series pitnol interview

Steven clarifies his real personality and his viewpoint on love re Chow Sai Hin.

k-100 talk show

Tidbits on Steven

secondary source
baidu

It's not commonly known that Steven likes to collect branded watches and jade items.  "It's too wasteful to buy watches, so recently have cut down considerably on purchases. I like stuff with history and culture. I've in my collection: som Wo Tin (Hotan) white  jade (和田白玉) & emeralds, and also three pieces of this jade (紫光玉) . I don't buy cars. I'd rather used my savings to buy an apartment. At least, have a roof above my head."

As part of socializing when working as a salesman, Steven had to drink Mao Tai and similar strong alcohol. Hence, over time he gradually built up a strong tolerance for liquor.  "Three bottles of red wine, half bottle of whiskey and 2 dozens of beer, they can't inebriate me.  Sometimes when work press is high and want to get slightly drunk, but no matter how much I drink, I still can't. But luckily there is another way, which is to drink champagne! Just a few sips will make me drunk!"

不說不知，原來馬仔有收藏名錶及玉器的嗜好，「買錶太嘥錢，依家買少咗，我好鍾意歷史文物，收藏和田白玉及翡翠，仲有三塊豬油膏咁嘅紫光玉，我唔玩車，儲夠錢只會買樓，起碼將來有瓦遮頭。」馬仔任銷售時因應酬需要飲茅台等烈酒，練就如酒筲箕般的酒量，「三支紅酒、半支威士忌、兩打啤酒，是但一樣都隊我唔冧！偶爾有工作壓力，想有少少微醺，但飲極都唔醉，好彩仲有個方法，就係飲香檳！飲少少香檳我就會醉！」

2001 Photo

credit 龍劍飛 weibo

Steven is quite an all rounded artist.
-- he acts
-- he sings
-- he cooks
-- he writes
-- he plays the guitar, the electronic key (drums, too?)
-- he composes music
-- he writes lyrics
What else?
- plans to write scripts, direct, produce.

2012-12-12 18:05
Just finished the music composition and the lyrics portion of the song. 

Updated: People related to Steven: their weibo and facebook

Info updated 2015-5-13

truestarhongkong@gmail.com
Job contact: (Ms. Lau) 劉小姐 852 53660882
Joe 852 6213 7427  小虎 13717789568
出色堂小馬工作室

Joe Chan FB (Joe);
weibo 虎虎不乖了( 小虎 name: 鄢虎)
(北京捷成时代文化传媒有限公司经纪总监鄢虎
Looks like Steven's mainland manager has changed from his Tao Yuan studio to Jetsen company? (the same company that produced 鸳鸯佩)


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Tao Yuan 中港桃园马浚伟工作室
郭倩影 weibo - Tao Yuan mainland manager
(edited: No longer Steven's mainland manager as she has quit Tao Yuan to  join another mainland company)

Tao Yuan Media company 桃园黄洪
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Haha! Going thru the list of people Steven followed in his weibo, I believe the below people are related to him -- sisters and niece?  Check out the weibo entries where Steven had lunch/dinner with family. 2012

Weibo accounts:
21 year-old niece? Iris Lo
sindyma
carmenma
SandyLauYY GM of his printing company 出色堂

eta facebook accounts
istudy learning center fb

Steven's 4 sisters (fb) from oldest to youngest
carmen ma 马淑仪
maggie ma yin yi
sindy ma
Fiona Ma

 Steven Ma surrounded by fans.

2001 news: Steven Ma prefers older women as girlfriend

马浚伟钟意女友年纪大
【夜光新闻: 2001-3-1】马浚伟 (新闻|) 昨日在上水拍摄电影＜新流氓医生＞，今次他除了与蒙嘉慧 (新闻|星光网志|中华之星|影集|网站|沙龙) 和柯受良 (新闻|) 合作外，同时间亦会与一台湾新人康康合作，问到他二人会有亲热镜头时，马仔便立刻耍手兼拧头，原来他向来都很怕与年纪小的女演员拍亲热戏，事关因她们的演出经验甚浅，拍亲热戏时难免会有些揽揽锡锡的镜头，因而恐怕被人冠上咸猪手，咸猪嘴等称号，所以实在可免则免。

问到马仔以前有否甚麼经验而留下阴影时，马仔笑言上一次与徐子淇 合作拍电影时，因二人饰演情侣的关系，当中会有一场一同睡在床上的镜头，虽然当时没有甚麼亲热的场面，不过因子淇的妈妈在场，於是乎便令他紧张起来，处处防范自己的行为，他笑言当时都曾经有想过叫自己的爸爸一同来监场呢！后来，马仔又说自己在现实生活中都不会选择年纪太小的女朋友，事关他接受不到女友太爱蒲，所以他在选择女友方面，都会以年纪成熟些为主，即使对方大自己五年，他都不会介意。

