當我們談論聲音的時候，會習慣用嚴肅的理論去討論聲音到底什麼，但是對我來講，你只要去想聲音跟你之間的關係、跟這個社會、空間、文化、跟所有的事情就 好。很多人常會問我說：你為什麼要這樣記錄？為什麼選擇這個聲音？為什麼不去記錄快要消失的聲音？譬如打鐵業或是某個古老的行業，對我來講，會消失的就是會消失，不用太在意，如果你在意就直接行動，就這麼簡單。我們太習慣用一種溫情的方法告訴大家，說這個聲音對某些人是具有感情，但對我來說並不一定。

 

聲音也可以反映一個地方的性格。四年多前我因為展覽的緣故去了上海一趟，待了兩個禮拜，拼命走拼命錄。在臺灣你大概每隔一個小時就會在某些路口聽到撞 車，還有救護車跑來跑去的聲音。我在上海的時候，朋友跟我說以前晚上都睡不著，因為晚上大家在街上拼命按喇叭，我去的那一年改善很多。我很好奇為什麼 他們沒有那麼多擦撞意外，他們有比較遵守交通規則嗎？看起來也不像。後來有一天趁著他們下班時間我亂竄小巷子，發現還是撞不到，後來去分析聲音的結其實很簡單，在上海，腳踏車、電動摩托車、公車、私人轎車和計程車都各有不同的聲音，車子經過的時候，你會知道是什麼車，會去閃躲。

 

你如果問我，我收集這麼多聲音，我怎麼看臺北市？第一，臺北市是一個盆地， 是個聚音盆；第二，我們的溫濕度很容易讓聲音變得很吵雜、混亂；第三，夏天 的天氣會讓你不想待在這個地方，你想要去有冷氣的地方，所以你會發現路上的人越來越少，跟15、20年前差很多，早期地下街都不太會有人，但現在地下街的 生意越來越好，相對而言路上的聲音，大概就只剩汽車、摩托車的聲音。

 

《台灣聲音地圖計畫》網站2011年12月上架，預計在2021年的12月中結束，但結束 不代表我不繼續記錄音，只是覺得應該給它一個時間斷點。對我來講這樣的地圖 是一個起點。臺灣其實有很多聲音資料庫，但是我們不知道如何運用它，所以整個聲音地圖計畫對我來說，是處理臺灣的聽覺文化、如何尋找出我們的聽音自主 性。因為如果能找到我們的聽音自主性，那我就有辦法去慢慢找到我們的音樂、 電影文化、聽覺文化。這樣的討論、氛圍、分析方法在臺灣是很欠缺的，所以如 果大家有興趣想要理解聲音，我們需要有更多人的投入和關注。

 

When talking about sound, we are used to discussing sound by applying serious theories. However, in my opinion, we only need to think about the relationship between sound, oneself, society, space, culture, and all the other things. Many people often ask me why I have been recording sounds in this way. Why choosing a certain sound? Why not record the sounds that are rapidly disappearing, such as the ironsmith industry or ∣ some other old industry. For me, what will disappear will eventually disappear anyway.  It is no use in caring so much. If you do care about it, you should take direct actions. It is that simple. We have grown overly accustomed to convey things in an effective manner, thinking that a certain sound might have sentimental value to some people. It is not necessarily so.

 

Sound can also reflect the character of a place. More than four years ago, I visited Shanghai for an exhibition and stayed there for two weeks. During that period of time, I kept visiting different places and recording sounds. In Taiwan, one probably would hear traffic accidents at crossroads every hour, along with the siren of ambulances. When I was in Shanghai, my friend told me that it was hard to sleep because people would keep honking even at nighttime. However, when I was there, the situation had improved a lot. I was curious about why they did not have many traffic accidents. Did they abide by traffic regulations that pliantly? It did not seem so to me. Later, I wandered through the alleys during the rush hours, but was still not able to record any sound of accidents. It all became clear after analyzing the sound structure of Shanghai. Their bicycles, electric scooters, buses, private cars and taxis all had dissimilar sounds. Therefore, when the vehicles passed by, you would know what vehicles they were and avoided intuitively.

 

You might ask me about my view of Taipei City after collecting so many sounds. Firstly, Taipei City is a basin, which is naturally sound-gathering. Secondly, the city’s temperature and humidity make it easier for sounds to become noisy and muddled. Thirdly, the summer makes people want to stay in air-conditioned spaces. So, you see there are fewer and fewer people on the streets now. It has become very different from fifteen or twenty years ago. In the early days, there were not many people in the underground streets. Nowadays, the business of the underground streets is booming. In comparison, one can only hear the sounds of cars and scooters on the streets.

 

The website of〈Taiwan Sound Map〉Project has been launched in December of 2011 and will end in December, 2021. However, the end does not mean that I will stop recording sounds. I just feel that it should have an end. For me, a sound map like this is a starting point. There are many sound databases in Taiwan, but we do not know how to use them. Therefore, for me, the entire sound map project is to deal with the auditory culture in Taiwan and to find our auditory autonomy. If I can find it, I will be able to slowly find our music, film culture and auditory culture. The related discussion, ambiance and analytical methods are lacking in Taiwan. So, if we are interested in understanding sounds, more people need to get involved and pay attention to it.