Editor's Note: As the lyrics of Brother Leslie Cheung's iconic song goes, "The wind keeps blowing, and I don't wanna leave." It has been 13 years since this legendary Hong Kong-born Chinese actor and singer committed suicide on the special April Fool's Day. Accordingly, the death of Leslie Cheung still seems to be an April fool's joke to the whole world. This year, on April 1st, we are dwelling upon the memory of this superstar as ever. What is your memory with Leslie?

eslie Cheung Kwok Wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a singer, actor and film producer in Hong Kong, China. He was esteemed as "one of the founding fathers of Canto-pop" by "combining a hugely successful film and music career."

It is unanimously acknowledged that his appearance is dwarfed by his talent, while his characteristics trump everything else including his talent.

Passionate about his career as a singer, actor and film director, he is wholeheartedly committed to everything he does.

Despite running a fever up to 39 Celsius degrees, he persevered in leg pressing to prepare for this particular shot at the distinguished film Farewell My Concubine. In this film, Leslie acted as Cheng Dieyi, a Peking Opera artist. He was nominated the best actor in 1993 Cannes Film Festival. 

His Peking opera tutor Zhang Manling said in an interview, "I was not present that day. When I arrived, Leslie had been there, leg pressing. My husband said to Leslie, 'you look extremely exhausted. Why were you up so early?' Leslie’s face turned red when he exercised. He’s been running a fever up to 39 Celsius degrees."

Another example is his Canton concert in 2000. Lightly dressed on the stage on a cool autumn evening of howling wind and soaking rain, he delivered an incredible performance of singing and dancing at the concert. Unwavering commitment to his career has earned Leslie enormous worldwide reputation.

Group photo of Japanese fans, celebrating Leslie’s birthday with folding paper cranes

Hailed as the super-star in Asia, Leslie Cheung was credited with exciting stage performance, incredible beauty and natural talent. In 2010, he was voted the third "Most Iconic Musicians of All Time" (after Michael Jackson and The Beatles). As a matter of fact, Leisure was the only Asian super-star ranked top five by American press corps.

Tough as he is, Leslie was once puzzled and indecisive. However, there is no such word as giving-up in his dictionary.

He said, "I was a blind fly, not cool-headed. I was confronted with difficulties. There were times when I was too scared to continue on. Yet, I survived. Because I was a tough cookie and I did not give up."

A generous artist, Leslie shared everything with and created opportunities with the new generation of artists.

Having co-filmed in the movie of A Chinese Ghost Story 2, Jacky H. Cheung became good friends with and received a lot of help from Leslie: “though several years younger, I was treated as a dear little brother. Very meticulous, Leslie took care of me in many aspects, including but not limited to life and career.”

Leon Lai was lead by the hand by Leslie. “When I completed the singing competition for new talents, Leslie was the first to ask me out for a celebration. He asked me to stay humble as a person and in styling.” Leon was too sad to be there for Leslie’s funeral in 2003.

In Wang Leehom’s micro-blog excerpt, he wrote: "I was always nicknamed as Kid by Leslie. Kid is a dear term and I came to realize that in reciprocity, Leslie is my uncle. He said he was my family in HK because I was far away from home in the States and my Cantonese was not fluent enough. I miss you, Uncle Leslie."

Aside from colleagues, Leslie was equally committed to the community, underscored by the fact that he was the first artist to launch a donation program at the concert. A patron of the Children's Cancer Foundation with his personal donation of one million HK dollars, Leslie helped collect a donation of one million HK dollars.

He was in deep love with his country. As the first Hong Kong artist to play a character of a member of Communist Party of China, Leslie watched all the Chinese movies ranging from 1920s to 1960s including such featured works as Railroad Guerrilla and Angels on the Road, in an attempt to get a profound understanding of the traditional Chinese culture and create the vivid character.

In a TV interview, the hostress asked him, "You played the character a member of Communist Party of China in the movie of A Time To Remember. How did you manage to play a character extremely distant from your own life?" He answered, "In the final analysis, we both are compatriots. We share the same Chinese heritage, don’t we?"

His blessing and best wishes to the country were incorporated into his personal photo album known as Celebration, featuring Tiananmen Square, the national flag of China, lovely senior citizens and kids on the street, and the breathtaking West Lake. Published and distributed in Japan, this photo album was autographed by Leslie in front of one thousand plus fans in Tokyo and Osaka.

He published a personal photo album known as Celebration, featuring the natural landscape of this country. This album was a collection of numerous pictures of Leslie against the backdrop of the Red Flag. Leslie revealed his true feelings with a few remarks: blessed to witness the moment when this country with thousand years of cultural heritage is ushering in a new era. This land of the Red Flag flourishes and people live in peace.

Leslie was a great Mandarin speaker. When asked why, he replied, "I learnt it from my mainland compatriot." He said, "When I was an student in UK, there were only two Chinese in the university. One was me, and the other was my mainland compatriot. I learnt Mandarin from him."

When making his debut as a judge at the 1998 Berlin International Film Festival, our unique Leslie got dressed in the Tang Suit, a traditional Chinese-style costume rather than a fashion garment. According to Cheung, the world deserved to see him as a judge from China.

During any interview with Leslie, he always said something universally like this: “I am proud to be a Chinese and as a Chinese, I have identified my sense of belonging. I am spiritually calm, thanks to my Chinese heritage.”

Q: Why do you always film/ direct for the Chinese people?

A: Because I am Chinese and I need to create very meaningful movies for my community.

Q: You have frowned upon Hong Kong actors seeking career development in Hollywood, haven’t you?

A: I absolutely have. In Hollywood, Hong Kong actors have been asked to play Kong Fu only on the big screen. They have zero understanding of Asian culture.

Plentiful fans voluntarily remember and honor this super star, despite the fact that he has been away for years. Puzzled, some simply wonder, “what do we need to learn from Leslie?” In his defense, fans reply, “our Leslie has been way more patriotic than us. As his diehard fans, we have the obligation to develop a deep affection towards our motherland.”