Steven Ma - Profile

PROFILE
Name: Steven, Ma Chun Wai / Ma Jun Wei
Nickname: Ma Zai, Xiao Ma, 4th brother
Real Name: Ma Chi Wai
Birth date: 10/26/1971
Lunar BD: 9th mth 8th day 
Birth place: Hong Kong
Height: 178 cm
Horoscope: Scorpio
Chinese zodiac: Boar
Religion: Christianity
Ethnicity: Chow Chiu
1st cd album: Lucky to have met you
Favorite author: 唐君毅 - 人生之体验
Name of publishing company: 出色堂
Date of entry into the industry: 9-27-1993
Profession: Singer, actor, writer, book publisher
Favorite Roles: Cho Chi, Sheung Ji, Nip Ji Yuen
Language spoken: Cantonese, Mandarin, English
1st major tvb role: Duke of Mt. Duke 1998; KangXi
Former Company: Kinston 建星文化出版有限公司
Family: Father, 3 older sisters, 1 younger sister, mother (deceased)
Charity: Sponsor-A-Child (5), Regeneration Society, HK Patrol Supervisor
Signed with Warner Music, East Go Entertainment, Kinston Music Company
Competition: 1993-1994 Champion of 3rd Pioneer Laser Karaoke Singing competition
Interests: badminton, cooking, music, photography, reading, singing, traveling, writing, Chinese history
Favorite singers: Emil Chow, Faye Wong, Jacky Cheung, Na Yin, Eagles, Robby William, Madonna, Air Supply, Michael Jackson

Revised 2015: Interesting facts on Steven's nicknames.

Eta: Related post- 2012 one-pen-ma article

Why Grand Piggy Ma? 

refer from AF post 383 post 941
Steven chose the below fan's piggy drawing among many others on baidu to upload onto his weibo.

sm baidu - question on the origin of Grand Piggy Ma
sm baidu - origin of SM weibo posts starting post# 287

Steven calls his weibo Grand Piggy Ma Abode.
"Grand Piggy Ma Abode - opens 24/7, no minimum fees because there is no charge. All are welcome! (tn: Steven has since removed the above blurb from his weibo.)

This came about because one day Steven was commenting on how his weibo is like a gathering place for his fans. He is happy to see that. He says maybe his weibo is like a: 1) bar 2) coffee house 3) a diner, 4) 4th brother's inn? But his fans were against his suggestion because all his suggested venues imply a transitory place where people come and go and do not stay long; to them Steven weibo is HOME. Some came up with "chat room". In the end settled on Grand Piggy Ma Abode because they insisted on calling his weibo "home 之家". Awww.....so sweet!

Why picked May 20 (520) as the designated piggy family day?

Because 5/20 is not only close to Steven's weibo opening day but also for Mainland netizens, 520 sounds like "Wo ai ni", so it is a propitious day to exchange words of affections between Steven and his little piggies.

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2010-5-20 16:49 p140 馬浚偉 ：好吧,那就把5月20日定為我太豬日.....不是,是"馬太豬家庭日"吧!la la la la la 
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The origin of Gand Piggy Ma

It all began with Steven posting his collection of his cartoon idol, Dingdong, (2010-4-18 19:30 - see comments pp 75-79) and asked his fans to guess what other cartoon figure items he has collected. Some guessed this apparently very popular China cartoon tv  Pleasant Goat and Big Bad Wolf (喜羊羊與灰太狼) but the answer of course is Bumblebee of The Transformers.  Steven said he actually quite like Wolf/Goat too. He then mischieviously altered the cartoon name from (喜羊羊與灰太狼) to (灰羊羊與喜太狼) . Playing along, a fan asked Steven whether he is Big Bad Wolf Xi (Xi Tai Lang 喜太狼) or Grey Goat (灰羊羊), he said he was Grand Piggy Ma 马太猪, and so that name stuck and accordingly his fans became Little Piggies. see sm baidu link post# 287

馬浚偉：我是馬太豬 2010-4-18 20:15



2010-4-18 19:30 The original post that started it all. (comments on pp 75-79)
2010-4-18 20:05 馬浚偉：說真的,我也挺喜欢喜羊羊和灰太狼! 香港也看到,挺好笑的!
2010-4-18 20:08 馬浚偉：灰太羊和喜狼狼!
2010-4-18 20:12 zita霖霖：四哥，你是灰羊羊还是喜狼狼？
2010-4-18 20:15 馬浚偉：我是馬太豬

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sm baidu 4/23/2010 p8 post#330-336 The next wolf/goat weibo post few days later.

And of course many weiboans immediately set out to point out the incorrect wolf/goat title: his (灰羊羊與喜太狼) vs  (喜羊羊與灰太狼) .  Steven says he knew, he did that on purpose, reminding them of his wolf/goat previous comment posted a days ago.

p 169 2010-4-23 13:36 馬浚偉：沒有啦，是上次我們討論時我故意把牠們對調的！忘了嗎？：D

His comment generated a lively discussion on his weibo before long someone suggested to Steven to write a cartoon tv story.

And Steven, ever obliging, came up with a brief story about this: Mushroom Head Horse encounters Grey Goat and they got talking. Suddenly Big Bad Wolf Xi appears. Terrified of being eaten, Horse and Goat quickly transformed into Pandas. Wolf laughs and says: Are you pretending to be roasted pigs? haha! Don't worry, I only eat bamboo shoots. Horse's and Goat's jaws dropped. hahah! Am I being silly, (mo liu.) 

*Pig = Steven's zodiac.

**Panda = jibe on himself looking like a panda because of the dark circles under his eyes due to lack of sleep. So he jestingly calls panda his 3rd brother.

***mushroom = play on a previous post whereby he mis-wrote "mushroom" for another word, and of course fans raced each other for the 'honor' to be the first to point out this mistake to their 4th Brother. 

