Recently i posted a video by Joyce Lim 小鳳鳳 singing a Hokkien song called Ai Pia Cia E Yia 愛拼才會贏, but here is another great randition of the song by one of my favorite Taiwanese oldies singer Yeh Qi Tian 葉啟田.
Now tell me thats not some great singing,i just bought all his best songs on CD, and i tell you, it was money well spent, i just love these old songs.
Now tell me thats not some great singing,i just bought all his best songs on CD, and i tell you, it was money well spent, i just love these old songs.
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"Ai Pia Cia E Yia" -- [ ''愛拼才會贏'' ] -- known as "Strive to Win" in an English translation, became well known in 1989 when the popular Taiwanese singer Ye Qi-tian sang this song on the radio. It strongly reflected the socio-economic times of Taiwan then in the late 1980s and early 1990s when it was slowly coming out from years of oppressive Martial Law and slowly become one the Asian Tigers in the region, in terms of a growing economy.
Yeh, a native of Chiayi in south Taiwan, and born in 1948, became a sensation around the island nation at the time when Martial Law had just been abolished, all kinds of social movements were rampant and Taiwan's economy was at a pinncale. Strive to Win" symbolized this transition in Taiwan from a poor nation run as a dictatorship by Chiang Kai-shek and later his son (and their minions) to an economic miracle, the likes of which Taiwanese people themselves had never imagined. The Taiwanese people created an economic niche in the world econmy through hard work and family-based small-scale enterprises. The song was also used by the ruling KMT party in its election campaigns and as a symbol of to the people of self-inspiration and for KMT party unity. The tune and the lyrics also became a favorite song among Taiwanese businessmen in the early 1990s, so "Strive to Win" is a dated song that appeals today in 2012 and 2013 mostly to older folks in their 50s, 60s and 70s (80s and 90s, too). The young generations today know the name of the song and can even repeat the melody when asked, but for the most part they consider the song and Mr Yeh to be very LKK and SPP, old-fashioned and part of an earlier era that their parents and grandparents lived through.
A man in Taiwan says: My aunt in Singapore sings "Ai Piah Cia Eh Ya" by Yeh Qi-tian in a totally different Hokkien from the one I use (I don't speak Hokkien, but memorise the phoenetics sung by Yeh Qi-tian). I attribute that to Yeh Qi-tian singing in Minnan Taiwanese Hokkien which is different from the local one."
When Mr Yeh came back to his hometown of Chiayi on November 16 and 17 for a series of back to back concerts in a large auditorium at Chung Cheng University in Mingschiung, not far from his actual hometown of Taibao, a suburb of Chiayi City, most of the people in the audience were older folks, in their 50s and 60s and 70s -- and who could afford the expensive NT$2300 - NT$3000 tickets.
The Liberty Times newspaper sent two reporters to cover the first night's show and the headline read, in Chinese, "Yeh's sings as old folks wipe away their tears in a memorable 20-minute-ling opening song."
Liberty Times reporters Lin Yi-Zhang and Zhang Yi-lingTian wrote: "Mr Yeh came back to his hometown last night and gave his fans, mostly older folks over 50, a wonderful show. Tickets were sold out, and there was not a dry eye in the house."
"Yeh has always wanted to come back to his hometown in Chiayi to give concerts and this time he made his dream come true. He was warmly applauded by the fans in the hall, and he told reporters he was "excited and moved" to see his fans in Chiayi so warmly welcoming him at home. Buses even brought in fans from as far away as Kaohsiung and Taichung on package tours and the buses were full!"
"For his first song, Mr Yeh sang "Uchiyama girl," and the song lasted 20 sweet minutes, concluding with a thunderous applause from his elderly fans many of whom brought bouquets of flowers to bring up to the stage and present to the famous singer. Then he sang his signature song "My Hometown", and again, there was not a dry eye in the house! "
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