Women's History Month • Samsui Women|红头巾
Chapter Guide: 01 Samsui Women • 02 Plot • 03 Review • 04. Theme Songs • 05 Migrants
章节导览:1 红头巾 • 2 剧情 • 3 评论 • 4 主题曲 • 5 游民
Celebrating Women's History Month with the Singaporean TV series Samsui Women, turning 40 this year. Sarah Chen sang the two theme songs. 以1986年的新加坡电视连续剧《红头巾》庆祝妇女历史月。陈淑桦演唱了电视剧的片头和片尾曲。
We celebrate Women’s History Month with Samsui Women, a beloved Singaporean TV drama series that originally aired in 1986. The 24-episode series centers on a group of migrant women from China who helped build Singapore’s infrastructure before and after World War II. The two theme songs, performed by Sarah Chen, are arguably her most historically important theme-song work.
As a pre-digital-era TV series, Samsui Women has received only sporadic, and sometimes distorted, online coverage. Its English Wikipedia page provides no plot summary, while its Chinese-language sites flatten the series into a misleading, “success versus failure” story about two women. Forty years later, we watched the series for the first time to examine its social significance.
Some of the main characters in Samsui Women
「红头巾」电视连续剧的一些主要人物
Samsui Women was a beloved 24-episode Singaporean TV drama series from 1986. It followed a group of poor Chinese women who worked as construction workers in 1930s-1950s Singapore. They supported each other through wartime as they navigated complex relationships.
《红头巾》是1986年非常受欢迎的24集新加坡电视连续剧。它描述了1930-1950年代中国妇女在新加坡作建筑工人的经历和爱情故事。
Samsui Women followed the love stories of two poor village girls from Samsui, China, who migrated to Singapore to work in construction around World War II: Dai Ah-Gui (henceforth “Cassia” for “Gui”, portrayed by Zeng Huifen), 18, and Dai Ah-Xiu (“Grace”, portrayed by Hong Huifang), 17. As close as sisters, they were each other’s greatest support. Both found love in Singapore, Cassia with the flamboyant truck driver Su Ah-Zhi (“Arthur”), and Grace with an honest policeman Li Ah-Long (“Long”). But neither could marry the man she loved because of family traditions and wartime circumstances.
Cassia’s engagement to Arthur ended when her family arranged her marriage to Er-Niu, who later came to Singapore with his concubine and their infant son. Too inept and lazy to work, Er-Niu and his family became Cassia’s new dependents. Although illiterate and performing hard labor, Cassia taught herself to read and write and acquired construction skills from Grace's former father-in-law. Arthur left Singapore when it fell to Japan and returned after World War II, by which time Er-Niu had died in a revenge killing. Cassia and Arthur got married and adopted Er-Niu’s son after the boy’s mother abandoned him. They had two daughters.
Grace, who worked for a time at a coffee shop run as a brothel, was rejected by Long’s family. To pay another Samsui woman’s medical bill, she married the wealthy Zhuang Jr., who was dying of tuberculosis. During Japan’s invasion of Singapore, she suffered a pregnancy loss and, after her husband’s death, was expelled from the family. She opened a coffee shop and later married Mr. Luo, a Japanese informant and the only person who appreciated her character. Luo was killed when Japan surrendered in 1945.
After the war, Grace rekindled her love with Long, who was then engaged to another woman. Devastated but convinced he would be better off with the other woman, Grace refused Long's proposal and married a construction foreman who already had three wives. The third wife, who frequently fought Grace, killed the foreman when he tried to steal her jewelry. In the ensuing chaos, Grace was pushed down a steep staircase and crashed into Cassia, who was pregnant. Grace was disabled by the fall, and Cassia became infertile.
By the end of the war, Cassia had led several small construction projects but lacked capital to take on larger ones, so Arthur sold his truck to support her first major project. As Cassia became successful, Arthur grew jealous and family tensions rose. With two young daughters, Cassia gave up her career while Arthur launched a successful transportation business. At Grace’s intervention, her former father-in-law persuaded Arthur to let Cassia return to work. She went on to complete some of Singapore’s biggest construction projects.
