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📕 About this Issue 阿比妹妹错失良机
📕 About this Issue 阿比妹妹错失良机
YouTube 视频对《台湾大搜索》陈淑桦特辑的回应。Rebuttal of the recent Taiwan Big Search episode on Sarah Chen.
Sister Abby Missed A Golden Opportunity
Sister Abby Missed A Golden Opportunity
On August 18, 2025, Taiwan Big Search released an episode on Sarah Chen. While the episode includes precious archival footage, it continues to mischaracterize Chen's career and life.
我们回应《台湾大搜索》2025年8月18日，阿比妹妹主持的陈淑桦特辑。虽然特辑包含陈淑桦退离歌坛前的珍贵录像，但节目没有走出媒体多年来对陈淑桦职业和人格的攻击。
🎶 Song of the Issue 本期歌曲
🎶 Song of the Issue 本期歌曲
Sarah Chen performing The Mundane World, theme song for the 1993 Wuxia movie Swordsman III. Video with English subtitles.《笑红尘》是1993年电影《笑傲江湖》的主题曲，陈淑桦唱的是东方不败之歌。
🎵 The Mundane World「笑红尘」
🎵 The Mundane World「笑红尘」
Sarah Chen performed many theme songs for Kung Fu films and TVs, earning the nickname "Half ballad, Half Wuxia" singer. She sung Invincible East's song, The Mundane World, expressing a universal wish to be carefree.
陈淑桦演唱了不少武侠电影主题曲。《笑红尘》是东方不败之歌，只有陈淑桦才真能唱出“红尘多可笑”，“风再冷、不想逃，花再美、不想要”的意境。
💬 Quote of the Issue 本期名言
💬 Quote of the Issue 本期名言
"我最大的座右铭就是「向死亡挑战」" ——陈淑桦, 1995
My boldest motto is "to challenge death." -- Sarah Chen, 1995
🗞️ From the Archive 档案精选
🗞️ From the Archive 档案精选
The August 18, 2025 episode on Sarah Chen contains rare archival footage of her at a charity event after the release of her album Forever, Sarah (likely 1996) and a press conference at a promotional event for her 1995 album Forever. The footage shows an upbeat, determined Chen.
2025年8月18日「台湾大搜索」阿比妹妹主持的节目里包含了陈淑桦在《生生世世》后签名义卖的采访（大约1996年），以及《淑桦盛开》专辑发行时的记者会。陈淑桦的言谈举止非常勇敢、真诚、看得开，推翻媒体多年来给她设得框架。
🗨️ Fan message 本期歌迷留言
🗨️ Fan message 本期歌迷留言
Fan message left on Sister Abby's 2025-08-18 episode on Sarah Chen
Fan message left on Sister Abby's 2025-08-18 episode on Sarah Chen
"I am forever a diehard fan of Sarah Chen. I was born when she released her first album. When I was nine, her Sunset Follows Me Home turned me into a fan. In middle school I'd save money for food to buy her albums, all through her final one Lost Paradise. She is forever the Queen of Mandopop in my heart. Bless Sarah, wherever she is. I hope that she is happy and is living the life of her choice. "
📷 Photo Highlight 本期照片
📷 Photo Highlight 本期照片
Dream Column Labyrinth 梦之柱迷宫
Dream Column Labyrinth 梦之柱迷宫
Among the gardens along the Black Sea coast in Batumi, Georgia, is the "Dream Column Labyrinth." One walks along a narrow stone path to reach the center post, where one makes a wish. Sarah Chen, Queen of Dreamland, reminds us that dreams are universal.
