臺灣文化「譯」起讀

Origin

The origin of the celebration for “sixteen-year-old adults” is related to the workers in the harbor of Tainan. In early times of Taiwan, there were many shops near the harbor of Tainan. The business was very good. The boss employed less-than-sixteen-year-old children to carry goods. But their salary was only half of the salary of adults. When these children were 16 years old, they got the same salary as adults. Their family was happy, so they invited friends and the boss to celebrate the birthday of the “sixteen-year-old adults.” They took the opportunity to announce that their children have grown up.

Introduction

In Taiwan, wedding is very important in a person’s lifetime. Different countries have different traditions of wedding. Different traditions have different cultural meanings. This article introduces three important traditions of wedding in Taiwan, such as 1) throwing a paper fan, 2) playing the games on the wedding day, and 3) returning to the bride’s home.

Death is inevitable in a person’s lifetime. After a person’s death, his/her family will hold a funeral. The purpose of the funeral is to show our respect for the dead person. Different countries have different types of funerals. This text will introduce procedures, taboos and traditions of funerals in Taiwan, as follows.

1. Procedures of funerals

Background of History, Society and Culture

In Taiwan, after child-birth, women need to rest for one month. The month is called the period of “postnatal recovery”. If women get enough rest, they can be healthy. In the society of agriculture, the living condition is difficult. After childbirth, women do not eat enough food and cannot have enough breast milk to feed babies. The babies are unhealthy and are often sick, so the children cannot grow up well. Thus, if we hope that children can be healthy, women need to be healthy. This is the origin of postnatal recovery.

Since ancient times, the formation of festivals is related to people's everyday life closely. People used these festivals to show the piety and gratitude to ancestors. Furthermore, these festivals remind people that traditional virtue is very important.

Baseball is one of the most popular sports in the world. It originated from America. Afterwards, baseball was popular in Asia, Taiwan and other countries. This article will introduce the baseball history in Taiwan.

Taiwan's information and communications technology (ICT) companies play a key role in the global supply chain for electronics products. Taiwanese companies account for about three-quarters of the world's production of PCs. Also, Taiwanese companies take up half of the world's liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). Taiwan produces about a quarter of semiconductors and about a fifth of mobile phones around the world. Overall, Taiwan has created a huge niche in the global ICT industry.

No matter if you are from a low-latitude or high-latitude country, Taiwan is your best choice of tourist destination. If you are from a low-latitude country, you will enjoy the cool air in Taiwan. In contrast, if you are from a high-latitude country, you can enjoy Taiwan’s all-year sunshine all year round.

Convenience stores may be common in many countries; however, Taiwan’s convenience stores are different. I will explain different features of the convenience stores in Taiwan.

No one knows exactly how many gods and goddesses there are in the Taiwan. Among the “Gods” in Taiwan, some are saints, demons or ghosts. Many Gods were once mere mortals on Earth. I will introduce 3 major famous Gods in this article.

Taiwan is a small island with a lot of high mountains. Taiwan is also surrounded by seas. Therefore, people in Taiwan can drive to enjoy various beautiful sceneries in just a day. Sometimes people don't travel to a far place on the weekend. The reason may be bad weather, or people’s laziness. So, what do people do to spend their free time in the city? Let me introduce Taiwan's three popular urban entertainments to you.

Taiwan is a very small island. The total area of Taiwan is only 36,193 km2. In the past, people in Taiwan had few options in transportation: bike, bus and train. Thanks to the growth of the economy and the advancement in technology, now there are a lot of options. Next, I will introduce three common ways of transportation.

Death is an inevitable part in human’s "life. Taiwanese people consider "funerals" important because it is a way to show people's filial piety. Nowadays, after a person die, his/her family will ask the funeral company to help handle the funeral procedures.

Walking on the road in Taiwan, you can see many “cram schools.” “Cram school” is a type of school. Many countries have cram schools as well. In South Korea, “cram schools” are called “Hagwons”. Other countries called it cram schools or tutorial centers. The history of “cram school” can be traced back to Qing dynasty. At that time, “cram school” was built for Literacy Education. In 1968, because the 9-year compulsory education law was passed, the number of junior high school students has increased. More students caused the entrance exam to be more competitive. Therefore, more students go to “cram schools.”

There are many night markets in Taiwan.  Foreigners often go to night markets when they travel in Taiwan. In night market, people can enjoy the fun of strolling, shopping, and eating. In general, night markets in Taiwan have many stalls; they sell consumer goods, xiaochi (similar to snacks or fast food), and specialty drinks. With hawker loud shouting, and lively music played over speakers, the atmosphere in night market is usually cheerful. These attractive features draw tens of thousands of people to visit night markets every month. You are probably one of the customers.

Regarding Taiwanese sports, most of the people would immediately think of two sports. One is baseball, and the other is basketball. Why is basketball more popular than baseball? Compared to baseball, playing basketball is comparatively easier to find a place to play balls. Besides, playing baseball requires more people. But playing basketball only needs five people. Finally, playing baseball requires more accessories, such as gloves, helmets, baseball bats and so on.

In Changhua County (central Taiwan), there is a special custom. The purpose of the custom is to expel evil spirits. Many people do not understand the unique funeral custom, so the custom is worth an introduction.

【The ritual to expel evil spirits 】

In Taiwan, you can see people burn "incense sticks" to worship the gods in temples. People have used such a way of worship for years. Of course, the "incense sticks" and "worship" have a close relationship.

When I was a junior-high-school student, a funny thing happened. My school's main entrance straightly leads the way to the back door of the school, so a the Feng-Shui master said that this would bring bad luck to my school. He advised the school to raise animals to eliminate bad luck. Since then, two goats had been raised on campus . This thing is related to Feng Shui. Many Taiwanese believe in Feng Shui. They think Feng Shui is related to one’s business success, health and security.

I remembered when my cousin was one-year-old, my aunt and uncles held a ritual for him. They put tools, stationery, books, weapons, daily necessities and other items in front of him. They persuaded him to choose one item. They said that he would grow up to be a teacher because he chose a book. My parents told me: This custom is called “a ritual for testing one-year-old children.”People use this ritual to predict the interest of the children and their future career. I do not know if this kind of prediction is accurate, but I think it is very interesting.

【A child is choosing his favorite items. 】