Chinese name: 葉日松 (Yeh Ri-song)

Born: April 20, 1936

Birthplace: Hualien County (eastern Taiwan)

Since childhood, Yeh Ri-song has had a strong interest in literature. Yeh often wrote poems and submitted them to major newspapers. The newspapers frequently accepted his poetry, which greatly increased his confidence. After he began working, Yeh served as a faculty member for 38 years but continued to write poetry while he worked as a teacher. The content of his poems was mainly about local village life, family relations, and travels. His Mandarin Chinese poetry, whether it is children's literature, modern poetry or essays, have been warmly applauded by a large number of readers in the country.

After retiring, Yeh committed himself to preserving and passing on his mother tongue – the Hakka. He devoted himself to the cultivation of Hakka literature, and incorporated the humanities, customs and folk art of Hakka culture into his poetry, creating warm, deeply meaningful and moving poems. Yeh began to create a large number of new poems, children's poems and song lyrics in the Hakka. He also dedicated himself to promoting the teaching of the Hakka, compiling textbooks and recording CDs in an effort to make the language part of daily life, hoping that innovation can be integrated into the richness of the Hakka.

The inspiration for Yeh's creations of Hakka poetry mainly comes from the fond memories he has of his mother tongue when he was a child. Growing up in a Hakka village, he often heard Hakka nursery rhymes that the children recited in the Hakka's beautiful pronunciation. The adults were also used to using Hakka folk songs to exchange feelings with each other. That made Yeh quite familiar with the tone and rhythm of the Hakka and formed the basis for his literary creations later in life.

When he first began writing Hakka poetry, Yeh contributed his manuscripts to Hualien's community newspaper “Keng Sheng Daily News.” His works were gradually published in national newspapers and magazines, which attracted the attention of the Hakka literary world.

In 1996, Yeh participated in an activity of the Broadcasting Corporation of China held in the Da’an Forest Park in Taipei City, in which he recited two Hakka poems in the Hakka. That marked the first time he represented Hakka people in using his mother tongue to present his works on the national stage. The other poets who participated at the time were Yu Kwang-chung (余光中), Xi Murong (席慕蓉), Xiang Yang (向陽), and Malieyafusi Monaneng (莫那能), who respectively recited poems in Mandarin Chinese, Mongolian, Minnan Fujianese, and indigenous languages, receiving enthusiastic response from the audience. Yeh later also wrote lyrics for Hakka songs, perfectly marrying music and poetry in artistic creation.

In choosing the path of writing Hakka poetry, Yeh never felt that this road would be narrow. He has said that while trying to preserve the multiculturalism of society, his life has become more splendid and colorful. He hopes his own Hakka literary creations will help people understand the beauty of Hakka culture and he looks forward to the day when more young people will dedicate themselves to preserving and promoting Hakka and culture.