在格鲁吉亚黑海海岸的花园中，有一座「梦之柱迷宫」。你得小心翼翼地沿着狭窄的石径走向中央石柱，在那里许下心愿。就如陈淑桦唱的“许一个愿，编一个梦“。梦想是人的共性。
✏️ Today's Blog 本期博客
✏️ Today's Blog 本期博客
Sister Abby Missed A Golden Opportunity
Sister Abby Missed A Golden Opportunity
阿比妹妹错失良机
阿比妹妹错失良机
但阿比放掉了这个机会。明明影像足以推翻多年来舆论的框架，节目却还是老调重弹 （展开读全文）
2025年8月18日，《台湾大搜索》播出一集关于陈淑桦的节目，包括她退出歌坛前的珍贵影像。节目由阿比妹妹主持，一上线就爆红，六天内冲破六万点阅、888个赞，热度指数100。珍贵影像包括陈淑桦在《淑桦盛开》后的访谈，她说大病改变了她的人生观，不仅琐事不再烦扰她，也能放开以前认为很重要的东西。她的新座右铭是向死亡挑战。几个月后，《生生世世》发出，陈淑桦办了她第一次歌迷签名慈善活动，签名纪念品义卖。活动结束时，她对大家的善意非常欣慰。
这些珍贵影像本是阿比妹妹的黄金机会。她手里握着的是内容创作者梦寐以求的东西，足以改写华语乐坛的历史。她可以替陈淑桦发声，为这位同行正名，推翻几十年来打击陈淑桦的那一堆老掉牙的说法。
她要说的，其实很简单：这些年你们都搞错了——这些新录像表明陈淑桦勇敢而有魄力。她绝不是那个依赖母亲、被李宗盛捧红、永远病怏怏的人。她是这个世界上最勇敢的女人，她的气度和她的音乐一样值得尊敬。
但阿比错失了这个良机。明明影像足以推翻多年来舆论的框架，节目却还是老调重弹：她太依赖母亲，母亲骤逝后崩溃掉，陷入几十年抑郁，大家就最好不要打扰她。还有呢，别忘了陈淑桦是李宗盛捧出来的。
我是台湾娱乐圈的旁观者，突然接触过去几十年的舆论，觉得匪夷所思。媒体为什么把陈淑桦说成这样？她是台湾的国宝，把台湾推上国际舞台，将华语音乐、文化、文学传播海外。她的一些铁粉，包括我自己，都在海外，从未涉足台湾，对台湾的了解很大程度来自华语音乐。但即便是外人远远看去，也很清楚：陈淑桦是台湾的荣誉，对台湾的贡献无量。邓丽君当然不可超越，但在世界某些地方、某些歌迷心中，陈淑桦同样是传奇。而媒体如此践踏她，为了什么？
如今媒体对陈淑桦的描述，早已不是她本人，而是一面镜子——一场罗夏测验。阿比妹妹做了测验，结果是违背陈淑桦自己的话。受访者做了测验，把他们的成见投射上去。二十二年前，她的同事们也做了测验，在《给淑桦的一封信》里投射出他们的动机。就像罗夏墨迹里没有蝴蝶或恶魔，这些叙述里也没有真正的陈淑桦。越是想矮化她，越是暴露社会、媒体，和测验人的偏见。
是的，我也做了这场测验。而我看到的，是梦境天后陈淑桦，她直视死亡，直视四十年来社会对女强人的扭曲，抛开这些荒谬的说法，像“东方不败”一样，潇洒地过着属于自己的生活。
On August 18, 2025, Taiwan Big Search released an episode on Sarah Chen, with rare archival footages from shortly before her exit from the music industry. Hosted by Sister Abby, the program went viral, pulling in over 60K views, 888 likes, and a hype score of 100 in its first six days. The footage showed an upbeat Sarah Chen in 1995, saying that surviving her near-death illnesses had given her a new perspective on life, one where nothing mattered, where her new motto was to challenge death. A few months later, she appeared at a charity event, signing memorabilia for fans, donating the proceeds, and, though slightly tired, still expressing her gratitude for the goodwill around her.
These rare clips gave Abby a golden chance to make history, stand up for her fellow entertainer, and challenge the prevailing narrative about Sarah Chen. Yes, Abby had in her hands what content creators only dream of: rare material that could rewrite Mandopop history.
All Abby had to do was to say it plainly: You've been wrong all these years. Sarah Chen is not the mother-dependent, Lee-hyped, forever-patient you made her to be. She is the bravest woman alive, command respect as much as her music does.
But Abby let that chance slip. Staring right at Chen's optimistic and fearless interviews, the episode instead dragged out the same decade-old tired lines: that Chen was so dependent on her mother she collapsed after her death, that she spiraled into a decade-long depression, that she is best left alone. And to spice it up, let’s start with how she was made by Jonathan Lee.
For someone unfamiliar with Taiwan's entertainment industry, I am baffled by how Taiwan media has chosen to portray Sarah Chen, their national hero, the one who put the country on the map, who spread Chinese music, culture, and literature overseas. Some of Chen's staunchest supporters, myself included, are overseas and have never set foot in Taiwan. Yet even from a distance it is obvious: Sarah Chen has done immense good for Taiwan. Teresa Teng will always be untouchable, but in certain regions and for some fans, Sarah Chen is just as iconic. Yet the media has chosen to trample her like this, what for?
The media's portrait of Chen has become a Rorschach test, a projection of the press, of society, of whoever does the talking. Abby took the test, contradicting Chen's own interviews. The people interviewed took the test, projecting their views about women in society. And 22 years ago, Chen's colleagues took the test in A Letter to Sarah, projecting their own motives. Just as Rorschach's inkblots contain no butterflies or demons, there is no Sarah Chen in these stories. The more they tried to minimize her, the more they reveal their own biases.
And yes, I took the test too. And what I saw was Sarah Chen, Queen of Dreamland, staring down Death, staring down forty years of society's distortion of powerful women, waving the nonsense aside, and living her life fully like the Invincible East.
And what I saw was Sarah Chen, Queen of Dreamland, staring down Death, staring down forty years of society's distortion of powerful women, waving the nonsense aside, and living her life fully like the Invincible East.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
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).
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