Music of Taiwan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

is densely-populated and culturally diverse

Demographics of Taiwan

This article is about the demographic features of the population in Taiwan, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....

, including a majority of Bensheng ren (including the Holo

Hoklo people

The Hoklo people are Han Chinese people whose traditional Ancestral homes are in southern Fujian of South China...

and Hakka

Hakka people

The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....

peoples), a powerful faction (around 15%) waishengren who arrived with Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

in the middle of the 20th century and the minority of aboriginal peoples.

With the arrival of the KMT

Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

led Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

government in 1949, native Taiwanese culture

Culture of Taiwan

The culture of Taiwan is a blend of Confucianist Han Chinese, Japanese, European, American, global, local, and Taiwanese aborigines cultures, which are often perceived in both traditional and modern understandings...

was suppressed, and Mandarin

Standard Chinese

Standard Chinese, or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....

was promoted as the official language of the Republic of China. This led to a break in tradition in parts of the island, and ended in 1987, when martial law

Martial law

Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...

was lifted and a revival of traditional culture began. (See Taiwanese localization movement
Taiwanese localization movement
Taiwanization , also known as the Taiwanese localization movement, is a political term used in Taiwan to emphasize the importance of a separate Taiwanese culture rather than to regard Taiwan as solely an appendage of China...

.)

Instrumental music includes multiple genres, such as beiguan

Beiguan

Beiguan is a type of traditional music, melody and theatrical performance between the 17th and mid-20th centuries. It was widespread in Zhangzhou and Taiwan...

and nanguan

Nanguan

Nanguan is a style of Chinese classical music originating in the southern Chinese province of Fujian , and is also now highly popular in Taiwan, particularly Lukang.Fujian is a mountainous coastal province of China...

. Nanguan originally hails from Quanzhou

Quanzhou

Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city in Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders all other prefecture-level cities in Fujian but two and faces the Taiwan Strait...

, while it is now most common in Lukang and is found across much of the island.

Taiwanese puppetry (hand-puppet theater) and Taiwanese opera

Taiwanese opera

Taiwanese opera is the only form of Han traditional drama known to have originated in Taiwan. The language used is a stylized combination of both literary and colloquial registers of Taiwanese. Its earliest form adopted elements of folk songs from Zhangzhou, Fujian, China...

, two genres of spectacle that are strongly related to music, are very popular, while the latter is often considered the only truly indigenous Han form of music still extant today.

Holo folk music is most common today on the Hengchun Peninsula in the southernmost part of the island, where performers sing accompanied by yueqin

Yueqin

This article is about the Chinese Yuequin. The Vietnamese Đàn nguyệt is also often referred to as a 'moon guitar'.The yueqin is a traditional Chinese string instrument...

(moon lute), which is a type of two-stringed lute

Lute

Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....

. While the Hengchun yuechin plays only five tones, the pentatonic music can become diverse and complex when combined with the nine tones of the Taiwanese Hokkien) speech. Famous folk singers include Chen Da

Chen Da

Chen Da is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 72nd of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 36th of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Stream Leaping Tiger".-Background:...

and Yang Hsiuching.

Hakka

Taiwanese opera is popular among the Hakka, and has influenced the tea-picking opera

Tea-picking opera

A Tea-picking opera is a musical entertainment performed in Taiwan by the Hakka.It originally derived from the tea-growing region around Mount Jiulong in the South of Jiangxi Province in China, where the tea pickers would sing lengthy songs to each other whilst undertaking the monotonous task of...

genre. The most distinctive form of Hakka music are mountain songs, or shan'ge

Shan'ge

Shan'ge is a genre of Chinese folk song. They are commonly sung in rural provinces; the word "Shan'ge" means "mountain song".A number of different subtypes are:...

, which are similar to Hengchun folk music. Bayin instrumental music is also popular.

Aboriginal music

Of the two broad divisions of Taiwanese aborigines

Taiwanese aborigines

Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation myths, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han...

, the plains-dwellers have been largely assimilated into Han culture, while the mountain-dwelling tribes remain distinct. The Amis, Bunun

Bunun People

The Bunun , also historically known as the Vonum, are a tribe of Taiwanese aborigines and are best known for their sophisticated polyphonic vocal music. They speak the Bunun language. Unlike other aboriginal tribes in Taiwan, the Bunun are widely dispersed across the island. In the year 2000 the...

, Paiwan, Rukai and Tsou

Tsou people

The Tsou are an indigenous people of central southern Republic of China . They are spread across three administrative entities of the Republic of China — Nantou County, Chiayi County and Kaohsiung City....

are known for their polyphonic vocals, of which each has a unique variety.

Once dying, aboriginal culture has undergone a renaissance since the late 20th century. A full-time aboriginal radio station, "Ho-hi-yan" was launched in 2005 with the help of the Executive Yuan

Executive Yuan

The Executive Yuan is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China , commonly known as "Taiwan".-Organization and structure:...

