A virtual museum documenting the life and creations of Taiwanese singer-songwriter Hung Yi-feng (洪一峰) — at www.musicgis.tw — provides visitors a glimpse into the world of one of Taiwan’s most famous musicians.
Dubbed “the king of Formosan song,” Hung, born in 1927, had a deep, resonant voice and was a prolific musician.
His debut song, Butterfly Infatuated with Flower, which he wrote at the age of 19, catapulted him to fame. Other classics, such as Memories of an Old Love and The One I’m Missing, are still KTV favorites.
Hung died of pancreatic cancer last year.
However, thanks to the Hung Yi-feng Virtual Music Museum launched by Soochow University professor Stone Shih (石計生) and sponsored by the National Science Council, some of his most familiar tunes can be heard online.
“One of the special features of the online museum is that viewers can stroll virtually through each of eight sections in a 3D, sphere-like environment, something that has never been seen before in Taiwanese museums,” Shih said.
The museum allows viewers to listen to 40 classic songs composed by Hung, view 50 pictures of him and see an short animated film.
Shih, who works in the field of geographic information system (GIS) technology, said he first met Hung in 2008 and was touched by the spirit of the artist. In 2009, one of Hung’s sons, Hung Jung-liang (洪榮良), approached Shih about helping establish a digital museum featuring his father’s work.
The virtual museum will be given an English interface if the project receives more funding from the council, Shih said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by