Swept by Steven's silliness, his fans uploaded their own cartoon drawings of Grand Piggy Ma. And Steven even uploaded one of them on weibo. And he too said he would upload one of his own drawings of Grand Piggy Ma. His fans quickly crowned him the grand master of pigs and they his little piggies. And thus Grand Piggy Ma came into being. And Steven obligingly accepted that nickname when he named his weibo, Grand Piggy Ma Abode. Must say Steven is indeed a very good host to his weibo fans with his interesting entries and chats. Also, his fans' adulation must be a big ego booster to him. The downside of this voracious idol-fans interactions is that familiarity usually breeds contempt and familiarity can also lead to fans' false sense of proprietary ownership of their idol. Hope it won't happen to Steven.

related materials
2010-4-18 19:30 ; 2010-4-18 23:28; 2010-4-23 13:31; 2010-4-26 02:57; 2010-7-13 15:43 The thread on the collection of fans' piggy drawings.

why 4th Brother

 Why 4th brother? AF ref: post 1382

Why 4th brother?  Ha, this has a much longer history than his Grand Piggy  Ma's.  Way back to year 2003-4? Outwardly, the reason given is that  Steven is fourth in his family, hence 4th brother.  But the nickname  holds a deeper meaning for the group of fans who came up with it.  I bet  not even Steven knows the deeper meaning underlying that affectionate  nickname of his.  Steven clinched that nickname when one day out of the  blue he uploaded a baidu fan's article onto his yahoo blog and signed  off as 4th brother.

  *I just read the above article on baidu.  I didn’t transfer the article here just because of her praise but because she seems to understand me rather well, especially this phrase: 自然風流. (naturally fung lao) Haha!  I accept.  So, besides thank you, also want to share.  Hopefully, lout and you all would not mind!  4th Brother.  refer post 1201

With one stroke, he not only let his fans know that he reads  and appreciates their posts in baidu but that he accepts their nickname  for him -- in effect stating that they are one big fans/cyber family,  with him as the 4th brother and they're his younger siblings. ref: post 1208 .

old quote:  Steven  sure knows how to get into his fans' hearts by signing off as 4th  brother, his fans' pet name for him. thank-you-lout-know-me-quite-well  And before that he had signed off  with 等我! Wait for me! Very perceptive! 

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The source of 4th Brother nickname

From the archives of Steven's Warm House fansite on how the pet name 4th brother, (sei goh) came about.

dialogue between 2 fans on the fansite.  
I: How did his pet name sei goh come about?
SY: Simple, doesn't he have 3 older sisters? He’s # 4 so sei goh lah! (Thank goodness HK has no one child policy)

I: But I know this pet name has another meaning – it imparts a warm feeling亲切when addressing him as such, right?

SY: very warm feeling. At least it’s also more restrain than calling him ‘baby /darling /treasure /boubiu. 宝贝.
I: Also there’s a 3rd meaning too. In the olden days, lovers addressed each other as goh ya, miu ya, hing ya .

SY: Yong Goh even addresses Xiu Long Nui as Gugu. Goh goh ya, mui mui ya etc aren't they the same?
I: Right, so this pet name shows his importance in your heart.

SY: en, I respect him!!!
I: And? Admire him? Adore him wholeheartedly?
SY: respect, 尊敬; adore/admire, 爱慕; feel a tenderness/compassion towards him 怜惜. you paparazzi you. 你这个狗仔队的。
I: 怜惜?

weibo If not an actor, then what else?

Steven weibo: 4/9/2010

fan1: 4th brother, have you ever thought of changing career? Steven fans, don't scold me, I truly want to know.

Steven: hmm! Truth be told, when young I wanted to be a policeman; when older, a lawyer; then maybe a social worker; now besides an artiste, would like to be in an education or writing occupation, or maybe a teacher. But I don't have the proper credentials. But never mind, just thinking about it is fine. After all, it is just a personal aspiration.or dream. Everybody has the right for aspiration, so long they are not bad thoughts they can't go wrong with. .

Steven Ma would rather be lonely than be overly sappy.

February 15 2005




Yesterday was Valentine’s Day but Steven Ma did not go on a date, instead he called up old friends for a get-together. He laughs and says that 364 days of the year are Valentine’s Day to him, except for February 14 which is a rest day.

MaZai says earnestly: For Valentine’s Day, if not truly in love then don’t spend it too carelessly. Because I’m no longer a youngster, if my date is not someone I can spend my whole life with, then I would much rather be a lonely horse (Ma). I absolutely can not celebrate Valentine's Day every year with different people. If I feel we could further develop our relationship but still not too sure, then I’d suggest celebrating Valentine’s Day two days ahead. (How many years have you not celebrated Valentine’s Day?) I’ve of course celebrated Valentine’s Day, otherwise, I would not have comprehended that Valentine's Day should not be casually spent, but I’ve forgotten how many years since I celebrated it. With this in mind, Ma Zai taking advantage of this Lunar Year holidays has earlier called up old friends for a get together. He only remembered that yesterday was the 6th day of the lunar year, and not the celebrated Valentine’s Day. Conversely, he remembers that next week will be the Lantern Festival (15th day of Lunar Year – aka Chinese Lovers’ Day.) He smiles and says maybe when the time comes, he will call up some friends to guess the riddles written on lanterns (for the Lantern Festival at the end of Chinese New Year)

asianfanatics 93 

昨日是情人节，马浚伟没约佳人，反约了一些旧朋友出来叙旧，他笑言对他而言，一年三百六十四日都是情人节，唯独二月十四要休息。

　　对于情人节，马浚伟有他的一套语重心长的看法：「若不是真的恋爱，就不要随便与女孩子过情人节，如果不肯定对方是可以一生一世，我宁愿做孤独小马，我绝对做不到每年与不同的人庆祝情人节，如果觉得大家可以发展而又未肯定，我就会提前两天庆祝。」

