Staged Interview with Pianist Eileen Huang and Singer Daughter Shungza

Hello, welcome to Women』s talk.  I am your host Aaron.  Today, on the eve of Mother』s day, we have on our show a very unusual mother, also a pianist and an amateur writer, Eileen Huang, and her daughter, Shunza.  Our audiences are quite familiar with Shunza whose songs are very popular in Taiwan.  But not many people know that her mother is a musician too.

Eileen was born in Szechwan, began her piano studies at the age of six, and graduated from the world-famous Central Conservatory in Beijing.  In 1979, she arrived in the U.S. to study for her Master in Music Arts.  In the following decades, she studied and performed around the world, and currently lives in Positano, Southern Italy, where she teaches at the International Chamber Music Courses Festival in Positano.  Despite her musical work, she is also an amateur writer.  Here in my hand is her new book 19 letters from Positano.  Welcome, Eileen and welcome, Shunza.

 

Q: Hi, Eileen. I have read your new book 19 letters from positano and was deeply moved by what you wrote about your two young daughters.  Since you and your daughters now live respectively in Europe, Asia, and USA, can you tell us why you chose letter-writing as your means of communication instead of the more convenient ways such as email or the phone?

Eileen: Well, I think typing, faxing and e-mailing are all convenient and easy, but they destroy the traditional beauty of communicating in hand-written words, which takes time and effort and can present your care and feelings in an unusually physical fashion.  Not like e-mails where you click the delete button and everything disappears.  I wanted to write and preserve those letters as a record of the love I have for my daughters. 

Q: In the new book you wrote about moving to the U.S in 1979 with your two daughters, raising and educating them all by yourself.  It must have taken great determination to give up everything in China, move to alien soil, and bear the child-rearing responsibilities without any family support.  What makes you decide to immigrate to U.S at that time?

Eileen:  It』s a long story.  I can only say that there are great differences between China twenty years ago and the China that everyone is talking about today.  Life in China in 1979 was really hard, esp. for a single woman with two children.  And I wanted a better life for my daughters.  Since I had an opportunity to take them out of China, I decided to take the tough path and face the challenge that I have to take full responsibility to give them a good education environment and to be able to pursue my own career in the performing arts.  If China were in better condition then, I probably would not have done that.

Q: It must have been difficult days during the beginning years.  So you made the decision mainly for the sake of your daughters?

Eileen: Yes, mothers always do that.

Q: Indeed, mothers always do that.  Shunza, you were brought to the U.S. at the age of 6.  Did this transnational experience help you achieve the success as Eileen expected?

Shunza: Well…I was too young to really know anything!  The only thing I remembered was my elder sister crying out loud at the airport.  But I had no idea what made her so upset.  My first days in San Francisco brought great influences on my musical career.  At the beginning I could not speak English, so I practiced hard by listening to the radio stations and learning how to sing English songs.  I recited every line of the lyrics and memorized them all, including the melodies.  I listened to a huge amount of music in those days, R&B, Jazz, Soul, even Hip-hop.  The music transformed me and offered me the inspiration to produce music.  Whatever achievements I have accomplished, I owe it all to my mom. 

Q: You have lived apart from your father since 6 years old.  Did you ever miss him?

Shunza: Oh! Of course!  I believe that every child wants to have a happy family, with love from both the mother but also the father!  So sometimes I would go back to Beijing to visit my father.

Q: Does it influence your relationship with Eileen?

Shunza: Mmm…when I was young I did not think too much of my mother』s feelings.  But as I grow older, I gradually understood the delicate situation, and even my mother felt it necessary to face the problem.  I still remember on my sister』s birthday several years ago, one of her wishes was 「taking a family picture together?」  But it was almost impossible!  My mom and my dad have not seen each other for over 20 years! We were no longer a 「complete」 family.  And this kind of wish really troubled and confused my parents.  It was indeed an embarrassing circumstance.  

Eileen: I tried to work it out at that time because I didn』t want to ruin my daughter』s wish.  But my ex-husband is already re-married.  It would be quite awkward to pose for a family picture now.

Q: Yes, you have stayed single all these years.  Would you ever consider re-marrying?

Eileen: Frankly speaking, I』ve had quite a few relationships with men in all these years.  It』s nice to have a home and settle down, but perhaps I am too much of a woman to be limited to one man.  I always like to meet other men.  And if you are married, you would lose your freedom and become an imprisoned bird.  So I chose freedom.  If you are resourceful, even a home without a man is still a good place, and you can always be hopeful that you will meet nice men in this vast world who would keep you company if only for a brief while.

A: Wow! That』s an interesting point of view.  I think that to many of our audience, it is a completely new idea to think about the relationship between man and woman.

Shunza: Oh, she runs so fast that no one could keep up with her!

Q: On the eve of Mother』s Day, Shunza, would you like to say something to Eileen?

Shunza: Well, mom, you』ve had many relationships with many men, and I sincerely hope you can go steady with only one guy.  I know you have always been longing for a real and complete family.  Of course you can do everything on your own and you do it perfectly, but here comes the point: I don』t want you to be alone anymore.  After so many wandering years, and all your sacrifices and bitterness, you deserve a man to love you, to take you as a precious treasure in the hand.  That is my wish.  「Happy Mother』s Day」!

Eileen: Shungza, I took you and your sister to America twenty years ago by myself.  I don』t have any complaints and I do not intend to blame others.  Twenty years later, my daughters have become successful and celebrated, I still don』t expect others to praise me for that.  I just hope you won』t forget what I did for you.  A mother needs the care and the love from her daughters.  I love you, dear.

Shunza: I love you too, mom.

A: We want to thank Eileen and Shunza for bringing us the touching talk.  And we wish all mothers around the world a Happy Mother』s Day too.  Thank you for listening to our program.  See you next week in Women』s talk.  GoodBye!

 (written and presented by Lucy, Elle, and Aaron)