Grandmother’s Secret Photo Album Reveals Her Double Life To Her Family

Leung Ping grew up in China before eventually moving to and retiring in San Francisco where the rest of the family also lives. Johnny, who resides in the Bay Area, works as a freelance artist and teacher and connects his love for the arts to his grandmother.

It was no secret that Grandma Leung was a gifted musician, as she’d occasionally sing and play piano at family gatherings. But this was the extent of what Leung Ping revealed to her family, which always left Johnny wanting more.

While Leung Ping would let Johnny and the rest of the family flip through some of her photo albums, she had several that were always off limits. A frustrated, curious Johnny pried, begging his grandmother to see the secret albums, to which she replied “You can see them when I go.”

And when Leung Ping finally did go of natural causes, her family read through the behind-the-scenes chapters of her story. The album held photos that highlighted her life during the “Golden Age” of Shanghai, a time of prosperity and growth.

After studying at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, she was signed to Pathé Records (which was later taken over by EMI Group). The blooming talent signed her first record deal in 1942, at just 15 years old.

The singer and musician was formally trained in shidaiqu, a genre of fusion music originating in Shanghai in the ’20s. It combines aspects of Chinese folk music with jazz instrumentals, creating a unique hybrid sound. Shidaiqu vocals are sung in a high-pitched, almost babyish tone, one that requires a skilled voice.

Johnny and the family were dumbfounded to discover she recorded music and performed in nightclubs across Shanghai in the 1930s, wooing the mesmerized Western businessmen who often attended her shows. With hits like “Spring Does Not Come,” “My Youthful Days,” and “Wang Zhaojun,” Leung was a star. But her life was not without low points.

At the end of World War II, China endured a brutal civil war between the Communist Party of China and the Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang. Chaos at the end of the ’40s made it difficult for China’s people to prosper, as foreign business and investments declined rapidly.

After a costly battle in 1949, the government lost control of Shanghai to the Communists, forcing Leung and her family to flee to Hong Kong, a place many Chinese people were looking to as a refuge.

Escaping the political debacle in Shanghai was necessary for Leung’s career. See, the modern style of music that made her famous was deemed “yellow music,” as it contained materialistic nods that were looked down on by the Communist government.

“In Chinese, ‘yellow’, 黄, is a pun for ‘pornographic,'” Johnny stated. Thankfully, Hong Kong in the ’50s celebrated controversial arts and culture, making it a perfect place for Leung, a famous shidaiqu star, to thrive.

After a short run in Hong Kong, Leung and her family moved to Singapore, where she met philanthropist and entertainment mogul Sir Run Run Shaw. Aside from his immense influence in Asian entertainment (pioneering kung-fu films), he also co-produced certain American films like 1982’s sci-fi masterpiece Blade Runner.

Sir Run Run Shaw saw something in Leung Ping, so when classic Hollywood superstar Elizabeth Taylor visited Singapore in November 1957, he asked Leung to be one of the representatives of the Singaporean entertainment industry to welcome Liz Taylor.

Though Johnny and the family knew somewhat of Leung’s fame in China, they thought it was quite niche and underground. They had no idea she partied with American stars like Elizabeth Taylor and legendary contralto singer Marian Anderson. These prominent interactions only made Leung more famous in Asia.

And that fame took her places — like international beverage advertisements. German beer brand Beck made Leung the face of one of its ads, showing her accepting a beer off a platter while sporting a sleek black dress with a slit up the leg.

But with every page Johnny turned, more surprises followed. Amazingly, according to a tucked-away newspaper clipping, Leung also competed in the first-ever Miss Universe pageant in 1952. And while her career in the entertainment, music, and modeling industries was important, Leung had one other strong passion.

In the midst of her growing fame and cultural influence, Leung got married and became a mother. After more than three decades of success, she decided to immigrate to the U.S., thinking her children and future grandchildren may find greater opportunity there. San Francisco was their new home.

Because Leung Ping was a strong, zealous woman, she continued to pursue singing in America despite not speaking English fluently, and even gave music lessons. Though she was most eminent in Asia, Leung was invited to perform for adoring audiences in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, along with Canada and Australia.

Johnny and his family were flabbergasted at the rich history Grandma Leung Ping’s photo albums held. She hid so much from them, and though they’ll never know the reason as to why, they’ll forever celebrate her legacy and look up to her as a role model. She followed her dreams and let nothing stop her from shining.

We don’t typically view our elderly grandparents as these adventurous, audacious beings, whether or not they were like that in their previous life as Leung Ping was. But it was this waltz with the wild that fueled 97-year-old Ingeborg Neufeld.