The versatile King Sihanouk

　　When it comes to Norodom Sihanouk, people will think of him as a king who is deeply loved and revered by the Cambodian people, and a legendary figure. However, little is probably known about his versatile side.

　　

　　Legendary life

　　

　　Norodom Sihanouk's life is full of legends. On October 31, 1922, Sihanouk was born in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, and belonged to the Norodom family, one of the two royal families of Norodom and Sisowath. On April 23, 1941, the 19-year-old Sihanouk succeeded his grandfather, King Monivong, on the throne. On March 3, 1955, he announced that he had renounced the throne and ceded the throne to his father Suramarit, while he organized the People's Social Union to participate in the national general election and became Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs after winning. After King Suramarit's death in April 1960, Sihanouk refused to succeed the king, agreeing to serve as head of state during the absence of the king. On March 18, 1970, the United States instigated the Lon Nol-Shrimada group to stage a coup and deposed Sihanouk. On March 23 of the same year, he announced the establishment of the Cambodian National United Front in Beijing and served as chairman, leading the Cambodian people to fight against the United States and save the country until they defeated the Lon Nol regime supported by the United States in 1975. After the liberation of Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975, Sihanouk returned to Cambodia and served as the head of state. In April 1976, he issued a statement announcing his retirement. In January 1979, the Vietnamese army occupied Cambodia, and Sihanouk led the anti-Vietnamese struggle. In March 1981, he announced the establishment of the National Unity Front for Cambodia Independence, Neutrality, Peace and Cooperation (Funcinpec Front) in Pyongyang, and served as chairman until August 1989. On July 9, 1982, he served as Chairman of Democratic Kampuchea until July 1991. On July 17, 1991, Sihanouk was elected as the chairman of the Cambodian National Supreme Council. On October 23 of the same year, he participated in the signing of the Cambodia Peace Agreement in Paris. On November 14, Sihanouk was unanimously supported by the Cambodian Quartet - the Funcinpec Party, the Khmer People's National Liberation Front, the Democratic Cambodia and the Cambodian People's Party. head of state. On June 14, 1993, the Cambodian Constituent Assembly passed a resolution to fully restore all the rights and status of Prince Sihanouk before the unconstitutional coup on March 18, 1970, and to grant him all the powers of the head of state. On September 24 of the same year, Cambodia promulgated a new constitution and restored the constitutional monarchy. On the same day, the Cambodian Throne Council unanimously elected Sihanouk as king and lifelong head of state. In October 2004, Sihanouk made a public statement in Beijing, announcing his decision to abdicate due to health reasons. His son Sihamoni succeeded to the throne as the King of Thailand, and Sihanouk became the Supreme Emperor of Cambodia.

　　Sihanouk is a world-renowned outstanding statesman who has been in the international political arena for decades and enjoys high prestige. At home, he is deeply loved and revered by the Cambodian people. It was his unremitting efforts that enabled Cambodia to completely get rid of the nearly 100-year-old French colonial rule on November 9, 1953, and achieved complete independence. He was hailed as the "Father of Independence" and "National Hero" by the Cambodian people. ; It was he in the peaceful period after the country's independence that made Cambodia's economic construction develop rapidly, became an "oasis of peace" in Southeast Asia, and built the beautiful city of Phnom Penh into a "little Paris in the East"; after 1970, dozens of Cambodian domestic In the turbulent years of war, he always grasped the overall situation, led Cambodia with difficulty and gradually embarked on the road of national reconciliation, achieved national peace, and entered a new period of national recovery and reconstruction.

　　In the decades of exchanges, Sihanouk and Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and other leaders of all generations of our country have established profound friendship and become old friends of the Chinese people.

　　From April 1941 to April 1952, Sihanouk married 6 wives successively, and these 6 wives gave birth to 14 children for him. Among the 14 children, except for a little princess who died at an early age, many people lost their lives in the civil war. At present, only four princes and two princesses are left.

　　Sihanouk suffered from cancer and various diseases. Under the careful treatment and care of Chinese doctors and medical staff, he fought against the disease with tenacious perseverance and optimistic spirit, and finally recovered miraculously. Now he is nearly 89 years old, still in good spirits, and has become a rare person with longevity in the Cambodian royal family.

　　

　　Multi- talented

　　

　　Sihanouk is not only a politician, but also multi-talented. He has deep attainments in literature, art, film, music, sports, cooking and many other fields. He is gifted with languages, and in addition to his native Khmer, he is also fluent in French, English, Greek and Latin.

