The winners of the prestigious annual Global Chinese Culture and Arts Award (
The winners this year were poets Chuang Bo-lin (
PHOTO: VICO LEE, TAIPEI TIMES:
The formal award ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 11 at Taipei's Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. At the ceremony, many of the 128 former winners will also gather to mark the award's 10 year history.
The phrase "hsin chuan" (
"This is a culture and arts award, but more importantly, this is a `hsin chuan' award. We do not want to create cultural superstars out of the award but to recognize people who have worked for a long time in their respective fields to pass down their skills to the next generation," Lien said.
All candidates for the award must be over 40 years old and be currently working in a field of traditional arts and crafts. As it's a global award, ethnic Chinese artists working outside Taiwan may participate. Two of the winners are overseas Chinese.
The award works on a recommendation basis. Both government agencies and private institutions were encouraged to submit their recommendations from March to July, a period longer than in previous years because of the SARS outbreak earlier this year.
The organizer, Senior Jaycees Club, Republic of China, was relieved to see the award otherwise unaffected by the outbreak.
"As a civil organization, we're glad to let people know through hosting the award, that there are more good things from Taiwan than lotteries," Lien said.
Temple painter Pan Yuei-hsiung, like most other winners, had a humble attitude toward his winning the Folk Crafts Prize. "My father and grandfather told me we do not paint for fame or money, but for the glory of gods and the good of mankind," Pan said.
Pan's father is a former prize winner.
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Whether you’re interested in the history of ceramics, the production process itself, creating your own pottery, shopping for ceramic vessels, or simply admiring beautiful handmade items, the Zhunan Snake Kiln (竹南蛇窯) in Jhunan Township (竹南), Miaoli County, is definitely worth a visit. For centuries, kiln products were an integral part of daily life in Taiwan: bricks for walls, tiles for roofs, pottery for the kitchen, jugs for fermenting alcoholic drinks, as well as decorative elements on temples, all came from kilns, and Miaoli was a major hub for the production of these items. The Zhunan Snake Kiln has a large area dedicated