A combination of many things has put me into a state of deep nostalgia for Taiwan this past week, so a year and a half since I followed around bits of a major Mazu (媽祖) focused temple festival in Tainan, here are some photos from the night of 2018/06/16. That night, rather than trust my…Read more whose streets these are i think i know
Taiwanese history
Just another archival misdirection
Last Wednesday, I was chatting with a librarian about her project cataloguing what are supposed to be rare tune books, hoping that she might have found some from China. Of course, since archival boxes reveal things that aren't on their labels, as anyone who spends time in archives knows that such boxes are wont to…Read more Just another archival misdirection
Foreign bones on Taiwan soil: the Princess of Eight Treasures (part 2)
(part 1) Having read about the Princess of Eight Treasures online years ago, when we were in Kenting for a night at a resort in late December 2015 (thanks parents!), I made sure to go see the temple in person. Granted, my pictures shared here are little different from what you can find yourself via online…Read more Foreign bones on Taiwan soil: the Princess of Eight Treasures (part 2)
Foreign bones on Taiwan soil: the Princess of Eight Treasures (part 1)
At the southern point of Taiwan, not far from the hedonic bustle of Kenting's main strip, small waves rush and retreat reassuringly across the white sand of the village's beach. At its eastern end sits a small temple, easily looked over as another one of the millions of shrines that dot the Taiwanese landscape, urban…Read more Foreign bones on Taiwan soil: the Princess of Eight Treasures (part 1)
Reflecting on Tsai Ing-wen’s Chicago discussion session
A little over a week ago, I had the privilege to attend the discussion session for students that Tsai Ing-wen, DPP chairperson and the party's presidential candidate for Taiwan's 2016 election, held before the huge banquet event thrown in her honor by the greater Taiwanese American community of Chicago. Capped at roughly 100 attendees, we…Read more Reflecting on Tsai Ing-wen’s Chicago discussion session
Maiden Huang 黃寶姑 (3)
(1: Tainan local women, Taiwan local religion) (2: Mother Gu Temple 辜婦媽廟) This post has been a very long time in coming because Huang Baogu's story is so rich with issues to discuss that it keeps threatening to turn itself into an article or a book chapter. Which, in fact, it may end up becoming…Read more Maiden Huang 黃寶姑 (3)
9-in-1 elections: A candidate who won’t win, and a plea for candidates who might
Next Saturday, Taiwanese will go to the polls in local elections for a record number of posts: over 11,000 nationwide. Since nine categories of elected offices (from mayors down to village wardens) make up the 11,130 open posts, the elections have been termed the 9-in-1 elections. Mr. Chao Yan-ching is running for Taipei mayor. He…Read more 9-in-1 elections: A candidate who won’t win, and a plea for candidates who might
Review: Fireproof Moth: A Missionary in Taiwan’s White Terror
The title of Milo Thornberry's book, Fireproof Moth: A Missionary in Taiwan's White Terror, comes from the remark of US State Department official, made shortly after the family was deported from Taiwan in 1971: "There is no shortage of American graduate students, missionaries... with both ardent views on Taiwanese Independence and a willingness to conduct…Read more Review: Fireproof Moth: A Missionary in Taiwan’s White Terror
The Black Bearded Barbarian
I've been thinking about this photo lately, of G.L. Mackay and his family, which I found in The Black Bearded Barbarian by Marian Keith, published in 1912. I wouldn't recommend reading it, mostly because it's written at a children's level with a few too many exclamation points, and also because, as Keith notes in the…Read more The Black Bearded Barbarian
Mother Gu Temple 辜婦媽廟 (2)
(1: Tainan local women, Taiwan local religion) Let's begin with Gu Fuma's story, since she's the center of a number of stories to follow. Surnamed Lin (林) with no given name on record, her husband Gu Tangchun (辜湯純) died when she was twenty two. Lin was left to manage his meager estate, consisting of his…Read more Mother Gu Temple 辜婦媽廟 (2)
Far From Formosa 