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Listening to the World Locally – The Homecoming Tour of Taiwanese Musicians
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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V. Rebirth – Digital Archive & Value Addition

With Chinese pages banned and tighter restrictions imposed on the press by the Government-General of Taiwan, The Taiwan Shinminpo was forced to change its name to Kounan Shinbun (Kounan News) in 1941. Not only was the number of pages halved, the reports were mainly about the war and the coverage was no different from the pro-government media. In March 1944, six major newspapers in Taiwan, including Kounan News were merged to become Taiwan Shinpo (Taiwan News), essentially bringing an end to The Taiwan Shinminpo. Nevertheless, the Taiwanese held on to their spirit of critical thinking and expression of opinions through the media and persisted till the post-war years.

From The Taiwan Shinminpo to Kounan Shinbun (Kounan News), this sole Taiwanese-run private newspaper spanned across more than two decades, from 1923 to 1944. The publication of its first issue dated back to almost a century ago. The Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica has recently established the digital archives of The Taiwan Shinminpo published between 1938 and 1941 and of the Hsinnan News, between 1941 and 1944.

In view of the importance of newspapers and periodicals, digitalization and value addition of the Records of The Taiwan Shinminpo were carried out and is now featured at The Archives of the Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica for online access by the public. It is hoped that the archives featured would promote a better understanding of the social culture and everyday life of the public from the 1920s till the end of World War II, offering a perspective different from the pro-government media and a closer reflection of Taiwanese thinking. These materials would be of useful reference for broadening and deepening research studies in Taiwan history.

‹ IV. Contents – From Domestic Affairs to World News up

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