Nestled in the northeast of Kaohsiung County, south Taiwan, bordered on three sides by mountains is the small, enchanting Hakka village of Meinung, a name which can be loosely translated as strong or overpowering beauty. Of Meinung's 55,000 inhabitants, over ninety-five percent are Hakka; so it could safely be said that it is a stereotype Hakka village, typified by that air of Hakka frugality, practicality, diligence and tenacity at physical work.

Meinung, however, has its own peculiar distinguishing features. It is famous for tobacco production, splendid handmade oil paper umbrellas and quite breathtaking scenery.

Even a Chinese visitor, let alone a foreigner, would be intrigued at the way the village women do their daily washing. The washerwomen roll their trousers up past the knees and actually go into the shallow stream, scattered with large flat rocks "just made" for scrubbing clothes. After choosing her rock she then, facing the bank, begins her daily washing. What results is the quite peculiar sight of lines of people on both sides of the stream all facing the land. If one was to ask one of the villagers why it is done in this way you may be greeted with the reply that it has always been done this way in Meinung, but the reason is historical and very practical.

When the first Hakka settlers arrived from south China the natural environment was quite forbidding. Not only did the people have to contend with wild animals, they also had problems with the native hill people because the new settlers were encrouching on their traditional hunting grounds.

In such hazardous surroundings, even while washing the family's clothes, one was sure to be on the alert. Of course none of that tension exists now and one would really have to exercise their imagination to guess the origins of this practice as they watch the women chatting and gossiping.

The God of the Earth enjoys extreme popularity in Meinung and one does not have to look far for an explanation. The Hakka people depend entirely on the land for their livelihood and the traditional hardships which they had to endure have imbedded in them an unwavering faith in their "protector". The temple is not only a place of worship but also a place for the older members of the community to take a well earned rest and chat with their friends. It also serves as a make-shift playground for the children of the neighborhood.

Viewing the tobacco fields it was easy to see, even for the uninitiated, that this year's harvest would be good. The tobacco was a rich shiny green and quite dense, giving it a "carpeting" effect over the expanse of fields before us. Tobacco is a large leafed plant and as such is very susceptible to wind damage but as Meinung is edged on three sides by mountains it affords ideal protection for the crop.

The people of Meinung are early risers, as all Hakkas traditionally are. They try to jam as much activity in one day as possible. However, for the tobacco picking they must wait until midday as morning dew makes it difficult to dry the leaves after they are picked. Meinung is responsible for a full quarter of Taiwan's tobacco production, hence tobacco has brought a lot of wealth to the village. Tobacco is by far the most important, though not the only economic activity of the village and Meinung has gained the name of "Tobacco Kingdom".

During the winter the very same tobacco fields produce rice and vegetables. Meinung also has an animal husbandry sector including fish, (the main type being Wukuo, a fresh water hybrid), fresh water turtles, as well as a highly efficient pig industry.

Visitors to Meinung often comment that the vast majority of faces seen in the fields are those of women. Could it be that the men were at home looking after the children and doing the housework while the women were working in the fields? When we asked the reason of the village mayor, he laughingly said, "Hakka women have always known the meaning of hard work." He explained that the work the women did were tasks such as weeding, transplanting rice seedlings, and picking tobacco whereas the heavier work such as ploughing, building and jobs involving lifting were left to the men.

Even though Meinung's villagers are not so particular about material things, they value education to the extreme. Many of Meinung's sons and daughters have Masters and PhDs. and the village is very proud of this fact.

Most of the young unwilling to be farmers have left to find work in the cities leaving only the very young and the old behind.

Most of the people who come to Meinung now are tourists attracted by places of historical interest and natural splendor.

The East Gate Fortress is a reminder of past turbulent times. Built over one hundred fifty years ago, it was originally about fourteen metres high and covered an area of four hundred square metres approximately. During the course of time it has been partly destroyed and rebuilt a number of times. Once inside the old fort, the beholder is met with bold carvings and a general air of magnificence. There are also statues to various gods once again displaying the emphasis Hakkas place on religion.

Another focus of attention for tourists is Butterfly Valley. The best time to visit the valley is during April, May or in the autumn month of September. At these times the air becomes full of vividly coloured butterflies. The valley is already quite famous and tourists flock in their numbers at the appropriate seasons.

Author of "China, My Native Land", (now a motion picture) Chung Li-he is Meinung's most famous writer of recent times. The library has been named in his honor. The library besides being a tourist at traction is also regularly used by the village's budding young scholars.

Noted for its serene waters and draping willows is Chung Cheng lake. Taking in the placid scene offered, the observer could well be overcome with the very subtle, gentle beauty of this expanse of water. When the summer rains fill the lake, the storks and ibises come in search of edibles and add to an already picturesque view.

Nearby Chungcheng lake is the site of probably Meinung's most famous establishment, that of Lin Hsiang-ling's paper umbrella workshop. Before the plastic revolution, the paper umbrella industry was booming. However, over the last decade or so, the paper umbrella has enjoyed somewhat of a comeback as a saleable item. It cannot hope to compete for the mass market of course because of its inconvenience and high price, but it has become an object of appreciation by arts and crafts enthusiasts.

