Nothing bridges nature and culture more than pottery. That's the idea that the Yingge Ceramics Museum was built on and its permanent exhibits alone make a compelling case for it. Clay was the first thing humans built with and it remains the foundation of the civilized world; from dinner plates to dentures and from engine cylinders to silicon chips.
Now the past two centuries of Taiwan's ceramics history can be seen at the museum in a special exhibition -- 200 Years in Yingge starts today and runs through Saturday, Oct. 30.
PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMES
The cause for the celebration is the arrival in Yingge 200 years ago of Wu An (吳鞍), the first potter from Guangzhou to settle in the area and take up his trade. He was later joined by a brick maker named Chen Kun (陳昆) and the two helped make the area into the center of Taiwan's ceramics industry. Today, Yingge is known as much for the commodes and cable insulators it supplies to the world as for the works of art its craftsmen create.
While a bicentennial is cause to celebrate, there's reason enough to travel to the Taipei County township without it. The Yingge Ceramics Museum is world-class -- not a term usually associated with Taiwan's countless museums -- and the town it sits in has quite literally formed a unique identity for itself over the centuries.
Beginning at the museum, you can learn about the start of Taiwan's ceramics industry, when sampans on the Dahan River floated cups and bowls downstream, and about the prosperous days that came with the railroad. Then you can exit the museum and sift through stacks of plates seven decades deep. You'll be surprised at what you find (locally manufactured Japanese-era rice bowls, for example) and surprised at the cost (NT$100 per piece).
Yingge's history has been captured not only in clay, but through the camera, as well, and the 200-year exhibit's must-see section is Memories of Trains, housed in the town's old train station, next door to the new train station.
Taking the idea that clay bridges nature and civilization a step further, the museum will offer several special activities over the next two weeks as a part of the 200-year anniversary exhibit. A one-day environmental tour of the township will take visitors on a tour of the local incinerator and to a DIY recycling shop. There are also tours of the hundreds of both modern and traditional kilns in the area. Both tours are available weekends only.
The Yingge Ceramics Museum is located at 200 Wenhua Rd, Yinge Township, Taipei County (北縣鶯歌鎮文化路200號). To get there, take the train to the Yingge Railway Station and follow the big green and white signs to the museum and special exhibit centers. The exhibits are open until 5pm on weekdays and until 6pm on weekends. Admission is NT$200. More information about the exhibitions can be viewed on the Web at www.ceramics.tpc.gov.tw.
Japan is celebrated for its exceptional levels of customer service. But the behavior of a growing number of customers and clients leaves a lot to be desired. The rise of the abusive consumer has prompted authorities in Tokyo to introduce the country’s first ordinance — a locally approved regulation — to protect service industry staff from kasuhara — the Japanese abbreviated form of “customer harassment.” While the Tokyo ordinance, which will go into effect in April, does not carry penalties, experts hope the move will highlight a growing social problem and, perhaps, encourage people to think twice before taking out their frustrations
Two years ago my wife and I went to Orchid Island off Taitung for a few days vacation. We were shocked to realize that for what it cost us, we could have done a bike vacation in Borneo for a week or two, or taken another trip to the Philippines. Indeed, most of the places we could have gone for that vacation in neighboring countries offer a much better experience than Taiwan at a much lower price. Hence, the recent news showing that tourist visits to Pingtung County’s Kenting, long in decline, reached a 27 year low this summer came
From a Brooklyn studio that looks like a cross between a ransacked Toys R Us and a serial killer’s lair, the artist David Henry Nobody Jr is planning the first survey of his career. Held by a headless dummy strung by its heels from the ceiling are a set of photographs from the turn of the century of a then 30-year-old Nobody with the former president of the US. The snapshots are all signed by Donald Trump in gold pen (Nobody supplied the pen). They will be a central piece of the New York artist’s upcoming survey in New York. This
Oct. 7 to Oct. 13 The Great Dragon Flags were so lavish and intricate that it’s said to have exhausted the supplies of three embroidery shops. Others say that the material cost was so high that three shops quit during production and it was finished by a fourth. Using threads with pure gold, the final price to create the twin banners was enough to buy three houses in the 1920s. Weighing 30kg each and measuring 454cm by 535cm by 673cm, the triangular flags were the pride of the Flying Dragons (飛龍團), a dragon dance troupe that performed for Chaotian
RSS