This weekend, thousands of martial arts fans are expected to descend on Greater Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) to watch a week-long lineup of Song-Jiang Jhen Battle Array (宋江陣), a form of performing arts that combines elements of kung fu, dance and drumming.
The festival, now in its 12th year, invites martial arts troupes from home and abroad to showcase their best moves. Groups of college students will also take part in a creative competition, which is aimed at revitalizing the tradition.
Originating over a century ago, the battle array was named after Song Jiang (宋江), leader of a group of bandits who lived during the Song Dynasty. In training his henchmen, Song would divide them into two groups and have each person carry a weapon. A round of mock duels would then follow.
Photos Courtesy of Kaohsiung City Government
The method was so successful in preparing the men for battle, it was later adopted as a regular military exercise to boost defense capability and ward off pirates, bandits and neighboring clans. A wide variety of weapons, strategies, formations and music were applied to make the exercise more challenging.
Over the years, the battle array has transformed itself into a ritual that is performed in temples to honor the birthdays of deities. Today, temples in southern Taiwan organize the performance teams themselves. Although a full-size team consists of 107 members, it is more common to see a 72 or 36-member array.
Recognizing that the custom has been slowly dying out, the Kaohsiung City Government, in cooperation with local temples, has been holding a series of activities in Neimen to revive interest in the performance art.
Photos Courtesy of Kaohsiung City Government
“Neimen is a special place … Its population stands at 15,000, but it has 50 to 60 martial arts performance troupes,” said Deputy Mayor Lee Yung-te (李永得) at a press conference held to launch the annual festival.
Many uprisings took place in Neimen in the past, including a large scale anti-Manchu protest led by Chu Yi-kuei (朱一貴) in the early 18th century. Neimen people’s valor and courage both in the past and present contributed greatly to Taiwan’s battle array culture, he said.
Introducing the battle array as an art that integrates sports and music, Lee said that the event is a great way to experience Taiwan’s rich cultural heritage. Photo exhibitions, calligraphy shows and a culinary extravaganza will also be held alongside the performances. Complete details in Chinese and English can be found at: www.who-ha.com.tw.
As mega K-pop group BTS returns to the stage after a hiatus of more than three years, one major market is conspicuously missing from its 12-month world tour: China. The omission of one of the group’s biggest fan bases comes as no surprise. In fact, just the opposite would have been huge news. China has blocked most South Korean entertainment since 2016 under an unofficial ban that also restricts movies and the country’s popular TV dramas. For some Chinese, that means flying to Seoul to see their favorite groups perform — as many were expected to do for three shows opening
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry consumes electricity at rates that would strain most national grids. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) alone accounted for more than 9 percent, or 2,590 megawatts (MW), of the nation’s power demand last year. The factories that produce chips for the world’s phones and servers run around the clock. They cannot tolerate blackouts. Yet Taiwan imports 97 percent of its energy, with liquefied natural gas reserves measured in days. Underground, Taiwan has options. Studies from National Taiwan University estimate recoverable geothermal resources at more than 33,000 MW. Current installed capacity stands below 10 MW. OBSTACLES Despite Taiwan’s significant geothermal potential, the
The entire Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀) saga has been an ugly, complicated mess. Born in China’s Hunan Province, she moved to work in Shenzhen, where she met her future Taiwanese husband. Most accounts have her arriving in Taiwan and marrying somewhere between 1993 and 1999. She built a successful career in Taiwan in the tech industry before founding her own company. She also served in high-ranking positions on various environmentally-focused tech associations. She says she was inspired by the founding of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) in 2019 by Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), and began volunteering for the party soon after. Ko
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chair Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) returned from her trip to meet People’s Republic of China (PRC) dictator Xi Jinping (習近平) bearing “a gift” for the people of Taiwan: 10 measures the PRC proposed to “facilitate the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.” “China on Sunday unveiled 10 new incentive measures for Taiwan,” wrote Reuters, wrongly. The PRC’s longstanding habit with Taiwan relations is to repackage already extant or once-existing policies and declare that they are “new.” The list forwarded by Cheng reflects that practice. NEW MEASURES? Note the first item: establishing regular communication mechanisms between the Chinese Communist Party
RSS