Taiwan’s 1930s Pop Boom, and Its First Pop Queen – S5-E18
Han Cheung, the man behind Taiwan in Time, the long-running history column in the Taipei Times, returns to tell the story of Taiwan’s first pop star. Liu Ching-hsiang 劉清香 was singing Taiwanese opera in the late 1920s. A few years later, under the stage name Chun-Chun 純純, she became Japanese Formosa’s first recording star — the voice behind dozens of hits and the breakout anthem “Longing for the Spring Breeze.” Hear how Columbia Records and a savvy movie tie-in made her a household name, and learn more about the 1930s, which, when it comes to music, was perhaps the most “progressive” decade of the 50 years of colonial rule.
1. Taiwan’s first pop star: Liu Ching-hsiang 劉清香 (1914–1943)
2. More commonly known as under the stage name Sun-Sun (or Chun-Chun 純純), she became Japanese Formosa’s first recording star — the voice behind dozens of hits and the breakout anthem “Longing for the Spring Breeze.” (Photo for 1937)
3. The Peach Girl - also known as Peach Blossom Weeps Tears of Blood,is a 1931 silent film written and directed by Bu Wancang. Sun-Sun sang the theme song that became a smash hit.
4. Sun-sun is portrayed by Chou Yu-ting in the 2012 Public Television Service drama, The Songs of Soil.
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