　　问马浚伟可有庆祝过情人节？他笑说：「我当然庆祝过，否则也领悟不到情人节的意义了，但已忘了有多少年没庆祝过了。」由于马浚伟一早打算趁这个新年假期与朋友叙旧，所以他只记住昨天是年初六，没留意是情人节，倒是下星期的元宵佳节，即中国情人节，马浚伟特别记得，他透露届时会与朋友齐往猜灯谜。

Steven as a good husband discussion

Link to prequel post (Steven's flaws) 

Exchanges between Tamaya and Akazukin in asianfanatics post 1753

Posted 09 September 2009

Akazukin: Talking about a weakness, no matter how good he is, I never think he is perfect....Maybe his one weakness is he is not a good boyfriend.

Tamaya: In Steven's defence, his girlfriend knew what she got herself into when she accepted him as a bf. I guess the years he was freelancing for himself got to the be the best time for them, esp. without the media hounding him. (Me being batgua again.)

Akazukin: On me continuing to be a busybody: You're right that his girlfriend should know what she got herself into when she accepted him as a boyfriend. But then, I'm wondering, Steven has always said (with Tavia confirming that as well) that Steven will be a good husband. But the problem why he isn't a good boyfriend now is because he will sort of disappear and won't answer calls when he is on acting schedule. I totally understand his reason, but will he stay the same when he becomes a husband? Because I think that's pretty hard to bear for any ladies. I understand that he likes more mature women because they are.... more mature... in thoughts, so they won't pick on little things. But I believe even more mature ladies need someone they can sort of contact whenever they need mental support. It's just woman's nature, no?
[..]

Akazukin: I think there's also the issue I raise about whether he can manage being a good husband if he continues being an actor, provided that he continued his habit of switching off his cellphone during work. If he wants to have both career and family after he gets married, then something ought to change and the change can't be done overnight. If he thinks he can't give his all to his work by having his cellphone on now, I don't think he can give all to his work by having his cellphone on once he gets married too. That is unless he starts finding a way to change that habit now, which I hope he does. Giving more than 100% to his work is a good thing, but I hope he will put his 100% or more only during takes. Easier said than done of course, but he wants to keep both, I guess that's the only way to go.

Tamaya: Steven's desire to get married and start a family is nothing new to his old timer fans, even as far back as 2001. undaunted-I-forge-ahead  Recently, I dreamt. In my dream I saw my left arm cradling a daughter; right arm, a zai (son). I laughed so loudly that I woke up! I really wish to get marry, really wish to have children with my beloved. I long to have a daughter first, then a son; [..]”

So why the postponing year after year? – it all goes back to your question of bf vs husband's attributes which I’ll get to by and by. Briefly, a married man will usually put aside his own desires before his familial duties and obligations vs a bachelor going all out to realize his dreams and aspirations. “but will he stay the same when he becomes a husband?”

Me being batgua too, not to mention presumptuous in my response to the above very valid question.  My succinct answer to the above question is that he will not stay the same as a husband, and below is my long answer on why I think so.

When Steven proudly claims that he will be a good husband, he did not say it lightly.  He knows exactly what a good husband entails; after all, he was brought up by one such man – his father.  From Steven’s own accounts, his father literally loved and cared for his own wife in sickness and in health till death do they part; likewise, he desires to do the same to his own, when the time comes.  When he becomes a husband and later a father, he will change his life priorities, accordingly.  However, the time is not now.  He is not ready to give up on his self-seeking, self-absorbing dreams just yet.  Of course, he knows (per his interviews) that he is being very selfish and very unfair to Vivian, but at the same time, he knows even if he marries her now, he cannot be the good husband to her the way he aspires to be; and in time, his insistent pursuit of unfulfilled dreams might result in what he fears most, a divorce.  For now, despite his guilt over the breakup, his dreams nevertheless take precedence over his yearning for a married life.  Like Ji Yuen, he too is walking on a tightrope.  And like Ji Yuen, whichever side he chooses to walk, he will commit 100%.  Therefore, life priorities will change accordingly and accommodatingly depending on the side he’s on.  As a bachelor, he is a free agent, accountable to none; but as a married man, self-sacrifices and priorities for the family good would have to be made.

Prior to 2006, in many of his earlier interviews, Steven had stated that he would retire from entertainment at age 40 and concentrate on his publishing company – guess at that time, 40 still seemed so far away.  (ref: news) He figured hopefully by then, he would have had gotten the elusive tvb king award, thus could settle down to a blissful married life, which he craved even then.  But of course, it was not to be. 

