Taiwanese writer Zhang Dachun (張大春) took issue with a poem on display at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, saying the installation was unpresentable.
Zhang, an outspoken commentator, on Thursday posted four photographs on Facebook of the poem, which praises the unique qualities of the nation’s largest international airport in Chinese calligraphy and hangs on a wall in the airport’s Terminal 2.
He said it took more than personal bravery to write such a poem.
Photo provided by Taoyuan International Airport Corp
“People managing the airport, as well as the nation’s transportation authority, need to give this further thought,” Zhang said. “What was the objective of having such utterly unpresentable stuff on display at the nation’s gateway?”
“I suggest that each one of you on Facebook savor the poem line by line in sequential order from the title,” Zhang added. “Except for the line that welcomes guests from five continents to see the bounty of Taiwan, no other line in the poem was written fluently.”
“It is horrible. Those who know even a little bit of the Chinese language and grammar would be dumbfounded,” Zhang said.
“This is evidence of a cultureless nation,” Zhang added.
In response, Taoyuan International Airport Corp yesterday thanked Zhang for his comments, adding that it is expanding the service area in Terminal 2 and plans to rearrange installations of artworks displayed in public.
The airport company said it welcomes any advice from Zhang on how to improve the image of the nation’s main gateway, adding that the poem, which was written in the classical Chinese style, was composed by Lin Yen-chu (林彥助), a talented artist based in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) who dabbles in writing poetry and Chinese calligraphy, as well as painting.
Zhang’s remarks generated mixed reactions from netizens.
While some said the poem could be used as an example by teachers of the Chinese language of a nicely displayed article devoid of clearly written lines, others said Zhang is a person who does not read classical Chinese and likes to criticize.
“It is actually a well-written poem, following the meter of prose-poetry in the style of China’s Han Dynasty,” netizen Hayly Lu said.
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