Not the loving type?:
If there is one thing in particular that marks Fei Yu-ching's personality, it is surely his prudence and hesitancy. These characteristics become clearest when seen through his treatment of love and money.
The veteran singer has been in love twice, but remains a bachelor to this day.
His first romance occurred shortly after his arrival on the entertainment scene. The house singer at a Taipei hotel, he fell for a Japanese resident of the hotel who came to Taiwan to study Chinese literature. After agreeing on marriage, the girl returned to Japan, but after two years had passed Fei Yu-ching broke off their wedding plans. Now she is a wife and mother in Japan.
Why did he break off his engagement with the Japanese girl? "Marriage calls for compulsion and some impulsiveness. With her in Japan and me in Taiwan, I slowly discovered that there are a number of differences in thinking and lifestyle between people from different countries. The more time passed, the more I thought, and the farther away we drifted apart. We ended up parting in a rational and civil way."
This international romance is also the only romance Fei Yu-ching will own up to. "Once I went to visit her in Japan in the autumn. The persimmon fruits growing on two trees outside their door were so ripe they glowed red. And they were oh, so sweet. Each day she would pick a few for me. On the day I left I insisted that she not accompany me, and to my surprise as I waited at the station I spotted her ambling my way, a large sack of persimmons in each hand. She must have picked every last fruit off those two persimmon trees!" Thinking back on that scene, the singer's heart is stirred again.
Not in the market for love:
The second time around was six or seven years ago with the stylish singer, Chiang Hui. The two, whose love blossomed out of friendship, once took a vacation together to the US, where they stayed at the home of Taiwan television personality Fang Fang. But it was during that trip to the States when Fei Yu-ching got cold feet about the relationship and apologized to Chiang Hui, saying "Maybe it'd be better if we're just friends."
Apart from calling Chiang Hui a fine woman and a good friend, Fei Yu-ching stops short of ever talking about the romance they shared. Fei Yu- ching's friends report of his genuine affection for Chiang Hui, but that his mother's opposition to the relationship came between them. Apparently, she felt that back then her son was still young and should concentrate on making money for a few more years before settling down. Fei wavered and stalled, eventually losing out on the happiness he and Chiang could have shared together.
Seeing his friends constantly falling in and out of love, Fei Yu-ching comments, "Because they're in the market for love, they're more likely to find someone." These last few years, Fei Yu-ching may let his glance linger when he comes across a pretty girl, or go as far as to say a few words to her, but that is the full extent of his relations with the opposite sex. Why? Because he isn't in the market for love.
For over a decade now Fei Yu-ching has been the biggest breadwinner on the club circuit. Always moderate with money, he has only about a half dozen suits made for him each year, which makes him no more indulgent than the average businessman. In this fashion, the more money he earns the more he saves.
What is one to do with all this money? Fei Yu-ching, always one to play it safe, decided to preserve the value of his money by purchasing real estate. Whenever he has the money he buys a house, and when he gets more he buys another. Or maybe he'll sell a smaller one and buy a bigger one, or a remote one for a better located one. As he buys more and more houses, and trades up for better and better property, he has become the largest property holder in show business, accumulating hundreds of millions of NT dollars in wealth.
Longing for a simple life of ease:
Eight years ago, set on living a life of ease close to nature, Fei Yu-ching bought a nearly 10,000 square-meter piece of land designated for agricultural use in the Taipei suburb of Linkou. He planned to turn the land into a farm for his own recreation, but before he could build his farm the land was re-zoned as residential land and subsequently skyrocketed in value.
His caution and discretion may have lost him love, but it's sure helped him build a fortune!
Sometimes when someone is too cautious it could be because they are too timid.
One of the singer's old cronies relates that once, when walking alone on the street, Fei s someone tap him on his back. Frightened out of his wits, he took off like a bat out of hell, never even looking back.
Another of his good friends diagnoses Fei's reluctance to get involved in relationships as shaky faith in marriage caused by his parents' unhappy marriage. On top of that, he has an aversion to pressure and cannot be tied down. He's the "nomadic" type.
