87-year-old Golden Horse Best Actress Ling Po and 90-year-old Chin Han celebrated their “diamond marriage” 60th wedding anniversary on the 18th. The couple were recently interviewed by senior Hong Kong journalist Wang Manling, recounting their journey of knowing and loving each other for six decades, as well as sharing stories of their now four generations under one roof. For the first time, Chin Han revealed that when he was pursuing Ling Po by writing love letters, she was actually already engaged. “Then she came to me, said she wanted to meet and go out to chat.” That’s how they got together. Ling Po shyly stopped Chin Han from revealing more: “Aiya, you’re saying too much, I’ve never even talked about this before.”
Ling Po moved to Hong Kong in 1949, starred in Amoy films in the 1950s, and then acted in Shaw Brothers’ Cantonese and Huangmei opera films in the 1960s. She won the Golden Horse Award Special Best Actor Prize for her cross-dressing role as Liang Shanbo in “The Love Eterne” (1963), and Best Actress for “Love in a Fallen City” (1967).
Ling Po and Chin Han met in 1963 while filming “Hua Mulan,” with both playing lead roles. At that time, Ling Po was already a major star, while Chin Han was still a newcomer. He recalled the first time he saw Ling Po: “I took the studio company shuttle bus, a bunch of stars rushed on, and as a newbie, I followed. Everyone greeted each other—who’d have thought (she’d become) my wife one day.” As they spent time filming together, Chin Han gradually developed feelings for Ling Po. The two played a couple again in “Twin Phoenixes.” Unable to hold back his affection, Chin Han said, “She had a boyfriend, but I didn’t care, so I asked someone to help me write a letter, because I was worried my writing wasn’t good. But when I couldn’t find anyone, I wrote it myself.” After he gave the letter to Ling Po, he saw her return to her room from the set—she read the letter, crumpled it up, and threw it in the trash. Still, he didn’t give up, and kept writing love letters until he won her over and she chose him over her fiancé. After three years of dating, they married in 1966.
Always Caring, Always Bickering
The couple moved to Taiwan in 1974, immigrated to Canada in 1988, and occasionally return to Hong Kong to see friends. Wang Manling asked if they are still together 24 hours a day as they always have been. Chin Han replied that they have been like this for all 60 years of their marriage. He used to wonder, “What if when we grow old we get sick of the sight of each other? Would we end up without any friends?” It turns out, he said, “Your lifelong companion is your best friend.” Of course, couples inevitably nag each other. He mimicked Ling Po’s nagging voice: “You didn’t turn the tap off properly. Come and see for yourself, look at your water!” Then he complained: “She could just turn the tap off herself, but she has to call me over to look.”
Source: Apple Daily