Skip to main content

The Anthem of Mt. Alishan's Mysterious Origins


There are many versions of the song "Gāo Shān Qīng" (高山青) which literally means "High Green Mountain". The Taiwan Panorama website also shares this detail of the anthem of Mt. Alishan:
Though the Tsou don't actually live within the Alishan Forest Recreation Area, the CFDO had little choice but to build a cultural scene for Alishan on the basis of the old song Gao Shan Qing to satisfy visitors' imagined expectations of Alishan. The Tsou folk singing and dancing had stopped during the recent tourism downturn, but the Alishan National Scenic Area Administration held tryouts in 2008, for which the winning troupe won the opportunity to perform at the Alishan Forest Recreation Area entrance.

"Tall green mountains, deep blue waters; the girls of Alishan are lovely as the waters; the men of Alishan are strong as the mountains...": Gao Shan Qing has pretty much become the anthem of Alishan.

Gao Shan Qing was the theme song for the 1950 film Happenings in Ali Shan, the first Mandarin-language film to be produced in Taiwan. Some say the melody was adapted from a Tsou folk song, while others say it was penned by renowned composers Teng Yu-ping and Chow Laam Ping. The original singer of the song was Cheung Sai Sai, who played the heroine of the film, but it was later popularized by (the late) Teresa Teng, transforming it into a beloved classic. Many mainland Chinese people know about Alishan and Taiwan because of this song. But locals tell us that, due to the poor lighting conditions in Alishan's deep, dense forests, the film was shot in the mountain districts of Hualien and many of the actors were Amis. 

Some versions of the song include aboriginal words like "Nalowanto" and "Puwasata puwasata". It's pretty much a background chanting which I enjoy. Maybe, a Malaysian, Indonesian, or an Ifugao will be able to decode it. Not me, I'm just sharing my thoughts on the anthem of Mt. Alishan. Alternatively, the song has been titled "Girl of Mt. Alishan". Alishan in itself is an aboriginal name. 

I believe in the speculation that the melody came from a Tsou folk song. I want to think that somewhere in Taiwan--the natives of Mt. Alishan may have a version of the wrong purely in an aboriginal language. The song's mixture of Mandarin and aboriginal language may sound like an Ifugao song mixing Tagalog and the Ifugao dialect.

There's always the curiosity about how this song came to be. If the people of Mt. Alishan have been singing it--it's possible that the tune was theirs and used with permission for the movie. I guess I'll never be able to see the film as I want to. If it's a historical film then I'd want to grab it. 


Popular posts from this blog

Learning About Jose Rizal's Chinese Ancestry (and Blood) Back in High School (and College)

JoseRizal.com Today is Rizal Day, and I found myself admiring him. I don't have his level of genius. Some people often joked that they practiced the Rizal hairstyle. He was only 5.28 feet, which may have been considered tall at that time compared to today's standards. This takes me back in time when my Filipino teacher (forgot her full name) asked, "Do you have to be born a Filipino to be truly Filipino. If we must accept it, Rizal's blood was Chinese." Rizal would be a Chinese mestizo. Look into his history. Rizal's great-great-grandfather was a Chinese immigrant . Those questions forever shook my mind slowly but surely. I'm Chinese by blood, but I was born in the Philippines to Filipino citizen parents, even if my great-grandparents were mostly from China.  Concerning Rizal's ancestor, this is an interesting detail: Domingo Lamco: A Beacon of Resilience Domingo Lamco, also known by his Chinese name Cua Yi-Lam (“Ke Yi-Nan” in Mandarin), was a trailbla...

Filipinos Calling Indians as "Bumbay"

The song "Dayang Dayang" was given a parody cover called "Dayang Daya". Oftentimes, the song "Dayang Dayang" is thought to be Indian. Instead, it's arguably said to be from Muslim Mindanao or was brought in either from Malaysia or Indonesia. Historically, some of the settlers in the Philippines were Malaysians and Indonesians. So, it's probably safe to say that most Filipinos of brown skin descent are mixed Malay and Indonesian. I was even reminded how I mistook a Malaysian woman for a Filipino woman. Back on topic, the parody song has an introduction that says, "Kami Bumbay galing sa India..." (We're Bombay coming from India). I even tend to refer to Indians as Bombay--something I ended up tactlessly saying during my first trip to Singapore. Many times, Filipinos tend to use Bumbay not as a racial slur but to simply refer to an Indian. Some Filipino-Indians don't even mind being called Bumbay for a reason. I guess they got accust...

Ifugao OFWs in Taiwan and Discovering More About One's Common Austronesian Roots

I was doing some research on Taiwan finding out that the natives are indeed Austronesians . It seems that Indonesians and Malaysians may have also settled in Taiwan aside from the Philippines. A look at Mt. Alishan and Banaue Rice Terraces have a similarity. Taiwan has its famous tea terraces. Banaue has its famous rice terraces. Both are cultural heritages that must be preserved! I soon found an article which Ifugao OFWs in Taiwan. Not surprisingly, these Ifugao OFWs can point out several things that are pretty similar. An article called " A Gotad Picnic With Ifugaos Living in Taiwan " would tell of Armand Camhol, an Ifugao OFW, who met with other Ifugaos in Taiwan. Gotad is a thanksgiving festival for the Ifugaos. The News Lens International Edition What was noted by Armand at the end of the article is: The people of Ifugao value hospitality, and as a symbol of friendship, they shared their holiday with their invited guests, who, in return, sang, joined the dances, and made...

A Critical Review of "The Flor Contemplacion Story"

VIVA Films uploaded The Flor Contemplacion Story  on YouTube last  February 13, 2024, at 9:00 A.M.. Yes, I didn't notice it since I saw it before, and it was one incredibly awful film.  The film has been remastered into HD to fit with the times. However, in the age of social media and the like, any old piece of truthful information can be later revealed. It's not about the age of the information but the truthfulness of it. In this information age, one can easily upload any undiscovered truth in the past. That also includes that one of Cebu's bad boys in the past, Francisco Juan "Paco" G. Larrañaga, was  innocent of the crime involving the Chiong sisters. In 2018, VIVA Films also released a movie called Jacqueline Comes Home which I may watch and review. Though I've already seen Give Up Tomorrow, which has been more objective since there was evidence that Paco was indeed in Manila and that real perpetrators haven't been found. Normally, the best way to rev...

The Three Drug Mules Executed in China Last March 30, 2011

Al Jazeera Today is March 30, 2026. It has been 15 years since the execution of the three drug mules. Their names are Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, Ramon Credo (who was cremated in China shortly after his execution), and Elizabeth Batain (whose face was never revealed, perhaps due to the loved ones requesting more privacy). Contrary to what one might think, the three drug mules weren't a trio. Instead, they were three separate cases that just happened to be scheduled to die on the same day.  They weren't a trio. They had a temporary reprieve when  former vice president Jejomar Binay tried to save them . Villanueva, together with Ramon Credo and Elizabeth Batain, was scheduled to be executed last month but got a reprieve after Vice President Jejomar Binay traveled to China and personally appealed to Chinese authorities. BBC   News even gave such a short news report, that I felt compelled to copy/paste the whole time as a reference here: Philippine Vice-President Jejomar Bin...