Ang It-hong (; 30 October 1927 – 24 February 2010) was a

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

popular singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. Ang was born Hong Wen-lu () and educated in Taipei. At a young age, Hong learned to sing and play violin. He first performed at Taihoku City Public Auditorium as part of a children's group, and later as a singer of Japanese patriotic songs. Inspired by

Haruo Oka , real name , was a Japanese ''ryūkōka'' singer. He studied music as an enka-shi or a street musician. At that time, he was encouraged by Taro Shoji in Ginza. He signed with King Records (Japan), King Records in 1938. He debuted with song "Kok ...

, Hong quit his job at a lumber mill to become a singer, writing his first song, ''Butterfly in Love with a Flower'' (), aged 19 in 1946 under the stage name Hong Wen-chang (). He led a group of singers that performed frequently near the

Danshui River The Tamsui River (alternatively Danshui River, ) is third longest river in Taiwan after Zhuoshui River and Gaoping River, with a total length of , flowing through Hsinchu County, Taoyuan, Taipei and New Taipei City. It is located in northern pa ...

until the February 28 Incident forced Hong to move to Tainan. Hong began singing on the radio in 1948, alongside and others. His radio performances drove his popularity, and, in 1957, he released his debut album ''A Handsome Young Man on a Hilltop'' (), under his best known stage name Ang It-hong, which was suggested by a fortune teller. His first album featured Hokkien lyrics set to Japanese melodies. Most of his works are songs in Hokkien. Ang's music frequently fused

enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, p ...

with jazz. He worked closely with lyricist on songs such as ''Memories of an Old Love'' () and ''The One Adored'' (). Ang appeared in the 1962 film ''Love Never Ceases'', which featured the song ''Memories of an Old Love'' and several others written by Ang, which appeared on his second album ''Endless Love'', featuring original melodies. Ang spent the late 1960s and 1970s in Japan, as Kuomintang authorities censored

Hokkien pop Hokkien pop, also known as Taiwanese Hokkien popular music, T-pop (), Tai-pop, Minnan Pop and Taiwanese song (), is a popular music genre sung in Taiwanese Hokkien and produced mainly in Taiwan. Hokkien pop is most popular amongst Hoklo people in ...

and other media. As restrictions against Hokkien media were lifted in the 1980s, and

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

was suspended, one of Ang's students,

Jody Chiang Jody Chiang or Jiang Hui (), born Jiang Shuhui (), is a Taiwanese popular singer. She began recording in the 1980s and retired in 2015, having released 60 albums. Her trademark ballads and folk songs are typically sung in Taiwanese. Her role ...

, rose to stardom. Ang also wrote songs for his son

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...

. By the time of his death, Ang had over 200 compositions to his name. Ang died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

on 24 February 2010 at

Taipei Medical University Hospital Taipei Medical University Hospital (TMUH; ) is a healthcare facility in Taipei, Taiwan established in 1976. Reproductive Center－In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) The Center for Reproductive Medicine at Taipei Medical University Hospital was esta ...

. His funeral was held on 13 March. He was posthumously awarded a

Golden Melody Award The Golden Melody Awards (), commonly abbreviated as GMA, is an honor awarded by Taiwan's Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and Formosan-languages popular and traditional music in ...

for Special Contributions in June 2010. A virtual museum was set up in April 2011 to memorialize Ang's life and career. Ang's three sons produced and released a musical documentary about their father later that year.

References

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* * 1927 births 2010 deaths Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent Taiwanese male film actors Taiwanese Christians Taiwanese composers 20th-century Taiwanese male singers Taiwanese male singer-songwriters Taiwanese Hokkien pop singers Musicians from Tainan Enka singers Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in Taiwan Male actors from Tainan Japanese-language singers {{Taiwan-actor-stub