Among the many events at Christmas eve, The Soldier's Tale (
Stravinsky created the musical at the turn of the 20th century and premiered it in 1918, when World War I had ended in Europe and most of the people lived in destitution.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CKS CULTURAL CENTER
The performance, therefore, takes a simplified approach, using only seven musicians, two actors, one dancer and a narrator.
The story is a morality tale, about a soldier returning home from the battle field, who is tempted by the devil.
Stravinsky adopts the avant-garde musical elements that were prevalent at that time, mixing waltz, tango, march and jazz elements, with an abundance of percussion, to echo with the pulse of the narrative.
"We want to present the original flavor of this drama to a young audience and classical music beginners. This is one rare show in which you can enjoy both chamber music and theater performances at the same time," said Hsu Chia-chu (
Apart from Hsu, performers on the "dream team" include Su Hsien-ta (
If one asks Taiwanese why house prices are so high or why the nation is so built up or why certain policies cannot be carried out, one common answer is that “Taiwan is too small.” This is actually true, though not in the way people think. The National Property Administration (NPA), responsible for tracking and managing the government’s real estate assets, maintains statistics on how much land the government owns. As of the end of last year, land for official use constituted 293,655 hectares, for public use 1,732,513 hectares, for non-public use 216,972 hectares and for state enterprises 34 hectares, yielding
The small platform at Duoliang Train Station in Taitung County’s Taimali Township (太麻里) served villagers from 1992 to 2006, but was eventually shut down due to lack of use. Just 10 years later, the abandoned train station had become widely known as the most beautiful station in Taiwan, and visitors were so frequent that the village had to start restricting traffic. Nowadays, Duoliang Village (多良) is known as a bit of a tourist trap, with a mandatory, albeit modest, admission fee of NT$10 giving access to a crowded lane of vendors with a mediocre view of the ocean and the trains
For many people, Bilingual Nation 2030 begins and ends in the classroom. Since the policy was launched in 2018, the debate has centered on students, teachers and the pressure placed on schools. Yet the policy was never solely about English education. The government’s official plan also calls for bilingualization in Taiwan’s government services, laws and regulations, and living environment. The goal is to make Taiwan more inclusive and accessible to international enterprises and talent and better prepared for global economic and trade conditions. After eight years, that grand vision is due for a pulse check. RULES THAT CAN BE READ For Harper Chen (陳虹宇), an adviser
Traditionally, indigenous people in Taiwan’s mountains practice swidden cultivation, or “slash and burn” agriculture, a practice common in human history. According to a 2016 research article in the International Journal of Environmental Sustainability, among the Atayal people, this began with a search for suitable forested slopeland. The trees are burnt for fertilizer and the land cleared of stones. The stones and wood are then piled up to make fences, while both dead and standing trees are retained on the plot. The fences are used to grow climbing crops like squash and beans. The plot itself supports farming for three years.
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