Hou Dejian

Who is Hou Dejian?

Hou Dejian, born October 1, 1956, is a songwriter, composer, and singer from Taiwan.

Since the 1980s, his songs have been popular in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. His songs are written mostly in Chinese, with a few in English. The lyrics often reflect traditional Chinese thought, combined with a contemporary mentality.

In 1978, Hou Dejian wrote a song entitled "Descendants of the Dragon", with which he gained significant popularity. He left Taiwan for mainland China in 1983, despite the ban for the visit from the Republic of China government on Taiwan. He then witnessed and became a part of the hunger strike with three others in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 pro-democracy movement in Beijing. He returned to Taiwan after being deported by the PRC authorities in 1990. He later migrated to New Zealand, and there he worked on writing books and screenplays.

In the late 1990s, Hou returned to Taiwan and became a music producer. In May 2011, Hou returned to Beijing for the first time since 1990 and made a surprising appearance at a concert. Hou is also an avid researcher of I Ching. He is the subject of Australian writer Linda Jaivin's 'The Monkey and the Dragon.'