QUEI is a multimedia musical composition inspired by connection between religions and arts, based on the story of a religious idol– Kui-Xing in Ming-Sheng Temple, Yun-Lin County, Taiwan, which was meant to be burnt during Japanese Domination but somehow bumped out of the fire pit and was rescued by a local villager, a tale the author regarded as conquering obstacles of life, a main theme this composition inherits. Using number of strokes in calligraphy symbolizing abstractly the religious figure, the structure of the composition- including time signatures, movements and sound interpretations were formed. Other related symbols and its extension were applied, including soundscapes in temples of Taiwan, religious function of Kui-Xin and background of the burning crisis, etc. Theories of communication like Elements of semiology by Roland Barthes illustrating the application of semiotics, and The Sacred and the Profane- the Nature of Religion by Mercia Eliade to introduce the similarities between music and religion in the concept of time and space, together as a core of concept in the piece QUEI.

This thesis shows how to use symbols as context, processed by compositional methods into structure, real-time sound and visual processing.