Yang Tsu-chuen and the Green Field Charity Concert

Synopsis

Documenting Taiwan’s first large-scale postwar outdoor concert, this film revisits the 1978 Grass Field Charity Concert, an unprecedented gathering of over 4,000 people. Organized by singer and television host Yang Tsu-Chun (楊祖珺) during the height of the island’s folk song movement, the event foregrounded music’s relationship with everyday life rather than overt political messaging. Yet its significance was inseparable from the era’s tensions: Yang’s self-titled album had recently been banned for the perceived “left-wing” social consciousness of her lyrics, and despite the concert’s stated charitable intent, its scale and popular appeal drew the scrutiny of Kuomintang (KMT) intelligence agencies. Framed against late-1970s Taiwan, the film documents how music, public space, and cultural expression intersected under authoritarian surveillance, marking a pivotal moment in the history of popular music and collective gathering.