This week Pop Stop delves into Chinese history for some gossip. Once upon a time a guy came across seven fairies bathing in a lake and fell in love with one of them. The fairy's mother turned out to be the Goddess of Heaven, who was perturbed at the “unnatural affair.” Angrily, she ordered the two star-crossed lovers to break up and made sure they stayed apart by creating the Milky Way. Later, she relented slightly by letting them meet once a year, on the seventh night of the seventh moon.
Since then lovers have celebrated Qi Xi (七夕), or Chinese Lover's Day, by buying each other chocolates or flowers at massively inflated prices and failing to book popular restaurants for a candlelit dinner.
If you are Jolin Tsai (蔡依林), however, and do not have a lover, July 31 was a good excuse to go comfort shopping. Rising at 6am, according to the press pack who were following her every move, the early bird made a cool NT$1.8 million modeling before going on a shopping spree. The Liberty Times said she went home at 11pm and the lights were out at midnight, before she turned into a pumpkin.
PHOTOS: TAIPEI TIMES
Lover's Day was also a good opportunity for the media to speculate on who's hot and who's not. The Web site Yam.com ran a lively poll which asked women to give their choice of the perfect lover, preferred companion for an affair and ideal husband.
In the perfect lover category, the enigmatic Taiwanese-born-and-raised actor Takeshi Kaneshiro (金城武) took first honors. Earlier this year it was reported in local rags that the 32-year-old had secretly married his one-month pregnant sweetheart. Soon after the same papers were claiming he visited gay bars. Clearly, mystery makes the heart grow fonder.
Warbler Wang Lee-hom (王力宏) was second, while the Japanese actor and sometime singer Hideaki Takizawa (瀧澤秀明) was placed third. The 50kg hunk's nickname is “Takky” and he appeals mainly to young women. His chat forums are full of comments such as the following: “Isn't he cute? whatchoo think?”
“Even cuter when he's eating, heehee.”
“Takizawa is cute I agree :love:”
“He seems to have a really friendly and nice personality also ^^”
Moving swiftly on, the nation's top target for an extramarital affair was Mike He (賀軍翔). The fresh-faced 23-year-old has appeared in a variety of soap operas and chat forums, suggest it's his dark, arching eyebrows that give him an irresistible innocent-evil look. He, by the way, is quite open about a friendship with teen idol Joe Cheng (鄭元暢) that is said to be closer than close and they were voted the most eye-pleasing couple by the gay community last year.
Also in the frame for some hei xiu, hei xiu (嘿咻嘿咻) away from home were Chiang Ching-kuo's (蔣經國) grandson Demos Chiang (蔣友柏) and the 63-year-old Japanese actor Maskazu Tamura (田村正和). Hei xiu, incidentally, is a Taiwanese euphemism for sex.
Victor in the ideal husband category was Kenneth Yen (嚴凱泰), the Armani-clad, guru of the boardroom at Yulon motor group. Pop Stop has previously reported that rumors alleging the country's second most perfect lover is Yen's pampered poodle are unfounded. Lawyer and TV host Hsieh Zhen-wu (謝震武) was second, while Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) proved to be the only politician with sex appeal.
Finally, Pop Stop is pleased to announce that because there's a leap month in the lunar year we will be doing Chinese Lover's Day again on Aug. 30. It will be the 12th time in 2,000 years this has happened. You can't have too much love. Can you?
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