An illustrated book that was two years in the making is seeking to give Taiwanese a different angle from which to view their nation by introducing readers to one of the island’s less well-known cultural elements: its rich tradition of folklore.
Taiwan Monsters (台灣妖怪地誌), created by a 37-year-old illustrator who goes by his nickname, Chiaos (角斯), and his group, focuses on the country’s rich, supernatural lore and features characters from Aboriginal legends alongside monsters invented by the book’s creators to explain natural phenomena.
Chiaos said he initiated the project partly out of his own artistic interest, but also in the hopes that the book’s subject matter will serve as a different lens through which to perceive Taiwan.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The illustrator, who is also a designer, said he came upon the idea for the book through a news report about an old man who died in a hotspring because the temperature of the water had gradually increased, instead of staying steady.
“I was puzzled when I heard the news, because if the hotspring became hotter gradually, the man should have had time to realize it and get out of the water, unless there were outside forces preventing him from doing so,” Chiaos said.
That thought led him to reminisce about all the supernatural stories from his childhood, such as the one explaining the parrot-shaped Yingge Rock in Taoyuan County’s Yingge Township (鶯歌), or Chiayi’s “Sun Shooting” legend chronicling the origins of the moon.
Legend has it that when Koxinga (國姓爺) passed through Yingge after defeating the Dutch, he encountered a miasma exhaled by a giant parrot and ordered his troops to shoot at the bird. According to the lore, the rock was formed by the bird’s body when it fell after its neck was broken by a cannonball.
The Sun Shooting legend tells the story of two suns that took turns cycling the heavens, subjecting the Aboriginal people living under them to perpetual daytime. In a bid to end their suffering, the Aborigines chose three warriors to carry three children on a quest to shoot one of the suns down, planting trees along the way to provide food for the returning generation.
The three children grew into adults during the journey and buried the old men who had carried them before slaying one of the suns, which then became the moon.
Chiaos said the trip down memory lane inspired him to start gathering information on supernatural folklore so he could bring the legends to life through his drawings, choosing to focus on monsters and creatures rather than spirits and ghosts, because he felt they are more closely tied to the local culture and geography that they originated from.
To make the illustrations look aged, Chiaos drew the pictures on wooden boards with acrylic and powder. He also illustrated ancient maps of Taiwan so readers can gain an idea of the terrain and geography of the time when the legends were born.
Chiaos included a lot of monsters in the book, such as the Aliakakay giants from Amis’ lore, who were said to have thickly matted hair and cat-like eyes, and abducted children to eat their innards.
He made the legend of the giants his own through the creation of the Meilun Mountain (美崙), which he drew with childish features due to its diet of children’s insides.
A proponent of the anti-nuclear movement, Chiaos also created a mutant creature off the shores of Kenting (墾丁) that he said was his vision of what a shark would mutate into after being exposed to the nuclear waste from the Ma-anshan (馬鞍山) Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Henchung Township (恆春).
Chiaos said the book has given him the chance to be like a movie director in that he had full autonomy over its setting, cast of characters and atmosphere, adding that the project also allowed him to portray his ideals.
A Taiwan Monsters exhibition will be held in Taipei’s Garden City Bookstore until April 20 that Chiaos said he mounted with financial help from online crowdfunding campaigns and NT$150,000 out of his own pocket.
“We hope that the people who come to see the exhibit or who read the book will come away with a new perspective on Taiwan, one in which culture is more prominent,” Chiaos said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS