Hsu Chang-hui and Shih Wei-liang Form Folk Song Survey Team

Source: Folk Song Collection Movement
From: Encyclopedia of Taiwan
Date: February 5, 2010Author: Liao Pei-ju

The Folk Song Collection Movement refers to a series of fieldwork expeditions that began on a small scale in January 1966, gradually grew, and reached their climax in August 1967. The term “folk song collection movement” first appeared in 1968 in an article by Shih Wei-liang titled “Survey and Research Report on Mountain Folk Songs of Taiwan.” In the scholarly literature, the folk song collection movement generally refers to a musical initiative jointly launched in August 1965 by composers Shih Wei-liang and Hsu Tsang-houei, with the aim of creating contemporary Chinese music through the collection, organization, research, and promotion of indigenous folk music, and developing an academic musical environment while nurturing specialized talent. The movement continued until August 1978.

In the spring of 1967, businessman Fan Chi-yun joined the movement and provided substantial funding, enabling the establishment of the “Chinese Ethnic Music Research Center” dedicated to collecting folk songs. In July 1967, with support from the China Youth Anti-Communist National Salvation Corps (now the China Youth Corps), the “Summer Folk Song Survey Team” was established — led by Shih Wei-liang in the eastern regions and Lanyu, with a western team led by Hsu Tsang-houei.

Roster of the Folk Song Survey Team (source: Grassland magazine)

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External Links

• Reassembling the Memory Puzzle of the “Folk Song Collection Movement” (Country Road Magazine)
• The Golden Years of Hsu Tsang-houei, Father of Taiwan Music (The Journalist)
• Hsu Tsang-houei Musical Materials Digital Archiving Project
• Shih Wei-liang Music Digital Archiving Project
• Types of Hengchun Folk Songs (Hengchun Elementary School)