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300-Year-Old Formosan Rap:

Sabrina Woo and Taiwanese Chant-Song

Accompanying herself on a yueqin (two-stringed “moon lute”), Sabrina Woo (Woo Yuti), director of Yuti Nian Ge Chuanchang Yishutuan (Yuti Chant-Song Traditional Arts Troupe), softly articulates a “song of exhortation” in the Jianghu style. This is Taiwanese “chant-song” (liām-kua in Taiwanese, ......

Ye Mingji and the Transformation of Jiannian Temple Art

Ye Mingji and the Transformation of Jiannian Temple Art

On the roof ridges of Taiwanese temples there are often many colorful characters seemingly in dynamic motion. These fascinating decorative figures are made by combining ceramic shards using the jiannian (“cut and paste”) technique. However, exposed to the elements over long periods of time, th......

Reconfiguring Tradition:

Chen San-huo’s Art of Jiannian

Chen San-huo is a master of jiannian (“cut-and-paste” ceramics), a traditional art that involves clipping shards of colored ceramics and sticking them onto a base structure. For over six decades, he has been creating jiannian sculptures on the roof ridges of temples, often having to brave incl......

Eternity in a Fleeting Blaze

Master Li Qingrong’s Papier-Mâché Art and the Dalongdong Baoan Temple Fire Lion

As spring warms the city, Taipei’s Dalongdong Baoan Temple hosts the Baosheng Cultural Festival. This series of religious rituals and folk activities deeply resonates with the local community, culminating in a breathtaking climax: the burning of the Fire Lion.......

Trending Articles

A New Approach to Organic and Eco

-Friendly Agriculture

Organic agriculture in Taiwan is currently transitioning to a new model that moves beyond “subtraction” (no use of pesticides) to “addition” (constructing symbiotic ecological communities).......

Rural Renaissance:

From Rustic Fare to Fine Local Dining

What is Taiwanese cuisine? It’s a tough question for Taiwanese to answer, because the term “Taiwanese flavors” has never been singular. Every 20 or 30 kilometers, the climate, crops, and community memories change. Taipei’s Wanhua District, for instance, has inherited the tradition of Quanzhou ......

Mt. Bagua Buddha

The Great Buddha that gazes out over the Changhua Plain from the slopes of Mt. Bagua embodies religious faith and historical memory. Strolling here, one can not only pray for blessings but also feel a profound sense of peace.......

Reading Taiwan in a Green Shade

A Stroll Through the Taipei Botanical Garden

Is there a more effective way to learn about Taiwan than visiting the Taipei Botanical Garden? Botanist Tung Gene-sheng, who has visited some 30 botanical gardens across the world, says that the Taipei Botanical Garden boasts plants reminiscent of the Age of Discovery and preserves the legacie......