a fan!! I feel more like an admirer... so thats a more fitting way to describe how i feel. I've admired him since 2004, while watching PITNOL, i was really struck by his portrayal of the very loyal Chou Sai Hin. I thought he was somewhat good-looking (but not extremely dashing) but what really caught me was his refined charisma. He struck me as a very "decent" guy... LOL, and at that time of my life, i really needed the appearance/ presence of a decent guy in my life, a loyal best friend like he was to Cheong Ping. LOL. Ah.. a bit of reminiscing here, .. and then I got to know that he sings, and writes, and I really really love his voice, it can really brighten up my day. In 2004, I had to be far away from home, working in an extremely alienating environment, and i remember that it was Mazai's voice on my MP3 player that really helped me through the days, i can just imagine it now - his voice amidst the long, dreary walks in the snow, in the winter when there was only 3 hours of sunlight, sometimes none. Have a lot to thank him for.

Mazai is really flexible to be able to squat that way - his bum almost touching the ground!!
Its a 'squat-sit'

Hahaha!

Thanks for sharing, not the squatting bit but of yourself.


Pu Songling's costumes fitting ceremony
13/03/2009

大海探班 (3)contd from posts# 1278 & 1281

Shanghai fans’ Meeting with Steven at Hengdian
2005/ 12/ 26

They said: “If you don’t reveal, then you’ll each be fined 200 yuen!” Tian na! Where can we get that much money? We refused to yield. At that moment, we truly felt this defiance of: “money I’ve none, but life I’ve one”. Seeing our mulishness got us nowhere with security, we switched tack; we took to imploring and not a little bit of cajoling, finally we got the fine down from 200 yuen each to 40 yuen each, and we could leave unhindered. But it’s only 8 o’clock in the morning, and we had come so close that I felt cheated to have to leave now, so I tried one more time: “OK, we’ll pay the fines, but if we also pay the 40 yuen tickets, can you please let us stay?” He said he would have to call his supervisor and proceeded to do so from his cellphone. When he hung up, he said: “You’re in trouble now. The boss said 200 yuen each, non-negotiable.” Thereafter, we continued to argue back and forth, and pretty soon the situation was blown out of proportion. Other people tried to help us out but to no avail. Of course, Xiao Hua came by too. Thinking that we would not be able to get inside the grounds, I gave the photos and posters to Xiao Hua for Mazai’s signatures. And so the stalemate continued. Security began to intimidate us: “If you don’t pay up the fines, next time, their troupe will not be able to film here!” Xiao Hua soon re-appeared with the signed photos. We were weary of arguing so we decided to pay the 200 yuen fines and leave. When Kaka was about to hand in the money, Xiao Hua asked the security: “How much?” He said 200 and Xiao Hua fished out 200 bills from her bag and gave them to security. When we saw that we tried to stop her but she would have none of it. We felt bad. And so downhearted, we prepared to leave. But the guard, after conversing with a troupe member, turned to us and said: “You may go in now.” OMG! Did I hear right? Mood took a 180 degrees change. Sky instantly brightened up. And so we entered the grounds once more. 55555! We're on our way to see Mazai again.

paraphrased version of the source below
source:
http://www.xici.net/b284854/d50130396.htm

Ahaha... that was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the pic, but I hesitated to voice it out since it isn't the nicest thing to say, but since someone has said it already... I can only say I agree.
But I think he is intentionally doing that, given ah Kung's character and the theme with Dogs, it's not unreasonable.



I guess I spoke too quickly for myself, because I admire his acting skill first, surely he does struck me as good-looking but it is not the first factor that attracts me. I think I'm most attracted to his charisma and he was just very convincing and entertaining as Kei Yin Jo in UP. That was for me, and maybe it's rather different in baidu, but from the posts in AF, there seem to be more admirers for his acting skill?

Thanks for translating such long fan encounters with Steven in China. He treats his fans very well. Thanks for the video as well. It is so cute when Steven "ehm..." for a long time in the clip.



As far as I know, I have never seen a number as high as 89 guests on Tavia's thread. I can recall number like 29 guests quite easily, perhaps it has ever gone to 30 something, but not 89. Wow, that's a lot of people viewing this forum at the same time. And none of them posted? Yeah, what do we expect, they are guests. No wonder you suspected that it was a glitch.

purpleswallow, thanks for sharing how you come to admire Steven with us. We have a variety in our forum here of which series we come to know/admire Steven.

