Li Li-Shao's Documentary Restores Voice to Father Amid White Terror Shadows [Exclusive Interview]

(CNA reporter Chao Ching-Yu, Taipei, June 16) Li Li-Shao's documentary 'Dancer of the Soloist' has been nominated for two major awards at the 2026 Taipei Film Festival: 'Best Documentary' and 'Best Editing.' Li Li-Shao expressed that he hopes to trace his father Li Che-Yang's past and reclaim his voice, long overshadowed by the trauma of the White Terror.

Following 'The Solo Dancer's Movement,' which documented his mother Lin Szu-Tuan's dance career, Li Li-Shao's new work 'Dancer of the Soloist' turns the lens on his father — a pioneering folk song collector and music critic who played a crucial role in Taiwan's music history.

For the general public, this is a documentary about historical redress for a family affected by political persecution and Taiwan's musical heritage. But for Li Li-Shao, it is a personal journey of a son seeking to understand his father. In an exclusive interview with CNA, Li said he wanted to delve deeper into his father's past, piecing together the world he pursued, his frustrations, and the history obscured by the era.

Li Li-Shao's grandfather was a victim of the White Terror, executed after being accused of involvement in the 'Minglang Club' case. In 1950, at age 16, Li Che-Yang saw his father's name on an execution list at a train station, rushed to Matingting, and brought the body back on a tricycle. The following year, he was expelled from National Taipei Teachers College.

In 1968, Li Che-Yang was accepted into Japan's Tokyo Seitoku University of Music, preparing for his long-awaited study abroad. Li Li-Shao said his father had already paid the enrollment deposit, but 'was denied an exit visa by the military headquarters due to being on a political blacklist.' 1968 was also the year Li Li-Shao was born. Using this year as a reference point, Li Li-Shao slowly unfolds his father's life story.

In that dark era, Li Che-Yang, passionate about music, taught himself relentlessly. Starting in 1971, he served as chief editor of 'Chuen-Yin Music Review' for nearly 20 years, translating numerous music works and introducing Taiwan's music scene and musicians, profoundly influencing generations of music lovers. Li Che-Yang was also a pioneer of Taiwan's 1960s folk song collection movement, leaving behind invaluable records for Taiwan's music history.

Li Li-Shao said the idea to make a documentary about his father arose when a collection of manuscripts, films, photos, and rare documents left by his father were damaged. He donated these materials to Taipei National University of the Arts, but in 2019, a construction accident exposed long-sealed slides, film negatives, and audio tapes to dampness and near destruction. 'I quickly brought my entire family during winter break to borrow space at TNUA and began rescuing and scanning these archives and photos,' Li said.

This chaotic yet determined family-led rescue became the most precious visual foundation of 'Dancer of the Soloist.' Through his mother Lin Szu-Tuan's oral testimony and the advancing camera, Li Li-Shao saw his father's long-suppressed fear and loneliness. Even when 'Chuen-Yin Music Review' won the Golden Tripod Award, his father, as long-time editor, could not appear to accept it. 'This shows how the era impacted individual lives,' he said.

Li Li-Shao explained that the title 'Dancer of the Soloist' symbolizes his father's solitary journey through life. Using archival filmmaking and interviews with people connected to his father, he gradually reconstructs his father's image. 'During the 1960s folk song collection movement, my father, fluent in multiple languages and equipped with mountain maps, was the one carrying heavy equipment into the field to complete recordings.'

More importantly, Li Che-Yang demonstrated an aesthetic foresight that transcended his time. 'At the time, authorities believed only purely ceremonial traditional music needed to be recorded, but my father insisted that hybrid songs sung in indigenous daily life — blending Japanese songs, pop songs, and forest-worker songs — should also be documented.' Li Li-Shao believes it was his father's embrace of the authentic lived reality of indigenous people that led to conflict with institutional aesthetics and his subsequent marginalization.

In making 'Dancer of the Soloist,' many important figures, cultures, and memories were overlooked, forgotten, and then rediscovered and reinterpreted. 'I hope this documentary allows more people to see my father's deep passion for indigenous and folk music research, and raises societal awareness of the invaluable Taiwanese music archives he left behind,' Li Li-Shao said. (Edited by Li Heng-Shan) 1150616