Chyi Yu or Qi Yu (born 17 October 1957) is a Taiwanese singer best known for her 1979 hit "The Olive Tree" (橄欖樹). She won the 9th Golden Melody Award for Best Female Vocalist Mandarin. She is the elder sister of singer-songwriter Chyi Chin. She is a religious Buddhist and a vegetarian. Chyi Yu is a protege of the late Taiwanese composer and songwriter Li Tai-hsiang. Li wrote the evergreen masterpiece "The Olive Tree", which was released in 1979. Chyi later married Li's younger brother. Chyi Yu also collaborated with Li Tai-hsiang on a number of her other songs, including "Daylight Avenue" (一條日光大道) "Walking In The Rain" (走在雨中) and "Your Smiling Face" (歡顏). She is also known for tracks such as "Boat Song" (船歌) and covers of folk songs such as "Geordie", "Tears - Donde Voy", and "Whoever Finds This, I Love You". Her last Mandopop album Camel-Flying Bird-Fish (駱駝飛鳥魚) was released in 1997 and she has recently been releasing Buddhist music compilations. Chyi has worked with international artists such as Dave Matthews (Plaisir D'amour, 1993) and Suzanne Ciani (Turning, 1999); their cooperation album including the title track "Turning" was nominated for Best New Age Album at the 42nd Grammy Awards.

Discography

"The Olive Tree", which was based on an English-language poem by Sanmao, was originally written about a small donkey which Sanmao had encountered on a plain in Spain. Li Tai-hsiang had the poem translated to Mandarin by folk singer T.C. Yang, with Sanmao's permission, and wrote the song for Chyi Yu. Yang omitted the donkey, which he felt would not easily connect with Taiwanese music fans. Chyi Yu has stated in an interview that "Every time I sing this song [The Olive Tree], I'm nervous." CD 1 CD 2 BONUS CD (The songs marked with * are the short versions included in the same series of album I & II) (Morning Bell Gatha, Evening Bell Gatha, Cundhi Bodhisattva Mantra)