, to focus on issues of interest to the indigenous community. [Listen to Ho-hi-yan; requires Windows Media Player 9]. This came on the heels of a "New wave of Indigenous Pop," as aboriginal artists such as A-mei
A-Mei
A-Mei , also known by her birth name Chang Hui-mei , is an aboriginal Taiwanese pop singer and occasional songwriter. She is also known by her aboriginal name Gulilai Amit . She was born in the rugged mountains of eastern Taiwan and is the third youngest of nine siblings. A-mei made her debut in...

(Puyuma tribe), Difang (Amis tribe), Pur-dur and Samingad (Puyuma tribe) became international pop stars.

The 1991 formation of the Formosa Aboriginal Dance Troupe

Formosa Aboriginal Dance Troupe

Formosa Aboriginal Dance Troupe is an ensemble that performs Tawianese folk music. The group was formed in 1991 and consists of younger musicians and performers who learn dances and music from elder experts and ethnologists. The group has toured internationally in North America, Europe, and Asia....

was another major contributor to this trend, while the surprise mainstream success of "Return to Innocence

Return to Innocence

"Return to Innocence" is a 1994 song created by the musical group Enigma. The single was the first from their chart-topping second album, The Cross of Changes....

", the theme song to the 1996 Olympic Games, further popularized native musics. "Return to Innocence" was made by Enigma

Enigma (musical project)

Enigma is an electronic musical project founded in Germany by Michael Cretu, David Fairstein and Frank Peterson in 1990. The Romanian-born Cretu conceived the Enigma project while working in Germany, but has based his recording studio A.R.T. Studios in Ibiza, Spain, since the early 1990s until May...

, a popular musical project and sampled the voices of an elderly Amis couple, Kuo Ying-nan and Kuo Hsiu-chu. When the couple found out that their recording had become part of an international hit, they filed suit and, in 1999, settled out of court for an unidentified amount.http://www.sinanet.com/sinorama/0996/article1/index.html

Bunun

The Bunun's original home was on Taiwan's west coast, in the central and northern plains, but some have more recently settled in the area around Taitung

Taitung City

Taitung City is the county seat of Taitung County, Taiwan. It lies on the southeast coast of Taiwan facing the Pacific Ocean.The city is served by Taitung Airport. Taitung is a gateway to Green Island and Orchid Island, both of which are very popular among Taiwanese tourists.-History:Taitung...

and Hualien.

Unlike the other indigenous peoples of Taiwan, the Bunun have very little dance music

Dance music

Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...

. The best-studied element of traditional Bunun music is improvised

Musical improvisation

Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians...

polyphonic

Polyphony

In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....

song. Folk instruments include pestles, five-stringed zither

Zither

The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...

s and the jaw harp.

In modern times, David Darling

David Darling (musician)

David Darling is an American cellist and composer. He won the Grammy award for Best New Age Album in 2010. He has performed and recorded with artists such as Bobby McFerrin and Spyro Gyra in addition to putting out several solo and small ensemble albums as well as albums of his...

, an American cellist

Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

, created a project to combine cello and Bunun traditional music, resulting in an album titled Mihumisang. The Bunun Cultural and Educational Foundation, founded in 1995, was the first organization established to help promote and sustain Taiwanese aboriginal culture.

Pop and rock

In the mid 1970's a genre of popular music known as Taiwanese campus folk song

Taiwanese campus folk song

Taiwanese campus folk song, campus folk song, or campus folk rock is a genre of Taiwanese Music with its roots as student songs in the campuses of Taiwanese universities during the 1970s...

(校園民歌) appeared in the music scene of Taiwan. This music consisted of a fusion of elements from American folk rock

Folk rock

Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...

and Chinese folk music, and was very popular throughout East Asia. Until the 1987 lifting of martial law, Taiwanese pop fell into two distinct categories. Taiwanese pop

Taiwanese pop

Taiwanese pop is a popular music genre sung in the Taiwanese language . It is referred to as Tai-pop and known in South- setback during the years of Martial Law in Taiwan...

was sung in a native dialect and was popular among older and working-class listeners; it was strongly influenced by Japanese

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

enka

Enka

is a popular Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern enka, however, is a relatively recent musical form which arose in the context of such postwar expressions of modern Japanese nonmaterial nationalism as nihonjinron, while adopting a more...

. In contrast, Mandarin pop, due to the assimilation policy of the authoritarian Kuomintang regime (1945-1996) that suppressed Taiwanese languages and culture, appealed to younger listeners. Asian superstar Teresa Teng

Teresa Teng

Teresa Teng , was an immensely popular and influential Chinese pop singer from Taiwan. Teresa Teng's voice and songs are instantly recognized throughout East Asia and in areas with large Asian populations...

originated from Taiwan and enjoys immense popularity amongst the sinosphere

Sinosphere

In areal linguistics, Sinosphere refers to a grouping of countries and regions that are currently inhabited with a majority of Chinese population or were historically under Chinese cultural influence...

and beyond.