But now, Vivian’s biological clock is clicking ominously away.  Which is why I think it was no coincidence that Steven suddenly decided to publicly divulge that he was indeed in a relationship. (ref: post 475 AJCL radio promotion) ajcl-radio-promotion

It was his way of reassuring Vivian of his commitment to her, just not marriage.  And I believe that he specifically wrote the blog entry, Marriage? for her and, killing 2 birds with an arrow,  to also prepare his fans of his imminent marriage.  Like Akazukin has so wisely noted, Steven does not seem like the kind of guy to go for a love-at-first-sight affair, much less a lightning wedding based on it.  Unspoken question posed to Vivian: Marriage? If not to you then whom, love at first sight? Me?  Impossible!  Vivian, please wait for me!  2 more years?  (haha!  Me being carried away on a runaway imagination train of thought.)


Akazukin AF#1602: It pains my heart to read the article about him and Vivian. It's indeed very difficult for him to have a relationship. I mean, I understand Vivian's complaints. Actually, I feel she is already being very understanding and accomodating to go through that six years with him in that matter. But then, standing from Steven's point of view, I also understand why he can't give her more time. He can't talk lovey dovey on the phone and then get into his character right away. But if he is like Raymond Wong who kept talking about his wife, then his partner won't be able to get into their character too. It's sad that he has to sacrifice for acting, but then without this sacrifice, we may not have been able to benefit from his great acting.


Tavia said that Steven is not a boyfriend material but husband material type. Personally, I feel that a good boyfriend must be a good husband material type because if he is not, then there is no point in having him as a boyfriend. But then, either way, he would need to spend more time with his girlfriend/wife to be a good boyfriend/husband, which is what his career limiting him to do. It's sad. Maybe if he gets to be a director, the circumstances would be more favourable for him, but then we won't get to see him acting onscreen anymore. But if that is what it takes for his happiness, then I would be happy for him even though I will miss him onscreen. Anyway, no matter which route he takes, I hope he will be happy. On a side note, I would love to see the series/movie he directs. I think it would be good.

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On his breakup with girlfriend 2009 contract seesaw

Bringing up Vivian had Steven immediately open up his protection net. “Let’s not talk about her, ok?” After much words of persuasion and effort, he finally deigned to loosen his tongue just a little.

"We dated for 6 years. Our relationship came to a bottleneck. There were some problems that we didn’t know how to reconcile. I was too busy. Once a series starts, it’s like I totally vanished. Didn’t have too much time to spend with her. She had already endured much over a long period."

The outsiders like to describe this red wine businesswoman as a superwoman. Anyway, habitual practice becomes natural. After all, it had been 6 years, still had irreconcilable conflicts?

"No matter how one can get used to a situation, she is still a woman who needs security. Maybe she is a superwoman in her work but in her heart she still likes to be taken care of. We had discussed this problem for a long time. In the end, decided it was best to halt the relationship. It was a mutual tacit understanding born of our years of togetherness. No one dumped anybody,” says he.

Steven - a worry wart? AF discussion

AF repost 1718  Posted 18 August 2009 - 12:00 AM 

honeydaisy: Wonder what his shortcomings could be? .. he seems perfect, but he can't be, can he? Or maybe he is the last of the "good men" left!

Tamaya: 
 His friends' complaints of his shortcomings. 
1) too pragmatic, too levelheaded, too much of a thinker = not spontaneous enough
2) too calm and collected = distant 
3) not open with his thoughts = reserved
4) too cautious = boring. 

Allegations on Steven's work ethics/shortcomings. link1; link2
5) too punctual therefore too rigid?
6) too conscientious in pre-memorizing his script down pat 
7) don't condone fooling around during filming- no fun

Anyway, my biggest complaint about him is that he seems such a worry wart over his family and loved ones, so much so he once suffered panic attacks from over stressing. Good news is, Steven himself is much aware of that flaw, which if not properly tempered can lead to over controlling of other people's lives. He even wrote about how his over stressing and worrying led to his 1st of many panic attacks in his latest book. Today, his panic attacks are all but gone as he learns not to over stress himself with unneeded burdens that are not his to begin with anyway. 

Akazukin: 
All these sound like his strengths rather than his weaknesses. But I guess, like most stuff, there are always two sides of a thing. So strength can very well be weakness and vice versa. However, I would still regard the mentioned as good qualities as I think the opposite of those qualities could probably cause more problems than those qualities themselves. I have some reservation about point 7 though, I do believe he doesn't fool around during filming (as in between the calling for 'action' and 'cut'), but I believe he is not no fun at all during his presence on the set, because I remember Tavia saying that Steven can play very crazily sometimes that she even nicknamed him "crazy guy".


(eta:IKR? My point exactly! I see that as strengths too. Steven doesn't have noticeable weaknesses, so his strengths got turned into flaws by detractors.) Recall how during a job interview or any interview for that matter, when asked about one's weaknesses, one should always come out with a trait that can be viewed as either a strength or a weakness, for e.g. persistence/ tenacity / determination = obsession?  protective = controlling? etc.  And yes, Steven did mention he is only serious during takes. 

honeydaisy: On Steven's panic attacks
At least he's aware of it! Nothing worse than someone who can't see his own faults. And he seems to be doing something about it, rather than denying it, or continue doing something self-destructive like over-stressing to the point of getting panic attacks. That sounds pretty hard core. Worrying is normal, but I've never heard of anyone worrying to that extent!