Going out on a limb, most AF posters are not Steven's loyal fans, more like people who appreciate him as a competent actor or as an acting partner to their idols. A quick glance at baidu threads will tell you what his baidu fans most love about him, same in Steven-ma.org. For myself, Dr. Joe caught my attention because he was so adorable, and so 'clean' and his natural acting was a great bonus. I totally enjoyed his chemistry with Nick Cheung. Now HH1 cast acted well, some maybe even better than him, but it's him that left the deepest impression in me because I liked his looks.

I've come across the numbers 76, 90, 98 and some in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, and in the teens but of course, most time it was just in the single digit.

From the archives of Steven's Warm House
How the pet name 4th brother, (sei goh) came about.

I: How did his pet name sei goh come about?
SY: Simple, doesn't he have 3 older sisters? He’s # 4 so sei goh lah! (Thank goodness HK has no one child policy)
I: But I know this pet name has another meaning – it imparts a warm feeling亲切when addressing him as such, right?
SY: very warm feeling. At least it’s also more restrain than calling him ‘baby /darling /treasure /boubiu. 宝贝.
I: Also there’s a 3rd meaning too. In the olden days, lovers addressed each other as goh ya, miu ya, hing ya .
SY: Yong Goh even addresses Xiu Long Nui as Gugu. Goh goh ya, mui mui ya etc aren't they the same?
I: Right, so this pet name shows his importance in your heart.
SY: en, I respect him!!!
I: And? Admire him? Adore him wholeheartedly?
SY: respect, 尊敬; adore/admire, 爱慕; feel a tenderness/compassion towards him 怜惜. you paparazzi you. 你这个狗仔队的。
I: 怜惜?





per Ah Gong's squat, recall how he sat during his 'Hakka' interview. lol!

大海探班 (4) contd
2005/12/27
When Mazai saw us, he was very happy and immediately asked: "So? They didn’t scold you all ba?” Seeing Mazai’s adorable expression, we all laughed and said: “No! No!” Later, behind our backs, he quietly asked Xiao Hua how much did she pay? Xiao Hua said 200 yuen. (Actually I saw everything. hei! hei!) Later, Mazai walked over to a colleague nearby and in Cantonese said something along this line: “Such a small matter and they fined 200 yuen wo!” And then he did this funny action; his hands balled into fists, he kicked out one leg into the air and exclaimed in Mandarin: “Qi shi wo le!” All at once, the cheerful atmosphere came back again.

Later Ammy recounted to us what happened here in our absence; we were extremely touched! When we left Mazai was truly anxious. Ammy was our only link, without her, we certainly would not have been able to come back inside. During that time when Mazai was discussing the problem with Mo, another security guard glanced at Ammy suspiciously. And so Mo signaled her with his eyes, Ammy promptly pretended to pass him the clothes, acting like his assistant. Seeing it, the guard left. Mo said to Ammy: “Ni hao cai!” (You’re lucky!) Mazai saw Ammy nonstop text messaging us with her cellphone, so whenever he was not at work, he would bug her for our news. Later, when Ammy received yet another Kaka’s text message, she had to search for it because there were so many stored in her phone. Mazai getting impatient finally snatched the phone over and found the correct one. When done reading the text, Mazai immediately went looking for Xiao Hua, calling out her name as he walked from one site to another; standing on top of the bridge, he hollered out her name. Finally he found her and told her: “Xiao Hua, make a phone call. Hengdian’s president is my buddy. We even had dinner together before.” Xiao Hua looked through her phone list and said: “Don’t have his phone numbers!” Even thought we did not witness the events, but just listening to Ammy’s narration, we were already so very, very touched.--- Mazai, we were truly, truly very sorry! We caused you so much trouble. Recalling it now still made me feel so bad!

condensed version of source
source: 大海探班 revised 07-03-21 22:17 version
http://www.xici.net/b284854/d50130396.htm

eta: check out:大海探班low visit video collection

Xiao Feng brought Wuxi ribs for Mazai. Mazai said: "We're just about to go out for dinner. May I share this with them?" We all said ok. But Kaka this girl actually said, 'No...Bu yao.. Mazai exclaimed: Bu yao ... don't share with them?" Kaka finished off her sentence....Bu yao jing.. No problem!

So I guess I should just give up. I also have been asking from small to big shops, and one of them even said, "is he still singing??" Sigh!

