Classics serve as Great Walls of knowledge, lighthouses by which to navigate our lives, candles on our reading desks that illuminate and enlighten. Though not necessarily garnering universal praise, these books absolutely make their marks. Pure in their essence, they settle peacefully on a shelf as if engaged in quiet self- cultivation, waiting to be opened, to be started, to be filled with notes, to be truly owned, to be defined and redefined, read and reread as they find eternal life in people’s minds.

Open a volume and follow the words, phrases, lines, sections, chapters. Let them lead you to the boundaries of space and time, where you can throw down a rope from a cliff to save a forsaken soul, mark a city of your own imagining on the map of dreams, or watch shoots sprout in the depths of memory, bearing fruit to pass along their legacy forever. Yin and yang, morning and dusk, prosperity and decline, praise and censure, life and death—all can be found in these volumes. Whether we are luminaries or common folk, let us read them together, following their winding paths and broad highways, generation after generation.

Rather than books, the Tang Prizes recognize classic achievements. Though rooted in the fertile soil of Eastern thought, they transcend ethnic and national boundaries to radiate glory around the world. Recognizing achievements in sustainable development, biopharmaceutical science, sinology, and rule of law, this year’s Tang Prizes have been given to six pioneers in their fields to honor their outstanding accomplishments on behalf of nature and human welfare.

In our ongoing series on the seven traditional necessities of the Chinese kitchen, we have previously run articles on charcoal, rice, oil, salt and sauces. Tea awaits next month to be spotlighted, but in this issue we celebrate vinegar. Whether made with wheatgrass, cereals or fruit, just a few drops of vinegar can whet one’s appetite and add amazing flavor.

Our article on Hakka cuisine explores some modern takes on that style of food that are now being offered up in Taiwan. Bursting with creativity and local character, this innovative fare provides a delicious way to market Taiwan. A feature on “Artists Abroad,” meanwhile, profiles two Taiwanese artists who have respectively earned renown in New York and San Francisco. Our “Southeast Asian Focus” series introduces three Vietnamese immigrants who have splendidly realized their dreams in Taiwan in different ways: one in education and broadcast media, another in baking and charity work, and a third in the culinary arts.

Reading a single classic is enough to experience how they can transform a life, enough to settle your emotions and calm and heal your heart, enough to resolve all your doubts and bring joy, enough to broaden your horizons and give you greater depth of vision…. Although the sea of books is vast, there is always at least one volume that is truly yours: that big book of your life.