The blame Grace received from her actions, along with the guilt she felt, turned her into a recluse who often lived on the streets. The only people she loved were Cassia’s children and grandchildren. Decades later, at a Samsui women reunion, she died while playing with Cassia’s grandchild.
《红头巾》主要讲述从三水来的两个山村姑娘,于二战期间在新加坡作建筑工人的遭遇:18岁的戴阿桂(曾慧芬扮演)和17岁的戴阿秀(洪慧芳扮演)。她俩情同姐妹,彼此照顾。在新加坡都遇到了相爱的人:阿桂的恋人是开机车的激进青年苏阿治,阿秀的恋人是正直的警察李阿龙。但由于家庭传统和战时事故,两人都嫁给了他人,引来无数的烦恼。
在阿桂和阿治刚要成亲前夕,家乡来信说她已经被许配给陈二牛。阿桂遵循传统断掉了和阿治的亲事,攒钱将二牛接到新加坡,没料到他真是个二牛子,带来小老婆和儿子不说,还好吃懒做,到处生是非,一家三口成了阿桂的负担。阿桂很上进,学会了认字和算盘,还从阿秀的前公公那里学到建筑知识。阿治在日本占据新加坡时离开国土,二战后回家来发现陈二牛遭报应死了。阿桂和阿治终于成亲,领养了二牛小老婆弃掉的儿子。他俩有两个女儿。
阿秀来新后,曾做过一段咖啡妹,应付有钱的花花公子。阿龙家嫌弃她品行不正。一次,山水妇女的领头英姐大病,为了负她的医疗费,阿秀嫁给了建筑商的儿子、肺病晚期的庄少爷。日本侵占新加坡时,动乱中阿秀流产;庄少爷不久便去世了,庄母得知阿秀已经没了胎儿时将她驱逐出家。阿秀开了一家咖啡店,然后嫁给了日本汉奸骆老板,他害死了阿龙一家,但也救了不少人,是唯一欣赏阿秀的胆识和为人的人。1945年日本投降后,骆老板被人打死。
二战结束后,阿秀和阿龙重温故情,但阿龙在战争期间已经有了未婚妻。阿秀唯一的真爱是阿龙,虽然阿龙的亲事让她心碎,她觉得阿龙跟那个女人一起会更幸福。阿龙转念后想和她成亲,但阿秀拒绝了他,转身嫁给了已经有三个老婆的包工头。她和三姨太阿荣是死对头,挑衅中阿荣在包工头偷她的首饰时将他打死,并将阿秀打下很高的台阶,撞到了怀有身孕的阿桂身上。阿秀从此瘸了腿,而阿桂丢了胎儿,此后不育。
到二战结束时,阿桂已经开始带领一些小的建筑项目,但没有本钱接大的项目。阿治卖掉了他的机车,凑钱让她做了第一个大项目。但阿桂事业的成功给阿治带来心理不平衡,觉得自己在家里是个家庭妇女。为了家事,阿桂放弃了她的事业,而阿治开启了成功的交通事业。阿秀偶遇前公公庄老板,要他帮阿桂。庄老板说服了阿治,阿桂重回建筑业,和庄老板联手建筑了新加坡最高的大厦之一。
大家不理解阿秀的作为,责怪她,她自己对阿荣和包工头也内疚,从此她不愿和他人打交道,时常流落在街头。唯一让她心痛的人是阿桂的儿孙。数十年后,一次山水妇女聚会时,阿秀和阿桂的孙子在一边玩儿,她突然死去。
The five Samsui Women: (from left) Sisters Silver and Gold, Grace, Cassia, and Sister Ying.
Samsui Women was a highly successful TV drama series in Singapore in the 1980s, in part because it gave voice to women at the bottom of society – uneducated migrant laborers working in construction. But how well does the series stand the test of time? What insights do we gain from watching it decades later?
