Renowned Taiwanese composer Li Tai-Hsiang (1941-2014) was born in the Amis village, Falangaw, in Taitung. Known for his diverse music creations, ranging from classical music, pop music, experimental music, to commercial jingles and film scores, Li’s work in music, imbued with innovative creativity, transcends the boundaries of disciplines, time, and culture. His music, like dreams, reveals countless possibilities and imagination, and many of his iconic songs and compositions are still performed today. Li’s masterpieces include the pop song “The Olive Tree,” the cantata The Sacrifice to God, and the film scores for Your Smiling Face. He was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, such as the Golden Horse Awards, the Wu San Lien Art Award, the National Award for Arts, and the National Cultural Award.

Li Tai-Hsiang

The Taiwan Music Institute is dedicated to researching, studying, preserving, and promoting Taiwanese music. Showcasing research results of Taiwanese music culture through various forms, such as concerts, lectures, databases, exhibitions, and publications, the Taiwan Music Institute provides the public with diverse ways to understand Taiwan’s precious music cultural assets and heritage. Also, the Taiwan Music Institute has actively engaged in conducting international collaboration and exchange, encouraging originality of music creation, nurturing talent, and sharing resources to not only demonstrate the depth of Taiwanese music culture but also send Taiwanese music into the global limelight, extending the rhythm and melody of music from Taiwan.

Taiwan Music Institute

— Timeline

Since 1941 - 1964

Since 1966 - 1978

Since 1979 - 1987

Since 1988 - 1999

Since 2000 - 2007

Since 2008 - 2014

Li Tai-Hsiang’s Personal photograph

Handwritten cards of Beautiful Mistakes

The Golden Tripod Award & Early hand-written sheet music of “The Sunshine Road” in D major

Vase gifted by the Office of the President, R.O.C.

Sheet music of “Tattoos by Begonia,” with lyrics by Yu Kwang-Chung (circus 1991-1994)

Reel tape of The Sacrifice to God, and sheet music of “Green Dream Lake”

Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon awarded by the Office of the President, R.O.C.

Sheet music of “Legend”

“Story of Spring” – the vocal part and the first finalized version of the violin (1969)

Sheet music of “City Rhythm” (1979)  &  “The Man Who Have a Tug of War with the Ocean”

Sheet music of “Morning Light,” with lyrics based on a poem by Yip Wai-Lim

Sheet music of “Hotel in the Wilderness”

Sheet music of “Farewell” & photocopy of handwritten sheet music of “Don’t Say Goodbye”

— News and Magazine Reports

Album photo wall: Native Land ‧ Folk Songs

Album photo wall: Clouds Flying Over the Head

— “Seeking the Olive Tree in the Dream” projection mapping

— New Folk and Experimental Music

“Three Chapters of Revolution”

“The Sacrifice to God”

“Ordinary People“

“Breath Break Flow“

— Folk Music and Film/TV Section

Record wall

Songs of grassland series

Cheng Chou-Yu series

Modern poetry series

Film section

— Scenario Studio

Reprint of sheet

Li Tai-Hsiang’s belongings

— Celebrity Memorial and Remembrance Area

Six Good Friends and Students’ Remembrance of Li Tai-Hsiang

Artistic Director of Headspring Theatre / Chang Wang

Senior Music Critic / Pokey Lin

Disciple of Li Tai-Hsiang / Tang Hsiao-Shih

Award-winning Singer / Christine Hsu

Award-winning Singer / Johnny Yin

Soprano / Lin Chien-Chun

Li Tai-Hsiang artifacts

Rehearsal photos of “Surreal Chant II” (1998)

Butterfly Love released by Capital Artists

Song of Wilderness – Surreal Chant (III)

Wine Song / record booklet

Group photos at Astoria Café

—A Letter of Remembrance

Li Tai-Hsiang from Falangaw

Intermezzo

Seeking the Olive Tree in the Dream

Since I Met You That Time

You Are All My Memories

Dreamland

The Sunshine Road

Farewell and Don’t Say Goodbye

Curator / CHANG Wang

The distance between heaven and earth is merely a dream apart. Love-filled musical notes live on forever in our hearts. In his dreamland, Li Tai-Hsiang is still the Amis youth, unwaveringly marching forward and unapologetically curious about the future.

