She brought Chinese music to the West, acted in Wong Kar-wai films – who is Rebecca Pan? The singer who’s ‘put my whole self into it’ for 70 years
- Rebecca Pan Wan-ching – stage name Pan Di-hua – made her name in Hong Kong and became one of the first Chinese singers to tour North America and Europe
- A new exhibition pays tribute to her singing and acting career, from her work bringing Chinese music to the West to her roles in films directed by Wong Kar-wai
At 93, Rebecca Pan Wan-ching – better known by her stage name Pan Di-hua – still vividly remembers her first encounter with music.
“I didn’t have many other hobbies, so I always listened to music and the radio,” says the Shanghainese singer. “I would listen to it all day, and get scolded by my father.”
It was with that unwavering passion that Pan went on to make her name in the Hong Kong performing circuit in the 1950s and 1960s, and became one of the first prominent singers who combined Chinese tunes with English lyrics.
“Our Chinese songs are good too, but they didn’t spread across the world. Westerners won’t sing our music, so I had to sing in English,” she says. Among her early music releases were signature tunes such as Rose Rose I Love You, Ding Dong Song and Kowloon Hong Kong.
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She was committed to introducing Chinese music to the West, and was one of the first Chinese singers to tour North America and Europe. The singer’s East-meets-West songs also gained popularity across Asia; Pan would go on to perform in the Middle East, Sri Lanka, India and Cambodia.
“I don’t know how she managed,” says Bruce Li, one of the curators of the Chat exhibition. “I don’t think she had a manager that went with her to these places. She was fearless.
“She has a way to motivate herself and push forward. Despite any difficult circumstances, she always finds a way to do what she wants to do. And even if it fails, she’s still proud of the project,” he adds. “I find that motivation to be very rare in the people I’m around or people in this generation.”
“I thought, actually, our Chinese music is also wonderful to listen to. But no one has heard it,” she says. “I loved the melodies of that time – there were so many unique composers.”
Chat’s exhibition pays tribute to the musical in several ways, including through archival objects – “When I leave this life, I will pass away in this dress,” Pan says of a particular red costume – and through reimagined, new works, such as Hong Kong artist Enoch Cheng’s audiovisual installation Just Like Snakes. It references internet culture and fashion design to bring the essence of the musical into today’s day and age.
If you do it a certain way, maybe you’ll sell 10 books. If I do it based on my specifications, maybe I’ll only sell three books. But that’s OK
Pai Niang Niang was a commercial flop when it debuted and, while some critics commended Pan’s efforts as innovative, others felt it was contemptuous.
“Song-wise, music-wise, it didn’t fail in these regards. But it failed because of the market at the time,” Pan says.
“Even if you have passion, you can’t win against the market. There’s no two ways about it. I’ve always understood that. That’s why every time I made something that [might] lose money, people wouldn’t invest in it. I had to invest in everything myself.”
She adds that the chance of Pai Niang Niang being performed again is low because of the production costs, though she hopes that its music will be preserved and shared to a wider audience.
Today, Pan retains the strong will and the avant-garde spirit that she had throughout her career, as well as an element of pragmatism. An avid writer, she has published several books, but she speaks of how one deal fell through because she did not align with the publisher’s goals.
“If you do it a certain way, maybe you’ll sell 10 books. If I do it based on my specifications, maybe I’ll only sell three books. But that’s OK – if I sell three books, then I sell three books. I’m that type of person,” she says.
“That’s why it’s taken so long – 93 years – for there to be an exhibition. It has to align. If it’s not right, then I won’t do it. Your dreams and ideals will be broken by the real environment. But you don’t have to be disheartened. Just try your best. Don’t be lazy.”
The veteran performer continues to be a source of artistic inspiration.
“I knew of Rebecca Pan as many people of maybe my generation would, which is through film,” Li says. “I always knew she was a very cool lady – just had a very different air and atmosphere around her. [But] she’s much more than what those films depicted.
“Browsing through [archival] material, you realise she’s very multidimensional. She had a whole career before Wong Kar-wai … her travels around the world, her career in nightclubs, her philosophy around music, bringing Chinese music to the West – all of that was so much more than I had imagined.”
Pan’s music is now a constant on Li’s playlists. “Whenever I think about Hong Kong, or I want to feel like I’m home, even when I’m abroad, I would actually listen to Rebecca Pan’s music,” he says.
Reading that is sure to delight Pan, who still brims with vigour when she describes her music.
“I’m happiest when I sing,” Pan says. “Whether I’m singing on the stage, or at home alone, I truly enjoy it. Why? Because I sing from the heart. Whenever I sing, I put my whole self into it.”
“With the Sun, She Quells the Night – A Tribute to Rebecca Pan”, the Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (Chat), The Mills, 45 Pak Tin Par Street, Tsuen Wan, Wed-Mon 11am-7pm. Until October 23.