At the time of this review, the series was forty years old and its storyline nearly a century removed from the present. Traditions that restricted women a hundred years ago – arranged marriage and polygyny – seem unimaginable today. While romantic love, such as that between Cassia and Arthur, eventually prevailed, Cassia chose to honor her arranged marriage. Polygyny, the practice of a man having multiple wives, was made worse by those men publicly asserting their right to abuse their wives. Today, such traditions are widely rejected, making Cassia’s acceptance of her arranged marriage hard to believe, even unjustifiable.
Those changing values, in which women’s agency is increasingly recognized, place Grace’s actions in a more favorable light today than a century ago. Despite her tragic end, Grace was the one who frequently challenged traditions, doing what she believed was right even when others judged her immoral. As beloved as Cassia was for her selflessness, Grace may be the drama’s understated hero – saving the Samsui women from the Japanese and paying their expenses at critical moments. Even her vices – vengeance toward those who wronged her and jealousy of Cassia – felt human. Notably, the only person who appreciated her character was her second husband, the Japanese informant whom everyone else despised.
Earlier plot summaries framed Cassia as a self-righteous, successful businesswoman, while Grace is described as making repeated misjudgments in her three failed marriages. Yet these summaries reflect less the perspective of the drama itself than a projection of the commentators’ own moral values. Samsui Women was successful because it resisted rigid moral judgment. The “good” characters – Cassia, Arthur, Long, and Sister Ying – were flawed in their own way. In contrast, the actions of its “villains” were rational, even heroic, given the circumstances.
While presenting these moral dilemmas, Samsui Women withheld final judgment. Instead, it granted humanity to all its characters by focusing on the love among them: romantic love between Cassia and Arthur, and Grace and Long; familial love between Sister Ying and her son, and Grandpa Su and Arthur; and the sisterhood among the Samsui women themselves. Herein lies the timeless value of Samsui Women – a tribute to the enduring love among people, even when they are imperfect and followed outdated traditions.
《红头巾》的成功局部来自选题,将重心放在在位居社会底层的建筑女民工。但四十年后,这个电视剧是否还值得一看?从二十一世纪的现代角度来看,《红头巾》的价值在哪里?
在我们今天做这段评述时,《红头巾》已经是四十大寿,故事情节来自百年前。那时框在女人身上的一些习俗,比如包办婚姻和娶小老婆,如今很难想象。虽然在故事里阿桂和阿治的真爱最终实现了,但之前阿桂还是选择了包办婚姻。男人不仅娶小老婆,还在街上动粗,声称他打她们谁也管不了。这些习俗早已被否定,从现代角度看,阿桂嫁给二牛让人难以接受。
随着价值观的改变,女人自主的观念增强,阿秀那时的抉择如今看来更容易理解。虽然剧中阿秀下落凄惨,但她勇于违背常规,做她认为正确的事,不在乎别人怎么看。虽然《红头巾》的首位主角是善良的阿桂,剧本显然将阿秀定位为被人忽视的英雄。是她将山水妇女从日本人手中救出,也是她在关键的时候凑钱救人。连她的弱点,比如向阿荣报仇和嫉妒阿桂,都可以理解。值得一提的是,剧中唯一欣赏阿秀为人的人是她的第二个丈夫、大家都憎恨的日本汉奸骆老板。
过去网上的短评通常将阿桂描述成上进、成功的榜样,而阿秀则是三次嫁错了人、失败的例子。但这些总结并不是剧本的观点,而是写短评的人自己的理解。事实上,《红头巾》之所以成功是因为它的道德观念非常成熟,不为传统道义所束。剧中善良的人,如阿桂,阿治,阿龙,还有英姐,都有明显的弱点。而那些看似不道德的人有时却是英雄,他们的选择可以理解。
虽然《红头巾》给大家呈现了道义问题,剧本自身并不作定论。它的重心不是道义,而是给所有的剧中人赋予人情。《红头巾》从根本来说是一系列爱的故事:浪漫的爱情(如阿桂和阿治,阿秀和阿龙)、母子情和爷孙情、山水女人之间的姐妹情,甚至养父养子的亲情。《红头巾》永恒的秘诀是它对人情的贴切描述,哪怕大家都有缺陷,还遵循了早已过时的习俗。
The title theme of Samsui Women. 红头巾主题曲
The second theme song Days Under the Sun. 插曲「艳阳下的日子」
Samsui Women was a highly successful TV drama series in Singapore in the 1980s, in part because it gave voice to women at the bottom of society – uneducated migrant laborers working in construction. But how well does the series stand the test of time? What insights do we gain from watching it decades later?
