Zú Fāng Zú Fāng

Lee Chu-Hsin's "Zú Fāng Zú Fāng" is included in the all-Taiwanese Hokkien album "Suí 水" and is a work that fuses Taiwanese Hokkien with French musical style, centered on everyday Taiwanese cuisine. Starting from everyday scenes like cooking and preparing ingredients, the song embeds familiar family memories into music. Musically, the most prominent feature of "Zú Fāng Zú Fāng" is the combination of Taiwanese Hokkien songs with the musical气质 of French chanson. The melody is light and lively, yet possesses a languid, elegant exotic flair, creating a strong contrast with the very colloquial cooking and culinary themes in the lyrics. The arrangement doesn'0t treat the Taiwanese Hokkien song like a traditional folk song; instead, it uses more modern sounds with jazz and chanson influences, making the entire song sound both playful and refined. The vocals intentionally retain the tones and intonation of Taiwanese Hokkien, while utilizing the melodic contours and rhythm to make the language itself a part of the music. The extensive repetition of phrases in the song gives the language a rhythmic effect akin to an instrument, adding to the work's fun and memorability. The linguistic ingenuity is the most recognizable aspect of this song. "Zú Fāng" in Taiwanese Hokkien means "very fragrant, extremely fragrant," and singing "Zú Fāng Zú Fāng" consecutively surprisingly evokes a French auditory impression. Lee Chu-Hsin uses this phonetic illusion to combine the phonetic characteristics of Taiwanese Hokkien with French music, creating an interesting effect where listeners feel like they are "listening to French, but upon closer listening, it's Taiwanese Hokkien."