Zhi Hu Zhe Ye

Zhi Hu Zhe Ye is the 1982 debut album of Taiwanese singer Lo Ta-yu.

The title of the album consists of a meaningless phrase made solely of four grammatical Chinese particles from Classical Chinese. The phrase functions as an adjective; if someone's Chinese is "Zhi hu zhe ye", it means it is stale and archaic.

The album broadened the horizons of Chinese music and set a new model for Chinese songwriting. The album had four hit singles: the title song "Zhi hu zhe ye" (之乎者也), "Lukang, the Little Town" (鹿港小鎮), "Love Song 1980" (戀曲1980), and "Childhood" (童年), previously sung by Sylvia Chang in her 1981 album Childhood. The singles from the album remain among Lo Ta-yu's best known songs in mainland China.

Internationally, the album was released in 1982 as Selective Works of Lo Ta-yu (羅大佑作品選) by Fontana Records with two additional tracks, "Foolishly Waiting" (痴痴的等) and "Deaf-Blind" (盲聾).

Track listing

 * Side A
 * 1) "Lukang Township"
 * Lukang is located in northwestern Changhua County, Taiwan
 * 1) "Love Song 1980"
 * 2) "Childhood"
 * Previously sung by Sylvia Chang in her 1981 album Childhood
 * 1) "Mistake"
 * 2) "Lullaby"


 * Side B
 * 1) "Zhīhūzhěyě" (之乎者也), "Archaisms" or "Semi-incomprehensible talk"
 * 2) "Nostalgia of Four Rhymes"
 * 3) "I Shall Drink Wine"
 * 4) "Story of Time"
 * Previously sung by Sylvia Chang in her album Childhood
 * 1) "Dandelion"


 * Side A
 * 1) "Childhood" 童年
 * 2) "Love Song" 戀曲
 * Alternative title of "Love Song 1980"
 * 1) "Mistake" 錯誤
 * 2) "Foolish Waiting"
 * Originally sung by Fang Cheng (方正) in the 1981 album Merrily Big Soldiers Album (歡樂大兵專輯) by Fang Cheng and Hsu Pu-liao (許不了)
 * 1) "Zhi Hu Zhe Ye" 之乎者也
 * 2) "Lukang Township" (鹿港小鎮)


 * Side B
 * 1) "Nostalgia of Four Rhymes" (鄉愁四韻)
 * 2) "Story of Time" (光陰的故事)
 * 3) "I Shall Drink Wine" (將進酒)
 * 4) "Deaf-Blind"
 * Also heard in the 1982 album Leaders of Tomorrow (未來的主人翁)
 * 1) "Lullaby"
 * Alternative Chinese title of "Lullaby" (摇篮曲)
 * 1) "Dandelion" (蒲公英)

Reception
The book Taiwan Popular Music — 200 Best Albums (台灣流行音樂 200最佳專輯) (2009, enlarged from a 1994 list) by National Taiwan University (NTU) students and Ma Shih-fang (馬世芳), a radio DJ at News 98, ranked this album number one of their "top 20 Taiwan popular albums from 1975 to 1992".