Chou Meng-Tieh was born in 1920 with his name derived from the story of Zhuang Zhou dreaming of butterflies, hinting his urge for freedom. Chou started writing poems in 1952 from his military service to his book stall below Astoria Cafe for 21 years. He later joined Blue Star Group, where he would sit in the streets of Taipei immersed in deep thoughts.