Tamaya: Re-reading my above post about my complaint of him being a worry wart, I truly did not express my thoughts well in the post. May I amend that comment with this post: 

Granted that "worrying is normal" but celebrities faced abnormally high anxieties and stress incomprehensible to us regular people. Steven is a worry wart, he admits as much in his press and radio interviews. But what I neglected to mention is that besides his propensity to over worry more than other people, his panic attacks were set off not by one factor alone but by an accumulation of myriad factors such as: his unwillingness to share and his indiscriminate shouldering of burdens, whether they're his to carry or not. Just that as a worry wart, he may have magnified every anxiety or worry unnecessarily. Steven has been quite candid about his past anxiety attacks. I guess that is why he is so caring of his young fadan co-stars, having been through the stress period himself. 

More on Steven's Girlfriend

Actually for those who follow his news, Steven having a steady gf is no secret at all.  As far back as 2006, there were already rumors on him dating his gf, but at the time, the reporters were more interested in writing him up as gay. Plus Steven himself was very low-key, and not promoted by TVB , so while his dating rumor subsided, his homosexuality rumor persisted.

In 2008 when promoting AJCL, Steven hinted to Eileen Cha Siu Yan in 2 separate radio interviews that he had a steady gf. Again, because he was not promoted, the press did not make a big deal of his revelation.  

Then in 2009 March, after much prodding from Eunice Lam, Ming Pao writer, Steven sadly admitted to her that he had already broken up with his gf earlier in the year. read  post 1279 Steven Ma Chun Wai: I find it difficult to truly laugh or cry

In July 2009, a more in-depth article followed entitled: Broke up, now can talk. post 1604

As to the recently separated Vivian…Ma Zai disclosed that they met through a mutual friend, and had dated for six years. Their relationship was not a secret among friends. When Ma Zai had dinners with friends, he often brought her along, too. Everybody thought their relationship was stable so much so that they thought before long they could switch to addressing her as Mrs. Ma (ma tai); who knew they had already separated months earlier. Ma Zai is a bit subdued, he says: “Yes! Broke off already; broke off already so nothing more to say about it."

“Even though he didn't make it public, but among close friends, Ma Zai had already openly admitted his and Vivian's intimate relationship. When he was doing the stage show 2007, The Chinese Hamlet, Vivian was backstage discreetly taking care of business.” 

When filming Change of Destiny, Shirley Yeung leaked to the press that Steven had a gf who frequently visited him at the set.

In mid October 2009, when filming Temptation with Fala Chen in Macao, a reporter spotted him with Vivian, along with TVB Catherine Tsang.  After slightly less than a year, Steven made up with Vivian. post 1843 

In his August 2009 Marriage blog entry in his Yahoo blog, Steven hinted that marriage may not be far off for him ---maybe within the next year or the year after.  Obviously, Steven wants to slowly ease his fans' transition to the possibility of him getting married soon.  He wrote that blog entry and has dropped numerous hints  about his possible marriage to his fans all even before the debacle with Andy Lau Tak Wah broke.

Read the recent article on him A Real Man - Steven Ma where he candidly talks about Vivian.

So his secret lover is not so secret after all to those who follow Steven’s news.  The reporter of this article did not do his homework properly, but then what can one expect of a tabloid reporter?

Steven's Girlfriend

excerpt of a 2006 tabloid report
Vivian Hui Wai Ling's 许慧玲 credential
In a different report, Vivian is said to have a western education, not sure if it also includes secondary schooling.

Vivian after graduating from an Australian university went on to study Hotel Management in Switzerland, specializing in food and beverages. Besides Chinese and English she is also fluent in German, French, and Italian. 10 years ago, she opened Gin Gallery in Causeway Bay, and became the agent for 20 odd Italian fine wines. Her business is also a wine distributor to several 5 stars hotel restaurants such as those in Grand Hyatt Hotel, Intercontinental Hotel, and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. She is also one of Hong Kong few female sommeliers. Beside Hong Kong market, her other business objective is to penetrate the Macao wine market, consequently opening a fancy Portuguese style restaurant “Mel on the Bend” on 于民国大马路 (road name). Her family, also in business, has a conservative estimate net worth of about 30 million. (HK$?). Vivian’s father (Mr. Shi xx) owns 4 companies, mainly in trade. Beside Gin Gallery, a red wine business managed by Vivian, the other operations include the 4 units in Star House office complex in Causeway Bay, a total estimated investment of 5 million (HK$??) Furthermore, Mr. Xu also has his hand in real estate investment, and his property’s worth is estimated well over 23 million (HK$?). In true, he is an obscure business tycoon.
http://www.steven-ma...d=1299&uid=2970

reposted from post 1705 asianfanatics.net 

Posted 13 August 2009 - 07:08 PM

Tamaya: In 2006, when I first read Vivian's impressive credential, I was truly shocked by it. Incredibly so. Not because she speaks several languages (probably fluency exaggerated by media) or that she is western educated but that Steven would pick a girlfriend who is so. From my previous read up on Steven, who admitted to be a Chew Chao dai lam yan (chauvinistic man), I thought Steven for sure would pick a gf who was more of a demure and traditional Chinese girl -- Very into Chinese history and Chinese literatures and poems like himself. He seems to shun the more assertive, highly intellectual and strong career woman. (per his People interview with Anna) Someone more like his homemaker mom. But Vivian totally does not fit my image of a possible girlfriend for Steven. So at the time, I dismissed the report as baseless rumor.