Just read the story of the fans at Hengdian. Really goes to show you how sincerely Steven appreciates his fans. It's not put on, or just for show. Even though he was working, he was still concerned for them. He seems like a very patient person as well. These girls must have been quite young, which would explain that's why he felt so protective over them. Very sweet. Thanks for the translation!

I am now up to episode 11 of BOL, and maybe I had too much expectation for it, because of the good reviews I heard and it's by Mui Siu Ching and Mui Siu Ching's production is really good, but it doesn't really keep me interested to go on for most of the time. I agree with those who said that the villains in the series has outshined the protagonists. It is actually the scenes of villains that get me sit at the edge of my seat. In Steven's case, I think it's more of a character problem. Despite being righteous, very patient, a good son, a good brother, and a good friend, Chi Ko is somehow rather bland. I think Steven did very well in his emotional scenes, but he needed to improve on his court scene. He needed to work on his tone when delivering his court speech and emphasis on some part of his sentence while relaxing more on some other so that his speech can have more punches and be more powerful. In my opinion, he was lacking some fire as a lawyer or in the court scene. And I'm sure he is capable of much more because his court speech in TGC2 comes off more powerful than in BOL. He is burning with righteous fire in TGC2, LOW, and SITS, which is slightly lacking here. But maybe Steven wanted to portray the character more differently from how he portrayed the ancient character. As for his chemistry with Bernice, I think it's adequate although not outstanding. But Steven has always been able to act out romance even if he is only to rely on himself (like I said, he can pull it off even if his counterpart is a wood). A bonus from BOL, I think he looks really charming riding on a horse.

I know it's difficult to get his cds. It took me a while to collect all the 13 album he has released. Which part of Msia are you from?

Yeah, Steven is indeed very concern for his fans especially they went all the way to visit him. I guess that's what make him so lovable beside being a good actor. Good job tamaya on the transalation

大海探班(5) contd
Around noon, Mazai’s morning work was about done; he said to us: “Treat you all to a noodle lunch. Come on!” I was slow to react, indecisive and not sure what to think - tian na! Is this for real? And also we felt sort of bad for imposing on him. bu hao yi shi - 不好意思的 So none of us moved as we stood rooted to where we were. This can’t be true, we thought to ourselves. Suddenly, someone (Ang Goh, the onsite recordinding technician) quipped: “Yo! You really going to follow him? (pointing at Mazai) Go then! 走啊 He’s so stingy; he won’t treat you all to lunch lah! You really believe him?” Of course we knew he was just teasing us. Mazai had gone to change clothes. I did not know that, so I went over there, and…haha! Luckily I have quick reflexes, I sensed something amiss so turned right back. Rather, brave Miss Ammy (should I use brave? or lascivious 好色?)stayed put and stared at Mazai for quite a while ne! From afar, we saw Mazai complained laughingly to Ammy: “Secretly taping me changing clothes ya, you! Luckily I’ve clothes underneath! “偷拍我换衣服啊你！还好我里面是穿的!”as he quickly whipped off his costume, briefly exposing a white undershirt, and just as swiftly put on a yellow winter coat, all done in a flash. And then he put on a “taken by surprise’ facial expression; his antics all captured by Ammy's camcorder.

Inside the filming compound was a cafeteria inside a small building. Saw Miss Kwok and her assistant having their lunch inside. Mazai greeted Ms. Kwok as we walked in. We had a table to ourselves and Mazai ordered a bowl of mushroom/meat noodle for himself; following his lead, we all ordered the same.

The service was very slow, but on the plus side, it gave us more time with Mazai. Mazai examined the snapshots in our cameras; my camcorder was not exempted either. To provoke Mazai, Ammy showed him one of the pictures taken on the first day. (Honestly, it was bad.) When Mazai saw it, he hollered: “Look so terrible la!” When he finished perusing the pictures in her camera, he quietly returned it to Ammy. Later Ammy asked: “You didn’t delete that picture, did you?” Mazai very calmly said: “Deleted already lah!” We thought he was just joking, but turned out, it was indeed deleted. Ammy didn’t know whether to laugh or be angry又气又好笑; this Mazai was truly bad 这个马仔太坏了 How can you delete a photo from my very own private collection? Mazai: “Wah! You made me look like a hog's head in the picture. No! even look worse than a hog's head. I worry you might use that picture as your wallpaper ya! If someone sees that, argh….. We all laughed uproariously. Mazai said: “How come their pictures turned out quite good?” (Ammy’s explanation” Ai!.. you can’t blame me ya! Who ask him to be still groggy from his nap and then had a bowl of 泡面 instant soup noodle? No wonder his face looked puffed up lo!)

