The 16th Taipei International Book Fair is getting off to an early start this year with a preview at Huashan Arts District (華山藝文特區) tomorrow and Sunday.
The Huashan event, the goal of which is to make the fair more mainstream, is aimed particularly at children who might find the "literary" activities of the main fair overwhelming.
For the children, activities are not limited to reading. Most take the skills and materials used in the production of books and present them in an interactive, fun fashion.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TAIPEI BOOK FAIR FOUNDATION
The Puppet and Its Double Puppet Theater (無獨有偶) will be on hand to show how simple tools can be used creatively. Wang Kou-chiang (王冠強) of the National Guoguang Chinese Opera Company (國立國光劇團) will lead a session on painting Chinese opera face masks. Huang Pei-ying (黃沛瀅) of the Fang Tien Workshop (方田工作室) will teach attendees to make photo frames from corrugated paper. Other sessions include binding books by hand (led by Chang Ming-liang, 張名良, of the Taiwan Handicraft Development Association, 台灣工藝協會) and making red envelopes (taught by Chen Xun, 陳詢, of the Su Ho Memorial Paper Museum, 樹火紙博館).
But these are just the tip of the iceberg. Around 20 stalls, run by vendors with publishing or arts connections, are expected. Some are local publishers of children's books, others will be selling works by artists in wood block printing, etching and illustrating as well as other items related to literacy.
Having this prelude is just one step designed to make the affair appealing to the general public. Last year's event, with a Russian theme, was overtly intellectual. This year the focus is on Australia and the highlight will be a visit from Tony and Maureen Wheeler, of Lonely Planet fame, at 2pm on Feb. 17.
The main activity open to the general public starts on Feb. 14. (The first day, Feb. 13, is only for industry professionals and those with disabilities.)
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
The following three paragraphs are just some of what the local Chinese-language press is reporting on breathlessly and following every twist and turn with the eagerness of a soap opera fan. For many English-language readers, it probably comes across as incomprehensibly opaque, so bear with me briefly dear reader: To the surprise of many, former pop singer and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ex-lawmaker Yu Tien (余天) of the Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association (TNCPA) at the last minute dropped out of the running for committee chair of the DPP’s New Taipei City chapter, paving the way for DPP legislator Su
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
It’s hard to know where to begin with Mark Tovell’s Taiwan: Roads Above the Clouds. Having published a travelogue myself, as well as having contributed to several guidebooks, at first glance Tovell’s book appears to inhabit a middle ground — the kind of hard-to-sell nowheresville publishers detest. Leaf through the pages and you’ll find them suffuse with the purple prose best associated with travel literature: “When the sun is low on a warm, clear morning, and with the heat already rising, we stand at the riverside bike path leading south from Sanxia’s old cobble streets.” Hardly the stuff of your