At the time of this review, the series was forty years old and its storyline nearly a century removed from the present. Traditions that restricted women a hundred years ago – arranged marriage and polygyny – seem unimaginable today. While romantic love, such as that between Cassia and Arthur, eventually prevailed, Cassia chose to honor her arranged marriage. Polygyny, the practice of a man having multiple wives, was made worse by those men publicly asserting their right to abuse their wives. Today, such traditions are widely rejected, making Cassia’s acceptance of her arranged marriage hard to believe, even unjustifiable.
Those changing values, in which women’s agency is increasingly recognized, place Grace’s actions in a more favorable light today than a century ago. Despite her tragic end, Grace was the one who frequently challenged traditions, doing what she believed was right even when others judged her immoral. As beloved as Cassia was for her selflessness, Grace may be the drama’s understated hero – saving the Samsui women from the Japanese and paying their expenses at critical moments. Even her vices – vengeance toward those who wronged her and jealousy of Cassia – felt human. Notably, the only person who appreciated her character was her second husband, the Japanese informant whom everyone else despised.
Earlier plot summaries framed Cassia as a self-righteous, successful businesswoman, while Grace is described as making repeated misjudgments in her three failed marriages. Yet these summaries reflect less the perspective of the drama itself than a projection of the commentators’ own moral values. Samsui Women was successful because it resisted rigid moral judgment. The “good” characters – Cassia, Arthur, Long, and Sister Ying – were flawed in their own way. In contrast, the actions of its “villains” were rational, even heroic, given the circumstances.
While presenting these moral dilemmas, Samsui Women withheld final judgment. Instead, it granted humanity to all its characters by focusing on the love among them: romantic love between Cassia and Arthur, and Grace and Long; familial love between Sister Ying and her son, and Grandpa Su and Arthur; and the sisterhood among the Samsui women themselves. Herein lies the timeless value of Samsui Women – a tribute to the enduring love among people, even when they are imperfect and followed outdated traditions.
《红头巾》的成功局部来自两首由陈淑桦演唱的主题曲和插曲。主题曲名为「红头巾」,讲述女工的经历,思乡之情,幸苦换来的大厦。这首歌通常出现在片头和片尾,曲调在剧中反复出现。二十几年后,新加坡观众将这首歌投票选成过去25年来主题曲的前五名。几千观众曾在体育馆里合唱《红头巾》,足见歌曲已经将女工的历史传到了文化的主流里。
插曲,「艳阳下的日子」,是电视剧的情感后盾。如果你只听歌,不知道《红头巾》的剧情,也许会觉得这是首由哲理、感叹人生的歌,尤其是那句“人生的开始本来相同,渐渐地朝着各自方向,同样是苦苦挣扎追求理想,结果是完全两样“。但在剧中,「艳阳下的日子」给人物和观众都提供了倾诉情感的方式。这首歌有系统性的放位,通常播放在悲痛时难以继续下去的时候,比如阿秀失去了庄少爷时,阿桂终于决定跟阿治离开却去晚了,或阿秀流落街头。
1986年的报刊曾提到 《红头巾》里的歌,说陈淑桦的歌声适合这两首歌。的确如此。陈淑桦的歌声是单纯的女声,然而轻柔中又非常强韧,配上了山水女人的特性。陈淑桦本人在台湾唱了几年不温不火的歌,她的突破来自签约于新加坡百代唱片公司,可以说她自己是漂流到新加坡来创建了另一种产业。她的演唱精确地把握了《红头巾》两首歌中细微而多样的情感。许多剧幕,比如阿秀悼念庄少爷那一幕,没了陈淑桦的歌声就很难卸去那份伤感。在时间和情感都突然滞留时,她的歌声倾诉了演员和观众共有的悲泣。
1986年,除了《红头巾》里的两首歌,陈淑桦没有发出别的录音棚歌曲。那时百代唱片中断了四海在台湾的代理,她的生涯暂时中断。《红头巾》的歌除了在新加坡外没有广泛推出。陈淑桦后来演唱了不少更有名的主题曲,其中传唱最广的是《滚滚红尘》,也是二战时的爱情故事。但陈淑桦对《红头巾》的贡献远远超出《滚滚红尘》那一幕。她的歌声装满了二十多个小时的电视剧,她唱出了阿桂、阿秀、英姐和所有山水女人的心声,也为听众带来心理安慰。
The ultimate solution – perhaps only imaginable in our dreams – is the recognition of all people as human beings: born equal, deserving equal dignity and rights. In the end, this is what Samsui Women was about.
