DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

tool for cultural and political ideology through music competitions and concerts.

Uyonge Yatauyungana (July 5, 1908 – April 17, 1954) was born during Japanese rule and died during the government of the Republic of China. He is a Taiwanese Tsou 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 R.O.C. government for claiming indigenous autonomy. In 2020, he was posthumously pardoned by the Transitional Justice Commission. During his undergraduate years, he taught 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. Yatauyungana 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 economics. He also wrote several songs to teach students to sing. His music composition expressed caring for the Tsou and was influenced by Japanese charm and the Tsou's folk songs. A small part of the lyrics is written in Japanese but 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 3rd and 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.

Finally, I want to talk about colonial construction under the context of the Goddess of Spring. By understanding Taiwan’s political history and the composition background, the colonial construction of this work can be seen as complex and multi-layered. The composer devoted his life to the revival of Tsou culture. However, under the influence of Japanese culture and westernization, his works hardly have the characteristics of Tsou music. Yatauyungana wanted to use choral music as a medium to preserve the Tsou language and traditional music. But, musical language has long been gradually influenced by colonial culture: the melodic content is entirely Japanese tunes and accompanied with Western counterpoint. Furthermore, I think he hopes to achieve decolonization through choral music, but ultimately, the essence reflects the success of the Japanese colonization. Ironically, this work was regarded as a forbidden song during the Republic of China government because the style and lyrics are both reminiscent of Japanese style. While this work was criticized, Yatauyungana wanted to express his feelings for the Tsou. In the end, Yatauyungana was shot for treason.

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, De-Sinicization has been a political movement to reverse the Sinicization policies of the Chinese Nationalist Party after 1947. Many proponents claim that it created an environment of prejudice and racism against the local Taiwanese Hokkien and indigenous Taiwanese population.