Single, successful and free-thinking
By admin on 2014-12-29

The term sheng nu, or 3S, stands for women born in the 1970s with high education levels and high incomes who are unmarried – single, seventies and stuck. Taiwanese singer and actress René Liu is putting a positive spin on the often negatively-applied title, showing that being a free-thinking, strong, independent woman, is perfectly OK.

Often portraying the life of a 3S woman in her music and films, Liu is considered by many as representative of the group.

"I actually enjoy being called so," Liu told the Global Times, "which means I am outstanding and able to stop being single any time I want to. My piece of advice to all my '3S ladies,' is it is not always necessary to get married, let alone depend on marriage as an escape from your boring single life."

Denying the necessity and importance of marriage, Liu said she still believes in love, like the character she played in her latest film Hot Summer Days, which championed the Chinese mainland Spring Festival period with a box office of 60 million yuan ($8.79 million) and is opening in Taiwan today.

The film was Liu first appearance on screen in two years, since Run Papa Run in 2008.

"I had an operation on my knees, so I took some time for a break," she explained. Now fully recovered, Liu is all set to return to the showbiz world, with a new album and solo concert scheduled for this year.

"I feel bad having kept my fans waiting so long. I will try to make more films even though this year's schedule is almost full and that means I will probably have to stick to my '3S lady' status for a bit longer."

Liu's single status as Li Yan in Hot Summer Days, saw her play a pianist-turned-foot masseuse living in Shenzhen. "The character is all about love, hope, waiting and holding on. Audiences can read my attitude toward love from it."

According to Liu, the more important reason that she took on the role was the chance to act with costar Jacky Cheung, who is an award-winning actor and generally regarded as China's "god of pop songs (ge shen)."

"I have always been listening to his music and watching his films. I think he is a real actor and excellent with whatever types of roles," Liu said, adding that she had always wanted to work with him.

The on-screen chemistry between Liu and Cheung was evident, even though it was the first that they had worked together. "It was very refreshing acting alongside him," Liu commented, saying that Cheung is very passionate about acting considering his status and achievements in the industry. "He was very collaborative and helpful when shooting our scenes together."

Liu's Li Yan got to know Cheung's Driver Hua, a single father from Hong Kong, through a wrongly-delivered text message. Living in two different cities, they start a relationship by sending sms without meeting in person and they pretend to be who they really want to be. Li Yan hides her identity as a foot masseuse and Hua lies about being a racecar driver for Ferrari. They eventually accept each other's true identities when meeting and fall in love.

"I think our story is to tell the audience that love can come surprisingly out of no reason," Liu said. "Even two lonely hearts in two different places can be bonded together." She added that people should never give up on love, "even if you are a '3S lady,' even if life is hard for you."