Know Your Music│Chow Fan-fu

The programme of this concert may well be an impressive list of ‘who’s who’ in the Chinese song culture zeitgeist of the 1970s and ’80s – Chyi Yu who is the star of this show, and Li Tai-Hsiang, Lo Ta-Yu, Yeh Chia-Hsiu, Chen Hsien-Te, Chang Pi, Tai Chao-Mei, Biwu Shi, Huang Ta-Cheng, Chung Li-Li, Pan An-Pang, Liu Lan-Chi, Chen Ming-Shao etc. The memorable songs include The Olive Tree, A Boat Song, Walking in the Rain, The Country Path, Granny’s Penhu Bay, Orchids, If, Your Small Hands Are So Cold, Let’s Go to Look at the Clouds etc.. In short, it is a retracing of the heat wave which started in Taiwan and grew from strength to strength until it took Hong Kong and the Mainland by storm and created an epoch of great splendour. 

Six Common Characteristics of This Genre 
If we are to count in the second half of the 1970’s, then this Taiwanese music genre called ‘campus folk songs’ has existed for nearly four decades. It was the launching pad for ‘campus singers’ like Chyi Yu and ‘campus folk songs’ which can still be heard today. The genre has stayed strong and cast its perennial charm on listeners of many generations. 

To understand the reasons behind these and perhaps to add interest to the enjoyment of the melodies, let us look at the genre’s essential characteristics and the background against which it came into being. 

The first characteristic is that almost all the songs follow the form of Western music, written in major or minor heptatonic scales. They are not in any way ethnically unique; 

Second, the harmony at the core of these songs comes from the use of triads, a technique commonly used in Western music. Sometimes there may be modulation techniques involved. Most of their scores are marked with triads and chordal movement signatures; 

Third, the accompaniment involved a rather rich variety of instruments. The guitar is central to the music, played with a touch of American folk rock and urban music. Other instruments used are the piano, violin, cello, harpsichord, timpani, drum set, various percussions, or traditional Chinese instruments such as the pipa, zheng and huqin, with backing by a full chorus or a choral ensemble; 

Fourth, the lyrics usually centred around campus trivia, romantic love, family, nostalgia for one’s hometown, wanderlust, expression of personal thoughts and sentiments, and depiction of natural scenery. There is not much that can reflect the social clime of Taiwan back then, and it was to a certain degree detached from the reality of the times. But this phenomenon of emotional and social confinement to the ‘campus’ had some sort of a breakthrough during the early 1980’s; 

Fifth, most of the songs lacked a Chinese touch. This has much to do with the singers’ vocalization, singing style and vocal embellishments. Most of them adopted the ‘relaxed’ normal voice in their renditions; only when they felt strained at the high notes would they use the ‘forced’ voice; 

Sixth, the catchy melodies and lively tempo inspire the listeners with a feeling of vivacity, and an energetic, fresh-faced charm. Since most of the lyricists, songwriters and singers were intellectuals, talented and creative but not formally trained in music, some of their compositions were short on music theory and the singing short of being ideal. Yet in terms of technique and performance results, they transcended the ordinary ‘folk singing’ level but were closer to the lieder style. 

Mirroring American Urban Music 
We can see from the above that Taiwanese ‘campus folk songs’ had been under the heavy influence of Western music, with its style leaning more towards ‘Western’ than ‘indigenous’. While the whole generation of young composers and singers had injected their own techniques and spirit into their works, they had consciously or subconsciously put themselves under the influence of the ‘folk revival’ movement of the 1960’s in America, therefore taking upon themselves the ‘American urban music’ style. This is evident in quite a large number of works, whether in the use of the guitar for accompaniment, the way the harmonica is played, the form and function of accompaniment by piano, drum set and percussion, down to the melodic features or tempo. 

Such subjection to ‘American urban music’ was perhaps due to the fact that in various aspects pertaining to their growth, education and everyday life, the young people of Taiwan of that time was under the influence of American culture. ‘Campus folk’ can be said to be a pointer to social changes in Taiwan since the 1950’s. 

Social and Political Factors
The modernization that Taiwanese society underwent during the three decades between the 1950’s and the 1980 achieved remarkable successes in industry and national economy. Societal structures were beginning to change and education was being popularized. Under the impact of new-found national wealth, the new generation of intelligentsia had to find a way out spiritually. On the one hand, they were loath to wallow in the soppy popular ‘MandoPop’, while on the other, classical music coming from the academia and traditional folk songs were considered obsolete, and so lacked emotional connection for the young generation. 

At the same time, during the ‘modernization’ process, a lot of American lifestyles and values were imported, with society generally putting premium value on things American. In music, American hit songs, pops and urban ballads became a convenient outlet for a generation of youth who lacked a channel for their emotions. The Taiwanese government’s inability to drive and promote music education and its dismissal of traditional Chinese music as ancient relics led to an ever-growing chasm between the public and ‘Chinese music’. 

The rise of the nativist literary movement and the change in Taiwan’s status in the international political arena in the 1970’s both provided a great stimulus for the young people on campus. The awakening of a national sentiment gradually took hold among the new generation, where Western style music was seen as an invading foreign force and was no longer satisfactory. They demanded they sing ‘their own songs’, and soon they went from ‘a generation without songs’ to ‘an era of composing and creating their own songs’. 

Yet, whether it was in education or everyday life, American things, lifestyles and values had already subconsciously taken hold. The singers and composers of the new generation either consciously or subconsciously wrote new songs that bore the semblance of ‘American urban music’, which the intelligentsia and general public gladly embraced for their American flavour. Therefore, with additional and purposeful promotion by the mass media and the intelligentsia, a trend hailed as the ‘folk movement’ quickly came into being and was enthusiastically embraced by students and young people. 

The Problem of Fluctuating Standards
We can therefore see that Taiwanese ‘campus folk songs’ as a genre was actually an intellectual outlet for a young generation of Taiwan under the impact of social and political transformations. They gave it the banner of ‘modern Chinese folk songs’, and within five to six short years, built a popular base and secured social recognition. In a very short time, its influence even radiated to Hong Kong and mainland China, where the songs were popularly sung. 

However, with the passage of time, the genre has become mired in trouble as it became more and more commercialized, and succumbed to populist and low brow tastes. Singers went down in quality, creativity dried up and compositions suffered from mixed standards. In addition, the Taiwanese government was alarmed by the sentiment prevalent in ‘campus folk songs’, such as ‘nostalgia for one’s hometown’ and ‘wanderlust’ which was thought to undermine the ‘national spirit’ of Taiwan. For this, songs featuring such subject matters as The Olive Tree were for a time banned on TV and on the radio by the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan. 

One can say that this ‘folk movement’ tide ebbed rather quickly with most of the active members quieting down. But its influence has not disappeared. The characteristics of ‘campus folk songs’ have influenced the development of popular music in Greater China. Time has retained the best of the crop; outstanding ‘campus folk songs’ have managed to live on. In this concert, these songs will be arranged for the full-scale Chinese orchestra. With Chyi Yu as the singer, what will be the charm offensive be like? This spells new life for this music genre. 

Note: The moniker Taiwanese ‘campus folk’ courted controversy when it was first coined. It would indeed be more accurate to call it ‘campus songs’. 

(Translation by KCL Language Consultancy Ltd)