'Olive Tree' still guides the journey
Veteran singer finds her influential song continues to steer young artists toward a creative, internal purpose, Xing Wen reports.
The single, Olive Tree, from Chyi's debut album, which became her enduring signature song, is widely regarded as a hallmark of Taiwan's "folk song movement" of the 1970s.
This cultural period was characterized by active collaboration among university students, writers, artists, and musicians to create pop music distinguished by poetic Chinese lyrics, reflections on society, and a pursuit of cultural identity.
Before this shift, throughout the 1960s and early '70s, Western music dominated the imaginations of young people in Taiwan. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Paul Simon were revered.
Yang Tsu-chun, a 70-year-old Taiwan scholar who was an active singer during the period, recalls in the music program Infinity and Beyond that this inclination toward Western music somewhat limited the local expression of emotions through Chinese literature, poetry and songwriting.
"Under this aesthetic suppression, young people sought a way out," she says, adding that starting in the 1970s, they began using music to "find their own voice," which later coalesced into the aforementioned cultural movement.
This wave had a far-reaching influence across Mandarin-speaking communities.
"The atmosphere back then made us realize the importance of original songwriting," recalls Chyi.
"Music wasn't a calculated career pursuit. It was a declaration of ideals. Even if I only knew a few chords, I believed I could create something meaningful, perhaps because I had a particular talent for writing lyrics."
At the time, she was an anthropology major at Taiwan University who participated in and won a local singing competition. This achievement caught the attention of renowned musician Li Tai-hsiang, who would later become the producer of her debut album and the composer of Olive Tree.
Penned by writer Sanmao, the pen name of Echo Chen Ping, the song weaves philosophical inquiries about life, freedom and ideals into its lyrics.
Within this context, the "olive tree" emerges as a potent symbol for the idealist's pursuit, inviting listeners to reflect on what their own "olive tree" might be.
