School, Guest Lectures, and Class Trip

It's been a long time since I've posted, so I have a lot to fill everyone in on. School has been really intense the past two weeks. My Talks on Chinese Culture class and Taiwan Today class have not been particularly difficult, but because they are all in traditional characters, I've had to really learn to read traditional Chinese on a level on par with my simplified Chinese. Topics have included Chinese family life, the dialects of Chinese, Taiwan's night markets, Taiwan's street food, and Asia's tea culture. My newspaper reading class is much harder, but also very interesting. In addition to the textbook which includes fascinating articles on topics as diverse as traffic congestion, dust storms, recycling in Taipei, weather predictions, and the Kyoto protocol, we've also been reading more recent articles our teacher has printed from online.

In my class on Chinese culture, we read an interesting chapter on China's languages. The language we are using and learning can be called by a lot of names. Beijingnese (language of Beijing), Beiipingnese (Beiping was an old name for Beijing), Guan language, Hua language, Han language, Zhong language, National language, and Universal language. In the 1920's, the government of China decided to make a National language, based on Beijing's dialect, which could be used to communicate across China's diverse provinces. Later when the Communists took power, they renamed the language "Universal Language", though it is still called "National Language" in Taiwan. Chinese abroad in America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan often call it the Hua language, Hua being a word for Chinese culture and civilization. Often, Taiwanese and Chinese in Southeast Asia will refer to themselves as Hua people, even if they don't necessarily see themselves as Chinese. This is similar to an American of European descent who sees himself as a Westerner and a part of Western Civilization, but not necessarily as a European. "Han Language" is usually used when differentiating between the Han and other people living in proximity to them or under the same government's rule. "Zhongwen" is another term for the language and can be translated as the language of China. The language people in China speak or "Zhongguo Hua" is another term that could be used to describe what I'm learning.

"Guan talk" is the most difficult of the terms to understand. While China has a lot of dialects, most of the languages in the northeast, central China, and parts of the southwest are mutually intelligible (the exception being the Jin language of Shanxi province and surrounding areas). These dialects were known in olden days as "guanfanghua" meaning the common language. Standard Modern Chinese, or Mandarin, is based on the Beijing accent of "Guan talk" though it is not very different from other parts of the vast region speaking Guan talk. For instance, the differences between Beijingnese and Sichuanese are primarily tonal, with some differences in pronunciation.

I've befriended many of my classmates and often play Go and sometimes Chinese chess in the student lounge. Last week over 20 ICLP students went out to eat at a Shanghainese restaurant owned by an aunt of one our classmates. The food was superb and it was a lot of fun. Friday night, I also went out with almost a dozen students to eat dumplings at a restaurant in Northeast Ta-an (I live on the southwestern edge of the neighborhood).

Once a week, ICLP will invite guest lecturers to give talks on life various topics. The week before last, the guest lecturer was a member of the world famous Taiwanese dance troop Cloud Gate. The lecturer talked about her years as a dancer for the troop and about how their training incorporated traditional Asian culture. On day 1 she was asked to meditate for an entire day and only after weeks of practice did she have the stamina, back strength, and focus to do so - all very important for a dancer. She remembers learning Taiji and calligraphy as part of their dance training. She talked about their choreographer and their unique style of modern dance.

Last week, the lecture was given by a National Taiwan University professor of ecology who talked about the biodiversity of Taiwan, especially the island's rich diversity of birds and which ones we can spot around campus.

Yesterday, I went on a class trip to Sanxia, Yingge, and Taoyuan county. In Yingge we took a crash course on pottery and got to try making our own pottery. It was a lot of fun, though I was much better with making by hand than on the wheel. The teachers were patient and really friendly. We walked around Yingge and then hopped on the bus to Sanxia where we saw a beautiful old temple from the 18th century. I had seen it with my parents, but liked it even more this time. The lions on guard, the columns restored and renovated by modern artists who added fish, bird, and turtle motifs to the dragon columns. The majestic shrines from which the serious and kingly black faces of the ancient gods and warriors gazed out about the central courtyard. We tried the local street food, including something that tasted like an extra sweet croissant and spicy quail eggs on a stick. Next we did some hiking in the backwoods in eastern Taoyuan county. The scenery was beautiful and it was good to get some fresh air and exercise. On the bus ride through the hills, Fan Laoshi (one of my favorite teachers) talked about Taiwan's geography and Taiwan's languages. She played us some Amis music from her ipod, including a song written by an elderly Amis poet who was blinded many years ago by gangsters when he rescued his sister from slavery in a brothel. She also played songs in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, and some beautiful music from Tibet. Finally, we arrived at a town in the mountains where a former military base has become a museum. We got to see escape tunnels and a house where Chiang Kai Shek once stayed. We even saw a rare photo of him eating his own homemade and famous egg fried rice with his family. We ate dinner at a restaurant nearby and headed back to Taipei.