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

Is It Just a Coincidence that Most Least Corrupt Countries, are Under the PARLIAMENTARY System?

It's easy to post an outrage on Facebook, whether it's on the Butthurt Philippines' Facebook page or Gerry Cacanindin's relatively open Facebook profile (except that only his friends can comment). I try to ignore the guy's page. I was wondering if Gerry has learned his lesson (that the Philippines badly needs a system upgrade) or if he still wants to believe that "It's just a matter if Leni Robredo or Vico Sotto." The latest Facebook post gives me something to think about: People often ask why some countries seem almost immune to corruption. As if their leaders are just magically more honest. But that’s not really it. The truth is actually simpler. These countries didn’t wait for good people. They built systems where doing something dirty is hard, risky, and usually not worth it. In the least corrupt countries, corruption isn’t just illegal but inconvenient. Paper trails are everywhere. Payments are digital. Contracts are public. Anyone can look up wh...

What? The Aquinos Aren't Part of a Political Dynasty?!

  I was looking at the Mahal Ko Ang Pilipinas  (I Love the Philippines)  Facebook page, which made me laugh. This is what they wrote on their post saying that the Aquino Family isn't a political dynasty: THE AQUINO FAMILY IS NOT A POLITICAL DYNASTY 🇵🇭🎗 Pro-Duterte blogger Tio Moreno says that Bam Aquino is part of a political dynasty because the Aquino family is a political dynasty. But to me, this is not true. Why is it not true that the Aquino family is a political dynasty? 🤔 1. When Ninoy Aquino entered politics, none of his children joined him in his endeavors, and even his wife Cory did not join him in politics. 2. When Ninoy was assassinated in 1983, none of his children succeeded him in politics, not even his wife. But when the opposition and his supporters were looking to be the opposition's candidate for the presidency in the snap election called by Ferdie Marcos for 1986, his housewife Cory Cojuangco-Aquino was approached, encouraged or convinced by people t...

The 1978 Batasang Pambansa Proves There was NO Real Parliamentary System

I'm getting tired of people who still insist that the parliamentary system will never work, because it was "tried and tested" during the reign of Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.. However, further data have proven that there was really no parliamentary system . Salvador "Doy" Laurel even mentioned that in Marcos' own words, Marcos was never legitimately installed as president or prime minister. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. even mentioned in his speech in Los Angeles, "We had a parliamentary form of government without a parliament." The government was supposed to be British type, and it went to the French type. Ninoy rightfully called it  80 Days Around the World . To think it over, the role of the president in a parliamentary system is supposed to be purely ceremonial. However, one must look at the comedy of errors  with the Marcos rule. Marcos' prime minister, until he himself handpicked Cesar Virata as prime minister, was himself (read here )....

Very Easy to Say, "I'm Sure!" and Be Wrong, Am I Right?

  I guess that foolish old man did the right thing to block me on social media. The old man remained incorrigible while having his toga display, apparently getting a doctorate.  An earlier post I wrote was about the misuse and abuse of CTTO . I even wonder who in the world is Merkado CTTO? It's very easy to use CTTO to look smart. However, real studies need more than CTTO but several sources. It should be several valid sources and not just sources you agree with. I was laughing at this old man in a toga (who has thankfully blocked me after I tried to refute his errors as a  nobody ) who tends to use CTTO. I think he was also fond of saying, "I'm sure!" and then it ends up with several stupid claims. Such people would be in what might be best called the MARITES Pyramid of Learning (read here ). These people's best sources can be summarized as "Trust me bro" or "Just trust me". In the case of the meme I made, the peak of the pyramid is, "Jus...

Today in Philippine History: Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.'s OWN WORDS Showed the Philippines WASN'T a Real Parliamentary

I remembered writing some time ago about why the Marcos Sr. Regime couldn't be a parliamentary government . Yet, there are some people (and I assume many of these are boomers who were in their 20s during the martial law era, so they're old men by now like a certain irrelevant dancer) that the Marcos Sr. Years were a parliamentary system. It would be interesting to raise up again the very speech of the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. himself. January 17, 1984, was what some call the fake uplifting of martial law. It was also on that day Marcos Sr. himself revealed why the Marcos Sr. Years was still presidential even with his parliament taken from The Official Gazette :  The adoption of certain aspects of a parliamentary system in the amended Constitution does not alter its essentially presidential character . Article VII on the Presidency starts with this provision: ‘the President shall be the Head of State and Chief Executive of the Republic of the Philippines.’ Its last section ...