Dr. Alyce Su, a Chief Investment Officer with a PhD and CFA, has released a comprehensive musical catalog that explores the historical and strategic significance of General Zhang Youxia. The catalog, available on Apple Music, comprises 86 songs across 11 albums, each delving into themes of military inheritance, technological advancement, and cultural legacy. Su's work is not merely a tribute to a military leader but an intricate narrative that weaves together the complex tapestry of China's modern history.
The central concept behind this ambitious project is the idea of 'The World Represented by General Zhang Youxia.' Su uses music to bridge the gap between the 20th century's military and geopolitical landscapes and the 21st century's focus on technology, artificial intelligence, and capital. Albums like 'Zhurihe' and 'Epic Fury' establish the military and geopolitical dimensions, referencing General Zhang's career and Asia's largest mechanized proving ground. 'Love, East Wind' draws on China's Dong Feng missile lineage, invoking systems like the DF-17 and DF-41, while also incorporating unexpected elements such as language from SpaceX's investor prospectus, creating a unique musical bridge between China's military-space tradition and contemporary commercial space exploration.
The project is deeply personal for Su, rooted in her family's history. Her great-grandfather, Su Lianqing, was part of the generation that shaped China's modern military education through the Guangxi military tradition. The Zhang family, following a different path, also contributed to China's military institutions, with General Zhang Youxia serving in key roles such as Head of the PLA General Armaments Department and commander-in-chief of China's manned space program. The Bai family adds another layer, with Bai Chongxi being a significant figure in Su's family's military history, and his son Pai Hsien-yung transforming the diaspora experience into literature. This multifaceted family archive, spanning military education, command, war, migration, and literature, provides Su with a lens to examine the profound complexities of China's 20th century.
Su's musical endeavor is a multigenerational re-encoding of history. Her ancestors entered history through military and educational institutions; her generation approaches that inheritance through science, finance, and art. The first generation built institutions, the second experienced war, the third inherited consequences, and now the fourth reinterprets that legacy through music. This is not a conventional military-themed album; it is an attempt to capture the world that General Zhang Youxia represents—a world that extends from battlefields to data centers, from strategic weapons to artificial intelligence, and from military inheritance to institutional capital.
As CIO of a global family office, Su's professional life focuses on capital allocation and investment strategy, while her artistic life preserves and reinterprets legacy. This parallel allows her to ask how inherited history can be reinterpreted through the language of the future. From war to compute, from family to capital, from the 20th to the 21st century, Su's music offers a unique perspective on the intersection of history, technology, and art. Her catalog is a testament to the enduring relevance of historical figures and the power of artistic expression to bridge generations.