We waited a long time for our food to arrive. Mazai yelled out: Lao Ban! We’re starving to death here!老板，我们饿死拉 and proceeded to act as if in pain. Very hilarious! When the food finally came, we all rushed to take pictures with him. I was first again! During that time, Steven even pretended to eat in slow motion to entertain us. When done, he uttered sheepishly: "So, wu liao!" (so silly!)

condensed version from source
大海探班 revised version 07-03-21 22:17
source:http://www.xici.net/b284854/d50130396.htm

eta:


Akazukin: BOL is quite entertaining for me although no way near my top favorites; nonetheless, I've enjoyed watching it. Michelle was awesome!

correction to translation: Steven deleted only one particular picture from Ammy's camera not a few as was previously written. My mistake.

This is the conclusion of 大海探班 in Hengdian. With much apologies to its writer, I have ruthlessly condensed her detailed, volumnious firsthand report to this miserly, chopped-up paraphrased version. But nonetheless, I hope you all have enjoyed reading it, and have gotten to know Steven a little more. The unannounced appearance of fans at work, strangers no less, can be distracting if not downright disconcerting, especially with the unneeded problem of trespassing with security. But Steven not only took it all in stride but took upon him to give his fans two memorable days for them to treasure for a long, long time.

大海探班(5) contd
After lunch, Mazai had only one scene to do in the afternoon. Meanwhile, he goofed around with the production crew. After finishing his scene, Mazai quickly changed into his street clothes because of his badminton game appointment with his friends. Could see that he was really looking forward to it. Since he was in such a hurry to leave, we quickly took one last group picture; Xiao Hua was our photographer. When done, Mazai happily declared: “The 4 empresses! “四个皇后" Haha!” (When Ammy met him at another meeting, she had him signed that very photo. He wrote on it: “四大女王” 4 great female emperors, and labeled us as “1、2、3、4”; and on the side drew an emperor stamp. He was going to write 四个皇后 but thought it did not too good so wrote “四大女王”, the 4 great female emperors instead. (note: Again illustrating Steven’s perceptiveness) The Emperor stamp was a bit blurry so he said to Ammy, “If they get it then fine, if not then forget it. suan le 算了 Ammy thought to herself, “Who will be so stupid to not get it!" Haha! After sending off Mazai, we went to a supermarket. In the supermarket we saw Liu Dan, John Chiang, and Yuan JJ.

2005/ 12/28
The next day, Xiao Feng had to hurry back to school, naturally she was most reluctant to leave. We sent her off at the hotel lobby, and guess who we got to see again ---the very Miss Kwok herself. Xiao Feng sighed and said: “So very lucky ya, the first person we saw was her, now leaving, the last person I see is still her.” Hahaha!

After sending off Xiao Feng, we left the hotel before Mazai. Ammy had already left with Ah Mo in his van. Lucky her but we were not so lucky; with some difficulties we finally made our way to 明清宫苑 in time to see Ah Mo’s scene in progress. It was the last scene in the series; Ah Mo was attired in the early republican costume. Because of the rain, the whole shooting schedule was pushed back.

We asked the make-up artist whether Mazai would be in today. He said: "Mazai still has one scene to do. His hair piece is with me ne. Maybe he's late." He then showed us the hairpiece. Haha! We’ll get a chance to see Mazai put on make-up. We waited for a long time so I asked Ang Goh if Mazai was late. He said: “Mazai is always punctual. Never late.” Not long after, Mazai finally made an appearance, bare of head and looking groggy. He said: I'd been sleeping inside the van for more sleep than I need.” Turn out that because of the rain, the whole shooting schedule had been pushed back. Actually Mazai was there already at 9:30 am. He was snatching some 40 winks inside the van while waiting for his turn to shoot. After exchanging some pleasantries, make-up artist did Mazai’s makeover. Our cameras worked overtime documenting the whole process. While waiting for his turn to act, I took the opportunity to chat to him. That Kaka was too shy so hid in a corner chatting to Ammy. So I was left on my own chatting to Mazai; felt a bit awkward doing that ya.

