In Taiwanese temples you can always see people holding incense sticks in their hands as they pray with complete concentration. On certain days of the month, you will also see tables set up outdoors, covered with offerings of food, while people burn spirit money in a furnace. Are you curious about these behaviors that are a routine part of Taiwanese religious faith? Why do Taiwanese do these things? Who are they worshipping, and what are they praying for?
Taiwanese snack foods are famous worldwide, and the critical ingredient in dishes like braised pork over rice and xiaolongbao is none other than pork. In recent years Taiwan has progressively eliminated foot and mouth disease and successfully blocked African swine fever from entering the country, and this year will halt vaccinations for classical swine fever. If no cases emerge in the following year, Taiwan hopes to be the first country in Asia to eradicate these three major pig diseases.
Tamsui District in New Taipei City has many tourist attractions, including its old quarter, beautiful riverside, and downhome culinary treats. There is also Fort Antonio, built more than 300 years ago by the Dutch; the former British Consular Residence; Hobe Fort; and popular scenic spots where people love to take photos and check in online. These attract an endless stream of visitors.
Which school lunch dish do you miss the most? Dried seaweed? Braised chicken leg? Or perhaps corn soup? Many grown-ups miss the economical, nutritious lunches of their schooldays. In recent years, Taiwan’s school meals have transitioned from simply sating students’ hunger to emphasizing good taste and healthfulness, and have moved toward supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In 1980 Taiwan Panorama reported on the pioneering local magazine Today’s Meinung. Its founder Huang Sen-sung numbered among the first wave of young returnees to Meinong in Kaohsiung from the big cities. At Huang’s urging, Lin Hwai-min led his renowned Cloud Gate Theater dance company “to go down country” and perform in Meinong. It was a big deal at the time.
Every era has its music. Beiguan music was once Taiwan’s main popular music. Today, although Beiguan has fallen into decline, the Li Chuen Yuan Beiguan club of Changhua—the oldest amateur Beiguan organization in Taiwan—still rehearses almost every day. Meanwhile, the professional Hanyang Beiguan Troupe continues to perform year in and year out, acting out traditional dramas that are authentically Taiwanese.
The National Taiwan Museum is fostering dialogue across time and space for immigrants from Southeast Asia by curating a special exhibition in which they collaborate in tracing the history and culture of the museum collection, empowering them to tell the stories of centuries-old cultural relics that originated in their overseas homelands. This is also a fine demonstration of the museum’s commitment to cultural equality and respect for diverse communities.
According to Taiwanese folk belief, the Earth God is a guardian that watches over the soil. He is as “grassroots” as a divinity comes in Taiwan. When it comes time for farmers to pray in spring for good crops, and to give thanks in the autumn for a bountiful harvest, they may craft a handmade staff and drive it into the soil at the edge of a field.
Rich Huang, who received a Special Contribution Award at the 2020 Golden Melody Awards, has worked in the music profession for over 50 years and has been involved in the recording of nearly 100,000 songs. His drums have been the heartbeat of popular music in Taiwan. No matter what the style, be it rock and roll, funk, jazz, or folk music, the drum parts played by Rich Huang have accompanied Taiwan’s changing society.
The Taiwan Art Exhibition (Taiten) was the first large-scale art show to be held in Japanese Taiwan. When it was launched in 1927, three young Taiwanese painters were selected to exhibit their works. They dazzled the audience with paintings of local subjects that showed a fresh immediacy.