My first “job” was as a night watcher, where we slept inside a local shop to deter thieves. Beneath the shop was a lodging house for migrants, people who came through with their goods, animals, and musical instruments. The neighing of horses and the quacking of ducks at night were the most calming sounds I ever heard, accompanying us through those dark, anxious nights. Some days I wanted to join the migrants, especially the street performers; their songs of the past were some of the best history lessons I ever received. Watching Samsui Women pulled me back to the issue of migrant labor.
By the time I took my second “job” doing writing work, the migrant population had changed – from people moving through towns to laborers staying behind for odd jobs. One of my most enduring pieces was on the homecoming of migrant workers during the holiday seasons. The sheer number of people moving through the system overwhelmed transportation networks, and the prevailing commentary at the time placed the blame on the migrants. My work struck a sympathetic tone and took a harder look at the system driving migration. It drew on interviews with migrant women traveling home with small children, often crammed into trains for days without a seat. The experience ultimately led me to change directions – there is only so much human suffering one could bear witness to.
This journal on Samsui Women is the first time that I have returned to migration as a subject, one that has since become a global issue. The structural forces that produce such suffering remain as pressing as ever, and I am not nearer to offering the kind of help I once hoped to give. The ultimate solution – perhaps only imaginable in our dreams – is the recognition of all people as human beings: born equal, deserving equal dignity and rights. In the end, this is what Samsui Women was about.
我的第一份“工作”是守夜,睡在商店里以防小偷。商店底下是游动工人的居所,时常有人带着产品、家禽、和乐器住在那里。夜里的马啸、鸭鸣是黑暗、焦虑中令人宽慰的伴侣。有时我想成为游工的一员,尤其是演唱团——从他们的民歌里我学了不少历史知识。观看《红头巾》将我再次带入游工的经历。
当我开始第二份、写作的“工作”时,游工的性质已经改变。他们不再是从一地走到另一地,而是留在了城市里做零工。那时我做的最深入的一篇是关于游工节日返乡的经历。由于大量的人员走动,交通赶不上,整个系统承受不住。那时主流观点是责怪游工。我做的访谈比较独特,从游工的角度来,探讨的是社会体制的问题。那时我接触了不少贫困女人带着小孩回家,在拥挤的车里一站就是一两天。那段工作也改变了我的方向;毕竟人世间的凄凉不是那么容易承受。
本期的《红头巾》是从那以后我第一次重新回到游工这个话题,如今它已成全球关于移民的讨论。社会体制的问题没有解决,我也没有找到当年探索的答案。也许只是梦寐以求,但游民的问题最终只有一个解答:承认所有的人都是人:生而平等,理应享有同等的尊严与权利。归根到底,这就是《红头巾》给予的答案。
也许只是梦寐以求,但游民的问题最终只有一个解答:承认所有的人都是人:生而平等,理应享有同等的尊严与权利。归根到底,这就是《红头巾》给予的答案。
This site was enriched by the generosity of a long-time Sarah Chen fan from Malaysia, C.Y., who shared her personal collection of clippings and magazine articles spanning much of Chen's career (1983-1996).