After shooting a scene, at around 11 am we bid Mazai farewell. And suddenly Ammy remembered she had not requested Mazai’s autograph so handed her autograph book for him to sign. Mazai signed his name, but Ammy wanted him to write something more. Yi dian dian “一点点” Mazai said, “Write what? Oh! Yi dian dian,” and proceeded to write “一点点” . haha! We then shook hands. His hand felt so comfortingly warm oh! Mazai reminded Ammy: "Remember take better pictures of me next time! Haha! Still bear grudges, this fellow! 真是个会记仇的家伙

The end


youtube videos of 大海探班
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g3s4lpQhZo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvHMeK-4Wds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADBkHvwayn8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsB3GDdbNaE

大海探班 revised version 07-03-21 22:17
source:http://www.xici.net/b284854/d50130396.htm

Oh. You mean Astro's airing A Journey Called Life now? Hahaha, I am your neighbour =P
Oh, but I dont really like the curly curly hair. But it makes his character looks more interesting!

Tamaya, I don't think it's miserly at all. I enjoyed reading it. I think this paraphrased version is great. Agree that it can be distracting and disconcerting for an artiste having to deal with unannounced appearance of fans at work. I know that when people turn up at my workplace without an appointment, I often feel quite put out! Steven was being extremely accommodating, and really went out of his way to be nice to them.



I see! Can you get Astro? It's on Astro Wah Lai Toi. I also don't like the curly-curly hair. When I first saw it, I almost died! I wonder if his character will be as I imagine it. I'm picturing Ah Kung as this loud, obnoxious, uncouth young man, but not quite sure how Steven will portray it. Looking forward to the trailers to get a taster! At the moment, can't find anything on Youtube, other than the vids that Tamaya posted up on the Dogs forum.

I've paraphrased like maybe 70% of the original write-up, if that. Not only accommodating but warm too, and actually seemed to enjoy their company too, despite being poorer 200 yuen plus lunch money. lol! About his unflattering pictures, I think most of his unflattering though real life pictures are actually posted by himself on his blog.





pix source: 大海探班
reposted from steven baidu

I am from KL. I see what i could do to help you to get Steven's cd.

The four fans are so lucky to have lunch and spending some time with Steven.

Addendum to 大海探班
07-03-20 online interview of 大海 by 桔子webmistress of Steven’s Warm house for Ma Mi memoir. Interviewer 桔子 is from Sichuan. The past few days, Steven was at Chengdu, Sichuan; fans got to see him in person. (note: I think he was there with a group of celebrities to promote environmental protection.)

I: Let's start with the recent event. These past few days Kuangai netizens and Lan Lan 蓝蓝 went to Chengdu to see Xiao Ma. When you read their write-ups and saw their photos, how did you feel?

Fan: They were so lucky but hate Xiao Ma for being so secretive. Fear that one day he comes to Shanghai and I didn’t even know about it!

I: Hahaha! That’s Xiao Ma’s character oh! Were you jealous?

Fan: Of course ya! But you’re even more jealous ba. Hoho!

I: Last night I was so jealous that I uttered quite a bit of 'lose face' stuff to 习习 @ Kuangai. Even threatened I’ll strangle her.

Fan: hahaha! Xiao Ma truly ‘hurt’ 害 a lot of people ne
I: True! This fellow! When you read about those mei mei's (sisters') frenzy, did it remind you of yourself when you saw him?

Fan: I was totally different from them. I was very calm, very rational! Felt that Mazai was very warmhearted 亲切, very hospitable. Felt that 探班 group visit has the most benefits, is most secured, and has the most advantages. Haha!

I: Such as?
Fan: Can chat face to face with him, have long conversations with him. He’s very funny, always try to enliven the atmosphere, and seems like an old friend, interacting/playing with us all! That’s why we named him happy fruit. 开心果

I: Too general, how able some specifics?

Fan: Well, he treated us to lunch. I wrote about that in my diary. At that time, we never thought a big celebrity would actually treat us lunch! It’s so surreal

I: haha! Ok! When the time comes, I’ll append that diary to your interview as appendix, no problem ba?
Fan: I welcome everybody to read it. (her revised version)

I: At that time, what’s your biggest impression of him; mention only yours.