Akazukin: Some western-educated women can remain very traditional chinese, especially if she was born into a very traditional chinese family or her personality was born to suit the traditional chinese better. Besides, Australia is a very multi-cultural country, people with the same root tend to flock together. Actually, it's not totally out of logic why Steven would choose someone with Vivian's education background than a demure and traditional Chinese girl she commented as a good wife (as in those who say yes to the husband all the time). Steven is someone who likes to converse about philosophy, and if his wife is to say yes all the time, without understanding even half of what he said, how would he feel happy? I know a lot of chinese girls (definitely not all) who are mostly concerned about spending money on materialistic items and deem any talk of philosophy as 'boring', which is why he is deemed 'boring' as few reporters/interviewers right? Well, not only chinese girls but so are western, so it's more of a personality matter than a culture matter, I would think. I believe Vivian is likely to be a person who can understand, comprehend and have enough interest in talking about philosophy with him, while still manage to appreciate that in chinese culture, women are supposed to be supporting their men from behind (this does not always disentitle them from pursuing their own career). Moreover, they have a common interest in wine. Steven maybe a traditional Chiu Chow man but not without the influence of western spread himself.

But despite all that, who can give set requirements for someone he/she will fall in love to in the future? A lot of time, when people fall in love, the people they fall for is so far from their imagined ideal partner.

Tamaya: You have a point there, well, many points there. Just that I had this image (an erroneous one I know now) of how his gf would be like from listening to his 'People' interview. But like you say, Vivian can be very traditional Chinese despite being western-educated. 

Strawberry67: Vivian may be western educated but perhaps she was brought up by a traditional Chinese family therefore her thinking could be pretty traditional. Wonder if Steven felt any pressure being with a girl with quite strong financial background.

Tamaya: Hi, Strawberry67, yeah, you and Akazukin are both right. My bad. 

丘：是啊，但是大家讲得好紧张，说香港的女仔嫁不出，香港的男仔已经少了，更加还要北上找内地的女仔。
马：三成，三成都是娶内地的女仔。
丘：是啊，所以现在大家好紧张，因为女仔要“三高”，要求学历高，职位高，~~~
马：胆固醇高。（笑）
丘：这个要低（笑），收入高。
……………
丘：喂，不要讲其他人，讲你呢，你可以吗？外国女仔哦~~~
马：外国的，我不可以。
丘：也就是一定要亚洲区啦，是吗？
马：不是。是中国人，而且，不会中文的，我不是很可以。
丘：不会中文，是不会广东话还是不会国语？
马：不会广东话，因为我英文不是很好，但讲普通话绝对没有问题，就是讲国语OK，讲英文呢，OK啦。但是，我会~~
丘：就是华裔小姐你不可以，~~
马： （笑）香港小姐可以。中华小姐可以。我想我自己是一个想东西很中国的人，所以如果太西化的思想和我不会合得来。语言始终都不是一个大的障碍，我觉得思想才 是一个障碍。你的思想是，每一日都是吃汉堡包，吃炸鱼是一个必然，但对我来说可能我就不可以。可能我是一定要吃中国菜，和我吃饭的朋友都知道，我首选一定 是中国菜，第二可能是日本菜，我不喜欢吃牛排，我不喜欢去法国餐厅，意大利餐厅~~
丘：浪漫哦~~~
马：去吃潮州菜都好浪漫的。（笑）
丘：所以马浚伟是一个好中国传统的男生来的，看他喜欢的嗜好，看他喜欢吃的东西就知道了。我们今天讲的话题，我想和你都应该有很多东西可以讲的，因为平时你不动声色，其实阅人无数，因为你在这一行都做了好多年了~~
马：14年。

see related thread: girlfriend
related material: steven as good husband discussion
related material:  contract renewal seesaw

-- pix;  Chinese news article----

Revised: "If" poem in relation to Steven

Bumped up for readers interested in Steven, the man, encapsulated.
Somehow, the mention of Steven's weaknesses 2009AF discussion  AF post#1718;  #1720;  #1721; #1723 ; #1753 had me recalling Rudyard Kipling's IF poem on what a real man should be. So upon refreshing my memory of it, I was intrigued to see how it relates to Steven. Below is my naturally biased summation. (First penned in AF# 1726 8/22/2009   reposted here 10/16/2010; updated April 5 2014)

