Since Sarah Chen's exit from the music industry 30 years ago, press coverage of her has gradually drifted toward rumor, while official channels continue to tie her achievements to the men she worked with. To support an alternative career narrative grounded in sources, we launched Project Restoration in 2026 - building an archive on Sarah Chen based on her interviews, contemporaneous magazine reports, and other reliable materials.
陈淑桦离坛三十年后,网上对她的报道成了谣言库,官方渠道也常将她的成就归功于后期合作的滚石音乐人。为支持她独立自主的职业叙述,我们于2026年发起 ”Project Restoration“ (复原计划),建立陈淑桦资料库,注重她当年的访谈,报刊文献,和其它可信来源。
1981华视节目《害羞草》片段。A short CTS segment from 1981 with Sarah Chen introducing her song "Shy Flower."
In 1981, Sarah Chen appeared on CTS with Pan An-Bang to introduce and perform her new song "Shy Flower," written by her long-time collaborator Joseph Ye. This issue covers Sarah Chen's career arch from the 1981 segment to her final album release in 1998.
1981年,陈淑桦和潘安邦同上华视,介绍并演唱她的新歌曲、叶佳修写的《含羞草》。本期记录这段视频,也庆祝1998年《失乐园》发行第28周年。
《含羞草》收录于1981年的电影专辑《又见春天》。除叶佳修的几首歌外,还有刘家昌谱的《小风小雨》,是陈淑桦海山期的典型作品。这个视频简述陈淑桦在海山阶段的职业发展。
Shy Flower appeared on the 1981 movie-themed album "Spring Comes Again." In addition to several songs written by Joseph Ye, the album includes Liu Chia-Chiang's "Light Wind, Light Rain," in a style typical of Sarah Chen's early 1980s work. This video introduces her career with Haishan Records during that period.
当年,那种年纪, “我不敢唱爱情歌,分给我唱《交叉线》,真是谢天谢地, 从此幸运之神一直照顾着我。” ——陈淑桦, 1983 TTV
“At that age, I was afraid of singing ballads. Thank God they assigned Intersecting Lines to me. Since then I've had my lucky star." -- Sarah Chen, 1983 TTV
"这么优美的旋律!我觉得这是陈淑桦被忽略的一首歌。歌的音域正适合于她,她唱得舒畅,我们听得也优美。”
资料库:1981 陈淑桦 华视《含羞草》
From the Archive: 1981 Sarah Chen introducing and singing Shy Flower on CTS
File: v1.1981.ShyFlower
Date: 1981
Source: CTS 华视
Link: bilibili 陈淑桦《含羞草》
People mentioned: 潘安邦, 陈淑桦, 叶佳修 Pan An-Bang, Sarah Chen, Joseph Ye
Summary: In 1981, Sarah Chen and Pan An-Bang, two notable Taiwan campus folk singers, co-hosted a TV show with CTS. After noting their similarity in musical tastes, they discussed new trends in campus folk, which had expanded from ballads to include nature-themed songs. Chen mentioned Joseph Ye, who had composed some of Pan's famous songs and had recently written a new, nature-related piece for her. Pan then introduced Chen's new song by Ye, Shy Flower, followed by Chen performing it.
1981年,台湾校园民谣歌手潘安邦和陈淑桦主持了一幕华视节目。他俩说都喜欢清新的校园民谣,并说近来,校园民谣从抒情拓宽到自然为题材的作品。陈淑桦提到给潘安邦写代表作的叶佳修,最近也给她写了一首和自然相关的新歌。潘安邦介绍这首《含羞草》,随后由陈淑桦演唱。
Context: Though she appeared young in 1981, Sarah Chen was already a showbiz veteran. Shy Flower was her 154th recording and appeared on her 11th album Spring Comes Again. By then, she had hosted TV programs for several years, including "Thousand Miles Ride" and "Green Meadow." Having shed early traces of Teresa Teng, Chen - with her piano-like voice - had established a unique style, needing only one hit to become a household name. But Shy Flower, like her previous 150+ songs, didn't take her there. Her breakthrough would come with the next album, the 1982 Sunset Follows Me Home. In fact, Spring Comes Again sold poorly, and Chen went a full year without another recording chance, an anxious, do-or-die stretch.