Fan: He’s truly~~~ very nice! Basically can’t find any faults with him. No reasons not to like him

http://www.xici.net/b284854/d50130583.htm



Only three of them were Steven fans; Ammy was Moses'.


eta: trivia
Steven talking about dogs to fans in Hengdian
He said while ordering his food at the cafeteria, he was asked by the waiter if he wanted dog meat or beef.
He answered: bai tuo lah, (oh please lah!) don't kill dogs for food.

eta:
candid photos of Steven at environmental protection promotion at Chengdu posted on March 22 2007 by 马迷小Y
source: at chengdu, sichuan

tamaya, thanks for your translation. From the fan encounters, Steven seems like a fun person to hang around with, very witty and is not afraid to show this side of him to his fans. Those are very nice pictures of Cheung Sung Man. It was very funny when he deleted the pics from the camera like there is no problem with it, very naughty but cute. I don't know whether to laugh or cry if I were them too. But hey, they got a lot of pics and videos of him already so they got a good bargain already.

Anyway, I finished BOL and the series did pick up in the last 5 episodes. Something maybe wrong with me but in this series, I actually rooted for Michelle and Shirley over the protagonists.

I can't find faults with Steven's character yet, except that he doesn't seem the slightest bit touched at Michelle's mother nature. He should be able to witness it from the time he spent in their house. I don't blame him for misusing her trust unlike how Bernice approached her case because he will do no harm at all to Michelle had Michelle been not guilty, while Bernice will hurt Michelle and the family regardless whether or not they are guilty. I think BOL does come off as a nice series in the end. I like its grayness on the protagonists and villainous characters, but whether or not it's trying to portraying the grayness to start with is another thing. To be honest, I don't think the point of the series is to portray grayness because it's clear that no one sympathise for the villains in the series and the villains got the most gruesome endings while the protagonists (except room for Ron's sacrifice) got their happy endings.

And tamaya, I agree with you, Michelle is awesome. Her character comes off very dimensional and she did a great job in it.

Yes, very warm! He treated them like friends. This impressed me because even regular people aren't always that nice. Then again, someone like Steven -- a thinking man's man -- know that a little goes a long way. I admire that about him.




Yay! Thanks! No pressure of course. If you can't, I'll understand. It's been so long since that CD has been released, I doubt that there are any left in the shops really. Unless maybe it's a secondhand shop.

Actually, while I was reading the story of how the four girls met with Steven, I did think that their perserverence paid off in the end. Although I would be more than happy to have a chance to meet Steven in person, I wonder if I would ever go to such lengths to do so. Then again, even if I met him in person, I wouldn't know what to say to him. I don't speak a word of Cantonese or Mandarin. Haha! Otherwise I think he would be such an interesting person to talk to.

He deleted just one particular picture of his from Ammy's camera. A different fan write-up confirmed only one snapshot was deleted not a bunch like I'd previously written. My fault in translation.



To me, Michelle is a cold-blooded murderer who orders premeditated murders of those who dared to cross her, not so much that they threatened the lives of her children or hurt them, but because they dared to thwart her sense of power and wobble her sense of equilibrium. She's a triad boss's daughter true and true whose ruthlessness is inculcated into her since young. So, like swatting an annoying bug dead, she had her annoying victims killed without even batting an eyelid, or the slightest hint of mercy or sympathy. To her she didn't do anything wrong at all because she's a killer without a conscience. That she loves her young does or that she is capable of deep love does not change the fact that she is evil; because she hurts, she harms and she kills people. Moreover, just because she loves her kids does not make her a good mother, for a good mother would never put her young in danger like she did with her illegal and destructive arms dealings.

Bernice as the other woman would not have made any headway into destroying a marriage if it is strong, which Michelle and Ngok Wah's seems to be from all appearance – and a 30 year marriage at that! Script is not believable to me that Bernice could do that so easily! What does that says about Ngok Wah, a sophisticated and worldly man taken in by a young lady? Guess there's no fool like an old fool. Anyway, Bernice is on a mission; she’s a mole out to rid two enablers of terrorism. That alone absolves her of any wrongdoings. Lucky her, for not falling in love with her suspect, unlike her male counterpart, Ji Yuen. But I digress! On a different subject, I absolutely loathe Ngok Wah’s performance here. So wooden and so expressionless!



There are many real life people like Shirley’s two-face characters who marry for money and status in society. Are they villains in real life?




Kate's acting was truly terrible, mo ngan tai for me. Her makeover didn't do her any favors.



