To those who give a dam

Songs about farmers' lives in Hakka dialect may not sound trendy, but Taiwan Hakka singer Lin Sheng-xiang's music has not only won him four Golden Melody Awards in pop-dominated Taiwan, but also taken him to perform throughout Asia, Europe and America.

Now, Lin will play on the Chinese mainland for the first time, together with Lo Sirong, another Hakka singer from Taiwan. Tonight they will give a free concert in the Nanling National Forest Park of Guangdong province for the local Hakka community, before giving two shows in Guangzhou on Sunday and two in Beijing next Tuesday and Wednesday.

"I grew up in the countryside and I know it very well, so for me, farmers are the subject that I can write about the most truthfully," says 37-year-old Lin.

When not touring, he lives in the town where he was born, Meinung (Meinong), in South Taiwan. Every year he works for two months at his parents' hoggery, which is two hours' drive from home. For the rest of the time, he composes, helps out at a small inn that his wife's family runs, and chats with friends and parents.

"Some of my songs were developed from talking with my mother. Her comments on life often inspire me," he says.

Lin used to study and live in Taipei, where he had a rock band called the Kuan-tsu Music Pit, but he returned home in 1998 when his friend and lyricist Zhong Yongfeng asked him to join the Meinung community's movement against the government's plan to build a dam there.

"At that time I was in a bottleneck in terms of music. I was wondering why, what and for whom we sing, so I decided to come back to my birthplace to see whether I could help my people and find a new method for my music," he says. "Looking back now, I made the right decision."

In 1999, Lin and some other young Hakka musicians formed a band called Labor Exchange (Jiao Gong), named after a system used by tobacco farmers in Meinung to deal with labor shortages.

Their first album Let Us Sing Mountain Songs (1999) was devoted to the anti-dam movement. It was a breakthrough for Lin as well as for contemporary Taiwan music. Combining traditional instruments such as the yueqin (moon guitar) and suona (reed horn) with guitar and bass, and blending elements of Hakka folk music with lyrics that speak to the rights of farmers, Labor Exchange forged a new direction for folk music.

The band released a second album, The Night March of the Chrysanthemums, in 2001, which enabled them to beat the well-known pop group Mayday to win Best Group at Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards in 2002. However, a year later, Labor Exchange disbanded due to members' different views on music and the band's future.

Lin went on by himself, releasing two other albums: Getting Dark in 2004 and Planting Trees in 2006, in which the angry protest from the Labor Exchange era was replaced by peaceful ballads that depict various moods of farmers and migrant workers.

"The government canceled the dam project, and our anti-dam movement succeeded. What next? I think ultimately all works are about humanity," Lin says. "In Planting Trees, Zhong and I want to talk about hope."

Zhong and Lin wrote the song, Planting Trees, in reference to a true story about a breakfast restaurant owner who has planted more than 1,500 trees in Meinung without seeking recognition.

"There is a story behind every song's lyrics that Zhong writes, and I would compose only when the lyrics touch me," says Lin.

Joined by Japanese sanshin (the Okinawan three-stringed snakeskin banjo) master Takashi Hirayasu and guitarist Ken Ohtake, the album Planting Trees has more of a world music feel, but Lin's Hakka dialect is a reminder that his music is always about his people.

Different from the four-tone Putonghua, Hakka dialect has nine tones, which Lin says endows his music with more rises and falls.

"Hakka dialect is my mother tongue. I grew up speaking it, and I feel I can best express myself in it," he says.

Though most audiences in Guangzhou and Beijing won't be able to understand his lyrics, Lin does not worry and says it is always the case for him, even back in Taiwan, where Hakka is a minority.

"Music is my medium of expression, and I believe those who like my songs will have a way to understand them," says Lin, who explains each song before he performs them.

For Lo Sirong, Hakka dialect is also a very important element in her music. Born in 1960, Lo has been a poet and painter, but she didn't start singing until she was 44. It began with her arranging the poetry of her father, famous Taiwan poet Lo Lung.

"When I read aloud my father's poems in Hakka dialect, their hidden meters and rhythms began to appear. At the same time, an inner side of myself was opened. I had a deep awakening of my relationship with my culture," she says.

Lo sums up the contents of her songs as "people and their lands" through "a woman's eyes".

In the 1990s, she lived in a small village called Wantan, growing vegetables and fruits, and living a pastoral life. "Nature has a very important influence on my life," she says.

In 2007, Lo released her first album Everyday. Besides her own compositions, the album features a traditional Hakka folk song called Days of Rain, to which Lo gave a new blues twist.

"When African slaves were sold to America, they expressed their longing for freedom through blues. Hakka people also sing songs when they face hardship in their migration, though often in a more repressive manner," she says.

Days of Rain originated from the Hakka people in Guangdong province. Lo says she hopes to learn more about these people in her first trip to the mainland.

"I have read many books on Hakka culture published in the mainland, and I am eager to talk with Hakka friends in Nanling when we perform there," she says.

Lo will perform with American Chinese guitarist David Chen, while Lin will play with Japanese guitarist Ken Ohtake.

Lin says that his set will mainly consist of songs from Planting Trees, as well as tracks from the Labor Exchange era.

Concert schedule:

Guangzhou

April 13, C:Union Club

15:00-16:30, Lin Sheng-xiang

21:00-22:30, Lo Sirong

Beijing

April 15, 19:30, Peking University Hall, Lin Sheng-xiang and Lo Sirong (each a half)

April 16, 19:30, Post-SARS Theater of the Nine Theaters, Chaoyang Cultural Center, Lin Sheng-xiang and Lo Sirong (each a half).

(China Daily 04/11/2008 page18)