The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently held the first New Southbound Policy Elite Study Program, in cooperation with Taipei Medical University, National Taipei University of Technology, and National Quemoy University. The one-semester curriculums provided students with a rich variety of content. Besides informative specialist courses, they also used time outside of class to explore Taiwan and try out Taiwanese cuisine.
In the course of more than 60 years as a sculptor, Pu Tian-sheng (1912–1996) experienced a series of stylistic transformations, moving from the traditional to the contemporary. While some of his statues evoke a Greek spirit, such as his group of Three Graces—Sunshine, Reminiscence, and Slim and Graceful—the busts he made of influential politicians and businesspeople are realist works that chronicle an important chapter of Taiwan’s modern history.
The phrase “first Tainan, second Lugang, third Bangka” describes the movement from south to north of Taiwan’s political and economic center of gravity under Qing-Dynasty rule. But did you know that Chiayi, located in the heart of Taiwan’s western plain, had wooden city walls even earlier than Tainan, and experienced industrial development before Kaohsiung?
Small churches look out over the whale-gray waves striking the shore. Colorful Aboriginal villages that feel more distant than foreign lands to urban Taiwan nestle against the coastal mountains. While the townships of Fengbin and Changbin offer no obvious tourist attractions, visitors come again and again to enjoy a tranquility and easy-going atmosphere that is rare in the modern world.
In Art as Therapy, Alain de Botton and John Armstrong suggest that art can illuminate human dignity in the midst of sorrow, arouse hope, and draw out our potential. Formosa Evergreen, an epoch-making project set in motion by the National Museum of History, performs exactly this vital role.
Pickling transforms the flavor of vegetables, sealing in the flavor of time. By exploring the pickled vegetables of a place, you can not only understand the local terroir, you can hear the stories of the people and their foods. From harvesting to cleaning to seasoning to pickling to sun-drying, there is no room for carelessness in any step of the process, which has become a major part of local people’s lives.
Engaging in diplomacy is a lot like nurturing friendships. Apart from putting one’s best foot forward and making friendly overtures, it also requires a common vocabulary. Drumming, meanwhile, is like a special password for crossing cultures. It should come as no surprise, then, that the Ten Drum Art Percussion Group excels at citizen diplomacy.
People living in coastal areas pickle fresh seafood with salt, and just a single piece of pickled seafood is enough to flavor a whole bowl of rice, traditionally supplying the needs of the simple daily lives of ordinary people. Meanwhile mullet roe, which was once only consumed at banquets or at the Lunar New Year, symbolizes abundance.
Paper artist Hung Hsinfu used a paper lantern themed for the Year of the Dog to rewrite the history of the materials used in Taiwan for Lantern Festival hand lanterns. In recent years he has also used precise and sophisticated lines to produce paper sculptures of Taiwanese endemic species.
In the Taiwan of 40 to 50 years ago, the best-selling summertime treat was “four fruit ice,” which was made by taking a big bowl of shaved ice and covering it with a compote typically consisting of shredded papaya, candied plums and dried carambola. Old folks one and all associate this treat with happy memories. Taiwan produces fruits in huge quantities and bewildering variety.