With the resurgence of interest in native cultural identities starting in the late 1980s, a more distinct and modern form of Taiwanese pop formed. In 1989, a group of musicians called the Blacklist Studio

Blacklist Studio

Blacklist Studio was a group of Taiwanese musicians who came together and released a ground-breaking album in 1989 called Songs of Madness . Reportedly five years in the making, this work came out at a critical juncture in Taiwan's history, two years after the lifting of the decades-long martial...

released Song of Madness on Rock Records

Rock Records

Rock Records is a Taiwanese record label founded in 1980 by Sam and Johnny Duan . The record label had their first multiseller in 1989 with Sarah Chen.It is now Asia's largest independent record label....

. Blending hip hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

, rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

and other styles, the album focused on the issues concerning everyday, modern people. Building on Song of Madness' success, the following year saw Lin Chiang release Marching Forward, which kickstarted what became known as New Taiwanese Song

New Taiwanese Song

New Taiwanese Song is a genre of Taiwanese popular music. It was first used to describe pop songs, often dealing with political themes or social criticism, that followed the upheavals of 1989. Songs of Madness by Blacklist Studio was one of the first and most prominent releases in this genre. Lin...

. Pop stars of the 1990s included Wu Bai

Wu Bai

Wu Bai on 14 January 1968) is a Taiwanese rock singer and songwriter. He formed the band Wu Bai & China Blue with Dean "Dino" Zavolta on drums, Yu Ta-hao on keyboards, Chu Chien-hui on bass guitar and Wu Bai himself on lead guitar and lead vocals...

, Chang Chen-yue

Chang Chen-yue

Chang Chen-yue, also known as A-Yue is a Taiwanese rock musician known for his 1998 hit song "Ai Wo Bie Zou". He is a songwriter, singer and guitarist, and also a dance music DJ under the name DJ Orange. Chang is also the frontman of his band, Free Night, also known as Free9...

, Jimmy Lin, Wakin (Emil) Chau

Wakin Chau

Wakin Chau is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Chau's popularity has spread throughout Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and parts of Southeast Asia. He was known as Emil Chau through the 1980s and 1990s, and by 2000 he reverted to his given name Wakin...

(Choū Huájiàn), Jutoupi

Jutoupi

Jutoupi is a Taiwanese pop artist who brought a new musical style to Asia in 1994. Through his Funny Rap album series, Jutoupi focused on difficult topics, such as sex and political issues, through a mixture of Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English...

(or Jutopi), Chang Hui-mei (A-Mei), and new pop idols like Show Luo

Show Luo

Show Luo also known as Xiao Zhu was born on 30 July 1979. He is a Taiwanese entertainer: Mandopop singer, dancer, host and actor. He has been dubbed "Dancing King of Asia" for his dancing skills.-Biography:...

, Jay Chou

Jay Chou

Jay Chou is a Taiwanese musician, singer-songwriter, music and film producer, actor and director who has won the World Music Award four times. In 1998 he was discovered in a talent contest where he displayed his piano and song-writing skills. Over the next two years, he was hired to compose for...

, and Jolin Tsai

Jolin Tsai

Jolin Tsai was born on 15 September 1980. She is a Taiwanese Golden Melody Award-winning Mandopop singer, dancer and actor. She is managed by Mars Entertainment Ltd .-Career:...

, while rock group Mayday is said to have pioneered rock music in Taiwan for the generation of youth.

The 1990s and early 2000s also saw the emergence of bands and artists of more diverse genres, such as LTK Commune

LTK Commune

LTK Commune is a well-known Taiwanese "underground" band founded in 1990. Their music has been variously described as having elements of punk, rock, nakasi, Taiwanese folk songs...

, Labor Exchange Band, Chairman, Sugar Plum Ferry

Sugar Plum Ferry

Sugar Plum Ferry is a Taiwan-based indie post-rock band formed in 1998 by guitarist Insecteens , bassist Yezi and drummer Youzi .- Origin :...

, Medicine Jar, Backquarter, Ladybug, Feiwu, Sodagreen

Sodagreen

Sodagreen is a Taiwanese independent folk-rock-pop band formed in 2001. Its lineup has been unchanged since 2003. Sodagreen emerged in the Taiwanese indie music scene after receiving the Grand Jury Award in the Hohaiyan Gongliau Rock Festival in 2004, after which it signed a contract with Willlin...

, Deserts Chang

Deserts Chang

Deserts Chang , also known as Zhang Xuan or Chang Xuan, is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter. She is considered to be one of the leading alternative musicians in the Chinese music industry.- Early life :...

