The Taipei Confucius Temple is offering visitors a new experience through the presentation of its history and the sage’s teachings in a “4D” film format which blends traditional culture with modern technology.
Two 15-minute films are being shown in the “4D” theater of the temple’s newly renovated building and are accompanied by special effects such as smoke, bubbles, wind and vibrations which run alongside the stories as they unfold. One of the videos features a meeting between Confucius (孔子), his disciples and the rulers of several nations. Set against the backdrop of ancient China, the film portrays Confucius’ political philosophy and wisdom in tackling potential conflicts, based mainly on chapters of the Analects.
To make it more representative of contemporary Taiwan, it is presented in a form of Taiwanese hand puppetry with the voiceover in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese). The film comes with English subtitles and a subtitled version in Japanese is expected to be ready by the end of this month, said Chen Tsai-hung (陳彩虹), executive secretary of the temple’s governing board.
Another film, which is voiced in Mandarin and also has English subtitles, focuses on the history of the temple itself — the only Confucian temple in Taiwan that was not constructed by the government.
First built in 1884 during the Qing Dynasty (1662-1895), the temple was torn down by the Japanese government in 1907 during its colonization of the country (1895-1945). Eighteen years later, a group of local gentry decided to rebuild the temple on land donated by some of its members, with more than 200 people joining the project.
The temple as it stands today was completed in 1939 before being donated to the Taipei City Government in 1971, and it has been under the city’s jurisdiction ever since.
The “4D” theater, which underwent a trial run beginning in late March, offers visitors a new audio and video experience that is far more captivating than textbooks and helps them learn about Confucius’ teachings, said Wang Fu-ching, a member of the temple’s governing board.
“Our theater is pioneering modern technology,” he added.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: A US Air Force KC-135 tanker came less than 1,000 feet of an EVA plane and was warned off by a Taipei air traffic controller, a report said A US aerial refueling aircraft came very close to an EVA Airways jet in the airspace over southern Taiwan, a military aviation news Web site said. A report published by Alert 5 on Tuesday said that automatic dependent surveillance–broadcast (ADS-B) data captured by planfinder.net on Wednesday last week showed a US Air Force KC-135 tanker “coming less than 1,000 feet [305m] vertically with EVA Air flight BR225 as both aircraft crossed path south of Taiwan” that morning. The report included an audio recording of a female controller from the Taipei air traffic control center telling the unidentified aircraft that it was
A US aircraft carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt has entered the South China Sea to promote “freedom of the seas,” the US military said yesterday, as tensions between China and Taiwan raise concerns in Washington. US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that the strike group entered the South China Sea on Saturday, the same day Taiwan reported a large incursion of Chinese bombers and fighter jets into its air defense identification zone near the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). The US military said the carrier strike group was in the South China Sea, a large part of which
STRATEGIC MISTAKE: Beijing’s deployment of aircraft near Taiwan proves the ‘China threat theory’ that sees it attempting to destabilize the region, an analyst said China on Saturday and yesterday sent a record number of military aircraft into the nation’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), in what analysts said was an attempt to flex its military might for US President Joe Biden. Thirteen Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan’s southwestern ADIZ on Saturday and 15 entered yesterday, the highest number observed in a single day this year, the Ministry of National Defense said. On Saturday, eight Xian H-6K bombers, four Shenyang J-16 fighters and a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, entered the ADIZ, while yesterday there were two Y-8s, two Su-30s, four J-16s, six J-10 fighters and a Y-8 reconnaissance
DISPOSING MYTHS: A new constitution would better reflect reality, as the current one was drafted ‘in and for China,’ without the consent of Taiwanese, advocates said Independence advocates yesterday launched the Taiwan New Constitution Alliance to promote drafting a new, localized constitution. “This is a historic moment for Taiwan. Drafting a new constitution is the most important task Taiwanese face,” veteran independence advocate Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) said at the inaugural event in Taipei. “Although the Democratic Progressive Party is in power, its authority is based on the Republic of China [ROC] Constitution, which has no connection to Taiwan,” said the 95-year-old Koo, a former presidential adviser. “The historic task of drafting a new constitution depends on efforts by all Taiwanese,” Koo said. “A constitution for a sovereign, independent Taiwan