For the past several years, popular Taiwanese folk author Sih-ma Jhong-yuan has been giving cultural lectures at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST). Every class is filled to the brim with people who sign up for the lectures and those who just come to listen, with typcially more than 250 people at each lecture. Sih-ma laughs and says that he sometimes tells ghost stories during class, but says the stories are meant to educate people, not scare them.
Sih-ma, whose original name is Wu Yen-mei, is nearly 80 years old this year. His first book was published when he was only 18 years old. He has written over 100 works to date, including plays, essays, novels, children’s stories, and commentaries. He recalls the chaos of war that filled his childhood, seeing people shot to death every day when he was only seven or eight years old. One time when he was using his hands to drink water from a river, a person’s intestines suddenly got wrapped around them, and he pulled a dead body out of the water. At the age of 15, Sih-ma started fighting in the Chinese Civil War. He would often talk with the other soldiers and being at war and surrounded by death, they were inclined to openly share all kinds of stories with one other, which allowed him to collect many local legends and ghost stories.
He started teaching courses at NTUST six years ago because he felt that people working in the technology sector also needed to study the humanities. “Literature is all about imagination, while science is all about putting theories into practice,” he says. Many students are interested in the experiences he talks about in the ghost stories that he tells. Sih-ma, however, says that he has never actually seen a ghost, but that he does communicate with earthly and otherworldly forces while meditating, admitting that he has seen dead relatives in his dreams and even the deceased Taiwanese author who went by the pseudonym Sanmao.
Photo: Kuo Yen-hui, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者郭顏慧
After teaching at universities for many years, Sih-ma worries that the institutions are turning into assembly lines, mass producing students like cogs in a wheel, and that after graduating they go to work for corporations to become insignificant parts in a machine, “shrinking the world of humanity.” Sih-ma says that having a good education is important, and that a person’s “philosophy of living” should include literature, philosophy, science, psychology and medicine, warning that a person’s education would be seriously lacking if all one knew was the life sciences.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
作家司馬中原近年在台科大開設司馬中原文化講座，每堂課選讀及旁聽都爆滿、超過二百五十人。他笑說，偶爾會在課堂上講鬼故事，但他說的鬼故事都是經過挑選，目的不是嚇人，而是教育。
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者方賓照
本名吳延玫的司馬中原，年近八旬，十八歲就開始出書，迄今撰寫上百本的戲劇、散文、小說、童話、評論等。他回憶，幼時歷經戰亂，七、八歲時每天都看到有人被槍決，有一次在河邊用手捧水喝，卻被人的腸子纏住，一拉竟然拉出一具屍體。十五歲時參與國共內戰，常和軍人聊天，大家每天面對戰爭的死亡陰影，都掏心掏肺地分享著自己知道的故事，他因此蒐集了非常多的鄉野傳奇、鬼故事。
六年前開始在台科大兼課，原因是他覺得科技人也應該要有人文素養，「文學是想像力，科學是實踐力」。很多學生很好奇他過去講鬼故事的經歷，他坦言，自己從沒看過鬼，但打坐時能和天地溝通，也曾夢到親人過世，及已故作家三毛。
在大學任教多年，他也憂心，大學愈來愈像機械製造廠，把學生當成螺絲釘，大學畢業去職場就像零件一樣，「人的世界就變小了」。他強調，通識教育很重要，所謂的「生命學」，應包括文學、哲學、科學、心理學、醫學，如果只是生命科學，層次就太低了。
（自由時報記者胡清暉）
In 2023, an 80-year-old woman in Taipei suffocated her paralyzed son after over five decades of caring for him. Turning herself in immediately, she confessed that worsening health and anxiety about who would care for him after her death had driven her to act. The court, acknowledging her difficult situation, sentenced her to two-and-a-half years in prison while recommending a presidential pardon. This rare judicial recommendation drew a complicated social response. Supporters argue that the mother’s half-century of caregiving renders her deserving of compassion instead of incarceration, believing that allowing her to live her final years in dignity and
★ Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 The mango looked perfect. It sat on the fruit stand like a small sunset, red on one side and gold on the other. “I’ll take this one,” said Daniel. The fruit seller shook her head. “Not that one.” Daniel was surprised. “Why not? It looks beautiful.” “Yes,” she said, “but beautiful is not always ready.” She picked up another mango and held it near his nose. “First, smell here.” Daniel smelled the top of the mango. It was sweet and warm. “Good mangoes have a smell,” she said. “Next, feel the weight.”
Put the Cart Before the Horse 本末倒置 Iris: I think I’m in love. Carl: What? Iris: We just have so much in common. We like all of the same things. Carl: Yes, but you’ve only chatted with him online. Iris: It doesn’t matter. I know we’ll end up getting married. Carl: I’m afraid you’re putting the cart before the horse. You should at least meet him first. Iris: OK, OK. I’ll do that. 艾瑞絲： 我想我戀愛了。 卡 爾： 什麼？ 艾瑞絲： 我們就是有那麼多的共通點。我們喜歡的東西都一樣。 卡 爾： 是沒錯，不過妳和他只在網路上聊過天而已。 艾瑞絲： 那不重要。我知道我們最後一定會步入禮堂。 卡 爾： 妳恐怕是本末倒置了吧。妳至少應該先跟他見個面。 艾瑞絲： 好啦，好啦。我會的啦。 A tough cookie 強悍的人∕堅強的人 Tracy: I heard you went out with Iris last night. Justin: Yeah. We
A: Over 130,000 college graduates are about to enter the workforce upon graduation. B: According to a survey, the top 10 most desired careers among Taiwanese are: independent content creator, civil servant, information engineer, financial professional, medical worker, content planner, flight attendant, news anchor, designer and fitness trainer. A: What are the “dream jobs” for young Gen Zers? B: The top three for men are YouTuber, pro gamer and engineer. For women, they are writer, social media editor and YouTuber. A: Every profession has its champion. Just look at Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei — who was on fire
RSS