Since the 1980s, Taiwan’s unique brand of Mandopop (Mandarin Chinese–language pop music) has dictated the musical tastes of the mainland and the rest of Chinese-speaking Asia. Cries of Joy, Songs of Sorrow explores Mandopop’s surprisingly complex cultural implications in Taiwan and the PRC, where it has established new gender roles, created a vocabulary to express individualism, and introduced transnational culture to a country that had closed its doors to the world for twenty years.
Listen to the Songs
Facing the Spring Breeze This is a link to a revised Sinorama article, written by TSAI Wen-ting, that has historical information on this song (mentioned in chapter 3) as well as other songs not mentioned in my book. You can hear the song when you click on this link. The web page also has links to listen to other early Taiwan pop songs.