Yes, Ebuzz had Steven, Ron and Michelle on their show talking about that very grayness in human nature and in life, and how the script wants to illustrate that point. How Michelle is so evil yet loves her children so much.

Steven: Good people have their own darkness, evil people also have their own goodness/decency, and how to reconcile evil with goodness in human nature – this illustrates the complexity of human nature

Michelle: especially in my character – very complex illustration of good and evil in a person.

eta: Ebuzz video deleted in youtube but you can watch 大海探班low visit video collection on the last page look for Ebuzz in Chinese 14 minutes into the video which towards the end.

Steven: What can I say, biased fan that I am -- his Tong Chi Gou has 灵气. But no matter how good he looks still he's losing to his counterparts in baidu beauty pageant. lol! Only the top 7 best lookers are included in the poll. Those interested please vote too. characters in order: 1) Domd 2)pitnol 3) WTLB 4)BOL 5)LOW 6) Cuckoo 7) Nip Ji Yuen. Naturally, Xiao Xuan Zhi with 29 leads, followered by Cao Zhi 24 and Tsung Man 21. Only 2 votes are allowed. I voted for Ji Yuen and Cao Zhi. Xiao Xuan Zhi's too delicate and pretty for his own good and not fully ripened to my taste unlike Tsung Man and Ji Yuen, who are just rightly flavored.

娃娃探班 Jan 7-8 2006 sequel to 大海探班
Nowadays, liaison must now get permission from Steven’s manager before they can visit him at work.

A week or so after Dai Hai & friends’ Hengdian visit, another fan, 娃娃, also visited Steven at Hengdian all by herself. Ammy, Moses’ fan returned for her 2nd visit and roomed with Wahwah. Paraphrasing/summarizing only the salient parts of Wahwa write-up to highlight Steven’s personality.

I waited for Mazai at the hotel lobby on my 1st night but did not catch him. Later Mazai told me that since returning to the hotel from work, he had stayed in his room for the whole night. That he had take-out for dinner. So I asked curiously: “There’s take-out here.” Mazai smiled slyly and pointed at Xiao Hua, “She is, lo”. And Xiao Hua had on a helpless look on her face.

An Inhuman Photo
When I finally met Mazai, I was very talkative to him. We, (Ammy and I) brought up the case of him deleting a photo from Ammy’s camera. Mazai, sounding aggrieved, argued his case. He said that photo was truly terrible. Didn’t look like him at all. Was he even human? Haha! I was laughing my head off. Ammy explained that because he ate that pao mian (instant noodle soup) his face was slightly swollen. And because taken at an angle, he looked as if he had double chins, and his neck had disappeared. Truly awful! Then Mazai groused if this kind of photo got released online, he’s done for. Lol!

Signing Session
Some other fans and I handed him some photos to sign. I told him it was time to practice his penmanship. Those photos made an impressive tall pile. But Mazai took it all in stride and began signing. (pui fuk). As he signed, he chatted and asked us what our English names were. He said it was unfair that girls can have boys’ names but not vice versa. Like a girl can be called Steven too with no problem but a boy cannot be called Mary. I said ya just like girls can wear boys’ clothes but not the other way round. He said exactly. His assertion was very cute. On one photo he even drew a mustache on himself. And then topic turned to fat vs thin. Mazai said females should not be too thin, should have a bit of flesh on them. I quickly interjected ‘just like me’. Xiao Hua rolled her eyes. Mazai looked at me and said, “You’re just right, don’t get any thinner.” Later we talked about Mazai’s movies and tv series. And “Snake Curse” came up. He asked me if I had watched it already. I said no. He said he did not quite like this movie although he had not seen it yet. He said someone had watched it and advised him not to see it. Then he said to me: “I’ll give you a task. Watch the movie, and then tell me how it was.” I could only obey his decree. And then there’s the conference call to Mazai from fans. Truly a lot of them; who asked me to be the representative of 3 fansites. And my phone kept ringing with people wanting to speak to Mazai. During our chat, Mazai was snacking nonstop so I asked him how come he still not full from eating all those food. He said he had nothing else to do. Aren’t you worried that you may get fat? I exercise ma. I play badminton.

