Zhi Hu Zhe Ye

Zhi Hu Zhe Ye (Chinese: 之乎者也; pinyin: Zhī hū zhě yě) is the 1982 debut album of Taiwanese singer Lo Ta-yu.[1]

Zhi Hu Zhe Ye
Standard artwork (Taiwanese vinyl edition pictured)
Studio album by
Lo Ta-yu
Released1982
LabelRock Records
Zhi Hu Zhe Ye
Chinese之乎者也

The title of the album consists of a meaningless phrase made solely of four grammatical Chinese particles from Classical Chinese. The phrase functions as an adjective; if someone's Chinese is "Zhi hu zhe ye", it means it is stale and archaic.[2]

The album broadened the horizons of Chinese music and set a new model for Chinese songwriting. The album had four hit singles: the title song "Zhi hu zhe ye" (之乎者也), "Lukang, the Little Town" (鹿港小鎮), "Love Song 1980" (戀曲1980), and "Childhood" (童年), previously sung by Sylvia Chang in her 1981 album Childhood. The singles from the album remain among Lo Ta-yu's best known songs in mainland China.[3][4]

Internationally, the album was released in 1982 as Selective Works of Lo Ta-yu (羅大佑作品選) by Fontana Records with two additional tracks, "Foolishly Waiting" (痴痴的等) and "Deaf-Blind" (盲聾).

Track listing
Side A
  1. "Lukang Township" (鹿港小鎮; Lùgǎng xiǎo zhèn)
    Lukang is located in northwestern Changhua County, Taiwan
  2. "Love Song 1980" (戀曲1980; Liànqū yījiǔbā)
  3. "Childhood" (童年; Tóngnián)
    Previously sung by Sylvia Chang in her 1981 album Childhood
  4. "Mistake" (錯誤; Cuòwù)
  5. "Lullaby" (摇篮曲; Yáolánqǔ)
Side B
  1. "Zhīhūzhěyě" (之乎者也), "Archaisms" or "Semi-incomprehensible talk"
  2. "Nostalgia of Four Rhymes" (鄉愁四韻; Xiāngchóu sì yùn)
  3. "I Shall Drink Wine" (将进酒; Jiāng jìn jiǔ)
  4. "Story of Time" (光陰的故事; Guāngyīn de gùshì)
    Previously sung by Sylvia Chang in her album Childhood
  5. "Dandelion" (蒲公英; Púgōngyīng)
Selective Works of Lo Ta-yu (羅大佑作品選), 1982 — International edition (Fontana Records)
Side A
  1. "Childhood" 童年
  2. "Love Song" 戀曲
    Alternative title of "Love Song 1980"
  3. "Mistake" 錯誤
  4. "Foolish Waiting" (痴痴的等; chīchī de děng)
    Originally sung by Fang Cheng (方正) in the 1981 album Merrily Big Soldiers Album (歡樂大兵專輯) by Fang Cheng and Hsu Pu-liao (許不了)
  5. "Zhi Hu Zhe Ye" 之乎者也
  6. "Lukang Township" (鹿港小鎮)
Side B
  1. "Nostalgia of Four Rhymes" (鄉愁四韻)
  2. "Story of Time" (光陰的故事)
  3. "I Shall Drink Wine" (將進酒)
  4. "Deaf-Blind" (盲聾; máng lóng)
    Also heard in the 1982 album Leaders of Tomorrow (未來的主人翁)
  5. "Lullaby" (催眠曲; cuīmiánqǔ)
    Alternative Chinese title of "Lullaby" (摇篮曲)
  6. "Dandelion" (蒲公英)

Reception

The book Taiwan Popular Music — 200 Best Albums (台灣流行音樂 200最佳專輯) (2009, enlarged from a 1994 list) by National Taiwan University (NTU) students and Ma Shih-fang (馬世芳), a radio DJ at News 98, ranked this album number one of their "top 20 Taiwan popular albums from 1975 to 1992".[5]

References
  1. Topics 1997 - Volume 27, Issues 6-10 - Page 24 "Another Taiwanese with a pan-Chinese vision has been Lo Ta-yu, who began his career with a rebellious album in 1982. The title of the ground-breaking Chih Hu Che Yeh"
  2. Mobo C. F. Gao Mandarin Chinese: An Introduction 2000 p.122 "Zhi hu zhe ye has now become a set phrase to refer to classical Chinese. The best way to describe someone who uses too much archaic and stale language is to say that his or her language is too zhi hu zhe ye.11 More function words in ..."
  3. 光華畫報 - Volume 28, Issues 1-6 2003- Page 73 "Tunes popularized in the 1980s such as "Love Song 1980" and "Zhi Hu Zhe Ye" can still drive demand for Luo Ta-you's one-man concerts every year in Beijing and Shanghai. "
  4. Chen, David (2009-04-06). "Top of the pops". Taipei Times. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  5. Chen, David (6 April 2009). "Top of the pops". Taipei Times. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
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