Li Lihua - Four New Seasons 1943/10/21 李丽华-新四季歌

Li Li-hua was just 19 when she recorded this song. She was born in Shanghai on 7th of July, 1924. She was the daughter of famous Beijing opera actress Li Gui-fang and actor Zhang Shao-chuan. She was born premature at 7 months, and was a sickly baby, often crying weakly "miao..ow....miao...ow"; hence her mother nicknamed her "xiaomi" meaning little kitten. Her father died when she was four, but her mother lived past 90.

Before her film debut, the producer devised a big promotional campaign. A newspaper article appeared daily announcing that Miss Li Lihua would award anyone who helped her find her diamond ring lost at a local circus show. After several days of such publicity, a final announcement mentioned that Li Lihua had found her ring and was grateful to everyone for helping. The producer then released her first movie, drawing a large curious crowd. Everyone wanted to know who this Li Lihua person was. "San Xiao" (Three Smiles, Shanghai 1940) became a box office success and Li Lihua became an overnight star.

She moved to Hong Kong in 1948. She appeared in films produced by the Great China, Yung Hwa, Great Wall, Shaw Brothers, Lung Ma, Xin Hwa and many more. In 1955, she starred in Blood Will Tell, which was the first color movie in Hong Kong.
She starred in several Shaw Brothers blockbusters, such as The Grand Substitution, The Magnificent Concubine, Empress Wu and Vermilion Door etc. Li won the Best Actress Award at the 3rd and 7th Golden Horse Film Awards in 1965 and 1969 with her performance in Between Tears And Smiles and The Partisan Lovers respectively. She retired from the film industry in 1973, after more than 120 movies. She had the busy, industrious nature of Rat Year combined with Cancer's mystery and allure.

She was nicknamed Hsiao Mi - 'The Evergreen Tree' of Chinese cinema owing to her long and popular movie career and youthful looks. She also made her mark in Hollywood, with Cecile de Mille, Victor Mature, and Yul Bryner among her many admirers. A very young Jackie Chan appeared in 3 films with her. The Singapore Entertainment & Television Eight magazine featured her as one of the Most Beautiful Stars of the 20th Century, describing her as a "Bewitching Belle: She was a diva before the title was trendy. Li LiHua, the classic Chinese femme fatale, exuded a regal air which she lent to to her portrayals of bold women like Empress Wu...."
Lyrics
The spring potpourri little sister building my eyes to her lover,
Lover delays in hope, swore embroidered heart sad.
To lazily in the summer, the pond water from the waves,
Little sister do not do gods off, I hope to do with Lang Yuanyang.
To the most desolate autumn lover Miles to frontier
Step by step thorns off a mountain far away, looked like the then Wan Qi Liang