The Fongyi Academy in Kaohsiung’s Fengshan District (鳳山) is celebrating its first anniversary since opening to the public with a limited number of a Qing dynasty board game called Shengguan Tu (陞官圖) — the map to official promotions.
Built in 1814 — the 19th year of Qing emperor Jiaqing (嘉慶) — the Fongyi Academy contained a small temple dedicated to the worship of Wenchang Dijun (文昌帝君), a Taoist god of culture and literature, who is believed to handle affairs regarding exams.
During the Japanese colonial period the building was repurposed. Reopened last year, it has drawn more than 300,000 visitors and has become one of the most visited attractions in Kaohsiung.
The game of Shengguan Tu can be traced back to China’s Tang Dynasty (618 to 907), the Bureau of Cultural Affairs said, adding that the game was closely related to the central examination system, known as keju (科舉).
The central examination system was initiated in the Sui Dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty it become the main method imperial courts used to select officials. It also marked a departure from using members of “great families” as officials, which had been the accepted norm.
To play the game, each player starts as a simple student and attempts to advance to a higher level by rolling dice, the bureau said, adding that a booklet assigned sayings that determined which position they would be promoted or demoted to in accordance with the roll of the dice.
The game was aimed at helping students become familiar with government positions, both in the imperial court and local governments, during the Qing Dynasty.
The academy has made 100 sets of the game, the bureau said, adding that to make the game more modern, it had modeled the game after modern-day board games.
The academy is scheduled to open through the Lunar New Year holidays, except for Lunar New Year’s Eve on Sunday next week.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS