The National Palace Museum’s Expedition to Asia—The Prominent Exchanges between East and West in the 17th Century (亞洲探險記—十七世紀東西交流傳奇) features a selection of treasured artifacts, records and artworks that tell a rich tale of East and West exchange in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The show is a collaboration between seven local and international museums, drawing from the collections of the National Palace Museum, the Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam, Netherlands, the Umi-Mori Art Museum and the Museum of Oriental Ceramic, Osaka, Japan, the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tainan City Government, the National Taiwan University Library and the Graduate Institute of Art History of National Taiwan University. The 17th Century marks a time of great change in China; the Manchurians overthrew the Ming dynasty mid century to establish the Qing Dynasty, while Western merchants and missionaries continued to assert increasing influence in the country. The Dutchmen, in particular, “owned the crowning glory among all Western visitors that were trading with the East,” writes the museum. “They had not only delivered the knowledge and merchandise from Asia back to Europe, but also had become [its] crucial transporter.” The exhibition focuses on the Dutch envoys in China, records of their journeys and art objects that reflect exchange between the East and West.
■ National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院), 221 Zhishan Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市至善路二段221號), tel: (02) 2881-2021. Open daily from 8:30am to 6:30pm; closes at 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays
■ Until March 10
Photo Courtesy of Miniature Life
Books in the Palm of Your Hand (古人掌中書) is a curious show of ancient pocket-sized books from the collection of the National Palace Museum. The first records of miniature books in China date back to the Southern Qi Dynasty (479-502) . Known as kerchief-box editions (巾箱本), these publications were designed to fit in small portable chests that the literati used to store head kerchiefs and accessories. Such books were popular among the royalty who transcribed classic books of history, philosophy and literature into smaller editions for convenient storage and portability. By the Tang and Song dynasties, the invention of woodblock printing gave birth to the rise of publishing and book trade businesses that reproduced kerchief-box editions by greater number and wider scope. Aside from the standard literary classics, pocket size editions of poetry and lyrics, examination preparation materials, travel guides, novels and dramas and medical records were known to be printed as well. The show not only presents miniature books from the Ming and Qing dynasties, it also offers an overview of the craft involved in creating them. “[Visitors] will also gain insight into how bibliophiles in historical China were sentimentally attached to books in their daily lives and on their travels, as well as the delight they took in appreciating their book collections.”
■ National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院), 221 Zhishan Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市至善路二段221號), tel: (02) 2881-2021. Open daily from 8:30am to 6:30pm; closes at 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays
■ Until March 10
Photo Courtesy of National Palace Museum
Austrian artist Isabella Kohlhuber creates drawings, installations, sculpture and animations out of text. She is interested in how language communicates meaning and how this meaning can be interpreted and understood by the reader. She considers language as “crystalline structures of meaning” and works with the alphabet as both pictures and texts. In her series Typograms, she “lay[s] letter-like shapes over each other, creating specific images rather than sentences, but still referring to words as their original idea,” says the artist. In her exhibition preface, Kolhlhuber mentions her background in painting, graphic design and typography, with which she engages with language. “I am especially interested in the details of letter shapes and in what allows us to decipher their meanings…even though there are so many forms of letters …within one culture,” says Kohlhuber. ■ Bluerider Art (藍騎士藝術空間), 9F, 25-1, Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市仁愛路四段25-1號9樓), tel: (02) 2752-2238. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 9am to 6pm ■ Until Jan. 31 Photo Courtesy of National Palace Museum Tatsuya Tanaka (田中達也) is a Japanese sculptor and photographer who has gained a considerable following with his ongoing miniature series called Miniature Calendar. The project began in 2011 and continues to be updated everyday with various surreal scenes of tiny people living among gigantic daily items, such as ice cream cones, broccoli, croissants and yarn. In one scenario, two women graze a planet made of potato chips; in another, tiny workers look on from a tower of scaffolding as a corncob rocket lifts off from a bed of popcorn. An impressive selection of his works are currently on view in the exhibition Miniature Life Exhibition (微型展2.0) at Huashan 1914 Creative Park. The show includes 100 photographs and 40 sculptures that present familiar daily objects and our relationship with them. From narratives of nature, adventure, work, sports and family life, Tatsuya creates a micro-universe filled with humor and fantasy. ■ Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914文化創意產業園區), 1, Bade Road Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號), tel: (02) 2358-1914. Open Mondays to Fridays from 11am to 7pm, Saturdays to Sundays from 11am to 9pm ■ Until March 3 Photo Courtesy of Bluerider ART Malang (山‧海 靈境 — Malang美的釋放) is a group exhibition of eight indigenous contemporary artists. The show includes oil paintings, textile, installation, sculpture and photography that “explores the cultural and historical contexts of indigenous societies and indigenous people’s reflections on life,” according to the exhibition preface. Yuma Taru is an Atayal artist and educator who creates fabric art that incorporates indigenous techniques of dyeing and weaving. River is a spread of interwoven yarn laid out like a flowing stream of colors. WalisLabai is an artist of Chinese and Seediq descent. WalisLabai has a background in computer graphic design and creates digital images and installations. He explores the meaning of modernity in indigenous art in his series Invisible Project, which includes portraits of tribesmen camouflaged in layers of greenery. ImingMavaliw is a Taitung artist from the Pinuyumayan community who creates abstract sculptors with driftwood. Penetration comprises of four pieces of driftwood standing upright, shot through with a wooden column. ■ Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂) 21, Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei City (台北市中山路21號), tel: (02) 2343 1100. Open daily from 10am to 6pm ■ Until March 17 Photo Courtesy of Chiang Kai Shek Memorial HallJoan Nieuhof, illustration from An embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces (1665).
Isabella Kohlhuber, From the law (2018).
Exhibition view of Malang.
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Taiwan under brutal martial law. “There were a lot of buses, and there was a long queue,” Hsieh recalled. “It was a school rule. We had to bow, and then we went home.” Chiang’s body is still there, under guard in a mausoleum at the end of a path
Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50