Fei Yu-ching's parents divorced early on, but for the sake of their children they continued to live together under the same roof. They stayed under that roof until Chang Fei got married, when their father went to live with Chang Fei and their mother moved in with Fei Yu-ching. Chang Fei and his wife were divorced five years ago, and Fei Chen-ling decided last year to try the life of a Buddhist nun after experiencing more than her share of the bitter side of life. Taking it all in as these events have occurred, Fei Yu-ching has grown progressively pessimistic about love.
Averse to pressure:
Fei Yu-ching's aversion to pressure can be traced a long way back. Years ago he represented CTC three years running as a candidate for the best male singer in the Golden Bell Award competition. The first two years hg lost out to Liu Wen-cheng, finally taking top honors in the third year, but after that he was unable to take the torture of anticipating the nominees and winners of the competition any longer. The next time he renegotiated his contract with CTC he insisted on adding the stipulation that he would "never again represent CTC in any form of competition."
This June, Fei Yu-ching and brother Chang Fei teamed up as hosts of the "Twins" variety show, the first television program Fei Yu-ching has ever hosted. The ratings remain strong, yet each day before filming Fei Yu-ching is still unable to overcome his jitters. He still loses sleep over it, and during filming he's too distracted with nerves to take even a sip of water. All this tension has caused him to drop a full five kg from his already lean frame in the short time since he began hosting the show.
In order to keep the pressure at bay, Fei Yu-ching can only perform with people who are free spirits, or at least who don't push him or intimidate him. This is also why he has never worked for the major record companies who are interested in speed and profit. As long as the vibes are right and the atmosphere is relaxed, he doesn't mind working with lesser-known people.
On the eve of the release of his latest album not long ago, Fei Yu-ching told the owner of the record company that he was unwilling to promote his record on television because the time constraints on variety shows make it difficult to express himself fully. Instead, he said he would be amenable to going on the radio. As the first singer who would rather go on radio than TV to promote his music, he has come off looking quite unorthodox.
Actually, there's more to his unorthodoxy than that. He only wears solid-colored suits, preferably black or blue. As for the loud reds, greens, and patterns worn by the likes of brother Chang Fei and good friend Hu Kua, Fei Yu-ching doesn't consider them "real" colors. Off stage, he changes quickly into an old khaki blazer and jeans because he is most at ease when he is not attracting attention. When others play mahjong, he looks on because while others can only look at their own hand, he gets the excitement of looking at four hands at the same time.
Friends and family matter most:
Away from the demands of performing, Fei Yu-ching usually prefers to spend time alone, listening to music, taking in art exhibits, or getting away to the mountains or the shore. Once in a while, though, he likes a little excitement. Although he is normal ly thrifty, when it comes to his friends, anything goes. Word has it that whenever he discovers a good place to eat he enthusiastically invites his friends along to share in his discovery. Singing stars Li Mao-shan and Chen Fan often get calls from him late at night saying, "Get the wife and kids and join me for some late-night munchies."
What is the most important thing to someone who lives such a simple life? Fei Yu-ching ponders a long moment before finally answering: "Family. Especially parents. Sometimes when I see my parents ageing I get scared. One day, God forbid one of them goes, I might not be able to stand up."
[Picture Caption]
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Fei Yu-ching's lifestyle--he doesn't drink or smoke--sets him apart from his show business brethren.
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Impersonations, Fei's forte, add to his popularity. Even the target of h is antics, "Frog King" Kao Ling-feng, can't help but laugh at Fei's sharp wit. (photo by Ai Chia)
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In the litmus test of live singing, Fei Yu-ching's voice comes out positively popular. (photo by Huang Ming-wei)
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"Twins," a variety show hosted by the singing duo of brothers Chang Fei and Fei Yu-ching, packs a lot of entertainment into each minute. (photo courtesy of TTV)
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The pairing of brothers Chang Fei and Fei Yu-ching has taken the two to the top of the entertainment world.
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On the set, the Brothers Chang (Chang Fei, Fei Yu-ching) pull out all t he stops to entertain the audience.
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For Fei Yu-ching, staying away from reporters is an important part of keeping pressure out of his life.