Students studying Chinese in Taipei might be interested in the 6th Taipei Chinese Character Festival. There is a “Cultural Bazzar” and an Art Exhibition featuring ten South-east Asian artists.

Cultural Bazaar
The bazaar will feature a fusion of Chinese characters and the cultural creative industries. Activities include calligraphy, paper cutting, lithography, interactive character quizzes, New Year’s couplet demonstrations, hand puppet shows, dancing, street performers, poetry recitals and puppet performances.

Dates: January 9th-10th 10am-5pm

Venue:Taipei Confucius Temple Google map

Art Exhibition
Ten artists from areas in Southeast Asia influenced by the culture of Chinese writing are invited to present artworks based on Asian thinking and Chinese characters.

Dates: January 1st to 11th 2010
Venue: Exhibition Room, CKS Memorial Hall Google map

Note: CKS Memorial Hall is also known as “National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall” (國立臺灣民主紀念館).

The Chinese Character Festival website is in Chinese only:

chinese-character-festival.org.tw

]]> http://mandarinscholarship.com/2010/01/02/chinese-character-festival/feed/ 221 http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/10/05/ntnu-mandarin-training-center/ http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/10/05/ntnu-mandarin-training-center/#comments Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:54:21 +0000 kang-wei http://mandarinscholarship.wordpress.com/?p=190

國立臺灣師範大學 National Taiwan Normal University, Shi-Da, founded the Mandarin Training Center in 1956 for the study of Mandarin Chinese by foreign students.

Blogger BrettEverett has written about his experiences at NTNU’s Mandarin Training Center. It gives a great insight into what Mandarin scholarship students can expect in the way of administration and teaching methodology. It’s very important for Mandarin scholarship students to know what they want before they commit to a university. Once the scholarship is linked to that university you have to wait two semesters before you can change.

I personally equate prestigious universities/programs with inflexibility and encourage scholarship students to really do their research before they commit. I will be posting as many different experiences from different universities as I can find.

Related story:

Studying Mandarin at Shi-Da

Wiki: Map of highland tribes

Reviving Ethnic Diversity:

Preserving Taiwan’s Austronesian[1] Aboriginal Languages

“Language is much more than collections of words with meaning that can be translated – they embody whole perspectives on meaning which are not readily capable of translation, and they are a key resource for understanding culture.”

“Taiwan has been colonized by the Spanish (1626-1642), the Dutch (1624-1662), Ming Dynasty loyalist Koxinga (1662-1683), the Ching Dynasty (1663-1895), the Japanese (1895-1945), and the Republic of China (1945 to the present).”[2] As a result Taiwan’s Austronesian Aboriginal population have suffered injustice, hardship, subjugation, and forced cultural assimilation. Today they represent less than two percent of Taiwan’s 22 million people, a similar proportion to that of Canada (3%) and Australia (1.8%).[3]

The Aboriginal population was divided, by colonisers, for convenience, into two groups the Pingpu (plains) people and Kaoshan (mountain) people.[4] These two groups were further divided into nineteen groups, twelve of which are now officially recognised by the Taiwanese government. The colonial classifications are rejected by some and are just one of many issues contested by the island’s 400,000 Aboriginal people in their fight to reassert their cultural identity.[5]

Today their cultural loss is exacerbated by widespread societal discrimination that assists in maintaining inequities in employment and education. “Household incomes of Taiwanese Aboriginal peoples are less than 40 percent of the national average and Aboriginal unemployment is significantly higher than the national average.”[6]

Due to forced relocations of aboriginal communities and decades of forced cultural assimilation the indigenous cultures and languages of Taiwan are seriously endangered. “A recent survey found only 10 percent of Aboriginal children are fluent in their respective Native languages, a particularly worrying fact given the large number of Aboriginal languages, especially those of the plains groups, that are either extinct or severely endangered.” [7]

Wiki: Rukai Chief

Present day causes for the decline include pressure on children, from parents, to adopt the language of the dominant Han culture, or a foreign language, in order to assist them in adapting to mainstream society. Among Taiwanese aboriginals there is no perceived competitive advantage in indigenous languages; they come a distant fourth after Mandarin, Ho-lo[8] and/or English. This combined with widespread societal discrimination has led younger generations to abandon their native tongues. The languages have also been susceptible to decline because none of Taiwan’s Aboriginals had a written language.[9]

Social change

“The starting point for cultural recovery is clear cultural identity.”[10] Language recovery is an essential part of this process. If Taiwan’s aboriginal population is to become an empowered part of modern day Taiwan they must first revive their language, cultural roots and sense of community.

