Taiwan: Lotus Flowers, Temples, Art

I visited a friend from university in New Taipei City in June. Many adventures were to be had in this friendly, rainy land. Her family and I played ping-pong, went swimming, and ate good food together. I’m very glad I made the trip!

Barbed wire next to the sidewalks in Linkou District, New Taipei City where so much new construction occurs

I visited a tea farm where the tea farmer’s retired son (who spoke excellent English) invited me to drink tea with his father, mother, uncle, and daughter who gathered around an oblong table made from single large polished tree root. His father sat on a chair made of same majestic material and later played the erhu in the tea shed along with a brother-in-law. They cooked a delicious breakfast for me and did not charge any money despite the fact that they ran a cafe. He invited me to visit his lotus farm, drove me there in his car about 15 minutes outside of town, then dropped me off at my apartment because he felt it was too hot for me to walk home. A rewarding lesson in hospitality and trust.

Lotus field in rural outskirts of New Taipei City

Goldfish swimming in unattended plastic bag in Taipei

I was reprimanded twice for eating/drinking on a metro platform - very particular about cleanliness rules. Also, no birds are allowed onboard the bus.

Entrance to Ju Lin Shan Temple — note the large TV on the pavilion.

You can sponsor a numbered budda and have an ancestor’s name associated with it. Look up your number or name in the computer to find the location.

Offerings and joss paper inside the temple.

Furnace for burning the ‘ghost money’ and joss papers. The draft created by the fire sucks the thin papers into the furnace.

People burn gold foiled joss paper at temples to help deceased ancestors in the afterlife, thereby converting much real money into into ash. The Taiwanese government is trying to decrease how much ghost money and incense is burned to improve air quality.

So many new shopping opportunities … and a US mailbox!

The National Palace Museum holds so many written treasures from past centuries. For some reason, the elegant lines of the Seal Scripts catch my eye. Note how the red seals of the owners are stamped directly onto the artwork throughout the years. One painting had 16 seals stamped on it and an appreciative commentary written by an emperor who owned it.

I also encountered a copy of the impressive palindromic poem Star Gauge or Hsüan-chi Tu by Su Hui in the 300’s. To read more about how the poem was written and how to read it:

history article by David Hinton

image and English translation by David Hinton

Wild Geese Returning: Chinese Reversible Poems by Michele Metail.