LOS ANGELES, CA – Dr. Alyce Su, a chief investment officer with nearly three decades in global finance, has released a conceptual music catalog under the artist name AlyceSu, available on Apple Music. The project, titled “The World Represented by General Zhang Youxia,” comprises 86 songs across 11 albums, weaving together military history, strategic technology, artificial intelligence, computing, finance, family memory, and cultural inheritance.
Dr. Su’s musical work is not a conventional tribute; it is an exploration of the historical and technological forces that have shaped modern China, centered on the figure of General Zhang Youxia, a former Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. The catalog includes albums such as Zhurihe, Epic Fury, Newport, Zettabyte, and MilkenAI, each addressing different dimensions of this narrative. For instance, Zhurihe opens with General Zhang’s connection to Asia’s largest mechanized proving ground and traces his military career, while Love, East Wind focuses on China’s Dong Feng missile lineage, referencing systems like the DF-17 and DF-41.
What makes this project distinctive is its integration of personal family history. Dr. Su’s great-grandfather, Su Lianqing, was involved in China’s modern military education through the Guangxi military tradition associated with Cai E, leading to the New Guangxi Clique. The Zhang family, including Zhang Haoru and Zhang Zongxun, followed a separate but historically connected military path. These families’ divergent trajectories through China’s 20th century—marked by wars and political divisions—provide a rich backdrop for Dr. Su’s artistic exploration.
Additionally, the Bai family adds another layer. Bai Chongxi was significant in the Su family’s military history, and his son, Pai Hsien-yung, became a renowned author, famously writing Taipei People. Dr. Su’s album creates a bridge between military history and literary memory, acknowledging the complex interplay between those who shaped history and those who later remembered it.
Dr. Su’s dual careers—as a finance executive and an artist—inform her approach. She has served as CIO of a global family office since 2020, overseeing multibillion-dollar portfolios. Her professional expertise in capital allocation parallels her artistic mission to preserve and reinterpret legacy. The music asks how inherited history can be reimagined through the language of technology, finance, and culture.
The catalog extends beyond traditional military themes, incorporating elements like computing and artificial intelligence. Works such as Zettabyte and MilkenAI reflect the transition from 20th-century battlefields to 21st-century data centers. Even a song titled “Among the Stars” draws from language in SpaceX’s investor prospectus, creating an unexpected link between China’s military-space tradition and commercial space exploration.
Dr. Su’s project is a multigenerational re-encoding of history. Her ancestors entered history through military education and warfare; her generation approaches that inheritance through science and global finance. This is not an attempt to write General Zhang’s life but to capture the world he represents—from strategic weapons to artificial intelligence, from military inheritance to institutional capital.
For Dr. Su, the music serves as a mirror for a fourth-generation descendant to contemplate a century of change. It is a deeply personal project that also offers a broader commentary on the intersection of history, technology, and legacy.
