Religions
Evidence of religion can be found anywhere and everywhere in Taiwan! There are thousands of temples spread throughout Taiwan and also shrines at numerous Taiwanese homes. The four main religions practiced in Taiwan are Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Christianity.
Confucianism
It refers to a code of ethics and system of behaviours which was derived from the teachings of Confucius, who was a philosopher. His teachings describe an individual’s position in the society and he supported a set of ideals that respect for age and seniority, and strict moral behaviours. Today, Confucianism still thrives in Taiwan.
Taoism
Basically, there are two form of Taoism and they are the philosophical Taoism and religious Taoism. Philosophical Taoism emphasizes on the quality of life while religious Taoism emphasizes on heavens, gods, rituals, or afterlife which is a teaching borrowed from Mahayana Buddhism. Today, religious Taoism is more commonly practiced in Taiwan.
Buddhism
Buddhism was founded by Prince Siddhartha Gautama and it was believed he attained enlightenment during the 6th century BC. His teachings include the search for one’s enlightenment, giving up valuable possessions, and living a life of virtue and wisdom.
Christianity
It is estimated that over 1 million Taiwanese identified themselves as Christians and majority of them bring Protestant. Among the indigenous peoples, Catholicism is the most dominant today.
According to World Factbook, Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian formed up to 93% of the religion in Taiwan, and Christian with 4.5%, and other religions such as Islam etc with 2.5%. This shows that majority of the population in Taiwan is Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian.
Music
Taipei Chinese Orchestra, National Chinese Orchestra, Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra, and the Ensemble Orientalia of Taipei made up the four main professional groups in Taiwan. They mainly perform traditional Chinese instruments and music. However, sometimes they do perform Western composition or compositions which mixed both Chinese and Western music elements.
The two different types of traditional Chinese music that have been in the music culture of Taiwan for hundreds of years are “Beiguan” and “Nanguan”. Beiguan is a fast-tempo music that accompanies operas, celebrations and traditional drama performances while Nanguan comprises emotive melody that has a more delicate and soothing sound.
Moreover, contemporary Taiwanese popular music appeals mainly to the young generations and this music is huge around the world, especially in Asia. Some famous Taiwan singers such as Jay Chou and Jolin Tsai have large number of listeners in Taiwan and the rest of Asia.
Chinese Music Theater
Chinese opera played an important role in the traditional Taiwanese music culture. Different Taiwanese dialects are used in these operas and the movements and expressions of the actors/actresses are important in the opera.
Today, Peking Opera, Taiwanese Opera and Kun Opera are the most common Chinese music theater performed in Taiwan. Other traditional entertainments in Taiwan include folk dances, spoken drama and puppet shows.
(Taiwanese Opera)
Cinema
In the mid 1920s, this is the period when local actors began to act in the local productions. After which, the domestic film industry began to flourish in the 1960s and 1970s, and the movie themes usually revolve around melodramas, romantic dramas, and traditional kung fu etc as they were popular at that time. From 1965 onwards, most actors speak in Mandarin in the movies.
During the “New Wave Cinema” period in the 1980s, the movies produced mainly focused on the scenarios of the daily lives of Taiwanese and the society. There were two successful directors from this period and they were Edward Yang and Hou-Hsiao-hsien. Examples of their works are “Taipei Story” (1986) and “The Terrorizers” (1986).
The “second new wave” of directors emerged at the beginning of the 1990s. During that period, the movies were still similar to the “New Wave Cinema” period but the movies were less serious and more appealing to the audience. The most well-known director during that period is probably “Ang Lee”. Some of his famous productions include Sense and Sensibility (1995), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Hulk (2003) and Brokeback Mountain (2005) which were famous in the world.
Cuisines
Cuisines in Taiwan have several variations and the food culture derived from different parts of the mainland such as Hunan, Guangdong, Yunnan, Shanghai, Jiangxi, Beijing, Sichuan etc.
The main ingredients are pork, seafood, rice, and soy which are common in noodle dishes and soups in restaurants. Beef is less common as majority of the Taiwanese Buddhists, especially the elderly, refrain from eating it due to its religious belief. Also, the cuisine of Taiwan is less spicy as compared to Szechwan dishes.
“Xiao-chi” is also known as Taiwanese delicacy or snack. These famous local foods come with the taste of the countryside. Some examples of Taiwanese snacks are stinky tofu and ba-wan etc.
(Stinky Tofu)
(Ba Wan)
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