If cultural identity can be asserted it can be used as the basis for learning about all aspects of cultural heritage such as; environmental knowledge, land management practices, dance, traditional medicines, traditional foods, traditional building practices and traditional art and crafts.

The self confidence gained through the assertion of cultural identity can also be used to gain political access which is “important both because it is the basis of a group’s sense of worth and effectiveness and because it affects its economic prospects”[11]. It also strengthens a group’s ability to defend itself against injustice.

Through language recovery the disadvantaged groups can begin to “shed their inferiority complexes, regain their self-esteem, and inject their respective cultural heritages with a new vitality.”[12] In Taiwan’s case, the newly revived ethnic diversity can help ease ethnic tensions in order to focus on the national goal of self-determination and international recognition.

Who would benefit?

Who would benefit from preserving Taiwan’s Austronesian Aboriginal languages is a fascinating question in terms of Taiwan’s fight for self determination and international recognition. It is clear that the indigenous populations would benefit from a cultural resurgence after centuries of oppression. In addition to this the nation also benefits from a more inclusive national identity and because it is Austronesian heritage that now serves the “Taiwanese as a cultural and racial emblem of self-identity to distinguish them from the Chinese mainland.”[13]

Institutional and other arrangements to facilitate social change

1. Teaching of the vernacular languages should be started in kindergarten. The concept should be the same as the successful Kohango Reo (language nests) set up to save Maori language in New Zealand, in 1982.[14] Supporters of initiatives such as these argue that “vernacular languages should be used in the teaching of the national language… and other subjects until students’ command of Mandarin is good enough to use it as a medium of instruction.”[15] Studies by UNESCO have found that “the mother tongue was the best language for literacy”[16] and recommended “that the use of mother tongue in education be extended to as late a stage as possible.”[17] It was also proven “that the teaching of a mother tongue in the way proposed will not slow down students’ acquisition of a national language.”[18]

2. Adapt the current education system, at all levels, to become more multicultural. This would begin changing the ingrained views about minorities in Taiwan and foster a more inclusive society.

3. Require that all national level exams, i.e. civil service exams, have an optional local/indigenous language component. This would provide a competitive advantage for indigenous languages. It would also require the Examination Yuan to hire/come in contact with aboriginal people. (The Examination Yuan is considered by many to be a very conservative bureaucracy run by ‘Mandarin monoglots’ from the previous regime.)

4. Pass the Linguistic Equality Law. The bill is designed to give all native languages equal legal status with Mandarin Chinese.[19]

Update September 2008: The Linguistic Equality Law has yet to be passed. It was drafted in 2004.

5. Preserve indigenous languages by promoting written versions of them employing some form of phonetic script.[20]

6. Promote autonomous development of aboriginal languages. Include incentives for aboriginal parents to teach the language at home. Provide resources relating to native culture, language and history.

7. Cultural exchanges between ethnic groups should be encouraged at all levels. Ethnic and linguistic diversity should be promoted as a national asset.

8. All forms of media should be used to raise the profile of indigenous languages. To enable indigenous people to reassert their cultural identity, on their on terms, they should be encouraged to produce their own programs. Music production should also be encouraged.

9. Widen political access for indigenous people. Raise awareness among indigenous people about the need to be politically active in order to protect their culture and language, and improve educational and economic prospects.

Related stories: Taiwan’s first Aboriginal ambassador

Found a link at David on Formosa to Documenting and Revitalizing Austronesian Languages: free online book

Traditional Tao (Yami) boat

]]> http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/09/28/preserving-taiwan%e2%80%99s-austronesian-aboriginal-languages/feed/ 95 http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/09/14/penghu-casinos-not-the-answer/ http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/09/14/penghu-casinos-not-the-answer/#comments Sun, 14 Sep 2008 08:10:48 +0000 kang-wei http://mandarinscholarship.wordpress.com/?p=130

A letter I wrote to the Taipei Times was published today:

Here’s a story I wrote about the issues:

Penghu: Cultural Heritage Tourism vs Casino Tourism

Taipei city has hundreds of kilometers of dedicated (i.e. no cars) bicycle paths. I believe that Taipei and Taipei county are the best places in Asia for urban cycling.

Recently bikes have been allowed on selected MRT stations and special carriages are now provided for bikes on, as I understand it, selected days. All in all, great efforts are being made to make Taipei more bike friendly. Just one more reason to study Chinese in Taipei! Although, to be fair, I think riding on the roads is still very risky.