, Fire EX, 8mm Sky, Seraphim

Seraphim (band)

-History:Formed in 2001 in the City of Taipei, Taiwan, they recorded their first song "Love Hate" for a demo weeks later, gaining notice and eventually a contract from Magnum Music in April...

, and ChthoniC

Chthonic (band)

Chthonic is a Taiwanese metal band, formed in 1995 in Taipei. The group incorporates influences from traditional Taiwanese music including the classical Asian instrument erhu...

. The annual Formoz Festival, Spring Scream

Spring Scream

Spring Scream is an outdoor music festival held in early April each year at Kenting in southern Taiwan. The festival showcases a variety of music styles from bands both from Taiwan and overseas. Each year the festival adds the name of the current Chinese astrological animal to its name...

, and Gung-liao Ho-hai-yan Rock Festival http://www.hohaiyan.com are representative gatherings within Taiwan's indie scene. Of these, Formoz Festival is notable for its international draw, with foreign artists such as Yo La Tengo

Yo La Tengo

Yo La Tengo, sometimes abbreviated as YLT, is an American alternative rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan , Georgia Hubley , and James McNew .Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential...

, Moby, Explosions in the Sky

Explosions in the Sky

Explosions in the Sky is an American post-rock band from Texas. The band has garnered popularity beyond the post-rock scene for their elaborately developed guitar work, narratively styled instrumentals, what they refer to as "cathartic mini-symphonies," and their enthusiastic and emotional live shows...

, and Caribou headlining the event, while Spring Scream is the largest local band event, and Hohaiyan draws a mixed crowd of beach side party-goers and music appreciators alike. On a smaller scale, but worthy of note are the Unknown Species which features metal and punk bands, and Beastie Rock which is mostly indie rock bands. The bands at both these festivals are predominantly Taiwanese, but with a few coming from neighboring countries.

Recent Taiwanese popular singers/bands include Cyndi Wang

Cyndi Wang

Cyndi Wang was born on 5 September 1982. She is a Taiwanese singer and actress. Her birth name is Wáng Jūnrú .Wang has released eleven albums, nearly all of which carries her name...

, S.H.E

S.H.E

S.H.E is a Taiwanese girl group whose members are Selina Jen, Hebe Tien, and Ella Chen. The name of the group is an alphabetism derived from the first letter of each member's name. Since releasing their first album Girls Dorm , S.H.E has recorded 12 albums with sales totalling over 15 million, and...

, F4

F4 (band)

F4 is a Taiwanese boy band. The group began in the Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden as F4 with members Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, Ken Chu, and Vic Chou...

, A.S.O.S., 5566

5566 (band)

5566 is a Taiwanese boy band, part of J-Star. Their name is derived from their original five members , working in six entertainment fields...

, Rainie Yang

Rainie Yang

Rainie Yang , born June 4th, 1984, is a Taiwanese singer, Golden Bell Awards actress and talk show host.-Career:Yang began her career in 2000, as a member of Taiwanese quartet girl group 4 in Love, where she was given the stage name of Rainie, matching the weather theme of each member. The group's...

, Da Mouth

Da Mouth

Da Mouth is a Taiwanese hip hop band made up of MC 40, DJ Chung Hua, male vocalist Harry, and female vocalist Aisa. They are considered the Asian The Black Eyed Peas due to the group's diversity. The band's Chinese band name directly translates into "big mouth"...

, Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...

and much more. The popular culture of the Taiwanese people had also influenced Chinese-speaking populations in other places such as mainland China

Mainland China

Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...

, Malaysia and Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. For instance, a significant band, May Day has taken these places by storm.

Metal

There are hundreds of metal bands active in Taiwan. The scene is so huge because Taiwanese parents value culture and tend to put their children in music lessons at a very early age, thus, the technical skill level of Taiwanese musicians is very high, even at the local band level. Combined with the fact that many Taiwanese teenagers spend their time practicing their singing skills at KTV's (known as karaoke outside of Taiwan), and some other culture and political factors, the number of Metal Bands of Taiwan

Metal Bands of Taiwan

This is a list of metal bands from Taiwan.-A:Anthelion Alien Avenge[Alien Avenge Taichung]]Almost Human Taipei ]]Anthelion Taipei ]]Ashen Taipei ]]...

is growing. Bands such as Chthonic (band)

Chthonic (band)

Chthonic is a Taiwanese metal band, formed in 1995 in Taipei. The group incorporates influences from traditional Taiwanese music including the classical Asian instrument erhu...

and Seraphim (band)

Seraphim (band)

-History:Formed in 2001 in the City of Taipei, Taiwan, they recorded their first song "Love Hate" for a demo weeks later, gaining notice and eventually a contract from Magnum Music in April...

have drawn more attention to the metal scene in Taiwan.

External links

Audio clips: Traditional music of Taiwan. Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève. Accessed November 25, 2010.