Compositions of Choral Coloniality: The Goddess of Spring by

Uyongu Yatauyungana Hung Wen

What is Taiwanese choral literature?”

I started to think about this question because choral music or choir is not a traditional music form for the Taiwanese that lived five hundred years ago. But now, we do feel familiar with the choral repertoire. The idea for choral music and choir should wait until the 15th century. After the Discovery of age, two western countries ruled parts of the west coast of Taiwan, the Spanish and the Dutch. They brought missionaries and church music into the island, so the ancestors started to know this new music genre and singing style. However, not until the early 20th century, Taiwanese starts to learn choral music by the later government force. In addition, the choir was used to educate Taiwanese from elementary to high school, and people gradually forgot or became unfamiliar with the traditional vocal music and singing style. The paper discusses the colonial construction in a choir piece composed by a Taiwanese indigenous composer by understanding Taiwan’s regime history and how it is influenced in choral works.

Taiwan is between two mainland, China and Japan. It is also adjacent to the Philippine Islands across the Bashi Channel. From a geopolitical perspective, Taiwan is located in the central area of the East Asian Island arc, which is a vital hub for Asia-Pacific trade transportation and an important military strategic location. Starts from 15th century, Taiwan has always been ruled, under control, or even colonized by outsiders. After WWII, Taiwan had been returning back from Japanese government to China (Republic of China). In 1949, the Republic of China government evacuated from mainland China and entered Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War. To fight against the Chinese Communist Party, The

Declaration of Martial Law began in the early period when the Republic of China (R.O.C.) government moved to Taiwan. During the time, the government promoted the Chinese Cultural Renaissance, causing the second fault in the inheritance of the local Taiwanese and aboriginal culture. 1 Martial law was lifted in 1987, and local awareness rose. Taiwan’s government also completed the first peaceful party rotation in 2000.

After the Chinese Civil War in 1949, a further 1.2 million people from mainland China entered Taiwan. On the other hand, Taiwanese indigenous comprise approximately 2% of the population and now mostly live in the mountainous eastern part. Although the indigenous peoples have been forced to ban traditional cultural rituals on many occasions, they still retain their language, practices, costumes, and traditional beliefs.

At present, the ethnic population of Taiwan is generally divided into Taiwanese and native Taiwanese. The former is Han, mainly from mainland China. The latter are indigenous people; currently, there are 16 ethnic groups officially recognized. Han Chinese makes up over 95% of the population, mainly are Fujian and Hakka.

Taiwan’s complex historical background and multiculturalism have profoundly influenced the development of choral music. Through the spread of Christianity and the promotion of school education, it has become a popular music genre in Taiwan. Following the government changes in Taiwan’s history and the rejection and absorption

Age of Discovery.

• West coast/plain: 1624 Dutch Formosa

1626 Spanish Formosa

1662 Kingdom of Tungning

1684–1895 under Quing Rule

• East cost/Mountain: Native Taiwanese

1900–1945

• Taiwan under Japan Rule

1949–1987

• The Great Retreat

• Declaration of Martial Law in Taiwan

1990–now

• Repealed Martial Law

• 2000 First Transition of Power

• Choral music become a familiar form and performance style.

• Applied to school (education)

• Use chorus as a medium to condense the national spirit or of Western culture, choral music has played a pivotal role in Taiwan’s music ecology. In addition, the chorus is often used as a medium to reflect social patterns and consciousness. The chorus has also become a standard propaganda method of cultural and political ideology through music competitions and concerts.

• Expressing will to resist the government.

Uyonge Yatauyungana (July 5, 1908–April 17, 1954) was born during Japanese rule, died during the government of the Republic of China. He is known as a Taiwanese Tsou2 musician and educator. He served as a local officer and a leader of the indigenous autonomous movement in early post-war Taiwan. In 1952, during the White Terror period of martial law, he was accused of treason by the ROC government for claiming indigenous autonomy. In 2020, He was posthumously pardoned by the Transitional Justice Commission. During his college, he began to contact modern Western music theory and literary classics. He also assisted the Russian scholar N. A. Nevskij in compiling a survey of the Tsou language and folk literature of the Tefuye tribe. He later studied Japanese haiku poetry and literature, which influenced his musical appreciation and poetry style. In 1930, he returned to Dabang Primary School to teach and devoted himself to tribal education, health, agriculture, and economy. He also wrote several songs to teach students to sing. His music composition expressed caring for the Tsou and was influenced by the Japanese charm and the Tsou’s folk songs. A small part of the lyrics is written in Japanese, and most are sung in the Tsou language.