Below is a map of Taipei’s bike paths. You can pick up the map at MRT stations and some cycling stores:

From David on Formosa: http://blog.taiwan-guide.org

David on Formosa wrote about Taipei’s bike paths in 2005.

Kinmen National Park 金門國家公園

In 1995, three years after the ending of the military administration of the island, Kinmen National Park was opened. It was Taiwan’s sixth national park and the first to have the primary aim of protecting historical and cultural heritage, and serve as a war memorial. Kinmen Island today is still a military stronghold on the front line between Taiwan and Mainland China.

It is located approximately 225 kilometers from Taiwan and just two kilometers from Mainland China, and covers an area of 13,425 hectares. The park is spread out over 3,780 hectares, or about one quarter of the area of Kinmen and Little Kinmen islands.

Chinmencheng means Kinmen City and refers to a strategic impregnable city that is the gateway to the sea. Taken literally Kinmen (金門) means golden gate.

There are traces of human habitation dating back 5000 to 6000 years. Historical records show that people began coming to Kinmen from China’s central plains over 1,600 years ago. Most of the early inhabitants came from certain areas of Fujian Province. The architectural style of the dwellings follows these old traditions. Due to 40 years of military control the pace of development was slowed and as a result numerous well preserved examples of traditional architecture have survived. Eleven have been registered, within the park, as historical monuments but the park and the islands are littered with entire living villages that have retained their southern Fujian architecture. This is in stark contrast to the main island of Taiwan.

In addition to the examples of Fujian architecture there are many so-called ‘Western-style’ houses, which are a combination of Western and Chinese architecture. They date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and were built by local merchants who traded overseas.

Other Important structures include the ancestral shrines. Their importance denoted by their geographical position in heart of the settlement. Another prominent symbol of the island’s folk culture is the Wind Lion God or Spirit Lion. Numerous statues of this god dot the island usually in front of a village or set into walls. Their purpose can vary but are generally to protect against storms. Due to the massive deforestation that has taken place over the past 300 years they are more important than ever.

Kinmen National Park includes various battlefield monuments that hold an extremely important place in the history of modern day Taiwan. On October 25, 1949, the year when mainland China fell to the Communists, Communist forces unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Kinmen for the purpose of capturing Taiwan. Again in 1958 Mainland China began a massive bombardment campaign that lasted 44 days. It was also unsuccessful. Over the next 20 years the Mainland continued to occasionally fire on the island. All bombardment stopped in 1979.

The islands are built on a base of granite. This geological attribute contributed to the defense of the islands. Many of the tunnels and bunkers were carved into the granite base of the island creating robust defenses.

Kinmen National Park contains more than 548 species of plants. Some of the species are not found in Taiwan.

Due to the parks proximity to mainland China in attracts a huge variety of migratory birds. More than 280 species have been recorded in high density. Kinmen’s birdlife is markedly different to that of Taiwan.

References
Kinmen National Park Headquarters, Construction and Planning Administration Ministry of the Interior R.O.C. (2001), Kinmen National Park, Shun Cheng Printing Co, Taichung.

The Rotary International Youth Program allows thousands of teenagers worldwide to attend a year long exchange program in the country of their choice.

Mads Meoller, the Danish student, made some interesting comments regarding the,

written agreement between the exchange students and the organizers of the program that discouraged them from learning about Taiwanese politics, and matters concerning the weaker or stronger sex, which limited their interaction with their Taiwanese counterparts. “It was a fight to learn about culture,” he observed.

I can understand discouraging learning about politics in China for example, as it may get you in trouble, but in a free society like Taiwan it seems overly paternal. Would an exchange student going to Australia be obliged to follow similar guidelines?

And this, “discouraged…from learning about…matters concerning the weaker or stronger sex”. What does this mean exactly? Male exchange students can not have female friends and female exchange students can not have male friends? That’s what it sounds like.

The net result for our Danish friend, “It was a fight to learn about culture,”.

Having participated in four different exchange programs, I feel that my exposure to different political systems and building friendships with both sexes made the experiences life changing. Of course just attending the institutions was valuable but having restrictions like these does seem to be a contradiction in terms.

Note: The article has not yet been put on the China Post’s website.

Quote from the article, thanks for being honest Patty:

“I was worried at first!” said Patty, 16, who recalled her yearlong experience with foreign students at her senior high school in downtown Taipei. She believed that all foreign teenagers liked smoking or hanging out in bars, the opposite of how “normal” Taiwanese students behave. Patty was in for a pleasant surprise when Aude Gery joined her class in August 2007.