　　Sihanouk's literary and artistic accomplishment is very high. He has written many poems and written biography. After graduating from primary school in 1936, he went to study at Sasru Lobat Middle School in Saigon, Vietnam. It was a French-run school. His literary grades were consistently at the top of his class. He is very fond of reading the works of the French writer Pierre Benoit. Sihanouk said: "I seem to have the talent of an artist. I myself have no systematic training in art, but I can write poems and lyrics in Khmer. I am not only a politician, but also an artist. I think exposure to art helps to keep one's brain healthy. I don't gamble, my hobby is art, and I also contribute to the prosperity of the arts in our country." He enjoys acting and dancing, and attends elementary school. At that time, he once organized a student troupe to act and wrote the script himself. He often organizes dance parties. He dances tango, waltz, slow foxtrot and rumba very well. He is both a singer and a musician. Sihanouk's major works are "Memoirs of Sihanouk - Sweet and Sour Memories" (published in Paris in 1981) and "Memoirs of Sihanouk - My Struggle with the CIA" (published in 1972) Books such as War and Hope: The Reality of Cambodia and World Leaders I Associated with. He also regularly publishes articles in the press.

　　He is very fond of sports and is known for football, basketball and volleyball. He is especially fond of equestrianism and often organizes equestrian competitions. He once participated in the Indochina equestrian cross-hurdle competition and achieved good results. “I have been fantasizing about having a horse since I was a boy, not a race horse, but a horse that can perform equestrianism. My love for horses was inherited from my grandfather, King Monivong. One day, my grandfather showed me a Here's a picture of him in a military uniform and riding a beautiful horse at the St. Mexan Military Academy." Sihanouk said, "As early as my childhood, I was captured by actor Gan McKay in American Westerns. Nader was fascinated by the beautiful white horse 'Tarzan' that Nader rode. My parents bought me two small Khmer horses, one white and I named it 'Tarzan': the other was black .My neighbors and I often learned the way of the American western cowboy, riding horses and revolvers together. Later, my friends and I formed a small French equestrian team. At that time, I had three horses, one It was burgundy, and another was speckled with white, and the other was silver-grey. I chose the one with the speckled white as the royal mount for the coronation."

　　Sihanouk also likes to cook. He is very familiar with the various famous wines in France, and in his spare time, he will talk about them endlessly. Sihanouk said: "I can cook a French dish. Premier Zhou sent a good chef to me, and he didn't leave until 1997. I worked with Chinese chefs and studied French dishes and desserts according to French cookbooks. Made to perfection.” He sometimes takes pleasure in cooking a few French dishes himself for his friends.

　　

　　Music genius

　　

　　Ah , dear China,

　　my heart has not changed,

　　he will always miss you.

　　Ah, dear friend!

　　We Khmers,

　　with your support, the

　　sorrow will be dispelled.

　　You are a big country, you are

　　not selfish and arrogant, you are

　　humble and polite,

　　no matter how big or small, you are equal.

　　You defend the

　　freedom , independence, equality, and

　　peace of all peoples.

　　Ah, the Cambodian people,

　　your eternal friend!

　　These are the lyrics of the famous song "Missing China" written and composed by Sihanouk. In 1965, when Prince Sihanouk, who was then the head of state of the Kingdom of Cambodia, visited China, Premier Zhou Enlai and Foreign Minister Chen Yi accompanied him on a boat tour of the Yangtze River. The charming scenery on both sides of the strait made Prince Sihanouk excited, so he personally

He wrote the lyrics and music, wrote this popular song, and dedicated it to the Chinese people. In 1973, Premier Zhou Enlai held a grand banquet in the Great Hall of the People to welcome Prince Sihanouk to return from his inspection of Cambodia's Anti-US Liberated Area. When the military band played the song "Missing China", Premier Zhou hummed to the music, which greatly moved Sihanouk.

　　Sihanouk is an excellent musician. His songs and compositions are deeply loved by the Cambodian people. In 1970, the Lon Nol-Shrimada group deposed Prince Sihanouk. Although Sihanouk has been overthrown, Cambodians living in France, the United States and other places still transcribe the songs he composed and enjoy them together, which shows the influence of his songs among the people.

　　The themes of his songs are varied. Some praised the beautiful rivers and mountains of Cambodia, some praised the friendship with China, North Korea, Africa and Arab countries, some praised his wife Princess Monique, some missed his ex-wife, Lao girl Maniwan, and many more. A song about the love of a young lover. In order to express his deep friendship for China and the Chinese people, in addition to "Missing China", he also composed songs such as "China, My Dear Second Motherland!" "Long Live the People's China, Long Live Chairman Mao Zedong!" He sang in Cambodian, Chinese, English and French with great affection on different occasions, leaving a deep impression on people.

