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The subject of this study is a Hakka singer, Chen Yung-Tao. By interviewing Chen about his life story and analyzing four of his albums, I came to realize the interrelationship between his creativity and the development of his Hakka consciousness, which could be divided into four phases. The first phase happened when he moved from Guanxi to Taipei City during teenage years. Because of the spatial change, from countryside to city, Chen suddenly learned about his inferior ethnic identity. And his hometown, Guanxi, then became the most important inspiration for his creativity. The second phase developed during his stay in Sanzhi, suburban Taipei, where he befriended some aboriginals and hence equated his own ethnic consciousness with the aboriginal one, both yearning for primitive natural environments. The third phase is during his sojourning in Beipu. In this small Hakka village, not far from his hometown, he built up his reputation as an ethnic singer, noted for his description of traditional way of life which was fast disappearing. The most recent phase started when Chen moved to Emei, another Hakka village next to Beipu, for a long stay. During this stage when Taiwan has transformed into a multi-ethnic society, Chen insisted that his Hakka consciousness should not be defined by the ethnic policy. My research shows that Chen’s development of his Hakka consciousness is drastically different from the political assumption of Hakka population as oppressed and inferior. His concern has been mainly environmental protection, which benefits all humankind, especially children, regardless of their ethnicity. But this lifelong struggle cannot go on without his application of his Hakka mother tongue. |