The fourth most populous country in the world, home of beautiful islands such as Bali, and a model for ethnic and religious diversity. Come take a closer look at Indonesia, where the motto is "unity in diversity."
印尼是全球人口第四密集的國家,擁有如巴里島等美麗島嶼,是多元種族和宗教的典範。一起深入了解信奉「異中求同」的印尼。
PHOTO: EPA
A closer look 說古論今
Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state, with 17,508 islands, of which nearly 6,000 are inhabited. Most people live on the five largest islands in the archipelago. The islands are mountainous and Indonesia has numerous volcanoes. Frequent earthquakes strike Indonesia, but the volcanic ash helps make the soil rich for crops.
People arrived in the area at least half a million years ago. They perfected rice planting, which allowed villages and even small kingdoms to develop.
By the first century, Indonesia was a trading post between India and China. This trade brought both Buddhism and Hinduism. Powerful naval kingdoms with large fleets of ships spread throughout the islands.
Muslim traders brought Islam to Indonesia in the 1200s. It spread quickly and peacefully along trade routes and was the main religion by the 1500s.
The Portuguese arrived in 1512, and shortly thereafter the Dutch were the main European presence. This situation did not change until the Japanese occupation during World War II. Immediately after the Japanese left, the Indonesians declared independence.
Since then, Indonesia has had to deal both with political instability and authoritarian leadership, but major progress has been made and Indonesia now holds direct elections.
China, India, Arabs, Europe and Malaysia have heavily influenced Indonesian culture. Food differs significantly across regions, though rice is the staple dish in most places. Spices and coconut milk are important ingredients, and chicken and fish are commonly eaten.(Jason Cox, staff writer)
印尼是世界上最大的群島國家,共有一萬七千五百零八個島嶼,當中約有六千個無人島,多數人居住
在群島中的五大島嶼上,島上多山脈,且火山數量多
,因此地震頻傳,但火山灰讓土壤肥沃,適合栽種作物。
至少在五十萬年前就有居民來此,他們精化了稻米耕作,讓村落甚至小國得以發展。
到了一世紀,印尼成為印度和中國間交易的中介站,因而帶入了佛教和印度教,擁有龐大艦隊的海上強國,勢力擴及所有島嶼。
穆斯林商人在十三世紀將伊斯蘭教帶入印尼,並且迅速平和地隨著商業路線擴及各地,在十六世紀成為主要宗教。
葡萄牙人於一五一二年抵達,不久之後,荷蘭便成為歐洲在印尼的主要勢力,這個情況一直到二次世界大戰被日本佔領才改變,印尼在日本撤離後旋即宣布獨立。
印尼自此被極權統治,政局動盪不安,然而經過大幅改革,印尼現在已舉行直接選舉。
印尼文化深受中國、印度、阿拉伯、歐洲和馬來西亞深遠的影響,各區飲食顯著不同,不過米飯仍是多數區域的主食,香料和椰奶是重要的食材,民眾普遍食用雞肉和魚肉。 (翻譯:鄭湘儀)
Taiwanese cuisine boasts a rich culture of thick soups, with various options available at street vendors or high-end restaurants. In English, this style of dish is typically called “thick soup.” Western cuisine typically uses flour, cream, or mashed vegetables to create a creamy consistency, while in Taiwan, thick soups are made by simply incorporating food starch into the soup and creating a smooth and silky texture. Tutuo fish in thick soup is such a soup with fried tutuo fish chunks, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and wood ears. 台灣羹品飲食文化豐富,無論是巷口小店或是高檔餐廳,都有提供羹料理。羹在英文稱作「濃湯」,西式濃湯是以麵粉、鮮奶油、蔬菜泥等達到濃稠的口感,台灣的羹湯用太白粉即能做出濃稠絲滑的湯頭。土魠魚羹就是在勾芡的羹湯中加入炸土魠魚塊、香菇、竹筍、木耳等食材的料理。 boast (v.) 擁有(令人驕傲的事物) consistency (n.) 濃稠度 chunk (n.) 厚塊,大塊 wood ear (n. ph.) 木耳 The star of this
Huge stretches of coral reef around the world are turning a ghostly white this year amid record warm ocean temperatures. On April 15, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed the world’s fourth mass global bleaching event is underway — with serious consequences for marine life and for the people and economies that rely on reefs. WHAT ARE CORALS? Corals are invertebrates that live in colonies. Their calcium carbonate secretions form hard and protective scaffolding that serves as a home to many colorful species of single-celled algae. The two organisms have evolved over millennia to work together, with corals providing shelter to algae,
A: So who were Hollywood’s highest-paid stars of 2023? B: No. 5 to No. 2 were: Matt Damon with US$43 million, Ryan Gosling with US$43 million, Tom Cruise with US$45 million, and Margot Robbie with US$59 million. A: Didn’t Tom Cruise top the list? B: Nope, Adam Sandler was No.1, having made US$73 million, which is about NT$2.34 billion. A: Wow, maybe I should change my career to acting. A: 好萊塢去年的片酬排行榜前幾名是誰? B: 第5到2名是︰麥特戴蒙、4300萬美元,雷恩葛斯林、4300萬美元,湯姆克魯斯、4500萬美元,瑪格羅比、5900萬美元。 A: 冠軍竟然不是阿湯哥? B: 是亞當山德勒、片酬7300萬美元,大約23.4億台幣! A: 天啊或許我也該轉行當演員啦。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
A symbol of purity and cleanliness, the color white is the standard color for coats worn by doctors. While this has been the case for well over 100 years, it hasn’t always been so. In fact, before the late 19th century, doctors wore formal black attire, which was similar to that worn by clergymen. Black was chosen for practical reasons—it hid stains from medical procedures and presented a sense of seriousness. The major reason for the color change of the doctor’s coat was to distinguish qualified, professional doctors from those with little or no medical training. Since medical science