This is an extremely precious piece of historical footage, sourced from the educational film “Taiwan - The Face of Free China” produced by the US military in 1960 (filmed in Taiwan in 1959). Using what was then state-of-the-art color film technology, it records scenes of Taiwanese society in the 1950s.
The US military used this film to introduce the mysterious face of “Free China” (Taiwan) to Americans about to be stationed there.
The background music is the 1957 song “Twilight Ridge” (Hwang-kun-niā) performed by the “Queen of Island Songs,” Chi Lu-hsia. The original tune is Misora Hibari’s “Yuyake Touge.”
Video: YouTube
”Twilight Ridge” Lyrics (in Taiwanese Hokkien)
(Singer: Chi Lu-hsia; Lyrics: Chou Tien-wang; Music: Mikai Minoru)
Translation of the Hokkien lyrics:
I am an eighteen-year-old ill-fated farm girl
Leaving my hometown to seek a living outside
Thinking of my hard life, tears sometimes fall
But I had no other choice
Leaving my mother’s side
Mother, are you right now
Feeling the same sorrow as my heart?
The western sun shines on Twilight Ridge
Sometimes I hear the lovely bird songs
I hate myself for being born into a hard life
Leading a difficult existence
Mother, you don’t even know
Mother, this too is
The destiny of mother and child
The twilight sun is about to set behind the mountain
The autumn wind blows, and sometimes it’s cold
My eyes look toward my hometown over there
Sitting under the banyan tree
Feeling lonely and without a companion
Mother, please do not
Wear out your heart for your child