1st stanza

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

Those of us who follow Steven’s news know that his career path is anything but smooth, even now its ride is bumpy. From the onset, his first foray into the entertainment industry was launched from a negative starting point, unlike his peers' which took off from ‘ground zero’ as newbie. His company promotional slogan, "He’s not Hok-Yau (Jacky Cheung); he’s not Lai-Ming (Leon Lai); he’s not Hak Kan (Hacken Lee); he’s Ma Chun Wai (Steven)" backfired invoking instead the ire of the popular HK heavenly kings' fans respectively.   He was young then and innocent, only 22 years of age, full of ideas and ideals, and had yet to learn the true trade of a consummate entertainer; that of balancing the inner self vs the public persona. Thus his private self tussled with his public persona; his ideals struggled with the demands of reality; his innate integrity grappled with the hypocrisy of showbiz. During Steven’s 3 years of ‘initiation’, Doubt reigned supreme in him, having driven Confidence to the darkest recess of his being. It cast fears on Steven in his ability to perform as a  performer singer.  "A somber person like me standing on stage with fingers raised in victory, acting cute and naive; I would not be able to stand it,  neither, I believe, would the audience." With Confidence so imprisoned, Steven was at the mercy of Doubt’s insidious whisperings. He was ready to quit, until a helping hand rescued Confidence from its confinement, and subsequently lit a new path for it to discover new heights. To these days, Steven still feels indebted to his mentor, Catherine Tsang, and openly called himself Zhan Jie’s lead horse until the media arbitrarily put him in Stephen Chan party (2010), and that's that. (tn: SM: What party do I belong to?) When he had doubted himself, Ms. Tsang was there to inject him with confidence serum.

christian

Steven weibo


9/25/2010 02:09 One night in 1999, I was distraught and feeling helpless, the outcome was I got to know Him! He accompanied me for a long time and had supported me many times. But I kept questioning and doubted. But, now I truly believed, just like how it was back then that year when I first got to know Him. Maybe I have changed, but He has never changed! So, this late at night, just wanting to share a small piece of my testimony! May peace and happiness be with you all!

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TN: I'm so totally shocked by Steven's revelation that he is a Christian now because he had always maintained that he had no religious faith. I'm so happy Steven has found Christ or maybe it was the other way around. I couldn't be any happier for Steven than right now. Christ has carried me through tough times, too! May he find peace in his faith.

http://t.sina.com.cn...o7iqm#a_comment

*1999 - Steven's mom passed away.

Updated 2008: 2003 news Steven Ma on a mainland to promote new album

Updated w/ video 2008-05-07

source Guess the event was about 2003 right after finishing Better Halves, and he was on tour to promote his Mandarin album 《浪漫假期》Romantic Holidays.  .

Salient points:
1) He dislikes being called "Wai Gor" or "Wai Jai", for that matter. In various past news reports Steven had mentioned he did not like being called "Wai Gor" or "Wai Jai", as the former nickname is Eric Tsang's while the latter is Tony Leung's. Moreover, "Wai Jai" is what his parents and close relatives called him. His older sisters as well as his manager, Tsui Yong Yong, called him Steven. For the general public, he prefers to go by the name of either Ma Jai, or Steven, or  Xiao Ma/Xiao Ma Ge or just plain Chun Wai/Jun Wei.

2) The most embarrassing moment was when unknowingly on tv he had pieces of facial tissues sticking on his sweaty face after wiping his sweaty face with it.

3)  He prefers oriental looking women.

4) When asked about fatherhood, Steven says he has even come up with his child's name.


*************************************************

[Apple Daily 05/08/2003]
Steven plays happily with a young fan at the ferry port.
Steven Ma left yesterday with three big suitcases for Zhuhai to start a twelve day promotional tour of six Chinese cities. Steven said: "This is the first time my Mandarin and Cantonese albums have been distributed in China so I bought five or six sets of clothes, shoes and accessories especially for this tour, using about HK$10,000 which isn't bad. Among them are a pair of trainers that cost about $2000. However I need to change several times a day, so it really is a bit of a pain."

Steven will be going to Shanghai on this trip and he says that he intends to buy some property there: "My outlook on buying property is similar to that of buying clothes, I hope I can find something inexpensive, however it will only be used for holidays together with the time I put on expanding my career in the mainland."

***************************************

2003 August 14th 
Although he has been rushed off his feet these few days, Steven has not complained about fatigue, in fact, the enthusiasm of his fans has touched him greatly because at each of his stops, his fans have not only risen early to queue for his events for his autograph, when they see him they call out "Handsome Brother" to him! During this time, the press and the fans have asked this 31-year old what he wants from his partner. Steven responds that he will definitely get married and he had already wanted to start a family at the age of 30, but he is still waiting for his destiny to come.

So what does this Golden Eligible Bachelor want from his future partner? Steven says that she doesn't have to be too pretty, as long as they have a sixth sense for each other, she needs to be able to cook, be sensible and mature, have long hair and an Eastern appeal, best of all if she has a 'single eyelid' so she looks like him."

However, his biggest regret on the tour is that he hasn't had time in Xian to go and visit the terracotta army or to go and see the Shaolin Temple and the Judge Bao Shrine in Zhengzhou; luckily the organisers were very understanding and took him to try all the local cuisine after the events, even sampling his favourite street side food, trying his favourite mutton skewers in Xian. Also in a restaurant he saw a real seal there and at first he thought that this was one of the dishes, saying: "I don't want to eat seal sashimi." Later he found out that it was actually the lucky mascot for the restaurant and was very relieved.

Steven is interested in buying some property in Shanghai because the property market there is constantly rising and as an investment as well as a place to stay, he feels it will keep its value. 

***********************************************
September 28th 2003
Steven Ma has been opening his paths in the mainland and in the space of six months he has visited eight cities in China and his tight schedule has meant that he was not able to celebrate his tenth anniversary of being in showbiz on 27th September. However, he believes that being able to spend this special day working was very worthwhile.

Credit all the above news to: Em at TVBspace News Roundup:

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related materials: audio; Chinese news article1; 马浚伟博爱真实的所有东西