The umbrellas now are painted by specialised artists rather than tradesmen adding to their aesthetic beauty. Apart from being a practical device the umbrella also has a quasireligious significance. On reaching the age of sixteen, one is considered reaching adulthood. Because the sounds of the words for son (tze) and paper (chih) have almost the same sound, so the boy is given an umbrella signifying the coming of age. On marriage a girl is given two umbrellas, one to signify completion, as the shape of an umbrella is round and the other reason has to do with the character for the umbrella. The character for umbrella includes four people characters (jen), indicating that it is the wish of everyone that the newlyweds should bear many offspring. The word for umbrella is almost identical in sound to the word for "avoid" used in the context of avoiding evil and evil spirits, so in most parades on festive occasions umbrellas are often carried for this very purpose.

Meinung has quite a history and obviously quite a future too, as the barriers to change are broken down.

(Peter O'Dwyer)

[Picture Caption]

1.2. Lusciously vegetated mountains tower over the fields of Meinung protecting the delicate tobacco seedlings.2.A paddy's still water offers a mirror for a fresh perspective on palm trees.

1.Sightseers take a rest in one of the pavilions on Chung Cheng Lake. 2.A breathtaking dusk in Meinung; a day's toil is over. 3. East Gate: bold reminder of a turbulent past. 4. During Spring Festival all Meinung's residents hang couplets (written on red paper) over their doors to bring luck to the new year. 5. The two characters "gung yuan" on a plaque over the door of a house indicates that one of the ancestors of this family was an imperial official.

1. Youngsters playing in a household courtyard. 2. Many of Meinung's residents don't go for antiques. Here a floral engraved vase is used as a doorstop. 3. Ancient ceramic tiles have retained their elegance. 4. A bamboo curtain hangs in the doorway of a new house. 5. Meinung high school exhibits common Hakka artifacts. 6. An ox-yoke made useless by the infiltration of automated agriculture has become an antique item.

1. A tobacco picker, with adequate protection from the sun, grins out from amid the tobacco stalks. 2. The second stage of the harvest, racking. 3. Gables for temperature control, now redundant. 4. Inside the sheds the tobacco under goes seasoning. 5. Oil paper umbrellas full of meaning as well as beauty. 6. Painted with great skill these umbrellas will fetch a high price.

1. Fresh water turtles basking in the sun. They are farmed for their meat which is considered a delicacy. 2. Pigs trotters- a popular dish. 3. "Face washer noodles", hanging out to dry. 4. No time for a break as a fisherman smokes on the job. 5. Well behaved children on an outing with mother and father goose. 6. Wild flowers add color to Meinung fields.

1. An old Hakka woman withered by years of hard work, wearing traditional Hakka dress. Her face still shows the trace of past youthful beauty, though time and tide wait for no one. 2. An "Earth God" shrine. 3. Simple pleasure: little girl bakes a sweet potato. 4. Shops cater to the demand for lanterns for the lantern festival. Who has time to make their own? 5. New Year's rice cakes for the gods and relatives are prepared by people with new-born babies. 6. A grandfather puts the apple of his eye to sleep. 7. The kids lend a hand in drying cabbage by the roadside. 8. The way it's always been done---washing in the creek. 9. Washing finished, a woman carts her load home. In an hour or so she'll be in the fields working.

1. Old women engaged in small talk. 2. Natural beauty makes driving around Meinung a pleasure. 3. The overcast sky makes a startling image on the water seen through tobacco seedlings.

2.A paddy's still water offers a mirror for a fresh perspective on palm trees.

1.Sightseers take a rest in one of the pavilions on Chung Cheng Lake.

2.A breathtaking dusk in Meinung; a day's toil is over.

3. East Gate: bold reminder of a turbulent past.

4. During Spring Festival all Meinung's residents hang couplets （written on red paper） over their doors to bring luck to the new year.

5. The two characters "gung yuan" on a plaque over the door of a house indicates that one of the ancestors of this family was an imperial official.

1. Youngsters playing in a household courtyard.

2. Many of Meinung's residents don't go for antiques. Here a floral engraved vase is used as a doorstop.

3. Ancient ceramic tiles have retained their elegance.

4. A bamboo curtain hangs in the doorway of a new house.

5. Meinung high school exhibits common Hakka artifacts.

6. An ox-yoke made useless by the infiltration of automated agriculture has become an antique item.

1. A tobacco picker, with adequate protection from the sun, grins out from amid the tobacco stalks.

2. The second stage of the harvest, racking.

3. Gables for temperature control, now redundant.

4. Inside the sheds the tobacco under goes seasoning.

5. Oil paper umbrellas full of meaning as well as beauty.

6. Painted with great skill these umbrellas will fetch a high price.

1. Fresh water turtles basking in the sun. They are farmed for their meat which is considered a delicacy.

2. Pigs trotters- a popular dish.

3. "Face washer noodles", hanging out to dry.

4. No time for a break as a fisherman smokes on the job.

5. Well behaved children on an outing with mother and father goose.

6. Wild flowers add color to Meinung fields.

1. An old Hakka woman withered by years of hard work, wearing traditional Hakka dress. Her face still shows the trace of past youthful beauty, though time and tide wait for no one.

Simple pleasure: little girl bakes a sweet potato.

3. Simple pleasure: little girl bakes a sweet potato.

4. Shops cater to the demand for lanterns for the lantern festival. Who has time to make their own?

5. New Year's rice cakes for the gods and relatives are prepared by people with new-born babies.

6. A grandfather puts the apple of his eye to sleep.

7. The kids lend a hand in drying cabbage by the roadside.

8. The way it's always been done---washing in the creek.

9. Washing finished, a woman carts her load home. In an hour or so she'll be in the fields working.