The pilgrimage of eight days and seven nights in the footsteps of the famous Tachia statue of the goddess Matsu ended April 21. The journey marked the beginning of the religious activities of the third lunar month (April 13 to May 11), known as the "third month Matsu craze" (
In the last few years, frenzied media reports and the involvement of politicians have focused widespread attention on the pilgrimage. This has also resulted in many folk beliefs and cultural traditions being turned upside down.
Today the pilgrimage's sacredness and rituals have become enlarged, commercialized and politicized because of media competition and "cultural marketing." Cultural intellectuals are spot on in their description of this phenomenon as the "post-modern culture of localized Taiwanese society."
As a cultural worker originally from Tachia township, I feel honored by discussion of the topic in the media and I am glad that today's society is focusing on traditional culture. I am particularly glad to see the cultural organizations of local governments adapting their strategies to "cultural marketing," arranging different art and cultural activities in an attempt to adjust and deepen the cultural aspects of public religious activities.
We cannot, however, shy away from the fact that some disturbing phenomena have appeared as a result of media coverage and the marketing of these popular and increasingly important religious activities. This is something that needs to be considered and widely debated.
First, political intervention has exaggerated the presentation of religious activities. This runs the risk of detracting from their pious-ness, sacredness and traditional character. In particular, the gulf between traditional Taiwanese folk beliefs and political activities is a longstanding characteristic of society in Taiwan. It is worth considering whether this increase in political and civil activities might eventually also strengthen vulgar, populist beliefs, and create a new Taiwanese character involving different folk customs and the "charismatization" of politics.
Second, complex cultural and artistic activities are ill-served by superficial reporting that lacks either depth or understanding. The Show the unsurpassed Tachia changes-changes-changes (秀出大甲超級變變變) performance arranged by Taichung County's Cultural Affairs Bureau, for example, was exceptional, but only a few people would know that, since it was buried in piecemeal media reporting.
Because reporters don't do their homework, reports on cultural events fail to give a complete understanding of events. Often the stories are inaccurate or miss the main points of the event or celebration. Presentations and descriptions of the historical and cultural sources and appreciation and understanding of traditional performing arts that have been one of the main themes in traditional activities are even rarer.
Third, a generally fuzzy understanding of cultural artistic activities often results in the exhibition of an "inferior" deviating culture. Disorganized and misleading reports from muddle-headed reporters create a vicious circle which aggravates the situation.
The mysterious and mighty "eight generals" (八家將) characters, for example, which in the past were part of traditional performances, all had names, and their masks, dresses and props were godlike. In recent years, however, professional teams, each with their unique style of performing the "high government officials and generals" (官將首) characters, have formed. Dresses and props depart from the originals in an effort to be more impressive and "cooler" than the competition. The godliness of the characters is obscured in a manner which amounts to a betrayal of the historical and cultural origins of the performance.
This year's Matsu pilgrimage was certainly interesting in many ways, including the exquisite fresh-flower car processions and the integration of the "flower drums" parade (花鼓) with the Wusung performance (蜈蜙陣). These are examples of the kind of creative break-aways from and developments of tradition that should be encouraged.
As an educator and cultural worker, however, I prefer art that is deeply rooted in tradition to art that is superficial, and I would hope that a consensus for thorough consideration and discussion of the above issues would be considered more important than the social mission of cultural marketing and mass media.
Chou Means is a professor of Taiwan folk arts at Tunghai University.
Translated by Perry Svensson
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with