Lin Xi

Lin Xi
林夕
Lin in 2013
Born
Leung Wai Man (梁偉文)

(1961-12-07) 7 December 1961 (age 63)
British Hong Kong
Other namesGod of Lyrics (詞神)
Citizenship
Alma materUniversity of Hong Kong (BA)
Occupations
  • Lyricist
  • writer
Awards
Chinese name
Chinese林夕
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLín Xī
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingLam4 Zik6
Birth name
Traditional Chinese梁偉文
Simplified Chinese梁伟文
Transcriptions
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingLoeng4 Wai5man4
Musical career
Also known asLam Zik
OriginHong Kong
Genres

Albert Leung Wai Man (simplified Chinese: 梁伟文; traditional Chinese: 梁偉文; Jyutping: Loeng4 Wai5 Man4, born 7 December 1961),[2] better known by his pen name Lin Xi (Chinese: 林夕; Jyutping: Lam4 Zik6),[3] is a Hong Kong lyricist and writer. A prominent figure in Cantopop and Mandopop, he has written lyrics for nearly all major Hong Kong singers, with notable collaborations with Leslie Cheung, Faye Wong, Eason Chan, and Miriam Yeung. From 1995 to 2003, he won the Lyricist of the Year award at the Ultimate Song Chart Awards for nine consecutive years, making him the lyricist with the longest winning streak for this accolade. He went on to win the same award again for four consecutive years from 2006 to 2009. He also won the Golden Melody Award for Best Lyricist twice in 1999 and 2010. In 2009, he was honored with the Golden Needle Award, the highest distinction in the Hong Kong music industry.

After attending a rally against Hong Kong's moral and national education plan in 2012, Leung became active in social movements. Since 2017, he has been blacklisted in mainland China for his support for the democracy movement in Hong Kong.[4][5]

Education

[edit]
Leung in 2007

Leung attended all-boy secondary schools in Kowloon at Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) College and La Salle College. He received a bachelor of arts with a major in translation studies from the University of Hong Kong in 1984.

Career

[edit]

Leung has been a lyricist since 1985. His pen name, 林夕, comes from the last name of lyricist Richard Lam and the simplified Chinese character 梦 (meaning "dream"). He has written over 4,000 song lyrics and is known for his ability to compose lyrics quickly.[6][7][8] On TVB's show Be My Guest, he admitted that his fastest record for writing the complete lyrics to a song is 45 minutes. He has also published over ten books, including his essays and poems.

He composed the lyrics for one of the theme songs of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, "Beijing Welcomes You", performed by a panoply of popular Chinese singers.[9] In 2014, he described the experience as a "blemish" of his life for serving as an official mouthpiece.[10] After the 2014 Umbrella Movement, he relocated to Taiwan and became a citizen in 2021.[1] Since 2017, he has been blacklisted in mainland China and criticized by state media for his support for the Hong Kong democracy movement. In November 2019, over thousands of songs written by him were taken down from online music stores, some of which were restored later.[11]

Personal Life

[edit]

Leung was raised a Christian but converted to Buddhism, while he also has an interest in Taoism, especially Tao Te Ching. He often incorporates Buddhist and Taoist ideas into his lyrics.

He came out as gay in 2006 in an interview with his friend Johnnie To. [12][13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "「詞神」林夕定居台灣多年　終吐露香港移民心聲：自由選擇的真愛！". FTV News. June 2022. Archived from the original on 18 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  2. ^ "金曲34》陳奕迅、王菲御用填詞人！「香港詞神」林夕買房炒股致富：錢財到某一個數字就沒關係了". 今周刊 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Lin Xi". South China Morning Post. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  4. ^ 香港經濟日報HKET. "又封殺？ 介紹林憶蓮演出歌曲 《歌手》刪填詞人林夕 - 香港經濟日報 - 中國頻道 - 即時中國". 香港經濟日報HKET (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  5. ^ "林夕名字內地被消失變「佚名」 惹網民熱議 (17:19) - 20200102 - SHOWBIZ". 明報 Our Lifestyle (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  6. ^ "每個人心中都有一首「林夕」：這10大詞神近期作品，哪首最得你心？". The News Lens (in Chinese). August 2015. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  7. ^ "【填詞30年作品逾3500首】林夕作品遭內地封殺 大量香港歌手受影響". 壹週刊 (in Chinese). 22 November 2019. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  8. ^ "數據解讀作詞之王–林夕". 联合新闻网 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Hanwang: Why is "Beijing Welcomes You" so popular?". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  10. ^ "香港著名填詞人林夕「被舉報」 廣西大學取消交流活動". BBC News 中文 (in Traditional Chinese). 25 December 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  11. ^ "China scraps over 3,000 songs by HK lyricist Albert Leung for his speech in Taiwan: report". 23 November 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  12. ^ 自由時報電子報 (1 November 2006). "林夕自認女人 靠枕邊郎找靈感 - 自由娛樂". ent.ltn.com.tw (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  13. ^ "林夕"出柜"　自白可以做一个女人_影音娱乐_新浪网". ent.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
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