Noodles
I heard you were not feeling well last week. (note: I’ve omitted the part where Da Hai wrote that Mazai was not feeling well on the day they left) I said I heard you weren’t feeling well the past few days. Headache? An Jing (aka Kaka) said you had a headache. He clarified he had diarrhea. The noodles they had that day were not clean so he had diarrhea right after. For 5 days, he had stomach aches. The medicines bought here were ineffective, only until he bought his regular brand from Tong Yang did he recover. From what I know only he had diarrhea, the others did not.

The last day here, I got a stomach ache from the noodles I ate yesterday. As soon as I saw Mazai I told him that I just had a stomach ache. Mazai was shocked, “Really! Must be something you ate yesterday. Just like I did last time.” I said I had a bowl of noodles last night. He said, “Noodles again! Must be unhygienic.” I could only smile ruefully. ku xiao.

Jade
Later someone touched his Qing costume bead necklace and exclaimed on how light it was. At first, I thought it was heavy too. Xiao Hua said she too had thought it was heavy but turned out it wasn’t. Mazai smiled and said, “This is fake ma. Let me show you something real. I’m quite good at analyzing jade oh.” Then he took the 玉佩 (jade pendant hanging from his waist) and showed it to us. I said I’ll take a picture of it. Mazai quickly said that jade cannot be photographed. A person wants to touch it, but Mazai would not allow it. He said once you touched it, your good luck will pass to me and my bad luck will pass to you. I protested: “I didn’t touch your jade so how come your diarrhea was passed to me?” He smiled and said “Because you saw my jade ah!” Well, I had not seen his jade then. I truly fu 服him.

Farewell
I followed Mazai to his car. I was dreading to say goodbye. I was choking with emotion. Mazai was talking about something. I struggled to hold off my tears. Mazai was still unaware of my feelings. He asked me if I were going back to Yin Dou, he would give me a ride. I said in a choked voice that I would leave straight from here. My teary voice startled Mazai and he looked at me, “You’re crying ya!” (你哭了啊（废话！！！）What nonsense!) And then he touched my head and, “Don’t cry ya!” He asked: “Were you happy these few days?” I said I very happy, but it’s because I was so happy that I don’t to leave you. He smiled and said, “Silly girl, the occasional happiness is the real happiness, understand?” (偶尔的快乐才是真正的快乐，知道吗？（I’ll remember that forever!）

And then he stood still, and Xiao Hua told the chauffeur to drive the car over. At that moment, I could control my tears no longer. Mazai hugged me, and patted me on my back and said, “There’re still many opportunities ya.” I nodded my head. Honestly, I laid my head on his shoulder for quite a while, just like how it was in the tv series. Then he asked me where my luggage was. I pointed to it. He said so little? And then he got into the car and said goodbye to me, and to other people. When the car started to move away, he had the driver stopped it again, wound down the window and said, “Be careful going home!” I didn’t what to say so I nodded my head. And he left. Then Stephen Wong came over and touched my head and said, “Don’t cry!” He was so nice to comfort me.

http://www.xici.net/u7748124/d33890218.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g3s4lpQhZo

eta:


Me neither but then those girls had traveled far and long just to see Steven. Moreover 200 yuen is a lot of money apiece all for nothing, although somehow in the end they (or rather Steven) got to pay 200 yuen total. Do you speak Chinese at all then? or speak a different Chinese dialect?

From all accounts, Steven seems to have a knack for putting people at ease, even the shy ones. And his ease around women must be because he grew up among 4 sisters, not to mention his innate gift of gab.

For honeydaisy:
Lucky to have met you MV - title song of his 1st album (1993)
a rare gem hot from youtub


karaoke version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JyO4jwu-MI

I can speak some Hokkien. It's a bit of an exaggeration to say I can't speak a word of Mandarin ... I can do very basic Mandarin, but only for simple stuff like maybe to order food. As for Cantonese, I can say "Ng sek kong" and "Kai Sou". Really quite embarrassing sometimes! When I was younger, I couldn't understand numbers in Cantonese at all, so whenever I had to pay for my meal, I would just give them a large denomination, so that I wouldn't have to admit that I didn't understand what the lady boss said, after I asked to "kai sou"! hehe.

I thought it was really nice of Steven to pick up the "fine" of 200 yuen. Really, he is quite a special guy. I don't know if many of the other celebrities would have been as nice.

And thanks for the link to the MV!!!!

But you do understand Cantonese or Mandarin, right?

Steven's hair shorn for PSL. Poor man! What was he thinking then?



source: steven baidu

finished product: Pu Songling