Taiwanese hymnody

Christian mission in Taiwan began in 1865; the early missionaries brought with them hymns in a collection from Amoy China, entitled Iong-Sim Sin Si, which were either translation of Western hymns or written by anonymous Amoy Christians or missionaries. The first Taiwanese hymnal of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) was edited by William Campbell in 1900, but without music, and without any Taiwanese contributions. The Taiwanese hymn known to the world today ‘Chin Chu Siong-te cho thi-toe’ (‘God created heaven and earth’) initially appeared in this hymnal. It actually came from Amoy, but gained its new Taiwanese identity after matching with the Taiwanese ‘Ping-pu’ melody TOA-SIA in...