Connecting East and West With Meaning and Melody: Singer-Translator Gene Hsu

The linguist and vocalist uses her talents to bring traditional Chinese poetry to life for Western audiences.

Translator and singer-songwriter Gene Hsu is bringing Chinese poetry to life for Western audiences. photo courtesy of Gene Hsu

A Chinese-born vocalist and linguist is on a mission to bring peace through poetry and song. By bringing traditional Chinese poetry to life for Western audiences, she hopes to bridge the East-West cultural gap and bring people together, by translating the Chinese poems in a singable way. It’s a complex task that has received little attention until now.

Gene Hsu was born in China and has been doing research in the UK, with a focus on intercultural and interlingual studies. The translator and singer-songwriter is on a quest to translate the poetry of ancient China into singable English songs.