Although Li Tai-Hsiang left us a decade ago, his perseverance in fighting his illness and his dedication to making music still inspire us today. Despite the rapidly changing world and the ever-evolving music industry, Li‘s music has remained timeless. When people often surrender to the power of fate during different episodes in life, Li had never given up on being true to himself.

In 1979, Taiwan ushered in the golden era of a significant economic boom. “Don‘t ask me where I come from. My hometown is far away…” The song “The Olive Tree” was once banned during the period of martial law, but later became an unforgettable song that is still popular and relevant today in the Chinese-speaking world. It marked the beginning of the Chinese era and solidified Li‘s iconic status as a music maestro and voice of the times. Sanmao‘s poem, Li‘s music, and Chyi Yu‘s voice made this song “a representative piece of literary youths” and “a trailblazing work in the cultural and creative field.”

After Li‘s music entered the field of folk songs and popular music, he became a highly esteemed master. However, such public esteem soon overshadowed his talents and achievements in classical music and cross-disciplinary art. Only when he received the National Award for Arts in 2014 – the highest honour in the cultural field – did the general public truly realise that Li was not only a remarkable prodigy with a career spanning pop music, classical music, and cross-disciplinary art, but also an Amis warrior who fiercely loved his native land and a fighter who bravely battled his illness. Li‘s life story is reminiscent of that of other exemplary figures, such as Master Hongyi, Beethoven, and Vincent van Gogh, who later generations aspire to and wish to emulate. Through the ups and downs in his life and his musical legacies, we have witnessed the zeitgeist and the glory of humanity.

Li Tai-Hsiang and His Dreamland

1966
- Married Hsu Shou-Mei; instructed the film scores of Lady in the Tower, and played the music behind the scenes.
 - (Picture 1) The Li couple photographed at Philadelphia Gardens.
 - (Picture 2) The eldest son, Yiqing, 3-4 months old, with Li Tai-Hsiang‘s mother on the left.
 - (Picture 3) Li Tai-Hsiang (the person with their back to the camera) returned to his hometown to conduct field music collection for the Taitung Harvest Festival.

1970
- Worked at Sing Ying Company, an advertisement agency, and composed music for advertisements.

1971
- Developed the “71 Music Festival” with Yeh Wei-Lien and others, which marked the birth of Taiwanese avant-garde music.

1972
- Formed a quartet with German Professor Wolfram König and others to tour Southeast Asia.

1973
- Researched and studied modern music at the University of California San Diego, USA.

1974
- Served as the conductor of the National Taiwan University Symphony Orchestra.
 - (Picture 4) Served as the conductor of the Taiwan Provincial Symphony Orchestra to tour in Taiwan.

1975
- Worked as a full-time advertisement music composer; and released orchestral work “Phenomenon” on cassette tape.
 - (Picture 5) Performed “Phenomenon” with the National Taiwan University Symphony Orchestra and the performance program.

1976
- The Sacrifice to God was rearranged into Wu Feng, a dance drama by Cloud Gate Company; released vocal work “Rain, Zen, Ximending” on cassette tape; organized the 1st “Visions Springing Up from the Tradition,” and performed in “The Night of Chinese Folk Songs.”
 - (Picture 6) Rehearsing “Recover Destiny” for the 2nd “Visions Springing Up from the Tradition.”
 - (Picture 7) Li Tai-Hsiang‘s ink-wash paintings were one of his inspirations for writing “Phenomenon.”

1977
- Debuted “Pure Serene Music” in Tokyo.
 - (Picture 8) After performing in Tokyo, Japan, with the American modern music master Terry Riley (1935- ), Li Tai-Hsiang attended a banquet and took a photo with geishas.
 - (Picture 9) Program list for the “Await” chamber music ensemble concert.

1978
- The album Hometown was the first work that combined the style of traditional Taiwanese folk songs and that of Chinese folk songs with the syntax of pop music.
- (Picture 10) Album “Hometown”