Teng's recording of "The Moon Represents My Heart" was one of the first foreign songs to achieve widespread popularity in mainland China following the Cultural Revolution and the initiation of the Open Door Policy in 1978.
"The Moon Represents My Heart" was composed by Weng Ching-hsi (翁清溪) while its lyrics were written by Sun Yi [zh] (孫儀).
[1][2] During Weng's time at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, he would frequently find himself in the nearby parks, drawing creative inspiration from his surroundings.
[6][7] Teresa Teng recorded "The Moon Represents My Heart" for her Mandarin studio album, Love Songs of the Island, Vol.
[11] Anthropologist Kevin Latham characterized "The Moon Represents My Heart" as a relatively simple love ballad, similar to the majority of gangtai songs from the era.
He noted that the imagery frequently appears in various literary works, and cited "The Moon Represents My Heart" as an exemplary instance of its usage in contemporary songs.
[15][16][17] Prior to the emergence of Teng's music, such romantic songs had been virtually nonexistent in China for many years as they were considered "bourgeois and decadent".
[21] "The Moon Represents My Heart" has been performed frequently around the world since its release by famous singers and musicians such as Hayley Westenra, Nana Mouskouri, Katherine Jenkins, Shila Amzah, Faye Wong, David Tao, Andy Lau, Leslie Cheung, Jon Bon Jovi, Siti Nurhaliza, David Archuleta, English vocal group Libera and Grammy Award winning American musician Kenny G.[22][23][24] According to NetEase, almost all singers in Hong Kong have covered the song at some point.
[31] In 2019, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in New York City curated an exhibition titled "The Moon Represents My Heart: Music, Memory and Belonging", which was directly inspired by the song.