"The Moon Represents My Heart" () is a

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

song. It was made famous by the Taiwanese singer

Teresa Teng Teng Li-Chun (; 29 January 1953 – 8 May 1995), commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, actress, musician and philanthropist. Referred to by some as " Asia's eternal queen of pop," Teng became a cultural icon for her contributio ...

. The song is often cited as "one of the most famous and beloved Chinese songs of all time".

Background

The lyrics to the song were written by () and the music was composed by Weng Ching-hsi (). It was first sung by Chen Fen-lan () in 1972 or 1973 for Chen's album ''Dreamland'' () but was made famous by Teresa Teng's version later in 1977. Teng's rendition, which is three minutes and 29 seconds long, was described as a "love song with a waltz-like lilt".

Legacy

Teng died of an

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

attack in 1995, but "The Moon Represents My Heart" has been performed frequently around the world since the 21st Century including famous singers and musicians

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( el, Ιωάννα "Νάνα" Μούσχουρη ) (born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer. Over the span of her career, she has released over 200 albums in at least twelve languages, including Greek, French, English, Ger ...

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.Shila Amzah Nurshahila binti Amir Amzah (born 13 August 1990) better known as Shila Amzah is a Malaysian singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, she began going to recording studios at the age of 4 with her father and recorded a pop studio a ...

Faye Wong Faye Wong ( zh, 王菲; born Xia Lin on 8 August 1969) is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter. Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong. Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and her debut album '' Shirley Wong'' ( ...

David Tao David Tao (), born Tao Xuzhong () (born 11 July 1969), is a Taiwanese Golden Melody Award-winning singer-songwriter. He is well known for creating a crossover genre of R&B and hard rock tunes which has now become his signature style and for havin ...

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

Siti Nurhaliza Dato' Sri Hajah Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin ( Jawi: سيتي نورهاليزا بنت تارودين ; IPA: ; born 11 January 1979) is a Malaysian singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman with more than 300 local and international awards. ...

David Archuleta David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American pop singer. At ten years old, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition, leading to other television singing appearances. When he was twelve years old, he becam ...

, English vocal group

Libera Libera may refer to: * Libera (mythology), a Roman goddess of fertility * Libera (choir), a boy vocal group from London * ''Libera'' (film), a 1993 comedy film * "Libera" (song), a song by Italian artist Mia Martini * ''Libera'' (gastropod), a ...

and Grammy Award winner American musician

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...

. The song is considered a "classic,""Buzzing: Chyi Chin proposes to Belle"
''news.asiaone.com'', 26 January 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2014. and according to one source, "Chinese all around the world are familiar with t" "The Moon Represents My Heart" is also popular in

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

, with one chain in Singapore listing it at #42 on their hits list (which made it the highest ranked of all Teng's songs). According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', it is one of the best-known Chinese pop songs of all time.

Cultural impact

Until the late 1970s, foreign music had not been allowed into

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

for several decades. "The Moon Represents My Heart" became one of the first popular foreign songs (called "

gangtai Gangtai () are the C-pop artists and musical style from Hong Kong or Taiwan. The term is synonymous with post-1960 Cantopop or post-1970 Mandopop, a sweet, love type melody found distinctly in C-pop and not any other genre of Chinese folk, rock or t ...

" songs) in the country. Teng's songs over the following decade revolutionized music in China. Her singing, described as "soft, melodious, often whispery and restrained," was considered the "ideal" in gangtai music at that time. The style was in striking contrast to the then officially sanctioned songs in mainland China which were often revolutionary songs, and made a strong impact on its listeners. She became so popular that "within months the country was literally flooded with ersongs." "The Moon Represents My Heart", however, is often cited as one of her best-known or most popular pieces.Sui, Cindy (27 November 2010)

''Taipei Times''. Retrieved 10 November 2014. Before Teng's music arrived, such romantic songs had been nonexistent in China for many years as they were considered bourgeois and decadent. As film director

Jia Zhangke Jia Zhangke ( zh, c=贾樟柯, p=Jiǎ Zhāngkē, born 24 May 1970) .He is a Chinese-language film and television director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and writer. He is the dean of the Shanxi Film Academy of Shanxi Media College and the dea ...

later said, "'The Moon Represents My Heart' assomething completely new. So people of my generation were suddenly infected with this very personal, individual world. Before that, everything was collective..."Berry, Michael.
Speaking in images: interviews with contemporary Chinese filmmakers
' (Columbia University Press, 2005), pp. 190–550.

Copyright status

Lyricist Sun Yi filed a lawsuit against the Li Ge Record Company (). Sun lost the lawsuit, so the company owns the copyright of this song.

References

External links

Video of the song
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Moon Represents My Heart, The 1970s songs Mandarin-language songs Teresa Teng songs Year of song missing Year of song unknown