Richard W. Hartzell, an American-born author who has spent nearly 50 years in Taiwan, wrote that century eggs might be the most representative Taiwanese food, because they utterly baffled the imaginations of foreign observers.

The use of technical tools created by combining sensing technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), and smart agriculture is no longer limited to large, well-funded farms. The Taiwanese startup Kiao Farming Company has developed a smart control box that enables farmers to remotely control irrigation and fertilizer application via Line, and which costs one-tenth the price of traditional control boxes.

Taiwan’s indigenous peoples have traditionally had an exceptionally close connection to bamboo, using the plant for everything from food and clothing to housing. These links are particularly evident in their architecture: they have hundreds of years of accumulated experience building bamboo structures that embody their spirit and culture.

In the wake of the government’s promotion of “inclusive finance,” the digital smart platform designed by the financial technology enterprise Eastern Union Interactive (EUI) enables foreign migrant workers in Taiwan to simply use a downloaded app to ­remit money back to their homelands, with lower processing fees and a better exchange rate than those offered by banks. Thus they can work in Taiwan with greater peace of mind.

Bamboo has been rooted in the hearts and souls of East Asian literati since ancient times. In the Tang Dynasty, Liu Yanfu compared the physical traits of this evergreen perennial plant to gentlemanly virtues in “On Planting Bamboo.” The Song-Dynasty writer Su Shi commented that “the absence of bamboo breeds vulgarity,” and that “one’s residence must be graced with bamboo.” Bamboo has come to symbolize high-mindedness and moral integrity.

“Three, two, one! Open the door!” On the first day of the seventh lunar month, the chairman of the Keelung joint clan association for people surnamed Zhang, Liao, and Jian opens the “shrine door” (a.k.a. “the gate to the Underworld”) at Laodagong Temple to welcome ghosts (known popularly as the “Good Brothers”) to come into the mundane world and accept offerings from ordinary people. This marks the opening of the month-long Keelung Midsummer Ghost Festival.

In an age of consumerism, an infinite array of cutting-edge products jostle for our attention, but we remain fascinated by the unassuming beauty of objects that used to bolster the daily lives of our rural communities. While not all are suitable for modern ways of life, their beauty, cultural meanings, and ingenuity continue to offer inspiration to designers today.

In ancient times, emperors would appoint envoys to travel the land investigating corruption and overseeing relief after natural disasters. Wangye worship in Taiwan features similar tours of inspection. Every three years Wen Wangye, the deity who presides at Donglong Temple in Donggang, Pingtung, is joined by five Wangye from the Heavenly Court. On behalf of the Jade Emperor, they conduct inspections, bestow blessings, and avert disasters before returning to Heaven.

Slender, elegant bamboo thrives all year round. The watercolor painting House Surrounded by Bamboo, by the famous Taiwanese artist Ran In-ting (Lan Yinding, 1903–1979), depicts life at a rural dwelling in a bamboo forest.
Taiwan has abundant bamboo forests, and in traditional society bamboo was an essential part of daily life. With advances in technology, the utilization of bamboo has evolved from the simple to the modern. One could even say that it has given rise to a particular lifestyle.

“Hot” is no doubt the word that best describes the summer of 2024. While the planet finds itself sweating under the blazing sun, a feeling of fraternity is spreading across the globe like wildfire. As the host of the first Olympic games since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, Paris is the center of the world’s ardent attention.