The Late Barbie Xu's Impact Goes Beyond All Space And Time

Chen Dao Lee

 
For a Throwback Thursday Post, I want to review the late Barbie Xu's memorial. Barbie eventually filed for divorce and married DJ Koo, who was her former love flame, and sadly, she passed away too soon after enduring an abusive marriage with her ex-husband. The unveiling of Barbie's rather Manga-esque statue that resembled Makino Tsukushi from Hana Yori Dango felt appropriate. It was because Barbie's acting career was launched by Meteor Garden -- she was TSUKUSHI MAKINO. IMHO, she was the best Tsukushi to be done in live action! Almost everyone in Meteor Garden resembled their Anime/Manga counterparts one way or another!

It was a rainy day indeed (and honestly, Barbie's close friend Rainie Yang showed up, no pun intended) together with her two co-stars Jerry Yan and Vic Zhou. Who could remember the love triangle in Meteor Garden that was actually drawn into a love rollercoaster? The Daoming Si vs. Huatze Lei love triangle for Dong Shan Cai was one of those that defined the 2001s. Meteor Garden was a Chinese drama that may have caused the Chinoy education system, as they ran the school system, the very factor that told you how Mandarin plays a global role, with over a billion speakers, and how the Chinese Variety Show went from just for the grandpas and grandmas to the NEW GENERATION.

I'm reminded of how I secretly compared Barbie's face to Mika Katsumura -- the very person who played Yuuri in Mirai Sentai Timeranger. Both Barbie and Mika were also victims of abuse from a former spouse. Mika's status was even further out of the public eye after a failed marriage. Barbie effectively retired to focus on family life. I always felt that the similarity was there but I was too afraid to admit that I saw it. But now, Barbie's influence had left a void that's probably too hard to fill. What was crazy during that time was also my fear that Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai could probably die of cancer at 40 years old -- like the late Anita Mui. 

It doesn't help Barbie's ashes are that Chin Pao San -- the very same place where Coco Lee and Teresa Teng are also laid to rest. Teresa died while on vacation in Thailand on May 8, 1995 -- a sudden turn of events. Barbie's death caught people by surprise in 2025 -- months before Teresa's 30th death anniversary. Now, both Teresa and Barbie are in the same place. 

The heart is stil drenched. The rainy day atmosphere can remind anyon eof the sad tropes under the rain in Taiwanese melodramas. Meteor Garden put the sad rain scenes too. Right now, I even remember my wish that Jerry and Barbie were Shuhuan and Yiping in Romance in the Rain (2001) instead of Leo Ku and Vicki Zhao. Instead, things went differently, and it was Meteor Garden that launched them instead.