陈淑桦在1981年的节目里看似年轻,但在娱乐圈其实已算老手。《含羞草》是她录制的第154首歌,出自第11张个人专辑《又见春天》。她也已主持过多档电视节目,如《千里单骑》和《青青草原》。那时的陈淑桦已经摆脱了邓丽君的痕迹,歌声像钢琴一样清脆,个人曲风已经完全成形,只差一首热门歌就能真正打红。但如之前的150多首歌一样,《含羞草》没有走红,陈淑桦的突破还得等下一年的《夕阳伴我归》。她的演唱虽然悦耳,《又见春天》销量不高,之后一年她没有录音的机会,带来许多不眠之夜。事业的成败在一线之间。
专辑中不是所有的歌都动听,正是如此,可以看出真正托起这些作品的人,是陈淑桦。
Jan 2026, SCM Gatekeeper
January 13th marks the anniversary of Paradise Lost, the final album Sarah Chen released in 1998. The album's history is murky: several internet posts claim, without citing sources, that it was completed by late 1995 or early 1996, with release delayed until 1998. That timeline seems plausible, as Chen was largely inactive by 1996. There was no evidence of her involvement in its promotion; some posts even describe Paradise Lost as her "abandoned child."
Or one of her "abandoned children," since it was not the only work that Chen let go. But as her official swan song, Paradise Lost has drawn sustained fan attention, helped by three MTVs Chen made for Paradise Lost, When Love Comes On, and Don't Think About It. Songs from this album also appear often on her official YouTube channel, even though they are not her most popular tracks.
Chen was unlikely to have intended to end her career with Paradise Lost. The sadness of the title track casts a lasting spell, shrouding her career like the scene she sings about: alone in a busy city, carrying a suitcase full of regrets. The song feels incongruent with the singer, who should have no regrets left in music. With its upbeat mood, When Love Comes On seems like a better ending to Chen's career.
By then, Chen's piano-like timbre had softened, but in its place was the gracefulness of a violin: each nuanced twist and turn could only have come from a singer so adept at capturing every note, every human emotion. Even with a few uninspiring tracks, the album makes one thing clear - Sarah Chen is the one lifting the material. I listened to "Fish" and "Too Noisy" only because she sang them.
There will not be another Sarah Chen. We are lucky she gifted us with this much. The time to restore that legacy is now.
陈淑桦的最后一张专辑《失乐园》发行于1998年1月13日,今天是28周年纪念日。这张专辑的历史难以追溯。网上有人说专辑的录制在1995年底或1996年初便已完成,但最后的发行推迟了两年。这种说法没有考据,但和陈淑桦1996年后就淡出吻合。陈淑桦似乎没有为这张专辑做宣传,有人将《失乐园》描述为她的弃儿。
或者说,是她的“弃儿”之一,陈淑桦生涯里割舍掉的不止这一张。但毕竟这是她名义上的谢幕之作,大家对《失乐园》保持了关注,也受助于她做的三支音乐录像(失乐园,爱来时,不想)。滚石官方陈淑桦YouTube时常贴《失乐园》里的歌曲,超过频道对其它更流行的专辑的重视。
很难想象陈淑桦本人会以《失乐园》结束生涯。主打歌的凄凉,加上她那段时间丧亲之痛,给她的生涯带来挥不去的愁。仿佛是歌中唱的,“一個人拎著一箱遺憾,在夜的城市中心迷惘”。但《失乐园》的意境和陈淑桦辉煌的歌唱生涯不符。反倒是《爱来时》的高昂更契合她挥别歌坛的心态:至少在音乐成就上,她应该是没有任何遗憾。
在她生涯快结束时,陈淑桦早年歌声中钢琴般的清脆已淡化,取而代之的是小提琴般的优柔,每个细微的转折来自她极端的音准和对情感的掌控。专辑中不是所有的歌都动听,如果不是她唱的,我可能就不会去听《鱼》和《太吵》。正是如此,可以看出真正托起这些作品的人,是陈淑桦。
天下不会再出一个陈淑桦。我们很幸运她贡献了这么多。而现在该做的,是复原她的音乐史。
📀 1998 Rock Records《Paradise Lost》Tracks:
Paradise Lost|Call Nobody|When Love Comes On|Let Me Know|Don't Think About It|Punishment|Fish|Half Half|Too Noisy|Autumn Is Still Early(🔗 Sarah Chen's Discography; YouTube Playlist)
Even with a few uninspiring tracks, the album makes one thing clear - Sarah Chen is the one lifting the material.
This site was enriched by the generosity of a long-time Sarah Chen fan from Malaysia, C.Y., who shared her personal collection of clippings and magazine articles spanning much of Chen's career (1983-1996).