The Goddess of Spring is a two-part chorus composed by Yatauyungana in prison. The content expresses the yearning for his wife and hometown. The melodic line is influenced by Japanese Enka (popular songs), and the composition technique is very westernized. He configured many 3/6th intervals, which is not often seen in Tsou folk music. The melody range is not so broad that it is a lyrical piece without many emotional ups and downs. The song was banned from singing until the declaration of martial law was lifted, while his work received significant attention after 1990. Many organizations have used this piece to symbolize freedom and democracy in recent years.

2 The Tsou (Chinese:鄒) are an indigenous people of central southern Taiwan. They are one of the Austronesian language groups. Reside in Chiayi County and Nantou County numbered around 6,000, and approximately 1.19% of Taiwan’s total indigenous population, making them the seventh-largest indigenous group.

Finally, I want to talk about colonial construction under the piece of the Goddess of Spring . By understanding Taiwan’s political history and composition background, I think the colonial construction of this work is complex and multilayered. First, the composer devoted his life to the revival of Tsou culture. However, under the influence of Japanese culture and Westernization, his music works hardly have the characteristics of Tsou music. Ironically, he wants to use the chorus as a medium to preserve the Tsou language and traditional music. But musical language has long been gradually influenced by the colonial culture: the melody logic is entirely Japanese tunes and accompanied with Western counterpoint. Furthermore, I think he hopes to achieve decolonization through the chorus, but eventually, the essence is to reflect the success of the Japanese colonial ultimately. Ironically, this work was regarded as a forbidden song during the Republic of China government because the style and lyrics are both reminiscent of the Japanese style. It was stigmatized (but the truth is the composer wants to express his feelings for the Tsou.) In the end, Yatauyungana was also shot for treason.

Second, high schools and adult choirs have frequently performed this piece in recent years. “De-Sinicization” has been heatedly discussed in Taiwan in the past ten years. Since 1987, DeSinicization has been a political movement to

Hung Wen

reverse the Sinicization policies of the Chinese Nationalist Party after 1947(R.O.C.), which many proponents allege created an environment of prejudice and racism against the local Taiwanese Hokkien and indigenous Taiwanese population, as well as acknowledge the indigenous and multicultural character of the island in Taiwan. It emphasizes Taiwan’s national identity (not the same country as China, But two countries). Under this trend, the Goddess of Spring is regarded as a symbol of freedom, democracy, and a new identity and is used to fight against the stale, old, and the majority of Chinese culture. Undoubtedly, the indigenous identity has also received unprecedented attention. Based on the above explanation, I interpret the extension of colonization as the power changes between mainstream culture and minority culture. The social consciousness of the new generation wants to emphasize Taiwan’s local culture and especially aboriginal culture that is not inherited from mainland China and tries to weaken the connection of traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, the government pays more attention to local artistic works and lists many early indigenous educators and musicians as important intangible cultural heritage. However, I feel a little ironic as a Tsou and a descendent of Yatauyungana.

people, the Tsou is still an endangered culture and a community that is about to face the disappearance of language and tradition. In such an environment, The Goddess of Spring has become a representative of the new generation of Taiwanese decolonization (deSinicization). However, has the decolonization component indeed succeeded from Tsou's perspective? Or has it become another victim of political intention?

Yatauyungana has changed from treason to a national hero because of the difference in time and environment. But for the Tsou people, since the period of Japanese rule, we have never really gotten the right to decide; pessimistically, whether it is Japanese or Han (R.O.C.), it is almost impossible for us to get out of colonial rule construction. Although the evolution of the times and the rise of social consciousness have attracted more and more attention to the issue of aboriginal people, the Tsou is still an endangered culture and a community that is about to face the disappearance of language and tradition. In such an environment, The Goddess of Spring has become a representative of the new generation of Taiwanese decolonization (de- Sinicization). However, has the decolonization component indeed succeeded from Tsou’s perspective? Or has it become another victim of political intention?

The colonial history is very complicated and multi-layered, and as a result, Taiwanese identity cannot be clearly stated from one single angle. In such an environment, I think Yatauyungana's music works faithfully reflect the influence of colonial construction.

The colonial history is very complicated and multilayered, and as a result, Taiwanese identity cannot be clearly stated from one single angle. In such an environment, I think Yatauyungana’s music works faithfully reflect the influence of colonial construction. Finally, I am very appreciative of this paper, which allowed me to deeply re-learn Taiwan’s choral literature, as well as about my cultural identity.

Finally, I am very appreciative of this paper, which allowed me to deeply re-learn Taiwan's choral literature, as well as about my cultural identity.