“O grand Tam-kang roll out to seas. You pave the way for ex-change of thought. . . . ” This is the lyric of the Tamkang anthem. The melody of the anthem was composed by Lu Chuan-sheng, the father of Taiwan choir and Taiwanese ballad. He passed away for heart failure on last Monday (17th) in America, at the age of 93.

The lyric of our school anthem was written Chou Lu (the senior statesman of KMT), and the tune was composed by the famous musician Lu Chuan-sheng. Mr. Chu De-guan had translated the lyric into English. The lyric includes references to the main idea of the school name, badge, and motto, expressing a great anticipation for the bountiful learning in school and fruitful contribution to the society. Chen Jo-hsuan, vice leader of Classical Guitar Club, remarks that the melody of school song is dignified and solemn. People feel passionate when they listen to the school song.

The composer Lu was born in 1916. He learned vocal music in Japan. After his graduation, he was engaged in musical education. In 1943, he established the Lung Shin Choir—the first Taiwanese group to be invited to perform in foreign countries. He put more efforts on making Taiwanese ballad into art. “The Cup Bottom Should Not Keep Any Goldfish” (Drinks the liquor off) and “If I Open the Door of My Heart” are the widely known popular songs by Mr. Lu. He got the National Cultural Award in 1991. This reward is the highest honor that Nation awards the prize to the artists in the cultural field. He also won the “TAF Award - Taiwanese Nobel Prize” from Taiwanese American Foundation in 2007, for his contribution to Taiwanese culture through his music. Fu Pong-si, a tenor in Tamkang Chorus, senior of Department of Electrical Engineering remarks on the school anthem that the song sounds warm, especially in this part – “O scholars young the flowers of time. Bright stars that show the way. . . . ” He feels more affected when this part turns into the high pitch. He also said: “This song is not just the school song, but a song that contains the our forerunners’ wisdom and anticipation. When students are singing this song, they can hear the voices from them.” Although Mr. Lu had passed away, the exquisite musical works he left for Tamkang students and the world keep on comforting people’s hearts, and enlightening their minds. ( ~Jaime Liu )