Body Worlds, a traveling exhibition showcasing preserved corpses, opens its doors today at the National Taiwan Science Education Center.
"The basic intention of this exhibit is education -- to let people know what we are made of, to look into the authentic body and see how beautiful we are and how fragile we are at the same time," said Angelina Whalley, Body Worlds chairperson.
PHOTO: AFP
Among the several specimens showcased include slices of a thigh and a brain, a knee with arthritis, a brain after a stroke and a lung infected with tuberculosis.
Full-body specimens of humans and animals in lifelike poses are also featured.
The "Flying Skier" poses in mid-air to offer visitors a view of the organs inside the body's cavities. The "Swordsman" is divided in half to provide a view of the spine and its nerve endings.
All of the specimens are real corpses preserved and posed by Gunther Von Hagens using a process dubbed "plastination."
"I don't think that any of these exhibits should scare children. It is all very artistic," Academia Sinica Vice President Ovid Tzeng (
As Tzeng spoke, he sat down for a game of chess across from a corpse frozen in the act of contemplating the next move.
The skull of the "Chess Player" has been split open to allow visitors a clear view of the detailed pathways of nerves coming out of the spinal cord and the components of the brain.
"We don't just show the normal body; we also show the diseased body," Whalley said.
"You can see what a tumor is about, what smoking and drinking can do to your body," she said.
While the exhibit has earned praise as a unique educational experience and encouraged visitors to donate their bodies and organs for medical research upon their death. However, it has also caused many to consider Von Hagens a "Dr. Frankenstein."
"Twenty-five years ago when I visited Taiwan, I was delighted by the power to learn," Von Hagens said.
The exhibit will be open to visitors from today through Oct 24, from 10 am to 9 pm. Tickets are NT$280 for adults, NT$200 for students, and NT$140 for children and senior citizens.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS