"The Torment of a Flower" (), also known as "Rainy Night Flower", is a 1934

Taiwanese Hokkien Taiwanese Hokkien () (; Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-uân-uē''), also known as Taigi/Taigu (; Pe̍h-ōe-jī/ Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú''), Taiwanese, Taiwanese Minnan, Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively by about ...

song composed by Teng Yu-hsien and written by Chou Tien-wang ().

About

Taiwanese writer Liau Han-sin () wrote the lyrics of a

children's song A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studied ...

"Spring" () and gave it to Teng Yu-hsien, asking him to compose for it. This was the earliest version of "The Torment of a Flower". Although Teng is a

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

, he usually composed with

and not

. Some scholars have questioned this story about children's songs. In 1934, while Chou Tien-wang () was working at record company Taiwan Columbia (), he once went to a nightclub and heard a sad story about a girl who worked there. Chou was touched, and he decided to rewrite the lyrics of "Spring", wrote the story into Teng's music, that is "The Torment of a Flower". It is the first collaborative work between Teng and Chou. Especially, there was usually three part lyrics in Taiwanese Hokkien songs then, but there are four parts in "The Torment of a Flower". The first part of the lyrics means: "Blossom in a stormy night, pelted to the ground by the rain and wind. All by my lonesome, no one sees my constant grief for the blossom falling into the dirt that has no hope of revival." During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the Japanese Imperial Warlord tampered with the lyrics of the song to declare that the

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, ...

under their rule love Japan. The Japanese version includes the line "How excited the honorable Japanese soldiers who wear red ribbons." () The song was played twice on a piano in the 2017 horror game Detention.

Lyrics

Notable performances

Placido Domingo Placido may refer to: People Surname * José Plácido de Castro (1873–1908), Brazilian soldier and politician * Michele Placido, (born 1946) Italian actor and director *Plácido Vega y Daza, (1830-1878) 19th century Mexican general and politicia ...

sang this song with

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 ...

in Taipei Concert Hall. * The 2010

S.H.E S.H.E is a Taiwanese girl group whose members are Selina Jen, Hebe Tien, and Ella Chen. They formed in 2001 and are managed by HIM International Music but decided not to renew their contract in 2019 due to having their own management company. ...

song is a partial cover of "The Torment of a Flower". *

Hayley Westenra Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer and songwriter. Her first internationally released album, ''Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million c ...

performed the song at a 2010 concert in Kaohsiung. * ', a 2011 television drama series produced by Sanlih Television, was inspired by the song.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torment of a Flower Taiwanese songs 1934 songs Southern Min-language songs Songs with music by Teng Yu-hsien +