Blogger Shu Flies is a Mandarin scholarship student at the National Taiwan Normal University’s (Shida) Mandarin Training Center. Located in Taipei, Shida is the place were most foreigners end up learning Mandarin.

Shu Flies has written about her experience at Shida. She alludes to bureaucratic delays for visas, stresses student responsibility for a rewarding learning experience and much more….

I’m back on the island from my three-week sojourn back to California (it would have been two weeks, but the visa office had other ideas. Thanks visa office!), and I’m taking advantage of my jet lag to type up a review of my time at Shida’s Mandarin Training Center.

I have no idea how systematized the teaching methodology is at the MTC, but I’ve heard from many other MTC veterans that your experience there depends in large part on the teacher you get. There are the good, the okay and the just plain awful: I heard horror stories about teachers showing up half an hour late, teachers not showing up, teachers showing up for one week then announcing they are off for a two-week vacation, teachers using class time to tell personal anecdotes that are both too-much-information and not related to the course material, etc…..

]]> http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/06/22/studying-mandarin-at-shida/feed/ 10 http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/06/09/online-role-playing-game-for-learning-mandarin-chinese/ http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/06/09/online-role-playing-game-for-learning-mandarin-chinese/#comments Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:20:42 +0000 kang-wei http://mandarinscholarship.wordpress.com/?p=58

Mandarin scholarship students who enjoy multiplayer online role playing games may be interested in Zon. I think this kind of language immersion tool is great for students who are not in Mandarin speaking environments.

The information below is from massively.com:

A team of developers supported by Michigan State University and the Office of the Chinese Language Council International have spent the past few years piecing together Zon — a browser-based virtual world wherein users can learn the Mandarin Chinese language. The game is currently in its open beta phase; you can sign up to play right now.

Users create an avatar and then find themselves in a representation of Beijing International Airport. From there, they may interact with NPCs and other world objects to learn more about Chinese language and culture, as well as communicate with other players to practice their language skills. As they progress through the system, they move up in rank from Tourist to Resident, and finally to Citizen — at which point they may create their own content for the world.

]]> http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/06/09/online-role-playing-game-for-learning-mandarin-chinese/feed/ 6 http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/06/08/dutch-man-revives-taiwanese-puppets/ http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/06/08/dutch-man-revives-taiwanese-puppets/#comments Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:45:05 +0000 kang-wei http://mandarinscholarship.wordpress.com/?p=51 Asia’s rich intangible cultural heritage is under constant pressure from the homogenising forces of globalisation. As values change ancient art forms die. Traditional Taiwanese puppetry has received a helping hand from an unlikely source.

Robin Ruizendaal, a Dutchman, is the unlikely Director of the Lin Liu-hsin Puppet Theatre Museum*.

The Mandarin speaking, betel nut chewing Dutchman is a genuine doctor of puppetry, whose graduate thesis focused on Chinese marionette theatre.

Opened in 2000 with the generous support of several private donors, the museum is located in Taipei’s historic Da Daocheng neighbourhood, where puppet troupes once thrived, and is housed in a well preserved 4-story manor house built in 1946.

Today, the museum boasts a collection of some 7,000 puppetry artifacts from across Asia and is home to an internationally renowned troupe of theatrical puppeteers.

The troupe features Taiwanese puppet master Chen Xi-huang (陳錫煌), son of legendary puppeteer Li Tien-lu (李天祿), Chen’s protege, Massimo Godoli Peli of Italy, and a crew of narrators, light and stage designers, and a puppet maker.

In a recent interview with the Taipei Times, Ruizendaal lamented local indifference to this aspect of Taiwan’s rich cultural heritage.

…not unlike other Asian countries heavily influenced by Western pop culture, Taiwan is facing a lack of interest among young people in traditional puppetry.

“There are people coming from France and Spain to study Taiwanese puppetry at our museum, but local youth think it’s more sexy to become film makers, video artists or disc jockeys,” he said. “It seems crazy to them to study the obsolete puppetry. There is a crisis to pass on the craft if nobody wants to learn it.”

Ruizendaal hopes the puppet museum can attract new blood by offering free puppeteer apprenticeships.

Hand glove puppet shows are a regular event across Taiwan. They are generally sponsored by local temples and everyone is welcome to watch for free.

[youtube=http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=kvj-O4QWnFc]

*The museum was previously known as Toa-Thiun-Thian Puppet Centre

Sources

Department of Information, Taipei City Government. (2001). Taipei’s Museums: The Doors are Open.

Taipei Times report: Dutch man attempting to revive a dying art

www.taipeipuppet.com

Related story

Penghu: Cultural Heritage Tourism vs Casino Tourism