When families and friends celebrated anthropologist Chen Chi-lu's (陳奇祿) 80th birthday late last month, the event involved more than just blowing out candles on a cake.
An international conference on anthropology was held simultaneously by National Taiwan University's (NTU) Anthropology Department to demonstrate its admiration for Chen, a NTU anthropology professor emeritus.
"The conference was a birthday present from us," said Hsieh Shih-chung (謝世忠), an anthropology professor at NTU and a former student of Chen's, speaking on behalf of all those who Chen had taught. "It's a great opportunity to showcase [to Chen] the fruits of Taiwan's anthropological work which he has helped cultivate over the past half century."
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Chen, a member of Academia Sinica, is a respected scholar regarded by many as a pioneer in Taiwanese anthropology and historiography. With expertise in anthropology and Aboriginal arts, Chen's specialties and dedication in these fields have gained him numerous honors and awards.
Chen had taught at NTU since 1949 and many of his students have gone on to make a name for themselves in scholastic or cultural fields.
Lee Sha-li (李莎莉), a former student of Chen's, said it was Chen's lively class lectures that enticed many of his students to pursue related fields after they graduated.
"Many of Chen's former students are now either anthropology researchers, scholars or specialists working for the National Palace Museum, National Taiwan Museum, National Museum of History and places like that," said Lee, the head of the Exhibition Section at the National Palace Museum.
"It is fair to say that Chen was among the ones who sowed the seed of Taiwanese anthropology decades ago, which has resulted in today's anthropological development and progress in Taiwan," Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀), chairwoman of the Council for Cultural Affairs, told the Taipei Times.
"In fact, it was also largely thanks to Chen's effort and dedication that the Council for Cultural Affairs established a firm and solid foundation under his leadership as the council's first chairman back in 1981."
Chen's dedication to the development of Taiwan's cultural arena especially impressed her, Tchen Yu-chiou said.
"Culture is an important national asset. And Chen has done much to introduce this notion to Taiwan through his notable scholastic work."
Other than his research in areas including East Asian prehistory, Chinese ethnohistory, Pacific cultural development and anthropological arts, Chen is also noted for his scholastic contributions to Taiwanese historiography and Aboriginal culture.
Among the numerous books Chen has written are Social Organization of the Thao of Sun Moon Lake, Woodcarving of the Paiwan Group of Taiwan, Old Glass Beads Possessed by the Paiwan Group of Taiwan and Material Culture of the Formosan Aborigines.
Besides conducting anthropological research, Chen also has a talent for drawing; He drew all his books' illustrations.
"Chen's grasp of detail [in his illustrations] is amazing," Pasuya Poitsono, deputy chairman of the Council of Aboriginal Affairs, told the Taipei Times.
"All those Aboriginal items he depicted in his books, such as clothes, buttons, tools and accessories, all bore strong resemblances to the real ones."
Chen said he first became interested in anthropology while working in 1948 as editor-in-chief for the Taiwan Public Opinion Journal (
"I developed a strong interest in the field of anthropology when I was working on a new feature section for the newspaper called `Taiwan's Cultural and Social Customs' (
"Working on that section led me to travel to places in Taiwan and meet many interesting people. It was then that I started to build on a strong curiosity and interest in people and places."
Tsao Yung-ho (
"It was partially through my exposure to Taiwan's Cultural and Social Customs that I became interested in pursuing studies in Taiwanese historiography," said Tsao, a member of Academia Sinica and a longtime friend of Chen's.
Despite his age, Chen seems to have lost none of his appetite for his life's work.
"Even though Chen is now retired," Tchen Yu-chiou said, "whenever the Council for Cultural Affairs has meetings, Chen still offers his advice and suggestions."
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai