“I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.” These words from the biblical Book of Job perhaps aptly describe how people feel upon seeing Huang Tu-shui’s Water of Immortality, the first marble sculpture of a female nude in the history of Taiwanese art.
NRICM101 is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) developed in Taiwan to treat Covid-19, and is the first TCM formulation to be legally sold in more than 50 nations. Given Covid’s transmissibility, the still growing number of confirmed cases around the world, and the inexpensiveness of NRICM101 relative to Western medicines, the multi-target drug has the potential to be a Covid remedy for the whole planet.
What is the magic of a Mazu pilgrimage? In one of his videos, American YouTuber Logan Beck declares that introducing Taiwanese culture, and particularly the Mazu culture, is his passion.
As businesses prosper, people begin to look at the sources and destinations of their profits. In 2006 the US non-profit organization B Lab® launched a movement to evaluate companies’ “business impact” through a “B Impact Assessment” (BIA), and established the B Corp™ Certification system to quantify the impact that various business activities have on society and the environment.
Tianhou (“Empress of Heaven”) temples, dedicated to the goddess Mazu, are centers for all kinds of traditional craftsmanship. In this article we visit three masters of temple crafts: carpenter Liu Shengren; Guo Chunfu, a maker of headgear for deities’ statues; and embroideress Zhang Lijuan. By looking at their decades of consummate work, we can appreciate their professionalism and admire the beauty of Taiwanese crafts.
Outstanding innovations in biomedical engineering derive from the collective efforts of all scientists. Allen Y. Wang, the inventor and technical lead for SURGICEL® Powder Absorbable Hemostat at Johnson & Johnson MedTech, comes from Taiwan. This product that is able to rapidly stop bleeding is today on the market in over 40 countries worldwide and has benefited millions of patients.
For their annual Mazu celebrations, many temples in Taiwan put their Mazu deities on palanquins and embark on pilgrimages through the streets, bringing the goddess closer to the people. A single tour can attract crowds of more than 10,000 believers. Among these events, the pilgrimages from the Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung’s Dajia District and the Gongtian Temple at Baishatun in Miaoli’s Tongxiao Township attract the most attention.
In April, fog comes and goes around the five main islands of Matsu, and sea mists often force the closure of the airport or cause takeoffs and landings to be delayed. But this is precisely the time of year when many bird lovers choose to visit Matsu. Their goal is to see a fowl that has come to be called “a bird of myth and legend”: the Chinese crested tern.
Some recent popular television series have drawn on history for their plots, including Seqalu: Formosa 1867 and Gold Leaf. If you found these stories interesting, you are sure to find Keelung as portrayed by José Eugenio Borao Mateo equally fascinating. That is because his research is not simply an exploration of the past, but also tells the story of the amazing reunion in Taiwan of “a new immigrant of Spanish ancestry” and “Spaniards from history” after a hiatus of more than 300 years.
The Taiwan Film Festival UK & Nordic (TFF) is entering its fourth year. Launched in London in 2019, it seeks to move to a different Nordic country every year. Though the plan has been disrupted by Covid-19, this year the festival is on track to be held in Norway, where it will continue to introduce European audiences to Taiwan through film.
