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Listening to the World Locally – The Homecoming Tour of Taiwanese Musicians

Publication date: 20 Aug 2024
Author: Lee Yi-ling, Wang Li-Chiao | Staff member at the Archives of Institute of Taiwan History

Ninety years ago, in August 1934, a group of young Taiwanese musicians embarked on the first Western music concert tour in Taiwan’s history. The Homecoming Concert Tour began with great fanfare during the scorching summer of the South Island, kicking off at the Taipei Medical School Auditorium. With a packed itinerary, the tour traveled southward, stopping at public assembly halls in Hsinchu, Taichung, Changhua, Chiayi, and Tainan, before culminating in a final performance at the Kaohsiung Youth Hall. Despite the demanding schedule, the musicians delivered exquisite piano melodies and harmonies to audiences across Taiwan, sparking widespread acclaim.

This article focuses on Taiwan’s first “Homecoming Concert Tour,” which was rapidly organized in just over a month. The program primarily featured Western musical compositions. During the scorching summer of the South Island, this grand musical feast unfolded with enthusiasm, traveling from north to south with seven performances. It offered audiences across Taiwan an auditory delight, broadened their horizons, and brought Western music closer to the local population. This tour marked the beginning of Taiwan’s musical diversity and led to Taiwan’s music being recognized on the Olympic stage, where Taiwanese music shone brightly on the global scene.

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Visiting the Dadaocheng Customers of Tai-yi-hou in Nagasaki through Time Traveling
Visiting the Dadaocheng Customers of Tai-yi-hou in Nagasaki through Time Traveling

Publication date: 2013
Author: Chen Qiu-jin |Staff member of the Archives of Institute of Taiwan History
Photo: The Archives of Institute of Taiwan History

The Chinese enterprise Tai-yi-hou in Nagasaki,was established in the beginning of the 20th century. Its commercial trade network crossed East-Asia including the treaty ports in Vladivostok, Korean Peninsula, coastline of China, Taiwan, Luzon, Malay Peninsula, etc. Tai-yi-hou’s customers were mainly Chinese merchants in Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Since Taiwan became the colony of Japan in 1895, the Japanese Government proactively increased economic and trade relationships between Japan and Taiwan. Within this context, Tai-yi-hou gained the upper hand in expanding its business to Taiwan with its advantageous location, language and culture.

Among all Tai-yi-hou Papers, approximately 17,000 commercial letters sent from Taiwan were preserved until today, and around 10,000 of which were sent from stores in Dadaocheng. In the 20th Century, Dadaocheng was the transshipment port where Taiwanese wholesalers imported and exported products, commodities and groceries. Today, strolling on Dihua Street and Yanping North Road, some of the shophouses have been transformed into modern buildings, and some have become historical monuments. The aged architectures remain in reminiscent ambiance. A few old houses reveal signs of enterprises formerly resided. Let’s travel back in time by following the clues left by old houses, commercial letters of Tai-yi-hou and relative historical references and visit Tai-yi-hou’s customers in Dadaocheng: Zhuang-yi-fang Store, Guo-yi-mei Store and Jin-tai-heng Store.


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