Lai Pi-hsia

In this Chinese name, the family name is Lai.
Lai Pi-hsia
賴碧霞
Lai Pi-hsia (1950s)
Born(1932-10-31)31 October 1932
Shinchiku, Taiwan, Empire of Japan
Died18 January 2015(2015-01-18) (aged 82)
Zhongli, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
NationalityRepublic of China
OccupationMusician
Awards22nd Golden Melody Awards

Lai Pi-hsia (Chinese: 賴碧霞; pinyin: Lài Bìxiá; 31 October 1932 – 18 January 2015) was a Taiwanese musician known for performing Hakka hill songs.

Born in what became Zhudong, Hsinchu County, Lai was raised in Chingchuan, where she learned the Atayal language. After her father retired, the family returned to Zhudong. Lai, who had begun listening to her uncle's collection of Japanese music, heard her first Hakka hill song, and began lessons with folk musician Kuan Lo-cheng. However, Kuan was not a lyricist, so Lai Pi-hsia transcribed Hakka language lyrics from Lai Ting-han. By the age of 20, Lai Pi-hsia became a respected performer in her own right. She became a radio announcer in 1954, and soon starting writing her own music. Later, Lai wrote the screenplay for Tea Mountain Love Song, Taiwan's first Hakka-language feature film. She retired from performing in 1973 and focused on teaching and researching the art of Hakka hill songs.[1] Lai founded an eponymous Hakka folk music troupe in 1993.[2] She received the Jury Award at the 2011 Golden Melody Awards.[3] Later that year, Lai was designated a national treasure.[4]

  1. ^ Han Cheung (14 January 2018). "Taiwan in Time: The queen of the tea mountain". Taipei Times. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Hakka Singer | Lai Pi-hsia". Ministry of Culture. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  3. ^ Ho Yi (30 May 2011). "Golden Melody Awards honor artistic and traditional music". Taipei Times. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Eight to receive awards". Taipei Times. 18 November 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2018.