In the mid 1970s there was a rising trend of writing and singing songs accompanied by acoustic guitar among young elites and college students in Taiwan. This trend later grew into a music genre and gave birth to numerous campus folk song singers. The most notable characteristic they shared in common was that they ‘sang their own songs.’ But how did it all begin?  

“Where are our own songs?” Li Shaun-je asked the audience in a 1976 Western music concert at Tamkang University. “On my journeys to the Philippines, Taiwan, the US and Spain, I found that youngsters around the world drink Coca-cola and sing English songs. But where are our own songs?” This incident was later recorded as the Tamkang Event.

Li’s call to “sing our own songs” awakened his generation. The ripple effect came in a series of reports published in the Tamkang school magazine which stimulated a vibrant climate for song writing and gradually resulted in the so-called campus folk song movement. Exchanges between students from different schools also helped to expand the scale of the movement.

Born in 1949, Li displayed talent in several art fields including painting, photography, singing, composition and writing. Courageous enough to challenge himself and his contemporaries, he died in an effort to save others from drowning in 1977.

Though his life was cut short, he produced one of the most noted songs in Taiwan’s history—Formosa. Li composed the music for the song while the lyrics were revised by Liang Jing-feng based on a poem by Chen Hsiu-hsi. Formosa was first performed by Yang Zhu-chun, a female folk song singer and political activist. It became a big hit after being performed by Hu Te-fu, an aboriginal singer.

Li’s other important works such as Old Drummer and Young China molded an image of new China, society, youth and Taiwan based on an awareness of land, history, society and tradition. It’s worth noting that none of these traits was associated with any kind of love, whether in the form of family relationships, friendship or romance.

Campus folk songs, or modern Chinese songs as some might term them, manifested a wide variety of themes in addition to Li’s nation-related motifs.

An analysis of folk song lyrics performed in 1981 revealed that family relationships and friendship topped all themes, appearing in 50.6% of all songs, followed by romance at 45.6% and impromptu third at 16.0%. This survey sampled albums released on the market from 1974 to 1980.  

The depiction of romance demonstrated the great discrepancy between campus folk songs and pop music. Terms like love, romance and addiction frequently appeared in the titles and lyrics of pop songs. Campus song writers on the other hand, tended to employ natural scenes to imply romance.

Some characteristics can be found in campus songs such as innocence, reality portrayals, country-associated themes, reflection on life through natural scenes, wilderness, wandering and living in privacy. These themes, presentation and ideology permeated the whole developing process of “campus songs.”

Most of these tunes displayed unrealistic tendencies. They were set in an isolated and imaginary space, distant from urban, main-stream culture and youth, and functioned as a place where listeners could release their emotions.

These students’ works required a channel to be heard and known, and the Golden Melody Awards offered such an opportunity. First held in 1977, these awards played a vital part in the campus folk song movement which created a certain music genre and introduced a number of singers to the audience. Some of them are still involved in creative work today. 

One of these singers is Chiu Chen, the leader as well as guitarist in the Chiu Chiu Band. Founded in 1981, Chiu Chiu was the first pop music band in Taiwan. Their flowing melodies, strong tempos, and vocal and active performing style won them a great following among young fans.

Chiu left the record company because of conflicts on ideals, and the Chiu Chiu Band disbanded not long after their third album was released in 1984.  

“I totally disagree with the usage of the term ‘folk songs’ to generalize the songs youngsters sing,” said Chiu. An ethnic group’s folk songs should include various dialects, he said. “And we saw only a few Taiwanese songs and nearly no Hakka and aboriginal song in the so-called folk song category.” 

Asked what his source of inspiration was, Chiu said his ideas just came from daily life. Chiu Chiu Band’s popular songs included Tonight, Why do I Dream of Him, Rooster, Come on Shake and Riverbank Fool. Most were full of a joyful and delightful spirit.

Chiu Chen’s music career didn’t end when he left the stage of campus folk songs. He continued to write songs and directed his attention to vocalizing for ethnic groups such as the Hakka.    

“It’s a pity that most of the campus music singers in my generation no longer produce new works,” noted Chiu. As for contemporary Chinese pop music, he indicated that “I can’t find any originality in it.”  

Having once written the sweet song Little Jasmine, Chiu is now no longer a dreaming young man. He has continued practicing to hone his guitar playing skill over the years and continues to accumulate songs. “I’m preparing myself, and soon in the near future I'll step onto the stage again, not only in Taiwan, but around the world,” said Chiu.

Another song writer who keeps on creating is Chen Hong-ming, also known as Little Crow, a famous folk song singer, composer and lyrist. At the age of 18 Chen participated in a music contest and developed an indissoluble bond with music.

Of his works, Those Forgotten Moments, both lyrics and composition written by Chen, is the best known and is still popular among the young generation these days. The song was first included in Tsai Chin’s album in 1979. Twenty-some years later it was adopted as the interlude in the award-winning movie Infernal Affairs and revised into a French song, Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge, the theme of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s movie Flight of the Red Balloon.   

Even though Chen subsequently withdrew from the music circle and worked as a policeman, he never abandoned his talent for creativity. “I’ve compiled over a thousand songs now,” said Chen. “Creation is an endless and challenging pursuit for me.” Thus it’s not surprising at all that Chen included Taiwanese songs in his latest album.

“I like to break barriers with my songs,” said Chen. “Language should be no longer the criterion for classifying categories of songs.”   

Reflecting upon those days, Chen said that “it’s a glorious battle that I once joined,” continuing that “I am gratified to have witnessed a historical moment in Taiwan’s musical history.” Campus folk songs were the pop songs of the time, according to him.   

For him, one of the most important characteristics in attracting an audience is to ‘be yourself.’ “That was what I have insisted on since I started my career in music,” he explained.

Chen believes that a good song must faithfully convey the ideas of the song writer. Only then will it merit the possibility of being passed down from generation to generation.

As for his future plans, Chen said that he will continue to write more good songs and encourage the younger generation to be creative. “I will always do whatever I can to revive a creative climate in Taiwan’s contemporary music.”

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