　　On the evening of November 4, 2002, King Sihanouk held a state banquet at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh to welcome the leaders of the 10 countries who attended the ASEAN Leaders' Meeting held in Phnom Penh. At the dinner, accompanied by a band, King Sihanouk sang 12 songs in a row, including songs from all ASEAN member states. The 80-year-old King Sihanouk also danced with first ladies of several countries, Indonesian female president Megawati, and Philippine female president Arroyo until late at night. His enthusiasm impressed the leaders of the world. This fully shows Sihanouk's charisma.

　　In addition to songs, playing the saxophone, the accordion, jazz and the clarinet are also Sihanouk's hobbies.

　　In early April 2002, King Sihanouk established his own website. On the website, he has a dedicated "King's Songs" page. There, readers can enjoy the beautiful songs and compositions of King Sihanouk. 　　In 1941, 19-year-old Sihanouk ascended the throne and became the young king of Cambodia

　　

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After that, he developed a deep love for movies. He bought a movie camera, some film stock, and a movie screen, and began his filmmaking career. From 1966 to 1997, he wrote and directed a total of 19 films, the most representative of which are "Shadow of Angkor", "The Little Prince", "Dusk", "Happy Forest" and so on. In films, he often plays the main role with his beautiful wife, Monique. In 1966, he wrote and directed his first feature film, The Fairy, starring his daughter Princess Papha Devi as the heroine. The film shows the beautiful scenery of Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, Papha Devi's classical ballet and Cambodian traditional wedding ceremonies, interspersed with a beautiful love story. Sihanouk once said: "I thought that a story film, with bright colors, beautiful scenery, ornate decorations, plus a love plot, would give people a sense of Cambodia's current situation and historical traditions. Understand." That's the aesthetic of the films he makes. In his films, he generally chooses Cambodia's beautiful natural and cultural landscapes, such as the world-famous Angkor Wat, Bokor Mountain, Kirillon Plateau, Damao Mountain, Lychee Mountain, and seaside beaches, etc. He composed beautiful music and captivating Cambodian classical and folk dances, sometimes with Cambodian national costume shows. His films show the audience thousands of years of Cambodian ancient civilization, exquisite traditional culture and art, beautiful natural scenery and brave and simple people.

　　The 1960s was the golden age of Cambodian cinema. There are more than 20 cinemas in Phnom Penh alone that are quite good and often show Sihanouk's films.

　　In 1968, Sihanouk held a three-week "Phnom Penh First International Film Festival" in the capital of Cambodia, and representatives from 27 countries participated in the opening ceremony of the film festival. In the screening hall of Basha River Theater, the light gradually dimmed, and the title title "Shadow of Angkor" appeared on the screen. Screenwriter and director: Norodom Sihanouk; starring: Norodom Sihanouk ; Music: Norodom Sihanouk. At that time, there was a burst of warm applause from the audience, and all eyes were turned to the young Prince Sihanouk, who was sitting in the front bread compartment with his wife.

　　Sihanouk's films have been screened internationally and won many awards. "Happy Forest", "The Little Prince", "Shadows of Angkor" and "Dusk" have been screened at festivals in Moscow, Tashkent and New Delhi; "Happy Forest" has been screened in Prague, Cairo, Alexandria, Jakarta, Hong Kong and the United States Screened in some universities and won the Music Prize from the Soviet Composers Association; The Little Prince was also recommended to UNESCO. Some of his short films have also participated in European International Film Festivals and won important awards.

　　In 1995, King Sihanouk wrote and directed the film "Missing China" with deep feelings for China. The outline of the story is as follows: a young and handsome Cambodian prince led a national orchestra to perform in Beijing, and the beautiful lady of the Cambodian embassy in China came to the airport to greet the prince on behalf of the minister. The Prince Conducting Orchestra held two performances at the Cambodian embassy for the diplomatic envoys of some countries in China. They played Prince Sihanouk's music "Missing China" and "China, My Dear Second Motherland!", Chinese singer And dancers performed a dance adapted from Prince Sihanouk's song "Long Live the People's China, Long Live Chairman Mao Zedong!". During the interval between the performances, the prince, accompanied by the minister's wife, visited Beijing's Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven, Beihai, Summer Palace, Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Badachu and other places of interest and natural scenery. , to meet in the next life to be married. After the performance in Beijing, Prince led the orchestra to visit Paris, France. The two embraced each other at the Beijing airport and said goodbye. The film takes the three songs of Prince Sihanouk as the main line, interspersed with the beautiful scenery all over China and the new achievements of Beijing's high-rise buildings, overpasses, wide streets, and busy traffic. ), expressing King Sihanouk's heartfelt love and gratitude for China.