Lin Ku-fang was born in a fishing village called Nanliao in Hsinchu County. After he graduated from the Department of Anthropology of National Taiwan University, he didn't really embark on the path of academic research, but was totally involved in the field of traditional music.
林谷芳出生於新竹南寮漁村，台大人類學系畢業後，他並未走入學術研究之路，卻一頭就栽入傳統音樂的領域。