Lai Pi-hsia (; 31 October 1932 – 18 January 2015) was a Taiwanese musician known for performing

Hakka hill song Hakka hill songs (; ) are rural songs sung in the Hakka language by the Hakka people. They are probably one of the better known elements that reflect Hakka culture, regarded by many as the 'pearl of Hakka Literature'. Hakka hill songs vary in ...

s. Born in what became

Zhudong Zhudong Township is an urban township in central Hsinchu County, Taiwan. Part of Hsinchu Science Park is in Zhudong. Also located in Zhudong is the main campus of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). Zhudong is approximately 2 ...

Hsinchu County Hsinchu County ( Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; with a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the county capital, wh ...

, Lai was raised in Chingchuan, where she learned the

Atayal language The Atayal language is spoken by the Atayal people of Taiwan. Squliq and C’uli’ (Ts’ole’) are two major dialects. Mayrinax and Pa’kuali’, two subdialects of C’uli’, are unique among Atayal dialects in having male and female regis ...

. After her father retired, the family returned to Zhudong. Lai, who had begun listening to her uncle's collection of Japanese music, heard her first

, and began lessons with folk musician Kuan Lo-cheng. However, Kuan was not a lyricist, so Lai Pi-hsia transcribed Hakka language lyrics from Lai Ting-han. By the age of 20, Lai Pi-hsia became a respected performer in her own right. She became a radio announcer in 1954, and soon starting writing her own music. Later, Lai wrote the screenplay for ''Tea Mountain Love Song'', Taiwan's first Hakka-language feature film. She retired from performing in 1973 and focused on teaching and researching the art of Hakka hill songs. Lai founded an eponymous Hakka folk music troupe in 1993. She received the Jury Award at the 2011 Golden Melody Awards. Later that year, Lai was designated a national treasure.

Personal life

Lai died aged 82 on 18 January 2015, at home in Zhongli.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lai, Pi-hsia 1932 births 2015 deaths Taiwanese people of Hakka descent Hakka musicians People from Hsinchu County Taiwanese singer-songwriters 20th-century Taiwanese women singers Taiwanese radio presenters Taiwanese women radio presenters