Reflections on life in the 1980s and 1990s In the 1980s Taiwan society was prospering and changing rapidly, basking in the glow of rapid economic growth. In this time of transformation, it was inevitable that campus folk songs, with their ethereal and romantic detachment from typical urban lifestyles, would go out of fashion. But no one could say for certain what would replace them. Everyone in music was exploring various possibilities and thematic diversification, and there was a pluralization of musical styles. With great tolerance, people accepted every new effort, whether it was the quick sketches of modern urban romance by Li Tsung-sheng, the social commentaries of Luo Ta-you, or the concern for the little people of Hou Teh-chien. All were critically and commercially well-received. Without any deliberate plan to do so, creative artists and consumers joined hands to make a piece of history, a gloriously multifaceted period in Mandarin pop.